The year 2022 was an exciting year for me and the rest of the world. This was the first year that people finally came out of the pandemic and were hopelessly optimistic about the opportunities that it entailed. Here in Denver, it went from trepidation to full-on opening back up in the world. Which, for me was very exciting, it meant new opportunities for performing, new venues and partners, and for me finally regain the performance momentum that I felt stagnated in 2020. 

To recap, in 2020, I just had finished my first week run at The Magic Castle as a magicians assistant to the Handsome Little Devils, performing with an idol of mine Rob Zabrecky, I had toured House of Cards in Nashville planning to pitch to them to perform, and had a successful run of The Final Seance, my self-produced magic show and was ready to take charge of my artistic direction. The pandemic pivoted all of that to internal reflection and me focusing more on my immersive work than it did magic, but it was an important time to evaluate what magic meant to me and how it is incorporated into my work outside of performing for people. 

Collaboration and Companionship Through Magic

The most significant and thrilling development of 2022 was the opportunity to finally start to create and develop with my co-conspirator and partner, Jenny Filipetti, the founder of ChromaKairos. When we met in Denver, CO, we had minimal time together as she was moving to Italy, so we have discussed collaborating for years but never found the right opportunity or space to do so.

That changed when Immersive Denver, an organization helping promote and raise awareness of Immersive Theater, ran the Denver Immersive Gathering. This event allowed Jenny and I to create a space called the Last Resort, a bar out of time and space that provided tinctures right when you needed them. In the space, our goal was to offer a reprieve from the bustling of the conference; we were a calm space that allowed people to share in a moment of genuine connection and allowed me to perform high-end pieces that I had never shared anywhere else. A classy space that, because of its magical realism, created an authentic place of connection that will develop into something more significant in the near future.

What was beautiful about this collaboration is that we were able to complement each other’s strengths and fulfill a deeper and more meaningful magic experience that is quite difficult to curate. I learned many valuable lessons in building space to foster the imagination and for the magic to be taken seriously. It helped me show myself and the world how magic can be respected and provide hope in a way so rarely offered in the social media dominated world we live in.

This year I turned 35 and could feel the change from being a young youthful kid to accepting I am an adult; however, with that maturity comes a new avenue in performance that I couldn’t have fathomed years ago. Something more profound and more meaningful.

With the moving a age bracket on surveys and the noticeable aging on my face, I finally felt ready and a little rushed to start taking my magic more seriously. Instead of waiting for opportunities to come to me, as was easy in the past with the help of Invisible City, I needed to go out there and find them. With the help of Jonah Babin from the Toronto Magic Company, I finally put myself together and started to create a solid plan for growing my magic opportunities.

In 2023, I want to get back to performing close-up and strolling magic for private events and more public appearances. To do that, I am building a solid base of contacts and resources to provide entertainment and socializing at their upcoming events. Hiring a magician, I am finding out, has been one of the best ways to keep the conversations lively, active, and people engaged in new and exciting ways. So please, if you are having an event, keep an eye out for me.