The Hoosier Room erupted with laughter from guests attending Michael Kent’s comedic magic show on Tuesday, March 9. Kent’s satirical performance included magic and mystery with large helpings of wit, humor and entertainment.
Although the crowd of attendees was small, the amount of laughter was large.
Adult humor was a large component to Kent’s performance. Condoms, sexual innuendos and foul language were used regularly in the show.
While Kent used sarcasm and occasional humiliation in his performance, he consistently tried to make the audience comfortable and carefully selected volunteers for some of his more risqué jokes.
“I like to make sure that my audience has a feeling of buddy-buddy and comfort,” Kent said. “My shows feel like conversations between friends and I like to make everyone comfortable with what I do.”
An example of Kent’s humor occurred during his performance when an audience member’s cell phone began to ring and Kent chastised the owner.
Kent urged the cell phone owner to come to the stage and hand Kent his phone.
Kent blew up a balloon and proceeded to place the cell phone into the balloon, which suctioned onto the phone to prevent further use.
Kent said he writes all of his own material with the exception of his bottle trick that is a classic among magicians.
Kent said most of his jokes start with one idea and are built off of that single idea for a more expanded joke.
While performing, Kent mentioned fellow magicians David Copperfield and Criss Angel frequently because of their work in magic.
“I respect David Copperfield and Criss Angel a lot,” Kent said.
Kent said he prefers mixing magic with comedy.
“Magic has always been a hobby of mine and I like to be fooled,” he said. “I appreciate magic and understand the work and history behind it, but I can’t be entertained by just magic,”Kent said. “Adding magic and comedy make it me. I want to break the mold of the usual bunny and hat tricks.”
Kent’s performance included many props, occasional music and several volunteers.
With raised hands or Kent’s arbitrary selections, volunteers were chosen and used frequently throughout the show.
One volunteer was Silver Creek High School senior Shaina Nolley.
Nolley held onto one side of a rope while another volunteer seized the other end as Kent performed sliding knot tricks.
“I liked how audience-oriented he was and that so many people got to be in the show,” Nolley said.
“I definitely think he should come back because he was very entertaining and not many people came. By word of mouth, more people could come and see what a great performance he gives.”
Katelyn Dowell, psychology junior, volunteered with a friend for Kent’s broken bottle mystery.
“I thought it was really fun,” Dowell said.
“I’ve always been interested in magic and that sort of thing and enjoyed being a part of the show.”
Kent has been performing comedy and magic for colleges for six or seven years.
He said he has been able to support himself with his performances for three years.
Although Kent performs in a lot of universities repeatedly, he was able to take his performance overseas a month ago when he traveled to Korea.
“I spent several weeks in Korea performing for the military,” Kent said.
“They were more appreciative of entertainment because they are so secluded and away from their families,” he said. “ I felt very fortunate that I could bring entertainment to those guys.”
After his Korea travels, Kent came back to his university performances with more appreciation and love for what he does.
“It’s such a great thing when you can get out there and make a living doing something you love that other people can respect and possibly be benefited from,” Kent said.
By COURTNEY MCKINLEY
Staff Writer
comckinl@ius.edu