I hope you’re having a fun and productive summer. I have been having an amazing time traveling and performing all over the country, and I’m excited to share the journey with you. In July, I will be performing at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, where I have been regularly appearing for almost 15 years. I have had the great honor to perform there for celebrities, dignitaries, fellow magicians, and friends!
This month, I will also be appearing at the Magic Circle in London, England. This will be my third time at the Circle. What a great and humbling honor it is to appear at these incredible and historic venues dedicated to the art of performance magic!
You will catch me all day in the museum and the library on my hours off stage.
“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”
Albert Einstein
Recently, my personal research into the human mind has been focused on the relationship we have with intelligence, creativity, and neuroplasticity. Is it possible to become more intelligent? Is it possible to become more creative? Some of the answers have surprised me, and I think they will surprise you, too!
Intelligence vs. Creativity:
“The chief enemy of creativity is ‘good’ sense.”
Pablo Picasso
Neuroscience and psychology researchers finally have access to technology that allows them to pinpoint the brain regions involved with creativity. Creativity is all about our ability to come up with new, innovative ideas and solutions. Recent data has shown that creativity involves a complex interplay between two different types of thinking. The first is spontaneous thinking, the ability to both brainstorm ideas, and the second is controlled thinking, the ability to deliberately evaluate those ideas to determine whether or not they will actually work. Intelligence, on the other hand, involves the ability to reason and plan, quickly comprehend complex ideas, and learn from experience. There are many tools that can help us to become more creative and think in more abstract ways to succeed at creating and doing amazing things. But can we become more intelligent? “Compelling evidence shows that genetics plays a more important role than environment, as intelligence develops from childhood. Intelligence test scores correspond strongly to specific features of the brain,” states Richard J. Haier, Ph.D, author of The Neuroscience of Intelligence. We may not actually be able to raise our intelligence. Much of our ability to succeed at intelligence tests in school seems to be based on how efficiently specific regions of our brains are at connecting to each other, though the scientific community still isn’t entirely sure. But there is good news! This is only one side of the debate on whether intelligence is fluid or crystallized (i.e., changing versus unchangeable). Additionally, intellegence does not necessarily correlate with a person’s compassion, creativity, kindness, work ethic, or success in life. So don’t get too caught up in worrying about your core intelligence level. My grandfather, Calvin W. Taylor, Ph.D, was head of the psychology department at the University of Utah. One of his primary areas of focus was multiple intelligences, the idea that each of us possesses different levels of intelligence in different arenas. He called this concept the Multiple Creative Talent Teaching Approach: Click here to find out more. We are all good at something, and many of us are good at multiple things. The best way to discover these talents is through creative exploration. I would love to help you learn more about how to unlock your creative potential!
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
Maya Angelou
Keynote presentations, workshops, or shows:
When groups bring me in for keynote presentations, workshops, or shows, I always ask how they would like me to focus my time in the presentation. It can be 100% creative entertainment, 100% academic research, or something in between customized just for the needs of the event.
A show that is 100% entertainment could be my theatrical Mysteries of the Mind show. A workshop that is 80% entertainment could be a class teaching everyone how to juggle with 20% of our time focused on job instruction skills. A presentation that is 60% entertainment and 40% teaching is a great time for a day of training on public speaking or teamwork. A class that is 40% entertainment and 60% educational content could be geared toward leadership and management. A lecture that is 80% research and and 20% entertainment could be filled with transferable, actionable data on patient or employee safety. A keynote that is 100% research could be a keynote on neuroplasticity, neonatology, or the historical war studies of Bedouin pastoralists.
I am always excited to work together with clients to create something unique for you and your event!
Get a quick glimpse of what I do in my show here: SHOW Or see my brand-new website for 2019 at: WEBSITE I hope we can work together again soon!
Participants will receive focused instruction in mentalism, sleight of hand, and building prestige as a performer and entrepreneur.
The cost is £299 per student, and the date is quickly approaching: sign upHERE to reserve your spot today!
Highlighting GREAT May events:
On May 5th, I performed a STEM-based show for the Navy League in Washington, D.C.!
On May 10th, I visited my home state of Utah to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Golden Spike that completed the first Transcontinental Railroad!
On May 25th, I produced and performed in a private, wizarding academy-themed event for 100 children and their parents at the Southern Highlands Country Club in Las Vegas, Nevada!
“If you were to ask me what I want to do… I don’t want to be a celebrity; I want to make a difference.”
