John Fabjance

How John Fabjance got into the illusion business is almost as surprising as his performances. During his freshman year at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Illinois, the famed magician The Great Blackstone was performing one week in St. Louis, only 20 miles away.

John saved his money to see every show he could and hung outside the stage door in hopes of meeting Blackstone. After the last performance in St. Louis, John followed Blackstone and his crew to a restaurant and sat at a nearby table. The producer recognized him from hanging around the stage doors and offered to pay his bill. John, who had been performing amateur magic since high school, told the producer that if Blackstone ever needed an assistant to call him.

Two days later, the producer called John and said Blackstone's assistant had broken his arm and asked him to join them for the Kansas City shows. "I walked into the theater and there was no time to rehearse," he recalls. "They told me, 'You saw it all week. You know it well enough.' And I did. I started to tour with them all over."

Eventually, John left the tour to complete his degree in education. Along the way, John continued to perform magic to provide extra income while in college and even appeared on many local and national television programs including The Jackie Gleason Show, Circus, Circus and the very popular ABC program You Asked For It!, television's original reality/request show. Viewers from around the country would send in requests for the type of program they wanted to see. John performed some of his own magical creations--miniature illusions he designed and constructed especially for the performance.)

After college, John taught english, speech, theater and stage-craft classes to grade school, junior high, high school and college students, while continuing to perform and invent magic tricks in his spare-time. He designed and constructed special magic props and illusions for Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, The Ice Capades, Six Flags, Knotts Berry Farm and Disneyland. One of John's most famous magical creations is the Airbourne Glass in which a performer pours liquid from a bottle into a glass that is magically suspended mid-air. This illusion has been performed by professional magicians nationwide, including Lance Burton, and appeared both on television and in film.

Later, John would go on to develop magic used for national advertising campaigns for such companies as Standard Brands, makers of Baby Ruth and Butterfinger candies, Hershey Chocolate, Leaf Confections, Willy Wonka Candies, Ralston Purina and Planters Peanuts, Hoyle Playing Card Company and American Playing Card Company. John is also the author of two magic books with hundreds of magic tricks for beginners offered as promotional items in conjunction with these campaigns.

John eventually left the teaching profession to perform magic fulltime. However, still an educator at heart, he soon developed a magic act with a strong motivational message that he would share with more than 1,800 schools and universities.

It was at one of these college performances that the director of employee assistance programs at Kimberly-Clark saw the potential for John's message in the work environment. John started performing at their open houses for workers and their families, covering topics such as health and wellness, stress, self-esteem and safety. From there he went on to develop programs addressing additional issues including customer service, leadership, communication skills and adapting to change.

Today, his motivational messages combined with magical showmanship, tasteful humor and crowd-pleasing personality have brought him to national and international attention in the business world. His newest offering to corporate clients, The Counterfeit CEO, has received rave reviews from the corporate community. John is introduced as an out-of-town CEO to speak on the topic at hand. The audience politely listens to his platitudes, mixed-metaphors and motivational mumbo-jumbo. As things quickly progress, the presentation becomes more and more ridiculous, almost incoherent. The audience doesn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Now the actual magic starts to happenand and the fun really begins. A PowerPoint presentation comes to life, with magic. A pencil begins writting by itself.  John begins producing impossibly large objects from his pockets.  John presents an audience member with a watch which he has pick-pocketed moments earlier while shaking their hand. By now everyone realizes they are dealing with an impostor. From this point on the audience is in the palm of his hand as he combines his mind-altering magic with genuine, practicle insights on any one of a number of important issues relating to business and personal success.

A versatile communicator with a unique perspective, John is also a consummate entertainer, making him a favorite among magic fans. He is constantly in motion, walking through audiences and passing his energy and enthusiasm on to them wherever he performs. In all, his combination of world-class magic, sharp wit, powerful message and high-energy stage presence make John Fabjance an artist to watch.