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Dear Magic,
Love,
Geoff
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Jan. 2019
January 2019
Dear Magic,
Love,
Geoff
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Cait and I leave “love stickies” around the apartment for each other. A love stickie is a post-it note with a small message or sometimes even a simple drawing. They find their way onto bathroom mirrors, edges of counters, onto books or closed computers. Not a love letter, rather these are just little smiles to be discovered during the day. They are not meant to be permanent or collected. Part of the beauty of these little post-its is that they are temporary, not precious, and it is known that they will soon be tossed or recycled. But what is kept is the moment of discovery and the smile.
I wrote a love stickie to magic.
It is not a full show, it is not a workshop, just a little pop-up, like a post-it, that will hopefully create smiles.
Some stories, some stories about magic, and yes… some magic too.
And this is an invitation.
Ticket: you will need to bring something you love to the performance from one of these categories:
Photo, Food, Text (like a book, poem, or even an actual text), Joke, Quote, Object, Person (yes, this can be an actual living person)
*NOTE: You will get to keep them, but there needs to be a physical element to the "Loved Item." You should be able to place it on a table.
Location: Midtown NYC
Cheers,
Geoff
The Odds Are Against Us
Feb. 2019
Text Excerpt
February 2019
The Odds Are Against Us
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If I were to look back at my life 10 years ago, I never could have predicted that I would be living in NYC today; it was never part of the plan. And the more that I backtracked and examined the choices I made, the decisions that were out of my control, the coincidences, the chances, how opportunities aligned…it seemed nearly impossible to have predicted where I am today…when any one of those moments or decisions could have drastically shifted the path I was on. In all honesty, I was a few key moments away from being married at 22, living in St. Louis, and probably owning a cat or a dog.
I am curious about where the line between impossible and improbable lies. Where something is so improbable…that the feeling in your heart is:
“that was impossible”
This is an invitation.
It is not a full show, it is not a workshop, just a little pop-up.
Some stories, hopefully some coincidences, and yes… some magic too.
In place of a ticket: you will need to purchase and bring a New York Lottery Scratchcard ($1-$5 scratchcard, not yet scratched)
Location: Midtown NYC
Bonus Seat: In the spirit of this month’s theme, I’ve left one seat to chance. One name will be drawn at random from the waitlist and invited to the show. They will be notified Sunday Feb. 24th at 12pm…there’s always a chance.
Cheers,
Geoff
The Lawn That Disappeared Into The Ocean
March 2019
March 2019
The Lawn That Disappeared Into The Ocean
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One of the very first magic books I read was Now You See It, Now You Don't!: Lessons in Sleight of Hand. One of the cornerstones of magic is the act of disappearance.
Disappearance happens after appearance, and sometimes before reappearance.
Disappearance is not always permanent.
Disappearance is not always instantaneous.
Disappearance can take thousands of years.
Nature is disappearing all the time.
And faster now than it used to.
I saw the sun disappear from 10:15am-10:16am on a Monday on the Oregon Coast. 1 minute 50 seconds I will never forget. I saw it on a lawn that is disappearing into the ocean.
This is an invitation.
In place of a ticket: You will need to bring a Blank Empty Unsealed Envelope (size and color is up to you).
Date and Time: Tuesday March 26th at 8:30pm
Location: Midtown NYC
Cheers,
Geoff
UnbrokenUnbrokenUnbroken
April 2019
April 2019
UnbrokenUnbrokenUnbroken
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A classic plot in magic is “broken and restored.” Like, tearing up a card and putting it back together, piece by piece, until it is whole again. The word “unbroken” can also mean a record/event/streak that continues without ending.
Sometimes when I sit in a theatre, I imagine the ghosts of the audiences before me. I imagine who might have sat in my seat the night before.
Or the night before that.
And who will be there tomorrow.
Each performance is a piece of the run of a show.
I wanted to create something that needed to keep going, where each audience would be a piece of the whole thing, where each is required to complete the show.
This month’s pop-up is broken into three pieces. The first has already begun. The second is on Wednesday April 24th. The third is on Thursday April 25th
If all goes to plan… it will be unbroken.
In place of a ticket: You will need to a blank piece of paper or stationary (its okay if it’s folded)
Location: Midtown NYC
Cheers,
Geoff
And Then They Begin To Dance
May 2019
May 2019
And Then They Begin To Dance
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Long before I knew how to shuffle a deck of cards, I learned how to point my feet.
I have three older sisters and no brothers. Each of them danced ballet, so when I was four my parents signed me up to dance ballet too. I danced ballet at Tacoma City Ballet for twelve years. The first time I was ever backstage in a theatre, was for a ballet recital at the Pantages Theatre, and I fell in love.
