Today is a day that I've been working toward for a very long time. A little over 10 years ago I came up with an idea for an original illusion called the Hoverboard. It was based on the flying skateboard called a "Hoverboard" seen in the popular movie Back to the Future. I was in college sitting in my dorm trying to come up with something really cool that had never been done in a magic & illusion show before. All of a sudden BOOM! it hit me....the Hoverboard!

It's been a VERY long road to finally get this thing off the ground (no pun intended). I've been working with a team of builders and consultants to make this crazy idea a reality. Over the years we've gone through numerous concepts just to find out that they wouldn't work. A few years back we came close to having it all figured out then we hit a major snag so it was back to the drawing board. I was about to give up and then someone told me a quote Thomas Edison said when he was trying to invent the lightbulb..."I didn't fail 2,000 times...I just found 2,000 ways it wouldn't work!" That quote became my inspiration to never give up and to keep trying. Let me just say I know a lot of ways the Hoverboard won't work :-)

I'm always pushing myself to bring original material to the stage to create an experience like nothing that's ever been seen before. Specifically original, one-of-a-kind magic combined with my own unique style. I feel audiences deserve to see something new and unique and as a performer it's extremely rewarding to present your own original illusions that can't be purchased from a magic builder. With that said I present to you my latest creation....the Hoverboard!

(Riding my new Hoverboard)


I want to say thank you to my parents Bill & Debbie, Don Wayne, Willie Kennedy, Jim Steinmeyer, Don Horsley, Kristin Miller, Barry Richter, Ryan Reed, Miles Brooks, Jim Brando, Tim Clothier, Tiffany Cincotta, Hallie Meyer, Nate Richter, Tim Cooksy and everyone out there who didn't think I was crazy, believed in the concept and helped make it a reality. THANK YOU!

If you want to catch the Hoverboard in action it can only be seen in our show! It'll be one of the featured illusions in our upcoming tour (select cities)! I hope you get a chance to see it live!

Here's a quick clip we shot when we tested it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsWPgLB36d4

Stay Tuned!

-Bill

My team and I have been adding many new illusions to our show over the past few months. Some of these effects have been in the works for many years.

It's very rewarding seeing these illusions finally hit the stage to be performed in front of live audiences. You can only practice in the shop for so long before you have to put it in front of the people and see how it goes. It's an exciting/scary process but it's the only way to truly grow as an artist and stand out from the other shows out there.

As some of the illusions make their way to the stage others are leaving the shop(s) where we have them fabricated. For example, right now I have a project being built in N. Hollywood at a company called EDF. They are known in the industry for building some of the most cutting-edge magic seen today. My consultant Don Wayne and I actually discussed this original effect over 12 years ago! Recently, Don and I started talking about it again and decided we should go for it and finally make it happen.

Here are a couple of pictures from EDF of it being built. It should be done and on its way to Milwaukee in the next couple of weeks.





I'd love to tell you more about what it is exactly but I'd rather you see it for yourself in our live show! I have a feeling this one is going to be a serious jaw-dropper!

If you're in the Chicagoland area come out and see us this Saturday at 7:30PM at the Metropolis Performing Arts Center in Arlington Heights, IL! We're debuting more new illusions so come check them out.

After the show this Sat. we're going to take some time off to overhaul the show before our tour starts again in Oct.

I hope you're having a great summer.

Bill

We finished our final show of the season this past Friday night at the Capital Theatre at the Overture Center in Madison, WI. It was one heck of a way to send this banner season out in style! I honestly feel it was the best performance we've ever done! Thank you to everyone who came out and made the show a grand success. There's no better way to close out the season than with a packed house and a standing ovation!

(Getting ready to walk thru steel)


We had some amazing moments on stage with my audience volunteer Doug during my Walking Thru Steel illusion. It's always great when the audience yells out random things that end up bringing the house down! It was such an awesome moment as I was starting to pass thru the steel plate and I could hear the massive "WOAH!" sound sweep across the crowd...it gave me chills!

In addition to an awesome night, my consultant Don and I were working very hard to put the finishing touches on some very large projects we have going on. We were able to complete all of our necessary onsite work and I'll be heading out to Hollywood in the coming weeks to start putting all of the data together.

(Don working backstage)


This year was by far our best year ever! My team and I have worked VERY hard to create and present a show unlike any other show out there today. It's been so rewarding seeing more and more venues take notice at our original production. Thank you to all the local crews, presenters and fans who made this tour possible!

I'm taking this week off! Woo Hoo!

