LEXINGTON PARK, Md. — It was 1,088 days between the last 2019 and the first 2022 Reggie Rice’s Illusion show, and after a 17-year career in family entertainment, and local celebrity Reggie Rice says he is tired of waiting for other people to make things happen. So, he is taking matters into his own hands.
Rice’s hard work earned him many accolades, including being awarded the title of Comedy Magician of the year three times by the International Brotherhood Of Magicians, DC Chapter (Ring 50).
He’s also had the honor of meeting the First Lady of the United States five times and performing his unique style of magic for hundreds of thousands of people, including celebrities like Shaquille O’Neal, Kevin Hart, and Ryan Seacrest.
At the end of the COVID-19 Pandemic, he realized that if he was going to take his career and magic to the next level and achieve his lifelong goal of performing at the Kennedy Center, he would “HAVE TO QUIT,” QUIT WAITING for his big break and instead he would have to go out and MAKE THINGS HAPPEN on his own.
What does that mean? As Rice told TheBayNet, “I’m tired of waiting for theaters or organizations to believe in my dreams, invest in my show, or hire me to perform my show in the big venues I know it is destined for.” Rice quoted Steve Harvey, “If you want to be successful you have to take a leap of faith and jump.”
As a result, at the beginning of 2022, he decided to take his show on the road and embark on his first-ever tour. It started in his hometown at his alma mater, Great Mills High School, and moved out to other surrounding cities.
Starting with Baltimore (FPX Theater), then moving on to La Plata (Port Tobacco Theatre), Richmond (Center for the Performing Arts), Bowie (Bowie Performing Arts Center), and Annapolis (Maryland Hall) all with the plan to end the tour at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. in 2023.
Rice says “It was just time to take the leap by renting venues where he could perform the Illusion show he’s spent half his life building.” He goes on to say “If the pandemic has shown me anything, it’s that your dreams can be taken from you at any moment. So, you better FIGHT for it as fast as you can.”
Rice says that many of his idols and mentors warned him about the difficulties of going it alone without a major sponsor. “If it was easy,” Rice said, “everyone would do it.” He quoted motivational speaker and mentor Eric Thomas, “When you want something as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be SUCCESSFUL.”
Rice says that years of studying the best magicians in his field and researching his craft have prepared him for an exciting, but challenging journal. “There are many aspects of being a Traveling Illusionist that many people don’t consider such as, scripting, music selections, lighting plots, marketing and so much more as well as having to be the star in your own 90-minute full theatrical production.
It is so much more than just learning how to do magic tricks. It takes hours and hours of planning and researching, hours of trial and error to get the right blend of illusions, music, comedy, and storytelling.” Rice’s main goal is to be able to entertain an audience of people of all ages and nationalities. “I want people to come together to laugh,” he states.
Rice says he feels he’s close to mastering what he calls the “True Magic of Laughter.” However, he admits, “The business side is a whole other animal.”
Rice has recently invested in his dream with new professional branding Large Grande Illusions, and even a vehicle to pull his 24-foot trailer that transports his large amount of show equipment. Then there is still labor cost and repairing and upgrading his original illusions as well.
Rice says “It’s not easy, I know, but I’m in magic for the long haul. So to be clear, the only thing I’m quitting is waiting around for lightning to strike or magic to just happen. There are three types of people in the world, those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened. I’m ready to make things happen.”
He feels the last few missing pieces to this magic puzzle are to add some state of art theatrical lighting and a custom-designed backdrop and trailer wrap. Reggie says “This will take his show to what he calls the “Las Vegas Level.” “I’m excited to see what this dream looks like when I catch it by the tail, Challenge Accepted.”
If you’re wondering when you can get a glimpse of Rice’s magical vision, his show ‘Fool of Illusions” is going to be at Port Tobacco Theater on August 20th at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. This 90-minute theatrical ride is guaranteed to have people of all ages bursting into laughter.
Buy tickets now at:
https://www.ptplayers.com/fool-of-illusions.html
or for more information go to https://www.foolofillusions.com/shows
Get Your Tickets before the Show Sells out AGAIN!
Best of luck Reggie know you can make it
Can you also magically make the criminals disappear from southern Maryland?
If he made the criminals disappear the base would have to close. Because it’s full of criminals.
Yeah people on base are murdering their own people everyday
Take off your blinders
Reggie
Dedication, hard work and evolving talent has provided joyful memories to a generation. The youngsters you ve inspired is undoubtedly the greatest gift given with each performance.
Now you have your wings to the moon and back. Thank you for taking the giant leap