Prepare to be shocked and awed this weekend when Chris Funk The Wonderist hits the stage at Bert Church Live Theatre on March 10.
His stop in Airdrie will be the last of six magic shows in a row as he tours throughout Alberta with 14 shows scheduled in total.
The show mixes music and magic for an engaging multimedia experience, and Funk explained that he likes to push the boundaries within the world of magic a little bit.
In the world of performing magic there are rules around performances, Funk said. When someone calls themselves a magician they should stay away from mentalism, similarly mentalists should stay away from visual magic.
“Personally, I don't really like those types of barriers,” Funk said. “I just want to do whatever I like and what I think fits the show.”
He quickly realized that by calling himself “The Wonderist,” instead of a magician, it kind of opened the door to throwing whatever worked into the show, no matter how it was categorized.
“It helped me to create the show that I have right now, which is a combination of visual magic, magic of the mind, or mentalism, as well as the live music stuff,” Funk said. “There's really no rules anymore that I'd have to follow.”
He admitted that the title “The Wonderist” is a made up name that he initially came up with when he was trying to break out of the traditional mould of being a magician.
As “The Wonderist” his audience quickly changed and he was able to break into bigger events.
He has since had some big appearances including on NBC’s America’s Got Talent, CW’s Penn & Teller: Fool Us & Masters of Illusion, FOX’s Hell’s Kitchen and Syfy’s Wizard Wars.
When it comes to the show, no two performances are the same, Funk said, and that’s his favourite part.
While he has a bit of a routine, he mostly allows the audience to guide him through the show.
“My favourite part is just working with the audience and just seeing what it is that they're going to give me and how they show up,” Funk said. “My second favourite part would probably be just seeing the looks on their faces throughout the show.”
He loves a good shocked look or a gasp of amazement.
“Then I know that I've transported them out of their world and kind of into mine,” he said, adding that you never know what someone is going through, but in those moments they’re present and they’re with him.
He was able to successfully mix music into some magic tricks while also taking the time to perform his own music throughout the show.
Funk takes a unique approach to fooling his audience through the world of magic, and said there’s something in his show for everybody.
“This is not your typical type of magic show, so don't expect to see big boxes or dancers or women in sequence dresses or anything like that,” Funk said.
Young and old will leave the venue being blown away, he said.
To buy tickets, head to tickets.airdrie.ca.
