Thoughts from The Business Magician
Kostya’s Blog
Virtual Magic Shows: A Message For My Colleagues
Kostya Kimlat is leading the way in the new medium of virtual magic shows. Here is his advice for his colleagues.
Hosting an event with little or no alcohol? Here’s the kind of entertainment that “sober curious” people go crazy for.
if you’re hosting an event and looking for entertainment that will delight both drinkers and the newly minted group of “sober curious,” interactive, strolling, close-up magic is the greatest shared experience you can create for your audience. Magic has universal appeal and is the ideal form of entertainment beloved by people who aren’t drinking just as much as those who are.
How To Catch a Playing Card In Mid Air
Want to learn to catch a playing card from a deck of playing cards that are flying by? I'm happy to teach you. Anyone can do this. It just takes practice.
I decided to reveal the method myself because I think "revealed" videos that are prevalent on YouTube are just terrible. They steal from the artist; they give away their art of craft without permission. And they steal from the viewer, who is given the illusion of knowledge.
I wanted to beat them to the punch this time. Not just by making my own "revealed" video first, but by selecting a magic trick to perform on TV that would only grow in appreciation when "exposed."
After retiring this trick for a decade, I brought it back for Penn & Teller
Without giving away too much, let me tell you a little bit about the trick I decided to perform this time, on Season 5 of “Fool Us.”
The effect is catching a selected playing card while the cards are falling down in a cascade that magicians call a "dribble."
It's the hardest trick I do. I stopped doing it because it brought me too much stress.
So why in the world would I want to perform it when I have just one chance to get it right, in front of Penn & Teller and millions of people watching it at home?
A Close-Up Magician Is Easing the Tension Between North and South Korea
When the leaders of North and South Korea came together today after their meeting on denuclearization, they brought in a magician to “break the ice and get everyone laughing.” A Korean magician engaged the group of world leaders with close-up magic, weaving in humor to get the group relaxed and laughing together.
As a magician, I have to tell you that I couldn’t be happier to have this amazing secret of magic revealed to the world. Now everyone can see that by creating a shared moment of laughter and wonder, magic brings people together, no matter their race, age, or political, economic or philosophical perceptions and beliefs.
Can Watching Magic Tricks Transform Your Health?
Watching magic makes you happier and healthier. As long as it’s astonishing and awe-inspiring magic. That’s what science is showing in the new Parade article, “Feeling Awe May Be the Secret to Health and Happiness.” And it’s not the first time that scientists are providing proof for what magicians have been instinctually uncovering for centuries.
As a professional magician I have the front row to the amazing reactions that occur when people see magic.
Magic classes for adults begin tomorrow at Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts
This fall, my team of magicians and I will be teaching a Magic Class for adults at one of the most exquisite performing arts centers in the country, the newly built Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts in downtown Orlando.
After an action packed week-long summer session for kids covered by News 13 and FOX 35, we’re doing a special six week session for adults eighteen and up.
Am I risking my career by exposing the secrets of magic?
Will I get kicked out of the magician’s alliance?
Yes. Totally. The secrets I am going to reveal in class will make even Penn & Teller blush.
Watch the Kardashians magically vanish
I just broke my cardinal rule for doing magic on TV.
Don’t do anything new you just came up with last night.
But this… I couldn’t resist.
Here’s how I made the Kardashians vanish for news anchor John Brown, of FOX.
He asked for it.
“Did you really get Penn high?” And Other Frequently Asked Questions
I’m overwhelmed by the positive response to my performance on Penn & Teller: Fool Us. I’ve received emails and calls from around the world from friends and clients and have been following the fascinating online comments and posts from strangers on YouTube, reddit and twitter! Here are my answers to the most frequently asked questions:
Was Penn really mad at you?
The reason Penn was so angry is because he and Teller have done versions of this classic trick themselves.
Why I Performed for Penn & Teller
At the beginning of this year I received an e-mail invitation to perform on Penn & Teller’s hit TV show on the CW network, “Penn & Teller: Fool Us.”
A dozen thoughts went through my head. How do I respond? What do I perform? What will Penn possibly say on national television when he and Teller figure me out? How will he expose me in front of millions of viewers? Then I read the last sentence of the email and all those frantic questions flew out of my mind. “You were recommended to us by Johnny Thompson.” Without a second thought, I responded to say I would do the show.
A Surprise Package from the Carbonaro Effect
There’s an awesome magic show on TV called The Carbonaro Effect.
I tweeted about it because I think it’s great. TruTV responded back and 5 days later I received an awesome gift in the mail.
The gift was a sweet, reversible sweatshirt. And it came with this clever card.