CENTERblog

The Force is Strong With This One
By Anthony Sallows - Alaska Pacific University

On Thursday, March 18th in the Discovery Theater of the Performing Arts Center, people were taken to the "Borders of the Mind". Sitting down, with provided pencils in hand, the room was filled with skepticism. As the first act progressed people relaxed a bit and started to buy into the flow of things. Joshua Kane, a mentalist and entertainer, requested numbers from random participants. 167435 this is the number that the audience came up with. Each number told Kane something about the person who suggested it. Once he had this written out on a huge white board he asked for a sealed envelope that was held by someone in the crowd. In this were four numbers that when added together totaled 167435. Magic within the math. Our skepticism dissolved in a wash of amazement and shock. I'm fond of numbers and parlor gags, but what he accomplished is well beyond my scope of understanding. Throughout the night Kane was able to continually kick the step it up a notch, with each demonstration of skill more unbelievable than the last.

Kane apprenticed under a mentalist named Gary Lee Williams, who I'm thinking was a Jedi Master or an alien because Kane is capable of some incredible bending of what we perceive to be real. If Joshua Kane were a car salesman, he'd be more than dangerous. Offing cars on customers before they realized that the purchase was complete. From what I can tell, he can read the signs and signals from your subconscious like you're a book in his hands.

We all know what proper etiquette is during a performance, regardless, some unfortunate soul in the front row received a text message during the show and Kane was not ashamed to deliberately point this out. He asked her for her phone and confiscated it saying, in a light joking manner, "We'll talk about you getting it back later.” This sort of interaction is representative of the intimate atmosphere that was held for the duration of the night. Kane is not afraid to walk amongst and mingle with the attendees as audience participation is key to the success of the show. Without an active audience, I could see the whole act falling apart. Fortunately, keeping our attention is Joshua Kane's business, and business is good.

Kane will be preforming again on Friday, March 19th in the Discovery theater. I recommend skeptics and believers alike attend and discover what the borders of your minds hold.

Joshua Kane: Borders of the Mind
Alaska Junior Theater
Thursday, March 18, 2010 @ 7:30pm
Discovery Theatre