Ballet was a big part of my life. So big in fact, that there was no room for anything else. Which was one of the reasons I stopped dancing ballet.
Today, I still dance, but much less formally. I will break out into impromptu flamenco inspired dances, or silently dance impish buffoon-esque dances across our apartment - these are mainly to get a laugh or smile out of Cait.
I still think a lot about movement and dance.
When does movement become dance…or is it always dance?
When do the cards begin to dance?
Magic is a dance. It is carefully choreographed sleight-of-hand. It is a dance between audience and performer. It is rhythm and tempo, time and space.
Performing magic allows my hands to continue to dance.
This is an invitation.
It is not a full show, it is not a workshop, just a little pop-up.
Some stories, some movement + music, and yes… some magic too.
In place of a ticket: You will need to bring a Childhood Photo (either printed or on your phone).
Location: Midtown NYC
Cheers,
Geoff
An Intermission
June 2019
June 2019
An Intermission
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An Intermission marks the sixth Magic Pop-Up Performance, with six more remaining. These have been incredibly rewarding to create, perform, and share. What has surprised me most is the conversations that each has prompted, and what I have learned about myself, and what I have learned about the people who have attended. This month’s pop-up is centered around conversation.
Magicians are often seen as synonymous with holding back the truth. They often inspire more questions than answers. And it’s true. Magicians carry secrets.
But this is not exclusive to magicians. All of us are surrounded by secrets, choosing only to present certain parts of ourselves, while keeping others hidden.
A timer will be set. A timer for one hour. Attendees will ask questions, and I will answer with complete honesty. Attendees will get to bring in ten questions and questions will be chosen randomly across the hour.
1. A Yes or No Question
2. A Yes or No Question
3. A Question specifically about Magic
4. A Question that has nothing to do with Magic
5. A Question with the word “most”
6. A Question with the word “least”
7. A Question that prompts a Story
8. A Question about some time ago
9. Any Question
10. Any Question
As much as this evening will be an exploration of sharing truth, it will also be an exploration of something completely fundamental to a magician’s work: The more you learn…the more secrets you have to carry with you.
This is an invitation.
It is not a full show, it is not a workshop, just a little pop-up.
Some questions, some answers, and some secrets.
In place of a ticket: You will need to bring a sheet of paper with 10 questions, each question numbered 1 thru 10.
Location: Midtown NYC
Cheers,
Geoff
M is For Mind
July 2019
July 2019
M is for Mind
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M is for Mind,
And all the things a mind can do.
M is for memory and memories.
For meditation.
M is for imagination.
Well “magination”...but maybe we can imagine the i.
M is for words like metal and magnetism.
For morning, midnight, mountains, and mud.
Mirage,
Monocle,
Myriad,
Myth.
Moreover,
M is for Magic too.
- -
July’s Magic // Pop-Up performance will be exploring the myriad of things the mind can do. And fittingly, it will be happening on a Monday.
The middle of a Marathon of Magic meets on Monday
This is an invitation. (maybe an M-vitation)
It is not a full show, it is not a workshop, just a little pop-up.
Some stories, some mind tricks, and yes… some magic too.
In place of a ticket: You will need to bring a Metal Spoon.
Location: Midtown NYC
Cheers,
Geoff
Whoops
Aug. 2019
August 2019
Whoops
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Whoops is a very specific type of mistake.
The stakes are not life and death,
But, in the moment, it can feel like it.
Whoops is knocking over a glass of water.
Whoops is texting the other Sarah H.
Whoops is being in the wrong country for a performance
…yeah, that happened once.
In any live performance there is always a chance that something will go wrong.
Show business knows that this can happen
And has even created the rule: “the show must go on”
I have said whoops many times.
In performances…in life…
When it didn’t go according to plan.
The biggest trick I’ve learned is to try not so say “Whoops” out-loud.
- -
August’s Magic // Pop-Up Performance is exploring what happens when it goes wrong, or has the chance of going wrong, or experimenting with accidents and chance and expectations.
Hopefully, it doesn’t all go according to plan
This is an invitation.
It is not a full show, it is not a workshop, just a little pop-up.
Some stories, some mistakes, and yes… some magic too.
In place of a ticket: You will need to bring an Object that has a Mistake (Ex. maybe a letter with a typo; a photograph with a thumb over the lens, a piece of a ceramic mug that broke).
Location: Midtown NYC
Cheers,
Geoff
The Uncle Geoff Magic Show
Sept. 2019
September 2019
The Uncle Geoff Magic Show
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When I FaceTime home, often times my nieces and nephews will request to see a magic trick.
