In May, Craig Karges returned to the stage of the Capitol Theatre in his hometown of Wheeling, West Virginia to present his one-man, theatrical touring show Experience the Extraordinary and receive a standing ovation in the process. In September of 2009, the extraordinist appeared on the bill celebrating the grand re-opening of the 1920s-era Beaux Arts theatre listed on the National Register of Historic Places after the venue had been shuttered for two years. The May performance was a benefit for Oglebay Institute, widely recognized as the nation’s oldest arts council. OI is celebrating its 80th year of inspiring imaginations. The show drew over 1100 people and raised over $20,000 for the arts organization. While corporate and college appearances monopolize much of Craig’s time, he really enjoys presenting his one-man theatrical show in theatres and performing arts centers around the country. In addition to his May appearance at the Capitol, he also worked another historic theatre (and received another standing ovation) in March. The venue was the Colonial Theatre in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. The 1903 playhouse is fully restored and is one of only a half dozen or so of the 250 playhouses designed by noted theatre architect, J.B. McElfatrick, still standing. James Taylor chose the theatre as the location to record and film his One Man Band CD/DVD in 2007.
In July ‘10, Craig will return to Massachusetts, this time to the other side of the state and the Cape Cod area when he appears with his one-man show at the East Sandwich Auditorium. The extraordinist will also reappear at Ohio’s Fitton Center for Creative Art in October for a fourth appearance after his last sold-out appearance at the venue in November of ‘09. “It is nearly a week since you stunned audiences here in Pittsfield with your astounding performance. To describe the performance as anything less than ASTOUNDING would be a gross understatement. I am still getting calls from audience members who are talking about your presentation. Beyond your amazing feats, everyone here was impressed by your wonderful stage presence, smooth delivery, and the never-failing entertainment quality of your work. People simply enjoyed watching everything you did and were genuinely disappointed that the show could not continue into the night. The theater staff here has had hundreds of experiences hosting visiting performers but none of us can remember anyone with whom we have so thoroughly enjoyed working. Mr. Karges, you are a gentleman in every way. We feel fortunate to have met you and to have had the opportunity to present you to our friends and neighbors. We will enthusiastically look forward to the opportunity to do so again.” “Craig Karges’ act truly is extraordinary. I was shaking my head in disbelief more than once throughout the 90-minute show last night at the Capitol Theatre. How does he do it? How does he link three men’s rings together? How does he know what those people are thinking when they come on stage? How does he tell us the serial number from a bill when he’s seriously blindfolded? How does he know the description of an imaginary car — a car that is imagined hours AFTER he writes down the make, color, price and license plate number on a slip of paper and seals it in an envelope? How does he know under WHICH Styrofoam cup that sharp knife blade is lurking? Smashing the empty cups with his bare hand was terrifying for the woman on stage as well as the rest of us in the audience. How does he come up with these things? Extraordinary. So very extraordinary. And it was great to see more than 1,000 seats filled at the Capitol. All in all, it was quite a great evening out in Wheeling.” “Craig Karges is known for his combination of the art of magic and the power of intuition to create one of the most interesting and impressive shows on stage.”
