A disappearing dog, a levitating woman, a man who walks through walls — it may sound like a Pink Floyd music video, but it’s really just all in a day’s work for illusionist Jason Bishop.
He will perform in Bradford at 8 p.m. Sept. 30 at Bromeley Family Theater at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford as part of alumni and family weekend.
“It’s a big show,” he said. “We start with a plasma screen illusion.”
He interacts with the screen, and some neat things happen.
“We go into close-up magic, sleight of hand,” he explained. “The second half of the show has Gizmo.”
Gizmo, a show-stealer in the form of a Yorkie, “has his own little trick that he does,” Bishop promised. “He’s cool. I got him when he was eight weeks old.”
Gizmo’s magical training started right away, and he’s an old hat at being on stage and in front of crowds. He’s even been on the Today Show and was carried on set by Hoda Kotb. “He’s totally comfortable being on stage and in front of audiences. He’s comfortable everywhere.”
Bishop talked a bit about the difference between magic and illusion.
“I think it’s really a matter of scale,” he said. “Illusion is real magic in a way — but we’re not purporting this is real. It’s a type of entertainment that uses optical deception. Magic is usually smaller sleight of hand for a few people. Illusion is a much larger scale thing, visible to a lot of people.”
An example, he said, would be levitation, which he performs with his assistant during his show.
“There’s full books about various ways to levitate people,” he said. However, he cautioned, it can be dangerous. “When you are getting into the ability to move a human being 15 feet in the air or whatever, there’s always a danger there.”
That’s why he does not use audience members in tricks. “I have a trained assistant and we have safety precautions.”
Audience members may be asked to the stage to look over props before tricks, he added.
“There’s a lot of things in our show that are really rare,” Bishop said, “not a lot of other people do them. There are some that no one else does.”
Whatever tricks he does perform will be sure to delight the audience.
Bishop, who is from the Allentown area, said he’s not trying to send any deep messages with his show. He’s out to entertain, and to create happy memories.
“I want people to have a good time,” he said. “I want them to know you can see a good magician, and it might not be what you think it is. It’s a pretty valuable form of entertainment.
“People have all these messages they want to deliver,” he said with a laugh. That really isn’t the case with his show. “An hour-and-a-half of a memory you can enjoy together — that’s a great goal.”
Tickets are $20 for the public and $5 for all students. The show is being offered as part of the university’s Alumni and Family Weekend and is co-sponsored by the Student Activities Council.
