Magician will unveil newspaper predictions Saturday
By Lee B. Roberts
Journal Times | Posted: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 12:00 am
On Sept. 29, Bill Blagg III turned on his tape recorder and recorded what he predicts will be the headlines for this Saturday's Journal Times and Kenosha News.
The magician and illusionist, who lives in Pleasant Prairie, then packed up the cassette tape containing his predictions and immediately shipped it, via Federal Express, to the Special Events office at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
The box has remained sealed - with original labeling and tracking information intact - since its arrival at the university, according to Dwight Vaught, special events coordinator at UW-Parkside. The sealed box has been displayed publicly on campus, Vaught said, but its contents are known to no one but Blagg.
That will all change on Saturday night when the magician's tape will be played as part of his full-scale, touring illusion show which will take place at 6 p.m. at Parkside's Communication Arts Theatre as part of the university's Arts Alive! series. A member of the audience will remove the tamper tape, open the box and play the cassette, and that moment will be the first time anyone other than Blagg will know his predictions, Vaught said.
If he is wrong, Blagg promises to give $100 cash to all those who were present at Saturday night's show before the opening of the box.
The magician seemed confident, during a recent phone interview from the road, that he won't have to pay up.
He has a good track record for making such predictions, he said, having accurately predicted headlines for other newspapers including the Oshkosh Northwestern, the Daily Herald in Elgin, Ill., and the Sentinel Press in eastern Iowa. And even though he made the predictions for The Journal Times before the national election took place and the economic crisis was fully realized, he stands by his thoughts of late September.
How he makes such predictions is something the illusionist, who graduated from Carthage College in 2002 with a degree in communications and business, says he can't really discuss. It is all part of the magical journey that the Illinois native has been on since he received his first magic set at age 5. Since then, Blagg has built his skills into a high-energy, interactive entertainment experience which the Chicago Tribune calls "Simply amazing" and Entertainment USA says is "Absolutely electrifying."
In addition to the unveiling of his headline predictions, Blagg's show at UW-Parkside will feature the levitation of an audience member more than four feet in mid-air; cutting a woman in half standing up; and making snow from his bare hands. While he promises it will be a night people will never forget, it will also be a show appropriate for all ages, the magician said.
"I call it a Las Vegas style family show, with all the lights, smoke and special effects."
If You Go
WHAT: "Bill Blagg III: Suspended Reality," a show of magic and illusion.
WHEN: 6 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 22).
WHERE: Communication Arts Theatre at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, 900 Wood Road, Kenosha.
COST: Tickets are $23 adults, $15 for those younger than 18, and can be purchased by calling (262) 595-2277 (or 595-2307) or online at http://tickets.uwp.edu.
INFO: For more about Bill Blagg III go to http://www.billblagg.com.