– Lady Gaga
Performing for Bentley Motors of China at the Aria Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada
This month, I will be back at FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention in Salt Lake City interviewing and celebrating celebrities onstage in the 5,000-seat Grand Ballroom. Celebrities are a fascinating phenomenon: the individuals in our society who have gained notoriety through a combination of talent, perseverance, and luck. What I find most interesting as a cognitive anthropologist is how our brains respond to celebrities. Some physical anthropologists postulate that the human brain is capable of making deep, lasting connections with only a small percentage of the 7 to 8 billion people on the planet. Increasingly, some of those 200 to 300 connections are occupied by famous faces. We see their films; follow them on social media; mirror their emotions; and travel with them through adventures and overcoming obstacles. We devote the limited number of spaces in our minds for deep, personal friendships to these individuals who we have never even met. The wonderful thing about events like FanX is that they give fans like you and me the opportunity to meet the people we already feel that we know. I love helping to celebrate these connections! There is a YouTube account, Ammaross Danan, that records many of the celebrity spotlight panels in the Grand Ballroom and posts them online. The account is not affiliated with the convention, but I am delighted that so many of these moments have been captured and shared with the world. Below are just a few of the celebrity spotlight panels that I have hosted recently: you can watch them in full at the links below!
“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.”
– Seneca
Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, England, and Maine:
I have some very fun public events coming up in these four amazing locations:
Las Vegas, Nevada Magic Auction 2019 DATE: APRIL 30, 2019PLACE: BLUE OX TAVERN 5825 W SAHARA AVE.PAUL DRAPER, AUCTIONEER I’ve been the auctioneer for this annual event since 2003! **Remember that the auction is Tuesday the 30th, and the celebration of life for Gary Darwin hosted by Lance Burton is Wednesday the 1st. Come to Vegas and make a whole magical vacation out of your mid-week. Sign up for the event HERE:
Salt Lake City, Utah:Utah Childrens Theater For the first time ever, I am performing a brand-new series of shows in a children’s theater! That’s right: I have spent my entire career performing for adults, but for 3 performances in a 100+ seat theater this Easter weekend, I will be performing magic to delight, amuse, and amaze children of all ages! Event Info HERE:
Bath, Maine: Next week I am performing my Mysteries of the Mind show and a special-event evening séance at a beautiful performing arts venue in Maine. As a child, it was always my dream to tour the world performing in amazing spaces. I am very excited to perform in this restored 1800s church! If you know anyone in the area, please let them know about the show. Event Info HERE:
Leeds, England: I am once again teaming up with Karl Smith and UK Hypnosis Academy to present a 2-day intensive course on mentalism and performance skills in England. This will be my third class in the series, and the last two have sold out. There are still spaces available, but hurry: £299.00 to attend if you are one of the next 10 students to book; the prices will go up to £399 soon! Event Info HERE:
In other fun news: Bentley Motors of China
If you have been following me on social media, you saw that I had four stage performances for the executives of Bentley Motors of China! This was my first time performing mentalism on stage with a translator. The car next to me was a brand-new $300,000 electric Bentley that was the real star of the show.
Get a glimpse of what I do in my show here:Demo Video Or see my brand-new website for 2019 at:Mental Mysteries
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”
– Lao Tzu
Many would argue that the greatest magician of the 1930s was Howard Thurston. Though there are many amazing stories of his performances, my favorite is that he had a habit before every show of standing behind the curtain facing toward the audience and whispering, “I love you, I love you, I love you.” He believed that the audience could feel his love for them, and from my experiences as a performer, I’m sure they could!
Across the pond, the great British magician David Devant used the motto “All Done By Kindness.” Both Thurston and Devant have been great inspirations to me in my own work. Where some performers like to go out and “kill” their audiences, “slay” them, “destroy” them, and so on, I have preferred to always perform with love and to engage my audiences with kindness. Like Thurston, I believe they can feel it!
Last month, I was very lucky to present 37 shows and lectures for a variety of amazing audiences in six different US states. I’ve had more shows this month than in some entire years of my career! In contrast, I currently only have 2 bookings for February: one lecture series at Lakeland University in Wisconsin and a week at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. Luckily, I have some brand new promotional material, and I’m thrilled to get to share it with you.
I’m very excited to announce this new release! It has been two years since my last major demo video update.
This demo reel represents everything I have done in my entire career in under 2 minutes! Wow! Please let me know what you think – I’m always grateful for your feedback!