Stay tuned for lots of exciting news to come ;-)

Bill

Wow....it's been awhile. I hope everyone one out there is doing well. My team and I have had our hands full with our show schedule and new illusions/projects we've been working on.

This past weekend was a huge milestone for our show. We performed 3 shows, in 3 nights in 3 cities and received 3 standing ovations! Holla! We performed at some amazing venues! Thank you to the local crews and the presenters who made this past weekend possible. In addition, we also successfully tested 3 brand-new illusions! Video and photos are coming soon so stay tuned!

My consultant Don Wayne was onsite with us for the past 5 days. We have a few large projects we're working on and it was great to have him onsite. His insight and knowledge in magic is unparalleled in the industry today and it's an honor to be working with him!

(Don and I chatting backstage)


In addition to staging our new illusions and projects we also had Tom McPhillips onsite with us Friday night. Tom is world renowned in the entertainment industry for his work with acts such as Ricky Martin, Martina McBride, Michael Jackson, Michael Buble', MTV and many more. Tom and I are in the initial stages of a very important project with our show!

(Tom and I going over some concepts backstage)


We have so many exciting things going on right now! Wooooo!! Stay tuned and keep your eye out for many of these great things coming soon!

Up next is Madison, WI, on April 30th! If you're in the area come out and see us!

-Bill

Wooooooooo!! How's everyone out there doing?! We've been having one heck of a wild ride over the past few weeks. As I mentioned in my last post we recently did 5 shows in 3 days. I think I'm still recovering. I don't think we had one night with more than 4-5 hours of straight sleep. Oh course it was our choice to stay up late and enjoy the hotel lounge but it was worth it :-)

Our first stop was the Sherman Theatre in PA. As we rolled into town the day before we were looking around and BOOM! we found the theatre. Here's a quick pic I took from the car and I didn't even hit the guy stopped in front of me!



The audience here was great and we had an awesome time. A few notable people in the magic industry came out to see our show. It was cool catching up after the show.

After PA we took off to CT for 2 shows on Saturday. We had a few "issues" on the drive there. My assistant and I were following behind the truck in our super stellar blue Hyundai rental car. The long and short of it is the guys driving the truck ended up on the wrong road! Commercial trucks were prohibited from being on the road since there were low bridges (8')! I'm not going to mention any names...(Tim)...but the guys ended up exiting and having to call the state police to escort them off of the highway. Personally, I just think they like escorts. In the end everyone arrived safe and we crashed out since we had an early load in.

My team always amazes me and not just because they let me sleep in while they load in the show. However, on this occasion the venue posed a few minor challenges so my production manager called and woke me up and asked me to come down to the theatre to check things out. We got everything set and before we knew it show time was upon us!

Here's my team (The MOBB) posing for a quick pic before the start of the evening show. I was busy exploring the back stage area while the photo op was going on.



I scored HUGE on my exploration! I came across a conference room that had a large stuffed animal on the table. People in this business always say life on the road is like a rodeo....you bet it is!

(yeeeeehaaaawwww!!!)


Well, for the next few weeks I'm going to be busy in the shop working on a new appearance and a couple of other surprises we're working on for our shows in Michigan. We have 3 shows in 3 days in Michigan coming up here in just a few weeks. If you're in the area come out and see us! The week after our MI run we'll be in Madison, WI, at the Overture Center's Capital Theatre! It's an amazing venue and we're looking forward to performing there!

We have new tour dates and a bunch of other goodies coming soon so stay tuned!!

BB3

My team and I have been rocking the shows this weekend across the east coast. We were in PA on Fri, CT tonight and NJ tomorrow. We are having a blast!! We had tons of walk up sales in CT today and packed both shows! Thank you to everyone who came out!

Tomorrow we are performing our new style cabaret show in NJ! It's an amazing new concept that we've been working on with my consultant Don Wayne. Both of our shows are sold out! It's not everday people get a chance to experience grand scale magic in such an intimate setting! Going to be an awesome time.

Stay tuned!!!

BB3

We had an awesome time in Green Bay, WI, this past weekend! Thank you to everyone who came out to see us. It was great being back! My family even made the trip to the frozen tundra to come see the show :-)

We had a few extra hours before the start of the show so we decided to do some testing on a new illusion we've been working on. The illusion is called "Departed" and it's an original idea I came up with a few years back. Many revisions later and we finally moved forward with building the actual prop. It came in last week from Las Vegas and I was thrilled to have a chance to work with it before our show on Friday night. This illusion is AMAZING!! It seriously made me jump up and down screaming! It will be in our line up starting the first week of March so I hope you can see it for yourself!

