... that performing magic in a debut was one of the most unique experiences I've ever had.
I've hosted a lot of debuts in the past, but being asked to perform magic and mentalism in a debut is nothing short of a rarity, a curious animal that makes no sense on the surface, but in this particular case, a perfect fit.
On a personal note, I'm very happy that this debut, staged for the benefit of Habitat for Humanity, actually raised over two million pesos for the foundation. I commend the debutante, Alex, for being one of the most amazing human beings ever, and all the people in the celebration who really made it happen. My heart really goes out to Alex for the sheer success her debut turned out to be, knowing she dedicated it to Habitat. Fewer people could be so selfless.
It was interesting, to say the least. I was going to do magic and mentalism, and I was going to have Nomer, Marco, and Jay Mata in tow as an Aura Reader, a Tarot Card Reader, and a Palm Reader, respectively. Needless to say, this was going to be a really engaging night, and I'm glad Alex, the debutante, appreciated the contributions of our merry bunch... heh.
Nomer Lasala with Jay Mata.
So when the four of us got to the venue, it was quite obvious that we were going to make waves. While last Saturday was slightly marred by some grandstanding from a person I shall not name, was marked as quite a successful effort. Admittedly, my performance was, as the host of the night put it, "a tad adult" for an audience of 17/18 year old people in fourth year high school, but despite that, I got great reactions from the people all around.
Yours truly with Marco Tolentino.
Needless to say, it was a great night, from the walkaround to the staggering lines that queued up for Nomer, Marco, and Jay Mata, as well as the table-hopping, the fact that the kids reminded me of my Reedley students (The kids were from I.S.M., after all...), and all the funny stuff we did, and the fact that I pulled off the Lady and the Rope that night. Yes. I was that shameless, and the person I performed it to was very sporting about it. Thanks, Bowon!
Yours truly with my volunteer for the night, Bowon.
It was incredibly funny how I got to Lady and the Rope, because I was supposed to do a Card Story first, when I accidentally dropped my cards, and made a mess, so I called on Bowon and asked her if she liked card tricks. She responded with "yes", and I proceeded to do a rope trick instead. The audience were a pleasure to work with because they were laughing, applauding, even side commenting exactly when I wanted them to, and this was especially true when I did Shanghai Shackles and my volunteer was a guy who I really ribbed pretty hard...
"Secure padlock?"
"How about this one? Is this padlock secure?"
"Is your masculinity secure?"
Heh. Given all that, we were asked to perform for Mr. Freddie Garcia of ABS-CBN after the party, and we definitely ran with it, albeit Jay was the luckiest of the bunch as he walked off with a hefty tip for his efforts, while Nomer made one of the people he performed for cry...
After a brief rejoinder on professionalism over dinner, the four of us went off, and it would appear that we have an opportunity to reunite as a quartet again, because some people are interested in the magician + mentalist + readers package, and I'm going to be sure to make it work to the best of my ability...
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