about that illusion, called Your Vote Is Magic! One of my goals through this endeavor has always been to help educate, motivate and inspire as many students as possible about voting. I hope my book will navigate a way through their high-tech world and instill in them the importance of their future vote. Your Vote Is Magic! has been written through the eyes of an average citizen. As you will see, I was compelled to present a really grand, unique illusion for the 2008 presidential election. Through my father’s beliefs I knew early on just how important voting is. That’s what I hope to pass along. As I ventured through my journey, it was an eye-opener for me to realize just how much voting really affects our everyday lives. And so it became more than a book—it became an exciting adventure.
Your Vote Is Magic! will engage the reader from the conception of the illusion, as it follows the process of creating one of the most elaborate illusions ever performed in the world of magic. Although there will still be a large element of mystery (that’s guaranteed!), I’ll actually reveal what it took to make it happen, in its many fascinating, sometimes very stressful, and often funny details.
I hope this book will be a page-turner because that’s how the process felt to me for an entire year, as the concept was becoming a reality, with all of it leading to one fabulous night and the heart-stopping reality of live performance.
The reaction to the illusion Your Vote is Magic! has been gratifying and very varied. People often asked me how I did it. Some people have even asked me why I did it. To that question I say that my motivation has always been crystal clear: to make a difference!
May the readers of this book become as enlightened as I have been about this incredible gift and never be “too busy” or “too skeptical” to get out and vote!
CHAPTER 1
The Early Years
A thousand pairs of eyes were focused on me. I was about to present a king-sized magical illusion—performed live—before this excited crowd. The enormous effort of many talented people and amazing luck along the way had led to this moment. I knew, as with any live performance, there was always the possibility of the unexpected.
With my crew in position and attentively awaiting their cues, I began: “To celebrate our freedom to vote, I’ve created something a little special . . .”
If you had known me as a young girl, the notion of me growing up to become a professional illusionist would have seemed totally impossible. I was born in the city of New Bedford, Massachusetts, the daughter of Loretta and Calvin Dillies. As far back as I can recall, I was painfully shy. I never raised my hand in class to answer a question and would hide behind my parents when introduced to someone new. It seems ironic to think back to my first magic show experience. I was eight years old when I watched an elderly vaudeville-style magician perform in my elementary school auditorium. I was so nervous that he might pick me as a volunteer to go onstage that I slid way down in my seat so he wouldn’t see me. The good thing was that he could have never spotted me, but the bad thing was I never saw the show!
When I was ten years old, my parents and I moved to a lovely, small town called Westport, Massachusetts. I left the Hathaway Elementary School in New Bedford and was now enrolled in the Westport Middle School. Even though I didn’t enjoy my elementary school experience very much because I was so shy, it was a piece of cake compared to my new school. At least I had a couple of good friends in my old school. At the new school, I was bullied for the first few years and consequently detested going to school every day. In the Westport Middle School, I felt like I was thrown into a pack of wolves. I would come home every day with a headache or stomach ache. Fortunately, I lived in a wonderful neighborhood and made some good friends, one of whom is still a best friend today. My nickname in the hood was “pick,” short for toothpick because of my very slender build. Little did I know how that slender build would serve me for my future career!
Perhaps a seed was planted when I experienced that first magic show from my sunken chair position, because at twelve years old I watched a television show called “The Magician,” starring the late Bill Bixby. He played the part of a magician who owned a private jet and used his magic to fight crime. I was thoroughly intrigued by his magic, enough so that my father took me to a local magic shop. He bought me a few tricks that were small enough to fit in one’s pocket. I practiced and practiced until they were perfected and then brought them to school with me. It felt so natural for me to be showing the tricks in the lunchroom, in class, and even on the school bus. Lo and behold, I started making friends and becoming a little popular. The magic was so empowering for me. It all just clicked and totally transformed my life.
Now, I couldn’t wait to come home from school to work on my magic. I was consumed with it. I read lots of magic books and made most of my own tricks. All of my school notebooks had scribbles and doodles of tricks I wanted to perform or create. I walked up and down the local highway collecting aluminum cans to turn in for money. Counting every penny, I made a “wish list” of tricks I wanted to buy. Aft a while, I began to walk around my neighborhood carrying a cardboard box containing homemade tricks, then I’d ring a neighbor’s doorbell and ask if he or she would like to see show. After being welcomed in, I’d set up a TV table in the living room, do my little show, pack up and walk to the next house. I’m sure that after a few months, when the doorbell rang my neighbors would hide and pretend that they weren’t home!
Finally, after saving all my money, I had enough to buy my first big professional trick. The cost was $50.00. When I went to the magic shop to purchase it, I was so nervous about spending that amount of money that I passed out cold. If I knew then how much money a big illusion show would cost to put together today, I would have never gotten up off the floor!
CHAPTER 2
A Love Of Performing
Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves, and the only way they could do this is by not voting.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
I started performing for birthday parties, scout groups, and nursing homes to gain experience. My first professional gig was doing a show for the Eastern Star, a Masonic group in New Bedford. My mother drove me there in her station wagon. She helped carry in my cardboard boxes loaded with props and set them up backstage. I had them all lined up on a long table. After presenting a trick, I’d run backstage and hand it to my mother, as she gave me the next trick. I’d exclaim, “They really liked that one! Did you hear them clap?”
Before every show, I’d be a nervous wreck—but afterwards I felt like I had conquered the world. All these years later, I still feel the same way before and after every show. I just knew in my early teens that I was destined to do magic. I lived and breathed it.
In my sophomore year, Scholastic Magazine did a story on me. They sent a reporter and photographer from New York City to interview me one day, and the next day they covered me doing a show on Cape Cod. I ended up being in a filmstrip and magazine that Scholastic produced featuring children pursuing unusual hobbies. A segment was televised on CBS National News. My parents were getting calls from family and friends around the county. It was a pretty neat thing back then. The reporter from Scholastic, Jane Startz, has become a highly acclaimed executive producer of award-winning family films.
In my junior year of high school, I remember meeting my guidance counselor, Mr. Melli, to discuss my future career plans. Without batting an eye, I told Mr. Melli that I was