(Testing "Departed" on stage in Green Bay)


Show time came quickly so we packed up Departed and got ready to kick things off. 7:30 came and wham! the show started. The Meyer Theatre is where we performed and it was one of the first true theatres that I've ever performed in when I was getting started in the illusion business. My team always says performing in Green Bay is like coming home to where it all began. A few of my old crew members even made the trip to come see the show. It's amazing how 2 hours feels like it goes by in a blink! In the end it was a great show! Thank you again everyone!

Afterward I had the pleasure of meeting many of those in attendance. I always love to hear what people have to say about their favorite illusion(s), etc. We even had some aspiring magicians in the crowd. One of which even took a minute to show me a really neat card trick after the show. He did an excellent job showing me a card trick that involved some complicated magic sleights.

(The tables are turned...now I get to watch in amazement!)


At the end of the meet and greet line was the luckiest man in the crowd...Larry. He will forever be known to us as "Larry the Beer Guy." I've been doing a routine in my show for years called "Hospitality" which is an illusion with a milk carton that can pour virtually any drink at any time. This was the first show we poured beer from the carton and when it came time to hand it our for a taste the crowd went crazy! It's true what they say about WI and their beer! Hahhaa! Larry was the lucky man selected to taste the beer and he came up after the show and told me it was great and had me sign his cup!

(Larry the Beer Guy!)


I can't thank everyone enough for coming to the show and supporting us over the years. It means a lot to me and my entire crew. Thank you Matt, Tim, Paula and the entire gang up there who made it all possible. Can't wait to see you all again!

-BB3

This past Sat our show returned to the S. Milwaukee Performing Arts Center. It was a packed house and the show ended with a standing ovation! We are on a roll with those! My team and I had a great time working with the entire team at the SMPAC and performing for everyone who came out!

Here are a few snaps from the show of my Walking Thru Steel illusion.






We're off to Green Bay for our show on Jan. 29th. We will be debuting 2 new illusions that night! Hope to see you there!

BB3

For over the past year I've been working on a new illusion called Walking Thru Steel. The effect was designed by world renowned magic designer Jim Steinmeyer. My team and I have been performing it at select dates this year and working hard to find the "sweet spot" for the full routine. After 6 months of performance we've finally found it!

I've received e-mails from many people asking to see some pictures and video of the effect. So, I'm attaching some pics for everyone to check out. However, if you want to see the routine you'll have to come to the show :-)

Here are some pics from a recent practice.












I hope you dig it!

-BB3

After our shows on Friday and Saturday in Springfield, MA, we immediately took off for our overnight drive to Wilmington, DE. The GPS had us getting in just after 4am and our load in at the theatre was at 7am! It wasn't too bad of a drive and we got to see the NYC skyline as we drove by. I've never been to NYC so it was a cool site to see.

After a few quick hours of sleep our day began. We had the pleasure of playing at the Grand Opera House in Wilmington, DE. The building is absolutely stunning! When I came around the corner downtown and saw it my mouth dropped. The organization behind this historic facility has done an amazing job restoring this beautiful space. It was almost demolished!



It's so sad that many of these historic places have been demolished and turned into parking lots over the years. They are so rich in history and it's almost like going back in time when you step through the doors into the lobby. Speaking of that...what was really neat is that the new lobby was built around the original exterior. When you look down the hall you can see the original brick exterior. Here a shot of it below.



We had a great show here which capped off with a standing ovation! We're on a roll with them :-) After the show was done I spent about an hour in the lobby signing autographs and meeting with the fans. Afterward I walked around a took a few more pictures and in one of them I think I caught a ghost! The pic is below....look on the left side on the back pillar by the cart. If you download the pic and zoom in there appears to be a mans face staring at me. Many of these historic places we play are haunted. I'm just fortunate that the spirits must like our shows because they always seem to be cooperative with us.

(ghost pic)


Until next time!

-BB3

I had the pleasure of performing at City Stage in Springfield, MA, over the weekend. We made the long journey from Milwaukee to perform for a total of 3 shows. All I can say is that the place rocked! It was a different stage style than we are used to performing on but it was so cool! Usually when you're onstage you have to walk down the steps to interact with the audience...but not here! You can literally walk right up to everyone because they are on the same level.

If you've been to my show you know how interactive it is so I loved this theatre. Though I do think I freaked a woman out in the front row when I walked up to her and asked her what she was drinking. She swore it was just coke....riiiiiiight ;-)

My team and I had a great time peforming at City Stage over the 2 days we were there. The audiences were loud and awesome and the feedback at the meet and greets after the shows was amazing! Thank you to everyone who came out! We hope to see you again very soon!

