Meeting With David Blaine

David Blaine's fingers are always moving. Sliding. Tapping. Flipping. We sit at a dining room size table with a centerpiece of perhaps three dozen neatly stacked decks of cards. Leaning against the exposed brick wall behind Blaine are eight-foot-tall framed posters promoting, in bold lithography, the early twentieth century feats of Carter the Great and Houdini. David Blaine is a man rooted in the legacy of the world's greatest magicians and endurance artists, and evidence of that surrounds us in his studio.

His fingers continue to fly simultaneously on his iPhone, iPad, the studio's land line, and playing cards. On the iPhone he's deftly working text messages and calls at the same time. He's talking to an art director about the packaging design for a new deck of David Blaine paying cards, confirming a TV network meeting, and discussing the need for him to come up with something really special to blow away President George W. Bush when he visits him later this month. Occasionally, while he's on on a call, I'll pick up my iPhone and check my email. ("Oh, look. I got one, too.") My fingers don't move nearly as fast.

I'm in New York to meet with David Blaine and discuss his presentation to The Richmond Forum on April 16, 2011. It's an opportunity for me to share with him what he can expect at our program and to discuss his preliminary thoughts for his presentation. Last year Blaine wowed a small, but very impressive, audience of the world's leading scientists at the TedMed conference. He presented a 20-minute lecture about his world record feat of holding his breath underwater for over 17 minutes. (Almost as long as the lecture itself!) Other than that, he hasn't been out working the speakers circuit, so his presentation to The Richmond Forum is going to be a one-of-a-kind premiere, much like when Dick Clark came to The Forum in 2003.

I point out that this may be the first time that David Blaine has ever played to an audience that he can't see. Because the Landmark Theater lighting is from a bygone era, our speakers can't see beyond the Orchestra Pit when they're on the stage. "Yeah, that will be different," he acknowledges, scribbling a note. Blaine, after all, turned magic on its heels by putting the focus on his spectators' reactions.

We discuss the schedule for the evening, his computer and video requirements (he'll be sharing some of his personal footage), and the makeup of our Richmond Forum audience. In short, I tell him that our subscribers love to be challenged by an evening at The Forum, and they want to leave with something to talk about. He writes down three words, "history," "science," and "logic."

He stops to take a call. When it's done he returns his attention to me, somehow finishing the sentence that he was in the middle of when the call came in, without missing a beat.

When the talk turns to the substance of his presentation, Blaine grabs a fresh note card from the center of the table and begins outlining his thoughts. He's obviously already walked through it all in his head. His outline is organized, smart, and exciting. It's clear that David Blaine is going to be bringing something special to The Richmond Forum, giving our subscribers something of himself. He breaks off scribbling to punctuate a theme.

"I find things that can't physically be done, and then do them. Doing what seems impossible, for real."

On that note, Blaine's fingers swipe across his iPad. He flips it around and gives me a peek at his next planned feat. It's insane.

"I'll be doing this right after I present to The Richmond Forum," he says.

Richmond, you are in for an amazing evening.

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A limited number of subscriptions to the 2010-2011 season of The Richmond Forum are still available. Just $155 reserves your seat for all five programs. Subscribe online at www.richmondforum.org, or call (804)330-3993.