Magic show to offer ‘Altered Reality’
Megan Feddersen — Staff WriterArticle Photos
FAIRMONT - Ladies and gentlemen, forget what you know, or think you know, about magic. Because all that is about to change.
"Altered Reality" is billed as "an all-ages roller coaster ride of pure mayhem." And it's coming to Fairmont.
Dual headliners for the event are magicians Dan Sperry and Reza. They're two young men, returning for a quick stint in their native Midwest after establishing themselves in the tricky business of magic.
At 7 p.m. Friday, they'll appear at the Fairmont Opera House.
"Expect a show unlike anything that's come through Fairmont," Sperry said.
The lights, the props, the sound ... the magic are reminiscent of what people have seen on TV, only live. However, Reza and Sperry, considered cutting edge in their field, may have a different style than traditional illusionists.
"I'm more theatrical," said Sperry, whose tricks are more intense than pulling a rabbit from a top hat. "I was really influenced by other things."
Other things being music and film, especially from the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Tim Burton, creating a far-out element intended to invoke feeling and emotion, Sperry said.
According to www.alteredrealitylive.com, Sperry is the three-time winner of the Award of Merit from the International Brotherhood of Magicians, one of the youngest magicians to headline the Magic Castle in Hollywood, and he was awarded as an International Champion by the World Magic Seminar in Las Vegas when he was 17. He is currently featured in The World's Greatest Magic Show in Las Vegas.
But trace his path back to the small town of Litchfield, where 24-year-old Sperry grew up, and his career didn't start with a bang, but rather a whimper.
Sperry was a young child when his family took him to see David Copperfield. There was a trick where the illusionist had to escape from a spinning blade but something seemed to go wrong. The blade fell, but not before Copperfield disappeared.
"That really frightened me," Sperry said.
To help Sperry overcome his fear and understand the reality behind the illusion, his family bought him magic kits and sets to learn for himself.
His fear of magic soon turned into an obsession. When his mother thought he was doing homework in his room, he was rehearsing his tricks. When he'd watch wrestling on TV every Monday night, he would practice sleight of hand moves. While he sat in math class, he'd be working with a deck of cards under his desk.
As a child, he entertained other children at parties. By age 10, he was performing professionally. His family, who once encouraged his interest in magic, was leery at first of Sperry's career choice as a magician.
"Now they enjoy it," he said.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Reza also had an early introduction to the art of magic. Originally from Brookings, S.D., Reza interest developed as a 6-year-old after seeing a stage magician and watching David Copperfield on television. It started as a hobby, doing tricks at friends' birthday parties. Then, as he started making money from his shows, he kept reinvesting his profits into bigger and better tricks.
In middle school, he became serious about refining his skills, and by high school he was performing at large-scale shows in full auditoriums. In 2002, just turned 15, Reza took his show to Branson, Mo., performing three shows per day, six days per week for that summer.
"Doing that much magic allowed me to hone things and come up with original concepts," he said.
He knew he wanted to do his own illusions, things people had never seen before - things people cared about and could relate to - like predicting the future, a feat he will demonstrate Friday.
After touring larger venues and performing in Las Vegas, Reza looks forward to bringing his act to a smaller setting, where "all the seats are 100 feet away. It's up close and personal," he said. "With a larger audience, you lose that connection after the first 20 rows. This way, the show feeds off the audience."
Tickets for Altered Reality are available at www.alteredrealitylive.com, Hy-Vee Foods, the American Cancer Society or at the door. Doors will open at 6 p.m., one hour prior to show time. General admission is $10, with $20 for a VIP pass, which allows guests access to front-row reserved seating, a special meet-and-greet directly following the show, a free autographed poster, a free wrist band and magic trick.
Part of the proceeds from the event will benefit the American Cancer Society Relay for Life program.
