It happens on occasion that I share a piece of psychological artistry with someone that simply seems so impossible to them that I get accused of using sleight-of-hand. My performances are undeniably informed by magical artistry, but the most powerful experiences during my shows are had in the mind alone. Yesterday was an incredible reminder of that remarkable fact.

I was hired to perform an intimate show for a private function. As it so happens, I typically work with pencil, paper, cards; small props of that nature. However, the day prior to the event I seriously burned one of my fingers. Rest easy folks, it wasn’t a performing accident, it was a cooking accident. Go figure… This injury, however, rendered my hand fairly inoperable, forcing me to abandon use of even the simple props that I employ.

As my training is in primarily mental manipulations, I felt confident that I had a lot to fall back on. However, never had I gone to a show with nothing but the clothes on my back. I was curious to see how much magic I could create in the mind alone with nothing but my voice and esoteric education.

For two hours I was at this event, and every moment was riveting! Not only did the spectators experience things beyond belief, close-up and first-hand, but I myself was absolutely floored with how powerful the mind alone is. This one intimate show has set a new standard for me, raising the bar of what’s possible. I now aim to free up all of my performances of needless clutter and rely where possible only on the magic of suggestion.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 2nd, 2002 at Apr 02, 02 | 10:42 pm and is filed under Roderick Russell News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.