Craig Dickens: Illusion Designer & Builder When magicians speak of contacting a "builder," they are not referring to a general contractor who will put in a new wall. Builders are the few (there are only a dozen worldwide), who are called upon to make a physical reality out of a magicians' concept. And when magicians speak of Craig Dickens they know that his background as a performer guarantees that what he delivers will work well and easily. As a performer in Chicago, Craig rose to prominence as an opening act for the stars. He was the first magician to perform at a major arena rock concert before 30,000 fans. He then went on to star as a guest artist with Symphony orchestras. His creativity and mechanical ingenuity brought him to the attention of the top trade show production firms where he designed and built one-of-a-kind effects to illustrate a products assets. His reputation as a practical problem-solver spread quickly in the magic community and today he is much sought after by the top performers who desire that original illusion that will become their signature piece. Craigs' work had been featured in numerous movies, theme park shows and five Broadway shows to date. His collaboration with Larry Wilson has produced a show filled with never seen before effects that will not only delight the viewing public but will also baffle the well-informed magician. ..::.. JT Horentstein: Choreographer JT Horenstein began his performing and choreography career on the Broadway stage after graduating from Northwestern University, where he was trained in modern/interpretive dance and ballet. JT has since gone on to choreography and create for Cirque du Soleil shows, ballet companies, and modern dance concerts around the world. His performing credits include Grease with Rosie O'Donnell, The Who's Tommy, La Cage Aux Folles, Michael Jackson's Sisterella, Sophisticated Ladies, and Liza Minelli's World Tour, which he also choreographed. JT also produces, directs and choreographs large-scale live corporate events for clients such as Compaq, Sprint, Radio Shack, Armani, Smithsonian Institute, Nokia, IBEW, Harry Winston, McDonalds, top pharmaceutical researchers, NBA and WNBA halftime shows, as well as many dot.com companies. In the corporate -world, JT has directed and choreographed for artists such as Lenny Kravitz, Sheryl Crow, Brooks and Dunne, and Melba Moore. He has worked on specials, commercials and music videos with Ricky Martin, Barbra Streisand, Garth Brooks, Rod Stewart, and Brian Setzer. ..::.. Jeremy Railton: Scenic Designer Jeremy Railton's renown as an art director has been carved from thirty award-winning years of designing for the most significant artists, events, and productions in show business. His early success at Los Angeles' prestigious Mark Taper Forum led directly into film and television, where he won critical acclaim as a production designer at Paramount for The Two Jakes. Although his work spans just three decades, Jeremy's impact and range of experience is without peer in his industry. He earned his first Emmy in art direction for his work on Pee Wee's Playhouse, a second Emmy for art direction of the 57th Annual Academy Awards and his third for set and costume design for the Hallmark Hall of Fame. Jeremy also earned recognition for his work designing the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. In popular music, Jeremy is one of today's most prolific art directors and production designers. His credits in live concert staging, television concert specials or music videos include projects for Cher, Michael Jackson, Julio Iglesias, Ricky Martin, Janet Jackson, Neil Diamond, Ozzy Osbourne, Rod Stewart, Diana Ross, Fleetwood Mac and the EMP Opening Concert. ..::.. Jim Steinmeyer: Visual Effects Designer Jim Steinmeyer is the man behind the magic; or rather, the man before the magic. Steinmeyer designs and conceptualizes the extraordinary illusions and special effects that make audiences gasp in amazement at theatrical shows from Broadway to Las Vegas; from Disney's "Beauty and The Beast" and "The Scarlet Pimpernell" to virtually every leading magician around the world including David Copperfield, Siegfried and Roy, Lance Burton, and David Blaine. He has been called "the most influential illusion inventor of the late 20th century," and with good reason-he takes the utterly impossible and makes it into a practical reality that can be performed twice a night. From 1981 to 1987, Steinmeyer was the Magic Designer for Doug Henning, during which time he invented impossibilities for four Henning television specials, six touring shows, two Henning Broadway shows ("Merlin," for which Jim received his first Drama Desk Nomination, and "Doug Henning's World of Magic"), and numerous television and Las Vegas appearances. In 2002, Steinmeyer designed illusions for the Broadway production of the Steven Sondheim musical, "Into the Woods." Later that year, Jim created critically acclaimed illusions for the Michel Legrand Broadway musical, "Amour." In 1994 his illusions were featured, to rave reviews, in the Walt Disney Company's "Beauty and the Beast" on Broadway (including the famous transformation of the Beast), followed by eight companies worldwide. This earned Jim his second Drama Desk Nomination. In December of 1998, his illusions were used to recreate H.G. Wells' "The Invisible Man" for the Cleveland Playhouse. The production, directed by Frank Dunlop and starring Jim Dale, set house records and earned raves for the amazing effects. (Keen observers will note a remarkable similarity in "Wonderland" when one of the Flying Cavettis becomes invisible after consuming a bad Twinkie.) ..::.. Kent Weishaus: Supervising Producer Kent Weishaus knows the producer's greatest enemy is the myriad of distractions vying for his attention as he takes a show from inception to completion. From his earliest days producing and directing live theater at Humboldt State, Kent has earned the reputation as the "go-to-guy" when an ambitious production absolutely had to be kept on-track. Kent used this reputation to good advantage in the early 80's when he went to work for Dick Clark Productions as Production Manager of "American Bandstand" and "The American Music Awards," and as Associate Producer on the syndicated special, "A Magical Musical Halloween." As a lifelong friend of Larry Wilson's, Kent began producing Larry's live shows with "Larry Wilson & Friends" at the Westwood Playhouse (now the Geffen Playhouse) in Los Angeles, California in 1981. A year later they produced "An Evening of Comedy and Magic" at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco which was videotaped as a special for Showtime. In 1984 Kent began his long affiliation with Paramount Pictures when he was hired as Production Manager of "Solid Gold." A young comic on the show was struck by Kent's ability to bring the show in on schedule and under budget, and when that comic, Arsenio Hall, launched his ground-breaking "Arsenio Hall Show," in 1988, he made certain that he brought Kent Weishaus along with him. The hit late-night show ran for more than five years. In 1997 Kent faced a special challenge -- PAXtv wanted a producer who could deliver a television special in less than two months. Kent signed on and thirty days later "Larry Wilson's Madcap Magic," a one-hour family magic special, was beamed up to their satellite. (Kent and Larry both took the following weekend off.) Larry's rampant enthusiasm is tempered by Kent's pragmatic commonsense, so that no matter what crazy ideas Larry comes up with, Kent makes sure they can deliver the show as promised.