It’s not Rocket Science Part 2 After the success of Craig Karges’ appearance in Nashville in September of 2009 for the United Space Alliance and NASA, the extraordinist was invited to the Marshall Space Flight Center in early January for his first presentation of 2010. Craig appeared before engineers, administration and staff members involved with the space shuttle program. This was the extraordinist’s second presentation in just over three months for the national space agency. Due to the success of these NASA appearances, Craig was invited to a VIP viewing of the lift-off of Space Shuttle Discovery on its STS-131 mission from Kennedy Space Center in Florida in April. The pre-dawn launch was deemed one of the most spectacular in shuttle history. Craig’s calendar is an eclectic mix and on any given day you can find him presenting and performing for anyone from a college coed to a NASA engineer. For example, March 2010 roared in like the proverbial lion beginning with a stop at the brand new JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and an after-dinner presentation. Craig received a standing ovation and was rebooked on the spot for another association event in December. The extraordinist stayed in the Southwest with a flight to Arizona to present the opening session of the American Gear / American Bearing Manufacturers Associations combined meeting at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson. A cross-country, red-eye flight to Charlotte found Craig appearing at the International Sleep Products Expo Awards Breakfast at the Charlotte Convention Center. Nothing much stops the extraordinist but the next evening a scheduled appearance at Winthrop University in nearby South Carolina was canceled due to an on campus fire. The extraordinist’s performance was rescheduled for April 1st - no foolin’! This trip ended with another standing ovation, this time in Atlanta for the Jones Lang LaSalle Leadership Conference where Craig provided the opening general session by combining the best of his two corporate presentations — Experience the Extraordinary and Ignite Your Intuition. Over 5,000 miles later, Craig was back home in West Virginia. The spring months remained busy for the extraordinist. One of his most memorable corporate appearances of the spring found him back in Atlanta working for an old friend of sorts. Cox Media Group hired Craig to present at its “Summit for Change” held at corporate headquarters. It was a first time gathering of publishers and general managers from newspaper, TV and radio under one roof and under one leadership team. Cox Enterprises (CMG’s parent) is a media company with 70,000 employees and approximately $15 billion in annual revenues and is viewed nationwide as one of the gold standard media companies. Craig’s connection to Cox goes back to 2000 when the Cox owned and operated Pittsburgh NBC affiliate, WPXI-TV, produced Craig’s first television special, Experience the Extraordinary, which aired in prime time on Cox owned and operated stations. In 2003, Craig and Cox teamed up again to create Bedazzled Boys of Black and Gold, a television special developed exclusively for the Pittsburgh market with a focus on the Pittsburgh Steelers legendary NFL franchise. Indeed, it was the big brass at WPXI-TV who orchestrated Craig’s appearance in Atlanta.
“Your performance at our meeting was terrific. Our group included creative, high energy individuals from News & Marketing departments of our Cox Media Group from across the country and you kept the entire audience spellbound! “Thank you so much for a most intriguing show last month during our ISPA EXPO. The show was AMAZING! You had the audience on the edge of their seats. You were the perfect entertainer for our event. You are a joy to work with and we look forward to working with you again in the future!” “Thank you for the memories. We received many thank yous and positive comments from our staff and guests. Our company is a better company after having the opportunity to ‘experience the extraordinary’ through Craig Karges. Our thoughts of what is really possible have changed.” “Many thanks for an outstanding performance at our Oregon/Washington Medical Group Management Association Meeting. It truly was an amazing, first-class show. It was all the attendees could talk about the next day! In fact, I’m sure they will be talking about it for years to come.” “Wow, is all we can say! Craig Karges’ performance kept our conference attendees on the edge of their seats. The attendees, expecting the standard motivational talk or canned magic act, were absolutely bowled over with his first-class performance. Not only were they captivated by the magical and mind reading aspects of his show but charmed by his sense of humor and professionalism. The active use of the audience really gave the show a personal touch. We would not hesitate to recommend Craig Karges to any group or function of any size!” “Thanks for the spectacular show. It was a great ending to an exciting evening. Many attendees commented to me that you provided the best entertainment that we have ever experienced.” “Craig will deliver an amazing show that will excite your group and leave them talking about the performance for days. He boggles your mind and challenges your senses. If you are looking for a show that has great audience participation and a definite ‘WOW’ factor, Craig Karges’ ‘Experience the Extraordinary’ is what you are looking for. He easily captivates his audience and leaves them wanting more. Craig’s inspiring show is something you need to see to believe. My recommendation is to book him for an event as soon as possible! It will be the easiest and one of the best decisions you have ever made.”
