MISDIRECTION – An Unbelievable Night of Comedy & Magic! Grab your tickets now!! Get ready for a mind-bending night of magic, mentalism, and laughter with MISDIRECTION—a show where reality bends, thoughts are stolen, and the impossible becomes possible! This 19+ event, produced by FunnyPeople.ca, brings together two of Canada’s most mesmerizing and hilarious performers for an unforgettable evening that will leave you amazed, entertained, and questioning everything you thought you knew.
Featuring the magic and mentalism of:
Canada's top Mentalist, Ryan Edwards @mentalism.ca
I’m excited to headline this show happening February 21st at 7:30pm! I’ve been
developing a full 1hr stand up magic show and will be performing a small piece
of it here. Get a sneak peek into my chaotic magic mind, it will be a night
you won’t forget!
HAMILTON! We are back January 31st at the historic Staircase Theatre! If your new resolution was to laugh so hard that you puke your guts out, then you should grab some damn tickets to this show and puke with us!
This month’s performers Ryan Visser Megan Myke Daniel Araya Bita Joudaki AJ Bate Kyle Bergstresser
Based on our
previous travel experience
to Niagara Falls, KOP and I again added an hour to the Google projected travel
time, with the hopes we could wander around Hamilton prior to the show.
The traffic gods, however, had other plans. Luckily, we arrived with
plenty of time to find parking, a rest room, and get checked in at a leisurely
pace.
This was our first time at the Hamilton Fringe!
Graeme's show is at the Elaine Mae Theatre adjacent to
The Staircase. (Check their website for instructions on where to find alternate
parking if their lot is full.)
The Elaine Mae Theatre is a cozy theatre space which comfortably seats
approximately 40 people.
The venue has air conditioning.
There is a flight of stairs up to the venue. Contact the theatre
directly to see if they offer accommodations.
If you require a rest room, they will send you over to The Staircase.
(Which has a good number of stairs to get from the sidewalk to the main
floor.)
Each Fringe attendee is required to purchase (and wear) $4 Hamilton Fringe
button. (We confused the volunteer staff outside the venue by trying
to pay for the button with cash. We apparently broke some generally
known (except to us) norm. We're still not sure what payment methods
they prefer, as eventually they let us trade our sheet of plastic and our
coins for two buttons.)
Fringe volunteers also have tip buckets and Fringe fund raising buckets,
into which they request you donate cash in support of the Fringe. (So
apparently cash isn't taboo for everything.)
All ticket sale proceeds go to the performers.
On with the show...
The performance space is intimate, capable of seating approximately 40
people.
It is general admission seating. If sitting at the front is
important to you, arrive early.
Unless you are short and there's a tall person sitting in front of you,
there are no bad seats in the house. (The seating is NOT
raked. All the chairs are on the same level. The stage is
raised.)
The show is highly interactive. There were more than a dozen
volunteers and a segment which required the whole audience to
participate.
Only a handful of the volunteers were required to get on stage.
Volunteers were treated with dignity and respect.
While not crafted as a "children's magic show," the (guardian
accompanied) children in the audience were very engrossed and
entertained!
The show is targeted as "Parental Guidance (ages 13+)." We feel
this has less to do with the content of the show and more to do with young
children's abilities to follow instructions and to sit still for the
duration of the show (approximately one hour).
Graeme could have very easily created an entertaining show, performing
his selection of magical effects as documented (and performed by countless
other magicians).
With a delightful impact, however, he highly personalizes his conjuring,
adding to the entertainment value of each of the sequences by making them
unique to his "Graemazing Level 7 Wizard" persona.
The description for the show "Graemazing is a Level 7 Wizard with a black
belt in card magic and a starfish badge in mind reading, totally real"
tells you upfront that the show isn't going to take itself overly
seriously!
If you're looking for a show that invokes super heroes, comic books,
trading cards, breakfast cereals, John Cena, and movies from the 90s, look
no further!
There were many very strong, almost visceral, audience reactions to his
well-crafted performance.
Graeme's improvisation expertise, combined with his re-imagining of
classic effects, elevates his more than capable wizardry, and creates an
engaging show unique to every audience!
The experience was unquestionably, Graemazing!
Disclosure: KOP and I were guests at this show. The opinions
expressed above are entirely our own. We did not receive compensation for
the writing or the publishing of this article.
If you have been thinking about checking out one of these MAGIC & VARIETY shows at @thestaircase , June 19th is the last one for a while. Featuring encore performances by @graemazing and @scotthammell and hosted by @nickwallacelive . These shows have been a blast. Hopefully there will be more down the road. But this is it for now. Hope to see you there!
