John Kaplan is a professional illusionist, as we are calling magicians these days.
Last Sunday, on stage at Chatelech school gym, he demonstrated slicing a head of lettuce cleanly in half between the shiny blades of a guillotine. Standing at his side ready for the magic trick was an adult "volunteer" who turned just about as green as the lettuce when told that he must place his own head between the blades of the guillotine while the audience cheered him on. When the volunteer called for a blindfold, Kaplan joked and danced around in glee entertaining the approximately 80 kids and adults gathered for the afternoon magic show, Stage Fright.
Kaplan has been performing for over 30 years and he's never lost a head yet. In fact, when the blade was finally dropped, the relieved victim remained intact and was returned to his seat with applause. Afterwards, the audience continued to murmur either "Cool!" or "I know how he did that."
Most of the tricks were old but Kaplan's approach - dancers, lights and loud music - was new. This particular show was crawling with ghoulish illusions for the Halloween season. The dead rats and ghostly coffins suited the young audience just fine. Saw a woman in half? Sure, let's see the real thing. To Kaplan's credit he told the audience that the trick was not considered politically correct any more and he illustrated the same principle using two volunteers who waved a length of rope right through his middle.
Do kids raised on technology still respond to magic tricks from the last century? Apparently so, judging by this audience's reaction. Are they as easily frightened by spooky things? Maybe not, but you should have seen the kids in the front row jump when a costumed creature leapt out of a magic light box at them.
Kaplan's touring shows are designed for family audiences and are performed as fundraisers for schools and community groups. In this case, the Sechelt Elementary School PAC organized the two performances to raise funds for their earthquake supplies. Kaplan has also performed on the Love Boat and at Expo 86, and he once made an entire car disappear at a Saskatoon dealership. There's no word as to whether the car reappeared in his garage!
