That odd looking gent is my pal, Max Maven. Max is perhaps the foremost "mystery entertainer" in the business today, meaning that he gets on stage and does uncanny things, up to and including the apparent reading of the minds of audience members. Carolyn and I went to see him perform his one-man show a few hours ago and boy, was that one man amazing.
I am impressed with this gent for several reasons. One, of course, is that his feats are impressive and he's not just up there linking rings and producing doves. Another is that he doesn't just send the audience home wondering, "How did he do that?" He gives them plenty of other interesting things to think about as he interweaves his feats with tales of great philosophers and scientists and other learned individuals. Yet another is that he's very funny as he interacts with the audience members who are drafted into "volunteering" and still another is that while he makes us laugh at the "volunteers'" usual awkwardness at following his instructions, he never demeans or embarrasses them.
I once worked with a great magician named Don Alan, who told me that one of the secrets of his art was not just to find the three of clubs but to know exactly when to reveal the three of clubs. Do it too soon and you trivialize your own feat. Take too long and you bore your audience, which is the main thing you're not supposed to do up there. One of the things I found fascinating about Max this evening was watching him artfully take his time without wasting ours. It isn't just being able to do the impossible. It's knowing how to deliver it.
He often tours and appears on television — alas for us, in other countries more so than the United States lately. If I find any online schedule of where he'll be, I'll link to it here because you really oughta see this guy. Here's a very, very brief example of what he does