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rather than on you. There is definitely a maintaining of atten- tion—managing where the focus is—to distract or to focus the attention toward the illusion. You have to focus people down that ride, especially when it’s done live. There are a lot of diehard fans of the Carbonaro Effect who secretly wonder if the TV show is just a bunch of camera tricks. They come to see if I can actually do this kind of thing in front of their eyes…and I do fool them! It’s quite a ride throughout the show. Then it ends with me covering myself in shaving cream and molding myself into different monsters. (Laughs) I’m so not kidding… Oh, I know you’re not. I saw your stint on Jimmy Kimmel’s show…It was hysterical. Yeah, yeah, yeah.(Laughs) It comes from this random thing that I used to do when I was a little kid and now I close my show with it. It’s a real treat for me and audiences seem to love it. Because I’m old enough to rememberCandid Camera, TheCarbonaro Effect reminded me of that format. Is that something you pulled from as you were putting this together? Oh yes, one hundred percent. I’ve seen every episode of Candid Camera and watched the reruns as a kid. It’s an homage, and more than that, there have been so many other prank shows since Candid Camera, there have even been magic prank shows way before me. The thing about my show that I like to relate to Allen Funt’s work is that, even though on occasion we sometimes like to give people a little bit of a scare, the whole show is in good fun and is not mean spirited. The reactions people have on television, are pretty amazing to watch. Have there ever been any that have completely taken you by surprise? All of the time, I never know for sure what way
it’s going to go. I’ve got this great team of magician masterminds behind the scenes, five tight-knit friends I’ve had since I was a kid going back to the days when I was at magic camp on Long Island. I’ll do something that I think is going to be the best thing ever and it ends up being just alright, kind of pfft. Then I’ll do something, just this little thing and that little thing ends up being “Whoa, oh my gosh.” Wait, magic camp…there’s an actual magic camp? Oh my God, I love it. Please tell us what that was like! (Laughs) Yes, there absolutely is one. It’s a
magic camp called Tannen’s Magic Camp, it’s still going and it’s great. It’s a week-long sleep away camp…And it’s not just a little weekend away, kid’s
matt downing photography
thing. It’s an intense magic experience, filled with workshops and stuff like that. You eat, sleep and drink magic, magic, magic, all the time. It was such a cool place to meet like-minded weirdos who liked pranks and magic, all that stuff that you would find in a magic store; makeup, special effects, gags, all of it. People ask me what I recommend for someone interested in getting into
magic...There are two things: Number one, go to Tannen’s Magic Camp, if you can do it make sure to go. Number two, I recommend kids take some kind of theatre class, like anything outside of magic to enhance their performance abilities. Be it dance, movement, act- ing, being in a local play or even just a debate class, those things can really improve your skill sets. Was there a specific event like being onThe Tonight Show, or another moment when you thought, “I can’t believe I’m doing this right now?” I’ve had a lot of those moments and I’m so incred-
ibly grateful for them all. I used to judge how good I was doing by how nervous I was leading up to the event or whatever was happening. “Oh, this is a big one, because I’m going to be onConan O’Brian and I’m terrified,” or “Oh my gosh, I’m premiering my own TV show.” It’s funny though, sometimes even when I’m up for a corporate event or for a theatre show in like Idaho, I will be like so nervous backstage. (Laughs) “Michael, you’ve been on
38 RAGE monthly | OCTOBER 2017
national TV for years, you’ve done everything, just relax.” (Laughs) It’s really kind of all about the charge, it’s an excitement and I’ve had it ever since I was thirteen. Tonight I’ll be doing it too, I’m going to go back there wondering if I’m more exited or nervous. When I did Another Gay Movie—wait, you know
what, that was the moment I felt like I had made it—when I did that film. It came out in the summer of 2006 and we shot it in 2005 I think, or it was something like that. When that movie came out at the Tribecca Film Festival, I brought my parents and I was up there on the big screen. I got to do a festival circuit screening the movie and I remember thinking, “Wow, this is everything I ever asked for.” I remember crying when I was on set shooting that film, because I was so excited. I was so happy that it was happening and was smart enough to know that it might never happen again, so it was important to remember the moment and how I was feeling.
For much more of Michael Carbonaro’s interview, go to
ragemonthly.com
Witness the magical effects ofMichael Carbonaro Live! on the stage of Downtown San Diego’s Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Avenue onThursday, October 19. For other show times, for tickets or for more information, go to
michaelcarbonaro.com.
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