If you want to watch it now, the demo is online at: DEMO REEL You can find it on my brand-new website for 2019 at: MentalMysteries
GEEK ROAD TRIP: ABRACADABRA! CHECK OUT THESE 5 MAGIC CLUBS ACROSS THE COUNTRY
Some of my favorite places to experience magic are the great magic-themed venues around the country. Below is a fun article written by Vanessa Armstrong for Syfy in which she lists some of the best magic hot spots around. I’ve already been fortunate enough enough to have performed in 3 of these 5 venues in this year alone!
“Places to see top-tier magic are popping up all over the United States, giving magic nerds and laypeople alike the chance to be amazed by jaw-dropping feats of sleight of hand, prestidigitation, and misdirection no matter where they live. These establishments are popular not only because they offer people the opportunity to see great magic outside of Vegas but also because they provide an unforgettable, encompassing experience, a night out on the town their visitors won’t soon forget.”
Perhaps my most memorable show last month was presented at Holladay City Hall in my hometown of Holladay, Utah.
My first magic show was performed in this same building, which then housed Holladay Elementary School, when I was in first grade. For ten consecutive years, I performed at Holladay Elementary every year to build my confidence, develop my act, and bring joy to the people I grew up with.
This year, I returned to perform on that stage, and sold out ten hours after being released nearly a month prior to the event. It was strange and wonderful to return to that stage. My mind was flooded with so many memories of childhood. I was honored to have my family, the families of many of my childhood friends, and my childhood rabbi and his wife in attendance.
To really bring things full circle, I also hosted the opening of the new, multimillion-dollar social and behavioral science building at my undergraduate alma mater last month. Just a few days later, I performed for over 1,000 theater students from around the state in the university’s largest theater. It has been such an amazing journey!
Thank you for helping me to share love, music, magic, and art!
“One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: that word is love.”
-Sophocles
“There is no remedy for love but to love more.”
– Henry David Thoreau
Upcoming Appearances:
Lakeland University
Plymouth, Wisconsin
February 7th
Magic Castle
Hollywood California
February 13th – 17th
Linq Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
March 4th
Encore Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
March 6th
Purim Show for Utah Hillel
Salt Lake City, Utah
March 20th – 21st
Poof! Too
Hermosa Beach, California
March 23rd
Mystique Dining
Gardner Village, Utah
March 25-30
Chocolate Church Theater
Bath, Maine
April 18th
FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention
Salt Lake City, Utah
April 18th – 20th
Hilltop School Auction
Salt Lake City, Utah
April 26th
Las Vegas Magic Auction
April 30th
St. Croix Theater Festival
St. Croix, Wisconson
May 31st -June 1st
Mountain View High School
Santa Clara, California
June 7th
This is truly the most wonderful time of the year.
This is the time of year that many of us set aside to pause and recognize the miracles that take place within our own lives.
Whatever our backgrounds, we use this time each year to remember what is most important to us as a people and as a culture, recounting the stories that are woven into the fabric of our identities. To those who observe the plethora of holidays this season, may your celebrations be filled with reflection and wonder! To those who don’t, I wish you a productive and peaceful month filled with magic of your own making. As the great orator G.K. Chesterton said, “The most incredible thing about miracles is that they happen.” Mental Mysteries
Watch videos of some of my holiday magic in the links below.
Santa Clause was and is one of our greatest performing magicians, his feature effects include rapid transportation, sudden appearances and disappearances, trained reindeer, and endless productions.
Additionally, I like to put forth the argument that Santa is primarily a mentalist at heart! He “sees” you when you’re sleeping, knows when you’re awake, knows if you are bad or good, and he certainly knows what we all want for Christmas (for goodness sake)!
All of you have made a positive impact not only in my life, but in the lives of so many. Let’s continue to strive to find the miracles in the minutiae of our lives and to create magic for all those we encounter. In the words of Jack Skellington, “Happy holidays, everyone!”
Enjoy some of my magical appearances by clicking the links below:
Welcome to November’s Mysteries of the Mind monthly newsletter!
“At times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” – Albert Schweitzer
Happy Thanksgiving!
“I used to be embarrassed because I was just a comic-book writer while other people were building bridges or going on to medical careers. And then I began to realize: entertainment is one of the most important things in people’s lives. Without it, they might go off the deep end. I feel that if you’re able to entertain people, you’re doing a good thing.” – Stan Lee
I like you. You receive my newsletter because you are someone I like & admire! I’m honored and grateful that you are here. Thank you!
This month and next, I am excited to gather with family and friends this season for dinners with traditional feasts and gift-giving celebrations. The rituals we enact during this season – the stories, histories, miracles, and profound meanings we share – delight me both as a magician and as an anthropologist. This is a time to give and a time to share. I’m busy making a list of all that I am grateful for: it helps me to see how lucky I am and inspires me to be more generous to others.