A Top Five Speaker Each year, Speakers Platform recognizes five speakers, within fifteen popular topic areas, based on: expertise, professionalism, innovation within the topic area, client testimonials and references, presentation skills, original contribution to the field and public votes cast at the Speaking.com website. Over 13,000 votes were cast from business leaders, educators, association members and others from around the world for the 2010 nominees. 55 Good Things In May, the State Journal, West Virginia’s only “state newspaper” covering political, business and general news from throughout the state, recognized Craig Karges as one of the 55 Good Things About West Virginia. The paper highlighted 55 people, places, businesses, traditions and events that make the Mountain State a special place to live. According to the State Journal, “55 Good Things about West Virginia examines the people with ties to our state who perform on the world stage and much closer to home. It highlights the traditions that make us special and focuses on the organizations that make us better. It places a spotlight on West Virginians whose creativity and hard work bring joy and comfort to people around the state and world.“ The extraordinist is a lifelong resident of the “The WV.” Hottest Act on Campus Craig Karges has been one of the major draws on college campuses for 20 years. The tradition continued in the spring of 2010 with dozens of college bookings including a return appearance at The Johns Hopkins University and his 12th appearance at Washington University in St. Louis. We’ve already mentioned that the extraordinist’s March appearance at Winthrop University for legendary college programmer Boyd Jones was postponed due to an on campus fire and rescheduled for April 1st. Craig’s successful return to campus resulted in his 9th show at the university and his being awarded the prestigious Dinkins Student Union Programming Board Winthrop Whammy Award for the Best Novelty/Variety Act to visit campus during the 2009-10 academic year! Winthrop has one of the most active student activities calendars in the country, hosting over 60 acts each academic year. As you can tell, the extraordinist remains a very hot act on the college market! For example, Providence College was a regular stop during Craig’s annual fall tours of New England in the late 90s and early 2000s. A few years ago the school “fell out of the loop” when it came to Craig’s touring schedule. In 2010, PC came back strong by booking the extraordinist for upperclassmen Family Weekend in February. Craig sold-out the student center auditorium two weeks prior to the event; so the performance was moved to the Mullaney Gymnasium to accommodate the crowd. After the extraordinist received a standing ovation, he was asked to return to campus in November for freshmen (Class of 2014) Family Weekend. However, the Class of 2010 wasn’t done with the extraordinist and wanted to “Experience the Extraordinary” one more time; so in May, Craig was invited to perform during commencement week activities as 1100 graduating seniors descended on the Atlantic Beach Club in Newport, Rhode Island and Craig performed two shows for packed crowds at the venue. When Craig makes his freshman Family Weekend appearance for the class of 2014 this fall, it will mark his 9th show at the institution and his third performance for PC in just one calendar year. “WOW! Rave reviews from Saturday night. Everyone was thrilled and I believe you even stole the spotlight from our beloved President who had spoken some time before you... he took it all in stride!!! Thank you again for such a wonderful show. We were truly impressed.” “He is just the best there is!” “Loved him so much. All of our students were blown away! Sold out the venue.” “People had a great time and really enjoyed the show. Your show just keeps getting better and better. I am still in awe of the bit you did with my last name. How cool!!! Thanks for being so wonderful to my students. You rock!”
Extraordinary TV Craig Karges made his third appearance on Boston’s WFXT-FOX 25 Morning News in February reading minds and doing an encore performance of his signature floating table demonstration. Co-anchor Kim Carrigan was duly impressed, “Oh my God, that is impressive! Awesome! That is unbelievable.” In May, Craig Karges appeared on the Daytime syndicated television show during sweeps. The show airs out of Tampa on WFLA-TV, the NBC affiliate and was unique to that market when Craig made his first appearance on the program in 2003. Since then, the show expanded to include the dozen or so Media General owned and operated stations in the Southeast. A recent partnership with Southern Living magazine increased the show’s appeal and it is currently syndicated in 109 markets from Tampa to Los Angeles. Daytime has become a recent addition to cable as well since the Retro Television Network (RTV) began airing the program weekday mornings, increasing the show’s national audience even more. Craig had a great time with the show’s hosts and his television feats of extraordinary phenomenon elicited the following responses: “Oh my gosh! How is that possible? Holy cow! How did you do that? That is frightening. You’re scaring me Craig!” “Get out of here! That is scary! Wow!” Dave Nemeth The extraordinist was invited back for a return appearance. This was Craig’s 42nd national television appearance. |
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