And I’m happy to oblige. But there is something special about seeing magic live in-person.
So when I travel home to Tacoma, WA to visit my family, I perform:
The Uncle Geoff Magic Show.
I have five nieces and nephews. They range in age from 4 to 12 years old.
When I perform,
My nieces and nephews make up the front row.
I sit at the kids’ table in the kitchen (which is about three feet tall),
I place out my close-up mat (creating a small stage),
I play music (a full range),
I put on a suit (including a self-tied bow-tie),
and I bring my brass-tipped wand.
I’m happy to announce that this show will be popping-up in NYC for one night,
brass-tipped wand and all…
- -
September’s Magic // Pop-Up performance will be The Uncle Geoff Magic Show, and you are welcome to sit in the front row.
Two parts silly, One part serious
This is an invitation.
It is not a full show, it is not a workshop, just a little pop-up.
Some stories, some fun tricks, and yes… some magic too.
In place of a ticket: You will need to bring a coin or a dollar (you can always ask to borrow from an adult)
Location: Midtown NYC
Cheers,
Geoff
The First Trick I Ever Learned
Oct. 2019
October 2019
The First Trick I Ever Learned
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Ever since I was little, Halloween has always captured my imagination. My family was never one to shy away from creating costumes and turning the home into another world.
I loved the spooky stories, the suspense, the mystery, and the way it would stay with me throughout the rest of the year.
In fact, all through high school, I would transform our home, and the yard around it, into a different themed haunted house. Friends and I would create a path, make special effects, design lighting, create a script, and more friends would come over and play whatever roles (with full costumes and makeup) that were required for that year’s haunted house.
Even when the haunted houses stopped, I still had a desire to guide people down a garden path, with some surprises and unexpected turns along the way. October’s Pop-Up will be no different.
Not to be left out: The First Trick I Ever Learned
This is an invitation.
It is not a full show, it is not a workshop, just a little pop-up.
Some stories, some surprises, and yes… some magic too.
Date and Time: Oct. 31st at 8:30pm
Location: Midtown NYC
Cheers,
Geoff
the moment.
Nov. 2019
November 2019
the moment.
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I make tiny paintings. I use small brushes and a little bit of paint.
And usually, these are paintings of paintings. Paintings that I have seen in a museum by artists that I admire. Artists that have captured something. A moment.
These paintings are not limited to capturing specific times, places, or things; more often I have found that they capture something far less tangible. An emotion or a thought that becomes frozen in time. I make these tiny paintings as a personal art history class, to learn more about what the artist was thinking, to notice strange details, and to ask questions about decisions around composition, color, line, and texture.
And maybe these paintings are tiny because the small scale alleviates some of the pressure around the commitment of completing each painting. Not to mention it makes them much easier to travel with.
This Magic // Pop-Up Performance is exploring magic’s relationship to art and how we capture, create, and frame moments.
For a small window, the tiny paintings gallery is open.
This is an invitation.
It is not a full show, it is not a workshop, just a little pop-up.
Some stories, some painting, and yes… some magic too.
In place of a ticket: You will need to bring a drawing/sketch/painting that you have created. There is no good or bad, it can be a portrait, still life, self-portrait, landscape, or a doodle.
Location: Midtown NYC
Cheers,
Geoff
An Elegant Solution
Dec. 2019
December 2019
An Elegant Solution
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My dad had a telescope, it rested on a tripod and had fine-tuning nobs to move it around. I’m not entirely sure how it worked but it had a mirror inside of it, and on clear nights we would go into the back yard and look up, into the night sky. One of my first memories of this, maybe even of really looking into the night sky, was closing one eye, looking into the telescope, and seeing Saturn. I could even see the outline of the rings.
I read books about astrophysics and listen to podcasts about space and time. My thesis in grad school was about how atoms are 99.9999999999999% empty space. One of my favorite poems is about the expanding universe.
Magic at its core is an elegant solution. It is approaching a problem and imaginatively solving that problem to create something beautiful. Looking at it this way, it is like an equation and is very scientific. And my love of science, specifically time and space, has inspired much of the magic I perform. While seemingly at odds, we will hold both science and magic in one room.
This Magic // Pop-Up Performance is exploring magic’s relationship to science and how we experiment, approach problems, and discover mystery.
Hopefully, we arrive at an elegant solution.
This is an invitation.
It is not a full show, it is not a workshop, just a little pop-up.
Some stories, some problems, and yes… some magic too.
In place of a ticket: Bring an elegant solution. (this can be in the form of an object, an image, or a story)
Location: Midtown NYC
Cheers,
Geoff