Simply put, throughout the past fifteen years Mark Kalin and Jinger Leigh have redefined the traditional concepts of a “magic show.” Their unique productions have garnered accolades throughout the entertainment industry for their innovative and theatrical approach to magic and show production.
Whether appearing on network television, at the most exclusive, high-powered corporate functions, or within the framework of their own theatrical stage productions, Mark Kalin & Jinger Leigh are respected around the world as powerful and trend-setting performers.
Awards:
In 1998 Kalin & Jinger were voted magic’s highest honor, Magicians of the Year, by the prestigious Academy of Magical Arts Hollywood’s Magic Castle.
Other recipients include:
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| Copperfield | Doug Henning | David Blaine | Lance Burton | Penn & Teller |
In 2001, the World Magic Awards honored their show with Best Magic Show and again in 2008 they received the 2008 Magicians of the Year, by Fox Television.
Television:
Because of their success, Kalin & Jinger have made numerous television appearances including NBC’s, Word’s Greatest Magic, Hidden Secrets of Magic, Fox Family’s Magic on the Edge, Fox TV’s World Magic Awards hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, as well as appearances on Entertainment Tonight, CBS, and ABC.
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In 2009, Kalin & Jinger will make multiple appearances on Masters of Illusion, a 13-part series for Fox TV. Also, scheduled for international broadcast is A Royal Performance for Siegfried and Roy at the London Palladium for eStaris Television.
Casino Shows Produced by Kalin & Jinger:
In the 90s, they began creating their own shows. Before Your Very Eyes, Carnival of Wonders, and Illusionarium, garnered accolades throughout the entertainment industry and set records at showrooms across the United States. Working with comedy magicians Jeff Hobson and Mark Kornhhauser, these performances were more than critical successes; they were experiments in magic that allowed Kalin and Jinger to explore different presentations and utilize their combined skills. Carnival of Wonders, for example, packed all the fun of a traveling carnival into an evening of entertainment, hinting at dark mysteries and deeper wonders that surround us in our everyday life. It was a surprising vision for a magic show, incorporating dance and character to create an emotional bond with the audience. When their show came to Reno, Nevada, it was voted the city’s best production, and audiences returned again and again. In the summer of 2008, Kalin & Jinger returned to Atlantic City with their newest production, Real Magic.
History Making Magic:
On February 17th, 2001, Kalin and Jinger made magic history by presenting the largest stage illusion in the world the disappearance of an American Airlines jumbo jet at the Reno Hilton. The illusion was presented, nightly, for over two years. It was the climax of their popular show and was witnessed by over a half-a-million people. The Vanishing Jet was a remarkable achievement in magic and the result of months of careful work and planning.
Magic Underground:
In the spring of 2004, Kalin & Jinger opened their own 200-seat “theater of illusion,” Magic Underground, in Reno, located at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts. Over the years, we’d worked all of the big shows, where magic is always flashy and starts to turn into special effects, Kalin explains. They’d made tigers disappear, produced dozens of people in the twinkling of an eye, and even made headlines with their jet plane illusion. But we knew that there was a different approach, closer to our hearts. We’d seen that magic and theater, combined, could be very powerful keeping the audience an important part of the formula. But for us, it meant starting from scratch.
Magic Underground was a bold experiment in the art – one of only several venues in the world devoted entirely to magic and illusion. For this unique venue, Kalin & Jinger created their most intimate and theatrical production yet, “Real Magic.”
Final Words:
We’re told that ancient magicians were always experimenting, always learning new spells and enchantments, Jinger says. I guess that modern, theatrical magicians are no different. Kalin agrees. Part of our work is illusion and psychology, but any performance is about connecting to the audience the element of surprise. The stage is our laboratory, and for us, it feels as if we’re rediscovering real magic every evening.”