It has been wonderful to see and participate in the generosity of my community, where bags of groceries are donated to feed the homeless and coat drives are stacking up supplies for those in need. On a larger scale, I have been so very fortunate to be brought in as an auctioneer to gather money for charitable organizations all over the US to help make a difference in communities from my home state of Utah to California to Texas. In my career, I have made it a priority to work with philanthropies at their banquets as a performer and auctioneer. If you have a favorite charitable organization, let me know so that I can reach out to them. I’d love to help!
After decades of working with charities and seeing the incredible work that it takes to organize dinners, speakers, entertainers, and ticket sales, how silent auction and live auction items were gathered from supportive board members or companies to sell at their events, I had a unique perspective on the financial and emotional investment that an event like this can be for its organizational team.
But I had always wondered about the people in the audience who wanted to give money to the charity and didn’t particularly want a donated photograph, a pearl necklace, or a basket of wine. What about those people who were ready to donate but were outbid on everything? Did their hosts just plan to let them leave the event and lose the funding that they’d come prepared to give? This year, I have added a new strategy that I refer to as auctioning “invisible items.” During the auction of “invisible items,” the audience doesn’t receive a prize or a gift; instead, I simply give them a platform to bid on an item like a life-changing scholarship or vital piece of equipment that will be donated directly to the organization we have gathered to support.The process shows how, working together, we can raise thousands of dollars for a charity or event at no extra cost. I’ve helped raise money for sick children, families in need, youth leadership training, school equipment, mentors for at-risk youth, leadership and diversity training in schools, food for the homeless, and supplies for students with disabilities. So far this year, I have used this incredible request to raise an additional $100,000 in funds for charities beyond the numbers they have been able to reach in previous years.
In other exciting news, Weber State University has asked me to perform and emcee at the grand opening of their new $35 million (and nearly 120,000 square foot!) Social and Behavioral Science Building on January 7th! I was in the first graduating class of anthropology majors from this university, my undergraduate alma mater, and I am honored to return to assist with the ceremony for the new facility.
From December 17th through New Year’s Eve, I am still available for Holiday Party Bookings. Let me know who to contact if your company or group is looking for entertainment.
If you know anyone who could use my services,please remember that referrals from friends are over half my business! I am available for corporate banquets, trade shows, morning energizer meetings, and all your other special events. I’m never too busy for you or your friends.
“One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.”
“Paul is a stealth dramaturg, but he’s best known for his work as a magician and mentalist. He’s also a cultural anthropologist! So we talked about the historic role of magic in society and its evolution from religious practice to a form of entertainment and commerce! Because when you have magical anthropologist on hand, you gotta ask all these questions.”
On this episode of The Context, Paul talks to me about: · His journey into dramaturgy. As a young Jewish person in Salt Lake City, he was the go-to religion consultant every time anyone put on a production of Fiddler on the Roof. · His journey into magic, which was based largely on the desire to have magical powers as a little kid. · How he came to be a student of magic and how his personal religious scholarship encouraged a deep dive into the role of magic in society · How historical, literal witch hunts changed the nature of his profession · What real-life skills he’s developed for his mind-reading shows, including how he’s honed his instincts for lie-detection · His ethical obligation to let folks know that he doesn’t do real magic and how even with that disclaimer, he’s occasionally picketed by religious groups for doing sorcery · How he meaningfully engages with his audience · What I should do about my loved ones who are pretty sure they get messages from ghosts
This week in Mentalism: I was on the college station in College Station! Thank you, Morning Candy at Candy 95 in College Station, Texas near Texas A&M! You can watch some amazing things that were originally created to be heard on radio.
Magician Paul Draper drops by Morning Candy & blows our minds with some unbelievable magic!!
