Using his own eclectic mix of psychology, illusion and the power of intuition, award-winning entertainer, author and “extraordinist” Craig Karges astounded audience members Saturday evening at Bromeley Family Theater.
Karges was invited to the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford as part of the university’s Alumni & Family Weekend.
Karges explained, while he is an entertainer, he does not prearrange anything with audience members and there are no hidden mirrors or electronic wires used during the show. He even went on to offer a $100,000 charitable donation if anyone found proof he was using strings, wires, mirrors or pre-arranged actors.
Karges started out by directing the audience’s attention to an easel holding a poster board with 25 random words written on it.
“What does this chart represent?” he asked spectators. “They are all common words in the English language.”
He threw three newspapers into the audience, instructing numerous audience members to tear the paper into smaller and smaller pieces. After passing around a mesh bag to collect the torn pieces, he asked a Pitt Bradford student pull one random piece out of the bag.
The piece of newspaper she drew had one word on it — “million.” Audience members exploded with laughter, as this was not one of the 25 words listed on the poster board. Karges had the last laugh though — the audience gasped with amazement as he turned around the poster board, which had the word “million” written on the back. “Million is the 26th most popular word,” Karges said.
Karges went on to perform numerous other tricks relying heavily on audience participation, including guessing audience members’ thoughts, predicting a random telephone number and seemingly bending a spoon using only his mind.
At one point during the show, he collected rings from three separate audience members. To the astonishment of the audience, Karges defied the laws of nature by interlocking all three rings together to form a chain. “Getting them back apart is sometimes a problem,” he said jokingly.
Pitt-Bradford junior and exercise science major Jessica Milliron’s favorite trick was the floating table, which Karges credits to the “power of positive thinking.” He called audience member Andrea up to the stage and instructed her to feel around the table top for strings or magnets. After placing a black scarf over the small table, both Andrea and Karges rested their fingertips on opposite edges.
“If it goes towards the edge of the stage and you feel uncomfortable at any time, let go. Don’t sacrifice yourself for the table,” joked Karges.
Immediately, the table began to rock back and forth and slide around the stage. He instructed Andrea to take her hands off, as the table began flying through the air over the audience amongst gasps and giggles.
“I don’t know how he did it — my mind was blown,” said audience member Jodi Talladay.
At the conclusion of the show, Karges discussed how many people today are reliant on computers, spending the majority of their time in cyberspace. He challenged people to learn how to use the power of the mind.
“We are only limited by our imagination,” Karges said in closing.
After the conclusion of the show, Karges greeted people in the lobby of the theater while selling his books “Ignite Your Intuition” and “The Wizard’s Legacy.”
