The MAZE Leaves Audience in Awe

Students at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point got to experience The MAZE this past Thursday, Feb 15, in the Dreyfus University Center Laird Room. The MAZE is an illusion performance piece by magician Jim Munroe and his team.

The event was coordinated by CRU and was free for students.

Munroe was eager to baffle students with his unique magic tricks. Before the show, Munroe took a walk around the DUC, proving to skeptical students that magic was indeed real. Students were surprised and at a lost for words. They filled their Snapchat stories with the unbelievable experiences brought by Munroe and couldn’t wait to experience The MAZE.

The MAZE was highly anticipated by students at UWSP. Doors opened at 6:40 p.m., and students wasted no time lining up early to secure a good seat. The Laird Room was packed, but when Munroe hit the stage, everyone was silent and attentive.

The MAZE kept the crowd engaged, and there was barely any chatter. The crowd was so engaged that, after each trick, they would all react in unison. The MAZE did a great job getting students involved with the show. There were multiple students pulled on stage to help.

Munroe’s stage set-up was unique and very thought out. The stage was set in the middle with two projection screens on each side of the stage. During the show, these screens would project a close visual of The MAZE and also displayed retro Pepsi commercials during any breaks. The setup is an important aspect of the show. The screens, along with the sounds, helped viewers become more in-tune with the show.

During the show there were a few tricks that were simply nerve-wracking. The crowd watched together with one eye open and the other one closed.

One trick that had this effect was the “nail in the nose trick.” During this segment of the show, there was a student called out from the crowd to help. Once she got on stage, she was instructed to help hammer a nail in one of Munroe’s nostrils. This trick had the crowd in awe but slight disgust.

The MAZE had a lot of tricks that were too good to be real. For example, during one part of the show, a student was called on stage and put into hypnosis. During the hypnosis, she was told to choose numbers randomly. After the student was done, she was told to grab a piece of paper out of a box.  In the box was a lottery ticket with all the numbers the student had given. The crowd exploded with hand claps and excited “woahs.”

There was one more trick that made the crowd explode with emotion, “the iPhone trick.” During this trick, a student was chosen from the crowd and, while blindfolded, his iPhone was placed in a paper bag alongside other identical bags. The blindfold was then removed and the student was told to find the right bag by process of elimination. Each bag he chose was smashed with a baseball bat.

The crowd filled with remorse for the student when the bag everyone knew contained the iPhone was smashed, but the trick wasn’t over yet. Munroe instructed someone from the crowd to call that specific student’s phone, and seconds later the phone started ringing in a bowl across the stage. The crowd exploded with awe and applause.

The MAZE was a life changing experience, and during the show viewers were exposed to numerous tricks from multiple magicians. The show was not only filled with magic tricks but also with illusion. Every aspect of the show helped create a visual trip that couldn’t be explained and was hard to ignore.

Munroe and his team were very personable. Their quirky humor made the show even better.

The MAZE is an experience recommend to anyone, especially to critics. The MAZE unravels any skepticism and puts on an energetic show for everyone.

 

Dashanay Scott

Reporter

dashanay.scott@uwsp.edu

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