Magic is based on surprise and the unexpected. Some of the most fun I have performing is taking magic and putting it in places where people don't suspect it. My favourite instance of this was a few years ago when a company invited me to perform at their annual general meeting. However, the meeting was scheduled for April 1 so instead of listing a magic performance on the agenda, I was stuck in the middle and listed as a speaker on Corporate Governance from the University of Toronto. It was a very much welcomed change of pace for the meeting and everyone went into the second half with a great deal more attention and energy than they would have otherwise.
What particularly surprised me was that following the meeting, several people asked me about my corporate governance training. Of course I have none; I was a math major. But it's interesting how a lie will linger even after the source of the lie has been discredited.
I only bring this up now, because this effect is a double-edged sword. I was recently invited to perform a sixty-fifth birthday party. One particularly imaginative woman took the initiative to go around before I performed and told people that I was the stripper.
Go figure.