-BB3

(Theater Lobby)


(Yes...this is my favorite shirt)

(Stage prior to the start of the show)

This past weekend my team and I had a return performance in Maquoketa, Iowa. The staff and crew at the Ohnward Fine Arts Center are an amazing group of people and we always enjoy working with them. They have a beautiful theatre that holds close to 800 patrons. We last performed here just over 1.5 years ago so we were looking forward to coming back.

My crew headed out to IA from our shop on Friday night but I was staying home the extra day and joining them in the morning. My fiance' and I took off early Sat to head to IA to meet the crew and ended up getting stopped coming through IL for not having a front license plate on my car! The cop asked me if I by chance had $75 cash on me...hmmmm...I wonder if Officer Schmidt was looking to make a deal? Needless to say I got my ticket and was on my way.

Once I got the venue I caught up with the crew and started working on polishing up the illusions for the show. I'm very particular on how each illusion looks on stage and spend a lot of time maintaining their appearance. After all it is show business!

(polishing the plate for Thru Steel)


Show time came and the audience was packing into the theatre. I thought it was really neat how they project sponsors and information about the show onto the theatre walls.



The audience was great and the show flew by! Afterward I had the pleasure of meeting with a few fellow magicians who came out to see the show. They had some really nice comments and feedback on the show. It's always a pleasure seeing other performers come out to show their support.

Afterward we headed off to El Cazador for some mexican food and then to the Decker Inn to catch up with our good friend Troy who owns the place. We made friends with him last time we were in town so it was nice spending a few hours catching up.

Thank you Iowa for a great weekend!

-BB3

Hey everyone! We just got back in from our performance last night in Ladysmith, WI. We made an overnight drive to Milwaukee for an event this afternoon. Thank goodness for Monster Energy Drink! We had a great show last night and yet another standing ovation! Ladysmith...you rock and we hope to see you again soon! Thank you to everyone who came out! We're off to Iowa!

-BB3

(Illusion testing before the show)

Last night we performed at the amazing Paramount Theatre in Anderson, IN. My crew and I had an awesome time and thank you to everyone who came out! In addition to a haunted theatre it was really neat performing Houdini's Metamorphosis illusion on the 83rd anniversary of his death. Overall, we had a great show and received a standing ovation to end the performance! Going to get some rest now. We're off to Ladysmith, WI, next!

Stay Tuned!

BB3

This year has been a banner year for our show. We successfully completed the first leg of our east coast tour with standing ovations at every show, added our brand-new illusion "Walking Thru Steel" into the show line up and are continuing work on various other projects that we're hoping will hit the stage soon. Not to mention we also have a very solid tour schedule coming up this fall! It seems like the days just keep getting shorter and shorter and the to do list is getting longer and longer. I'm very fortunate to have the dedication of a key group of people who make up The Magic of Bill Blagg III (MOBB). Without this team our show wouldn't exist.

We've been in the shop lately putting the finishing touches on a number of projects that have been in the works for some time now. We just completed testing this weekend on an illusion I designed with my good friend Ryan Reed over a year ago. It's been through various design and fabrication changes before finally becoming the piece it is today. I want to thank my dad and Tim Clothier for their amazing fabrication work to make this illusion possible. Now that testing is out of the way we're going to start adapting the illusion for the stage by adding the lighting and the music to bring it all together. Once it's all set the prop will head over to be powder coated and have some last minute additions placed on it before being introduced into the show. It's been a long time coming but the final result is well worth the wait!

Here's a few pics from testing this weekend.




In addition to this illusion we're also actively working on 5 other effects. One has been in the works for close to 8 years now! Mostly because I can't seem to make up my mind on it but I think I've finally got it figured out :-) We did some initial testing with it this weekend and realized the direction we were going just wasn't going to work. With that being said we had to scrap over 2 years of work and head a completely different direction. I feel very confident in this new direction so hopefully I'll have an update on things in the next few months. Sometimes things work and sometimes they don't...that's the joy of creating new material.

With all of the hard work my team and I put in it's important to take some time away to recharge the batteries. We make it a point to have a fun night out from time to time so we can relax and catch up on everyday life. It's so rewarding to not only have a team of great people helping to make this all possible but also being able to call them my best friends.

Here's a snap of us from a recent night out. We were hoping the booth would vanish like in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure but it never happened.



As always stay tuned! We have a lot of exciting news on the way.

-BB3