MUM I’ve been writing a monthly column for MUM Magazine that goes out to all of the members of the Society of American Magicians. Just sent in my article for November! Have you been reading the column so far? Sign up here: https://www.magicsam.com
Appearances:
Real Estate Event
Laughlin, Nevada
November 10th
Boys and Girls Club
Bryan/College Station, Texas
November 11th
Gilbert Construction
Cedar City, Utah
December 1st
Penguin Magic
Columbus, Ohio
December 3rd
Helena Motors
Helena, Montana
December 6th
Jackson Contractor Group
Missoula, Montana
December 8th
SLC IBM Christmas Party
Salt Lake City, Utah
December 9th
Nightingale College
Salt Lake City, Utah
December 10th
Private House Party
St. George, Utah
December 13th
Private Corporate Event
Delta, Utah
December 14th
Private Corporate Event
Seattle, Washington
December 15th
Smoke & Mirrors
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
January 4th-5th
Weber State University
Ogden, Utah
January 7th
House of Cards
Nashville, Tennessee
January 8th-10th
Tennessee Theater Festival
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
January 10th-13th
Utah Theater Association Festival
Salt Lake City, Utah
January 17th-19th
Holladay Arts Council
Holladay, Utah
January 25th
Lakeland University
Plymouth, Wisconsin
February 7th
Corporate Event at The LINQ
Las Vegas, Nevada
March 4th
Poof! Too
Hermosa Beach, California
March 23rd
FanX
Salt Lake City, Utah
April 18th – 20th
Mountain View High School
Santa Clara, California
June 7th
“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” -Colin Powell
I really like this quote from Colin Powell – it rings so true for me. But I must add that in my life, realizing my dreams also took a little magic!
This month marks my 10-year anniversary as a full-time speaker and entertainer! October is also my birthday month, and on Halloween, I’ll be 40 years old!
Conventional wisdom says that I’m over the hill, but it feels like I’m just getting started. It has been an exciting and difficult journey so far, but have I achieved the goals I set for myself all those years ago? Some of those goals have been accomplished; some have changed. I have always loved Bill Gates’s statement that “people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten.” Never have I felt the truth of these words more deeply than I do now.
I began the Mysteries of the Mind monthly newsletter just a few short weeks after becoming an independent presenter and performer. Looking back on the first newsletter in my archives, it is shocking to see what life was like in October of 2008! I only had six shows on a list of upcoming events that stretched over four months – and those four months of shows combined wouldn’t be enough to cover my bills for a single month.
I’m fortunate to be able to say that I believe my thirty-year-old self would be impressed (and surprised!) by all of the things that my forty-year-old self has accomplished. What do you plan to do in the next year? In the next ten? I can attest that you will have incredible success waiting for you if you keep pushing towards your goals.
Looking Back!
You can join me in my retrospective and retrace my journey through some of my old newsletters here:
In the photo above you see me performing magic with Shahene Pezeshki at the home of Nathan Meier for a Halloween party in the early 90’s! Who let these kids have a lighter and dry ice!
The best advice that I can give to anyone starting down the same track is this:
Be an optimist. Winston Churchill identified as an optimist, because “it does not seem to be much use to be anything else.” For me, being an optimist doesn’t mean that I am always happy; it means that, with hard work and determination, I believe that tomorrow can be a better day. In 1989, when Colin Powell published his Thirteen Rules of Leadership, he ended his list by saying, “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.” This is because when we fall, we have to get up, brush ourselves off, rest, and try again the next day. Optimism is the impetus that makes this possible.
These past ten years have been amazing, and I can’t wait to see what we all accomplish in the next ten! The world is full of people who want to help you and see you succeed. Find them, and focus on growing and strengthening those relationships so we can all succeed together. Create every day, and get your creations out into the world. The world is ready for your insights, your wisdom, your beauty, and your brilliance. Next month, I will debut a brand-new demo video and a brand-new website to send me off into my second decade! Until then, thank you for being with me on this journey. Please let me know what I can do to make your world better!
If you know anyone who could use my services, remember that referrals from friends are over half my business! I am available for corporate banquets, trade shows, morning energizer meetings, and all your other special events. I’m never too busy for you and your friends! Your friend, Paul Draper Paul@MentalMysteries.com Http://www.MentalMysteries.com 801-541-2976
“One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.”– Lucille Ball
A huge tree fell in my backyard: I had about 60 of these logs to cut up and haul. The biggest one was between 150 and 175 lbs. They averaged about 100 lbs. each. Don’t worry: I used my legs to lift bigger pieces!
A huge tree fell in my backyard. I have about 60 of these to cut up and haul tonight. Wish me luck! London is in charge of lemonade and water,Shahene is coming over soon for added muscle!
(Ironically, this video of my tossing logs into a dumpster had over 2,300 views the same week that a professionally shot and edited demo for one of my university shows only received 400 views!)
I was also caught throwing axes in a three-piece suit at FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention with #axearena. Not bad for my first try!
London caught me throwing axes in a three piece suit at FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention with #axearena. Not bad for my first try!
Maybe it is time to become a lumberjack! Anybody know where I can find a big blue ox?
MUM and Mystique
I’ve been writing a monthly column for MUM Magazine that goes out to all of the members of the Society of American Magicians. I just sent in my article for November! Have you been reading the column so far? Sign up here:
