WK: Anything you can mention about the second season?
CA: I’m working on the first episode where I hope that I will levitate from one skyscraper to another, across a street in front of the public. I have a lot of things up my sleeve that I’m working on and very excited about.
WK: Can you please talk about winning “Magician of the Year”?
CA: To be participating with Mr. Larson and the gang at the Magic Castle, like Dale, Michael and the legends on the board, is quite an honor. And to be named the Magician of the Year for 2005, to be bestowed with that honor, I’m speechless.
Anything that I can do to take the Magic Castle, which has served as an inspiration to me as a child, and perpetuate it in any way that I can, is something that I want to do. There is so much history contained in this building that I think the world ought to know about it.
Magic appeals to everybody in some form or another and in some part of their life. And if magic appeals to you, The Magic Castle is the Mecca of magicians and magic and needs to be known, appreciated and preserved.
WK: Where do you want to take magic?
CA: I want to take magic into the future. I want to make it relevant in popular culture. In the days of Houdini, magic was enormous. It was popular culture and Houdini was the biggest star of his era across the entertainment board.
Unfortunately, I think that magic has gotten a bad rap. It’s been represented, unfortunately, as a cheap novelty. It doesn’t garner the respect that I think it deserves.
I love the art. I think it’s a beautiful art form and I want to see it gain the respect that the cinema and musicians have. If I can be a small part of that, it would be incredibly gratifying.
WK: Anything else you would like to say?
CA: I want to thank everyone for watching the show and making it so successful.
