KentNewsNet.com

Issue date: 3/4/09 Section: News

Entertainer Craig Karges jokes with va olunteer before performing a trick in which he guesses, blindfolded, the word she writes on the whiteboard. He guessed the word "mirror" correctly. Karges performed many tricks including mind reading and even levitating a table. Katie Roupe | Daily Kent Stater

A table shuffled across the stage then levitated. A wooden block fell on its side without being touched. Minds were read and predictions came true. All this and more occurred last night in the Kiva during entertainer Craig Karges' KIC-sponsored performance.

More than 300 students showed up to see Karges' show, which mixed humor, magic, psychology and intuition. While some students came with open minds, others like sophomore pre-nursing major Rita Dannemiller were wary.

"My roommate had to drag me here," she said.

Karges did his best throughout the show to change the minds of skeptics like Dannemiller.

One illusion that drew gasps of disbelief from the crowd was Karges' ability to accurately guess personal information about audience members. He correctly guessed the names of several volunteers' parents, friends and pets. He even guessed their birthdays and cell phone numbers.

Karges also had a volunteer from the audience place tape over his eyes and blindfold him. Then Karges held a student ID and guessed the name and physical description of the person the ID belonged to.

Karges' abilities aren't limited to reading minds. He also performed several visual illusions that prompted audience members to shriek from surprise. When Karges caused a solid wooden block to fall on its side while standing offstage, the crowd burst into applause.

The falling block evoked a strong response from junior sports management major Kimmie Mitchell.

"I was so freaked out," she said.

In the end, Karges was able to encourage at least one audience member to suspend their disbelief.

"I actually really liked his show," Dannemiller said. "He did some really cool stuff."

Contact on-campus entertainment reporter

Katie Young at kyoung15@kent.edu.

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