MEN IN BLACK, TOO

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Production of
the Opening and Closing Sessions of the
Event Solutions Expo 2003

E. Through the Eyes of the Production Team and Entertainers

 14. - The World of Magic

“You have seven minutes onstage," said Meridith Link at Event Solutions.

How exciting to be asked to “wow” the audience in the opening session – but only seven minutes? How do you pull together a magician, dancing girls, truck drivers, costumes, rooms, flight reservations, technical support, death defying illusions, backstage assistants and rehearsal time for such a quick feat of magic?

Luckily, in The World Of Magic, it was just another day at the magic factory.

The World Of Magic provided some of the “oooohs” and “ahhhs” for the Event Solutions Expo 2003 Opening Ceremony. A spectacular, action-paced blast of one illusion after another was witnessed by all in attendance, including the illusion of revealing Publisher John Baragona on stage.

Due to years of perfecting his skills as a magician and developing the World of Magic, David Thomas performs his magic seemingly wihtout effort.

“One of the great advantages of our show is the flexibility to be tailored for any given performance situation while servicing the producer’s needs,” remarks Ed Cobb, World of Magic marketing director. “And our technical team is wonderful at interfacing with an event producer’s preproduction planning group and on-site personnel."

Dewey Beene, World of Magic technical director, arrived in advance of the team to prepare the magic elements with Event Solutions Expo show producer Anthony Bollotta.

Coordination of set elements, props, illusions, all with stage spike markings for light and sound cues, etc., were just a part of the preparation on site by Beene and Bollotta.

Effective labor load-in coordination, and rapid run-through rehearsals for positioning, timing and blending of technical execution moved briskly before delivering the show. Doing things fast never means cutting corners in professionalism; safety is always a number one concern for not only the performers, but also the crew, when perilous action stunts are involved and particularly, with elements of fire.

“Our safety record is excellent," said Beene. “And we are going to keep it like that. Regulations for producing any kind of pyro-technics are certainly more demanding. We are licensed to work with these materials and have years of experience in this area, to recognize potential problems before they arise.”

The efforts of preproduction, strong organizational delivery from all participating parties from Florida to California, and significant team leadership secured the opportunity to present our best show on such short notice, to a welcoming audience.

We are grateful to all those who participated in making the Event Solutions Expo the tremendous success that it was, and we are very honored to be a part of the group that was chosen to work the show.

Dave Thomas
presents
THE WORLD OF MAGIC
906 N. Ann Arbor
Oklahoma City, OK 73127
405-948-2767
www.TheWorldOfMagic.net