What I Do
Strolling close-up magic
Card work, coins and borrowed objects, done a few inches from the people watching. I work the room during cocktails or dinner, table to table, so nobody has to stop what they are doing or turn their chair around. No stage, no sound system, nothing for your venue to set up. The room warms up on its own, because people who have never met end up leaning over the same card. Best for cocktail hours, receptions, trade show booths and holiday parties.
The Seated Show
Thirty to fifty minutes on a stage or in a cleared space, for a room that is seated and ready to watch something together. Magic and mind reading, built for adults, not a kids' magic show. It is the kind of thing that makes a VP say "there's no way... that's impossible" out loud in front of two hundred people. I bring a microphone and AV where the room needs it, I work to whatever slot you give me, and I finish when I said I would. Best for awards dinners, galas, sales kickoffs and after dinner entertainment.
Magic with your message in it
The thing your audience remembers from a conference is rarely the slide. Give me your product name, this year's theme, or a number nobody in the room should know, and I will build it into the magic so the reveal lands on the thing you actually want remembered. I work with your content team beforehand to get it right. Nobody checks their phone while it happens, and people repeat it afterwards. Best for conferences, product launches, incentive trips, team building and client appreciation evenings.
See Mike in action
About
Why event planners book me twice
Corporate entertainment has a low bar and everyone in the room knows it. The band nobody listens to. The comedian who misjudges the audience. The hypnotist who turns a VP into a chicken in front of the people who report to him. Booking entertainment for a company event is mostly an exercise in avoiding those.
I am the easiest part of your event, and I mean that literally. I bring everything. I need nothing from the venue beyond the room itself. I arrive forty five minutes early and I am set up before your first guest walks in.
I spent more than twenty years inside corporate America before this, which matters more than it sounds. I read a run of show without needing it explained. I do not perform over the speeches. I know the schedule slipping is normal and not a crisis. Nothing in the act will embarrass your company, the material is clean and appropriate for a mixed audience, and nobody gets made into the punchline. Standard dress is a dark suit.
The paperwork is handled too. Performer liability insurance, certificates naming your venue on request, a real contract, and an invoice your accounts team will accept without a conversation.
Companies I have worked for include Vanguard, Insight Partners, Alimera Sciences, Fox Chase Cancer Center, New American Funding, Marriott, Wyndham, Mohonk Mountain House, Borgata, Ocean Casino Resort, Live! Casino and SugarHouse.
I am based in Philadelphia and work across the city, the Main Line and the suburbs, plus New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Washington DC, New York and Connecticut.
Volunteers from the room
Two guests who walked in as strangers, now standing next to me in front of a full house. Nobody is planted and nobody is the punchline.
A full room
Cocktail hour at a black tie gala, guests closing in on both sides. No stage and no microphone, just a room full of people who came over to see what everyone was looking at.
Black tie season
Arriving for an annual charity gala. One case, no setup, ready before the doors open.
Partial client list
Vanguard · Insight Partners · Alimera Sciences
New American Funding · Fox Chase Cancer Center
Marriott · Wyndham · Mohonk Mountain House
Borgata · Ocean Casino Resort
Live! Casino · SugarHouse Casino
Questions I get asked
How long do you perform?
Once I know a bit more about your event, I will come back with a recommendation on the length and the format that fits it best.
What do you need from the venue?
Strolling needs no stage, no sound and no setup. I simply start. For a seated show I need somewhere the whole room can see me, and a small riser helps past about 80 guests. I bring my own microphone and speaker if the venue has none.
Where do you travel?
Philadelphia and the surrounding region are standard: NJ, DE, MD, DC, NY and CT. Further afield is possible, just ask.
Is it right for a mixed audience?
Yes. Nothing in the show is off color, nothing embarrasses a volunteer, and nothing needs explaining to the client's boss afterwards.
Insurance and dress?
I carry performer liability insurance and can send your venue a certificate on request. Standard dress is a dark suit. Black tie or a costume brief is no problem if your evening calls for it.
Contact
Tell me about your event
Send the date, the venue and roughly how many guests. You'll hear back the same day with what I'd do and what it costs.