This is the seventh in a series of "Thirty
seconds with ..." interviews, so called because I approached the
interviewees at Sorcerers Safari Magic and Performance Arts Camp last summer with the idea that I
would interview them for 30 seconds. It didn't always work that way.
Professional magician Mark Correia from Toronto, Ontario is probably best known for spending two weeks inside a straitjacket last summer, to raise awareness for Parkinson's Disease. In November 2014, Record Setter recognized Mark with a
World Record for the "Longest Time Wearing a Straitjacket." Mark
raised over $15 000 through his efforts.
FUN FACT:
Mark performed for Usher at The Magic Castle.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Mark's pre-show routine involves rolling up his pant-legs an hour before show time, and then rolling them down right before the show starts?
- Mark is also working on a book and documentary about his experience with the Escaping Parkinson's straitjacket endurance stunt. Keep an eye out for the book as early as this summer!.
Three year old Mark was bitten by the magic bug when "The Wacky Wizard" performed his (Mark's) birthday party. Mark started performing professionally at the age of five. He was at
The Browser's Den of Magic when he first heard that Sorcerers Safari Magic and Performance Arts Camp was "the" place to be if you were a young performer interested in magic. One of his favourite things about camp is that you get to spend time with the people that literally wrote the books he reads. In fact, when Mark thinks about magic camp, it's the amazing special guests that come first to mind. Mark's spent seven seasons at Sorcerers Safari, two of which have been as a counsellor in training. Needless to say, camp feels like family to him.
When Mark's not being magical, he's probably treading the boards in the Dramatic Arts Program at The National Theatre School of Canada or acting professionally in Toronto.
From the
Fireside Productions Facebook page:
Previously published "Thirty seconds with ..." interviews: