Magic as Therapy: The Theater of Illusion

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Kevin Spencer of the Spencers Theater of Illusion will be in Carmel Nov. 22. (Submitted photo)
Kevin Spencer of the Spencers Theater of Illusion will be in Carmel Nov. 22. (Submitted photo)

By Tonya Burton

Get ready to be amazed as illusionists Kevin and Cindy Spencer bring Spencers Theater of Illusion, the largest touring theatrical illusion company in the United States, to the Booth Tarkington Theater in Carmel for two shows on Nov. 22.

The family-friendly show blends Broadway style theater production with the high energy of a rock concert. With a background in clinical psychology, Kevin said, “I was going to help people’s minds, now I just mess with them.”

Actually, he accomplishes both. After displaying mind-bending feats of illusion, he invites willing audience members to participate on stage.

Hocus Focus, the Spencers’ production company, markets the production as a combination of storytelling, state-of-the art technology, original theatrical elements and stage illusions that take the audience to the “brink of impossibility.” Among the many amazing feats, Spencer might perform Houdini illusions such as walking through a solid brick wall or replicating Houdini’s water trick.

Spencer has managed to combine his two passions of healing and illusion into a unique career of entertainment and therapy. He is not only a master illusionist, he is adjunct faculty at the University of Alabama in Birmingham and is widely considered to be the leading authority of magic tricks as therapy. He holds a certification in autism studies and is in the process of receiving his certification as a qualified autism services practitioner. As a filmmaker, he recently completed the short documentary “Powerful Medicine: Simply Magic” about the healing journey of a young man who overcame the crippling effects of fetal brain injury through magic.

The Spencers recently received the Merlin Award for International Magicians of the Year. With this honor, they join the ranks of such notable magicians as Doug Henning, Penn and Teller, David Copperfield and Chris Angel.

Show times are 2 and 7 p.m. Nov. 22  For ticket information, call 843-3800.


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