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

Hey everyone! Just finished setting up my official Twitter page. If you are on Twitter follow me!

-BB3

This past weekend I took a much deserved vacation with my fiance' and her family. For our quick 4 day getaway we decided to head up to Wisconsin Dells to take in some sun and water slides. We were fortunate to have plenty of both. We stayed at the Chula Vista Resort and had a blast at their indoor and outdoor water park. I ended up spending a bit too much time in the sun and have the burn to show it.

Saturday night my fiance' and I went in town to see The Magic of Rick & Susan Wilcox at the Rick Wilcox Theatre. It has been close to four years since I'd seen the show last so I was looking forward to catching up with the both of them and seeing their new illusions. If you go to the Dells and haven't seen their show...GO! They present a wonderful 90 minute illusion show that caters to adults and kids alike. Their theatre is beautiful and first class all of the way just like the illusions in their show. Their show is a must see for anyone visiting in the area.

After the show we had the pleasure of heading out with Rick and Susan for a bite to eat and some great conversation. It's always a pleasure being able to catch up with them. They are two of the nicest people in this business and have worked extremely hard to get where they are today.

It was a great 4 days away and now it's back to the grind. Have some very exciting news coming shortly about an effect that has been in the works for close to 9 years!!! Stay tuned!

-BB3

We just capped off our summer tour with a SOLD OUT performance at the Metropolis Performing Arts Center. I know everyone is wondering...but Superman wasn't there. I think he had a date.

The Metropolis is located just outside of Chicago and is truly a remarkable facility. They run a class act operation and it was a pleasure working with everyone there.

A big thank you to everyone who came out for the show. To those of you who couldn't get tickets (the waiting list was over 100+ households long) rumor has it we'll be back next year!

My team and I had a great time working with the crew at the Metropolis to bring the show to life. It was a great time and there is no better way to finish a season but with a standing ovation!

If you've been to our live show in the past few months you've seen the new illusions making their way into the show. We have many more we're currently working on that will hit the stage when we return on Oct. 31st at the Paramount in IN. Until then...have a great summer...we're still waiting for it to show up here in WI!

-BB3

(The Mobb Crew and Metropolis Crew after the show)

Took a trip to northern Wisconsin for the annual hog wrestling tournament that is held there. It's honestly one of the craziest events I've ever been to! It's not everyday you see a group of grown men dressed up like Umpa Lumpa's from Willie Wonka!

Thousands of people come to the small town of Crivitz every year for "Hog" as they call it. We stayed with my good friends Shelly and Mike at their cabin. We had a great time sitting around the fire singing songs and grilling brats and burgers. This is definately something you can only do in Wisconsin! Can't wait to go back next year!

-BB3

Hollar! We've been covering a lot of ground lately. Over 2,300 miles in 3 days! Thank goodness diesel prices are lower this year than last.

I've picked up a new phrase while being on this leg of the tour :-) Here it is..."SNAP DRAGON!" I have no idea where I got it from or what it means but it's driving everyone nuts. Hahahaha! So next time you have the chance give it a try....be like "oh man...snap dragon!"

We have the week off and then next weekend we'll be right outside of Chicago at the Metroplis Performing Arts Center. Last I heard the show was close to sold out so hopefully it is by now. We're definately looking forward to the show!

As always working on a bunch of new toys and slowly getting them into the show one by one. It's always so tough deciding what to take out to make room.

Before I go I have to send a shout out to my biggest fan out east...Donna. Hey Donna! My crew and I thank you for breakfast and hope to see you again soon!

Stay Tuned!

-BB3

We've been traveling a lot lately and my laptop is on the fritz so I haven't been able to post. My team and I spent last weekend performing in Pittsfield, MA, at the historic Colonial Theatre. The entire staff and stage crew of the Colonial were a dream to work with and we thank everyone for their hard work!

We were actually in town a few days prior to our shows. This gave us the opportunity to be a part of the Pittsfield 4th of July Parade which is one of the top 5 July 4th parades in the country!

(lining up for the parade)


In addition to the parade we were also featured guests at the Pittsfield baseball game at Wahconah Park which has been hosting baseball games since 1892!! It's one of 2 baseball fields in the country that actually have a sun delay! The game was held for about 15 minutes due to the angle of the sun to home plate and the players not being able to see. We all had a really great time at the game!

We had 2 shows on Sunday (7/5) and debuted my new Walking Thru Steel illusion. I'm excited to say based on the audience reaction...it was a hit!!! We received a standing ovation at both shows which is always a great way to complete a performance.

After the show my team and I met up with my agent Simon to grab a late night snack before we headed to Boston to catch our flight.

(team photo after the show)


We had a great time in Pittsfield and look forward to coming back. Thank you to everyone who came out and made the show such a great success!

Pittsfield you rock!

-BB3

My team and I have been working very hard lately on some new illusions that have been in the works for a long time. The process of creating new magic and getting it to the stage is a very long one. It all starts with an idea and takes off from there. We take those ideas and sit around and have lengthy conversations about them and literally dissect every possible option. What will it do, how will it look, in what order will things happen, how can we make those things happen, etc. Then we turn to my good friend Ryan to provide us a 3D rendering of the illusion so we can look at it from every angle and actually watch it prior to it ever being built. It's amazing what technology allows us to do!

Breaking new ground is always a challenge b/c you have to go through a lot of trial and error to find what works and what doesn't. It can be frustrating at times but I always think back to a great quote I heard years ago. Someone said to Thomas Edison while he was inventing the light bulb "You failed over 2,000 times" and his reply was "Of course not, I just discovered 2,000 ways it wouldn't work!" Nothing could be more true. The same goes when creating magic illusions.

We currently have 4 projects in the works right now. Three of these projects are actually fabricated and one is working 100% and will be added to the line up very soon. We're still working out the little details on the other two but with a few more weeks of shop time we should have them all figured out soon.

It's very rewarding seeing these things come together after the investment of so much time. Be on the look out for these new effects in our tour this fall.

-BB3

(here's a shot of one of our new illusions being tested this past weekend)

As many of you know I'm from Wisconsin. Holla to the chedda! There is a rumor out there that we're working on a levitating cow illusion for the show.

The idea came up over dinner while I was in Vegas last month. We were sitting around and joking about doing an illusion with a levitating cow. Tim Clothier's wife was quick to point out that the effect had already been done by a performer overseas.

Obviously this was all a big joke over dinner but Tim felt it had merit and found me the perfect cow for the job! Check her out...isn't she a beauty?!

Be sure to catch the levitating cow in my tour this fall (obviously I'm joking)!

-BB3



*No cows were hurt in the taking of this photo. This is not a real cow.