Since entering the world of magic at a young age, one thing is clear, Reed
has opened a host of opportunities for himself, from doing a TEDx talk, to
being Doug “the Great” Hunt’s Guinness World Record Verification and
Video\Photograph Coordinator, he continues to work on projects that nurture
his passions.
His advice for those looking into getting into
magic, is simple.
“If anyone was interested in really learning
magic and discovering more, there are local magic clubs you should look into
joining,” he said. “The best person to reach out to would actually probably
be Doug Hunt because he’s the president of the local Hamilton Magic Club. I
first met him at the club when I was a kid, and it’s people like Doug that
keep someone like me doing magic.”
The following is a guest post from
Graeme Reed. This article first appeared in the December 2023 issue of
VANISH Magic Magazine
issue #113, pages 40-43. Reprinted with permission.
--
Doug Hunt, October 21, 2023 Photo credit: Donna
Thompson
Walking Tall for Brantford
On October 21, 2023, Doug Hunt aka “Doug the Great”, made history when he
broke the Guinness World Record (GWR) for Mastering the Tallest Stilts,
walking 14 steps at 55 feet above the ground. In front of fellow entertainers
from around the world and his community of Brantford, Ontario, Canada, Doug
successfully reclaimed the record that he first earned over 20 years
ago.
In the city of Brantford, “The Centre of the Universe,” as
Walter Gretzky would say, besides walking on stilts and entertaining the masses,
Doug is best known for his love and support of the community. Working as head of
fundraising at Participation Support Services Brantford for over 40 years, Doug
has always found creative ways to build awareness and raise money while
empowering everyone around him.
The attempt occurred at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre’s (WGSC) 10th
anniversary celebrations. Inside the sports complex is a museum dedicated to
Brantford’s greatest athletes. To see Walter and Wayne Gretzky's historical
hockey memorabilia, you first walk under The World's Tallest Stilts. Walter
Gretzky was famous in Brantford for signing autographs with his branded blue
Sharpie – blue never fades. To pay homage, Doug, with the help of local
sponsors, made up custom blue markers for sponsors and anyone who donated to
sign his record-breaking stilts.
Among those in attendance was Nicole Lee; this is how she experienced the
truly amazing day:
–
A victorious Doug Hunt! Photo credit: Gary Foster
Daughter Megan, grandson Seth, Doug Hunt, and David McKee (Brantford Town Crier)
A large-scale stunt like this is only possible with community
support. There is a list longer than 55 feet of people who donated their time,
money, and passion to the project, not just to break a record but to raise
awareness and donations for
Participation Support Services Brantford
whose mandate it is to “support adults with physical disabilities and complex
needs to live as independently as possible.” Everything from the one-of-a-kind
stilts, aerial lift, two cranes, and so much more was all donated to spotlight
a truly amazing cause.
While Doug reclaimed the record at 14 steps on October 21 at the
WGSC, the official submission is 16 steps at 55 feet high, achieved on October
17th, 2023, at Brantwood Farms in front of a small public audience.
Congratulations to Doug Hunt of Brantford, Ontario for reclaiming his Guinness
World Record of Mastering the Tallest Stilts and being truly amazing.
The silo.
Training with Coach Tom
A winning team!
--
Congratulations Doug, on this amazing accomplishment!
(Doug) Hunt is set to make another Guinness World Record attempt for stilt walking during the 10th anniversary of the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre rebuild on Saturday, October 21, 2023.
In anticipation for the event, Hunt and his camp are preparing for a fundraising event called the “Great Event” to be held on Thursday, September 21, 2023.
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Participation Support Services Brantford, Brant and Norfolk.
“The September event will be like a pre-party leading up the October attempt,” said Tammy Hunt, Doug’s niece. “The event will be to help raise money in support of Participation Support Services, which is his ‘why’ for this fundraiser. The celebration will almost be like a big community hug for him.”
Backed by a strong team of supporters, the multi-talented Brantford entertainer is going after the Guinness World Record for the tallest stilts ever mastered. Wearing stilts that will measure close to 55 feet in height, Hunt will attempt to take 10 steps in front of the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre on Oct. 21.
The world-record event will be part of the Gretzky Centre’s 10th anniversary celebration.
“I’ll be on the stilts and taking the steps but this is a team effort,” Hunt, also known as Doug The Great, said. “Tom (Rollins) is back, Dave Levac is handling the logistics and my niece Tammy (Hunt), Joshua (Wall), Robb (Nagy) are also helping out and doing some fundraising.
“We have a terrific team working on this and I’m really grateful for the support.”
Arron Jeavons, Trevor Cherewka, Tom Hunt, Gary Foster and Graeme Reed are also on the “On The Record Team.”
