Christian Ford has lots of tricks up his sleeve.
One lucky member of the audience of his show, “Magic Redesigned,” will get a 36-inch saw blade through the neck.
Others get to shoot a staple gun at coveted areas of Ford’s body.
Ouch.
You can take a shot at Ford and possible saw blade fame when the Vegas-style magician and illusionist performs on Oct. 18 and 19 at The Historic Everett Theatre.
It’s the same theater where his manager-dad, Dean Witter, worked as a teenage ticket taker about 30 years ago.
“I have a lot of relatives in Everett,” Ford, 24, said.
Ford, a California kid, began honing his magic skills pulling rabbits out of hats at age 6.
“I started professionally when I was 7,” he said. “It was at my school of 3,000. I wore a little tuxedo and shorts and sneakers.”
These days he wears jeans, Converse shoes and a button-down shirt.
He describes the show as interactive and dangerous magic to motivate and inspire.
“Taking ordinary things and making them extraordinary,” he said. “It allows me to show people through illusion and magic that anything is possible.”
Does he ever screw up?
“That’s where personality comes into play,” he said. “I make light of the fact that nobody is perfect.”
His venues include theaters, colleges, comedy clubs and casinos, including Las Vegas.
“It’s taken years of mulling over and trial-and-error. It’s not always an easy road,” he said. “It’s a little bit of faith, a little bit of magic, and a little bit of mentalism.”
Mentalism, the ability to send or receive thoughts between two people, is what he uses in the staple gun roulette. An audience member spins the wheel on the stage to determine where on his body takes the possible hit.
“Head. Butt. Arm. There’s even a selection for groin,” he said.
He hasn’t been shot.
“Not yet,” he said. “Maybe in Everett.”
Ford will perform at 8 p.m. Oct. 18 and 19 at The Historic Everett Theatre, 2911 Colby Ave.
Tickets are $20 general, $15 for adults; military, children under 12 and seniors 62 and older. A family pack for four people is $60. Tickets are available at the box office, 2911 Colby Ave., or online at www.etix.com. For more information, call 425-258-6766 or visit www.historiceveretttheatre.org.
Andrea Brown; 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com.
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