In July 2005, Dr. Sylvia Tracz successfully defended her doctoral thesis in Chemistry at SUNY Stony Brook. Then, tragedy struck. On the night of July 24, 2005, Sylvia was on her way to a party to celebrate the completion of her doctoral thesis. A SUV sped through a red light, slamming into the small car Sylvia was driving. She was nearly killed in the accident. During a lengthy hospital stay, Sylvia began to heal from the critical injuries she sustained in the accident. Eventually, she was airlifted to a rehabilitation center in Illinois to be near her family. Remarkably, she is recovering, making slow but steady progress. To her friends and family, it seems nothing short of a miracle.
Unfortunately, mounting medical costs and expenses are providing a separate challenge. Some of Sylvia’s friends and colleagues, including her brother, Arthur Trace, realized that she could use a little magic to help with her miraculous recovery. They decided to
organize a charity magic benefit, in ‘A Magic Night for Sylvia’ at the cavernous Staller Center at SUNY Stony Brook, which was generously made available without charge for the event.
On March 1, 2006, ten magicians, all of whom volunteered their time, traveled from around the country to perform at ‘A Magic Night for Sylvia.’ The event proved to be very successful. More than 700 supporters and spectators attended, packing the auditorium and generating about $15,000 in ticket and concession sales, while additional funds were raised through discretionary contributions.
Not only was it for a wonderful cause, but the show was outstanding. Spectators were treated to more than two hours of top-flight magic, including a fabulous stage show and a terrific close-up segment. Arthur Trace, Todd Robbins and Francis Menotti headlined onstage, while the close-up segment featured seven magicians associated with Monday Night Magic: Michael Chaut, Thorsten Happel, Jenna Kassen, Dennis Kyriakos, Carl Mercurio, Ben Nemser and Andy Roberts. (Jon Stetson appeared in the program for the stage show, but missed the show due to an unfortunate travel mix-up.)
Innovation and originality were the hallmarks of the stage performances. Trace -- who flew in from Chicago for the event -- performed several sets. Winner of a prestigious gold medal from the International Brotherhood of Magicians, Trace, who could be a Buddy Holly look-alike, offers a thought-provoking fusion of stage magic and performance art. His opening set featured a theme about time -- in Trace’s magical world, a half-eaten apple becomes a timekeeping device, the magicians ability to stop time explains his ability to make objects vanish, and the sands of an hour glass visibly dissolve only to reappear inside an egg. He did an unusual cups and balls routine using bells and clappers, and employed a large tin can telephone to perform a unique twist on the Miser’s Dream. In ‘Postmodern Art,’ Trace blurs the line between life and art, as an abstract painting comes to life in his hands. Objects magically pop in and out of the canvas, changing color and form, while the image gradually morphed into a self-portrait of the artist. During this routine, Trace performs a wonderful silent billiard ball and card production routine reminiscent of Cardini -- the magic seems to happen to him.
Though many have seen Todd Robbins perform before, he proved, once again, that he is one of the most entertaining people on the planet. During ‘A Magic Night for Sylvia,’ Todd acted as an engaging emcee, charming everyone by sponsoring an eat-four-Ritz-crackers-and-then-whistle contest among a dozen children from the audience. That Todd can squeeze every drop of entertainment out of this bit of business demonstrates the power of his stage presence. He contorted four strapping young men from the audience into the ‘Death-Defying, Anti-Gravity, Human Pretzel'. He performed several of his signature sideshow effects, including the Human Blockhead act, in which he drives a six-inch steel nail into his nose with a hammer. He extinguished a lit cigar on his tongue and did something with a balloon that is simply too disgusting to describe or, for some, to watch. But the audience really enjoyed every minute of Todd’s performance.
The third headliner, Philadelphia’s Francis Menotti, entered bound in a straight jacket, and then, to the sounds of Charlie Chaplin tramp-style music, effected an escape. By entering in the straight jacket, he avoided the process of putting it on during his act, an interesting approach. Menotti next offered an interesting card effect based on the premise that his words would get confused as the cards were shuffled. His patter bore out this promise, then his words, and the order of the cards, magically returned to normal. Menotti performed a ‘Temporal Postage’ effect, in which he vanished a silk, marked with a stamp initialed by a spectator, which reappears inside a sealed, postmarked envelope. He did a number prediction, styled as an ‘anti-prediction’ in which the magician hopes to fail to prove that the curse of prescience has left him, and carried off a wonderful magic square and Rubik’s Cube routine that went over well with the largely collegiate audience. A book test in which a spectator was offered a free choice of five volumes contained several subtleties that the audience found impressive, while a silent card routine in which the chosen, signed card emerged from Menotti’s duct-taped mouth scored big. Finally, Menotti did the ‘Professor’s Nightmare’ hitting the jackpot by selecting a giggly kid named Andrew as his volunteer. Sporting Johnny Depp cool and Adrien Brody-like good looks, Menotti is a smooth, likeable performer.
The magicians performing during the close-up segment brought unbridled energy and enthusiasm to the evening. Groups of spectators thronged around each of the performers, gasping with astonishment and cheering loudly as the magicians performed a variety of effects. I watched Dennis Kyriakos blow away a group of spectators. Dennis is a terrific performer and a good-natured wise guy. When asked about this, he responded tersely ‘Hey, I’m from Queens.’ Dennis then did a solid rendition of the ambitious card routine, using a signed card with a card-to-wallet finish. It’s impossible to describe all of the close up performers, but the sounds of yells, cheers and applause from the audience as they were performing could be heard throughout the auditorium and concession area.
The Benefit Magic Show was a great success. However it is important to note that this event could not have turned out so well without the support—both financial and nonfinancial—of so many people helping and giving their time and resources (i.e. the organizers (Al Silverstein, Prof. Daniel Raleigh and Andisheh Abedini), the performers, the Staller Center, NYPIRG, Newsday and other campus and area newspapers, area radio stations, SBU communications office, USG ticket office, all the Stony Brook graduate students, faculty, staff and local area volunteers and contributers). But the show especially could not have been possible without generous finincial support from GSO and Dean Lawrence Martin and his staff. All of the performers, organizers, sponsors, volunteers and supporters should be proud of being part of this spectacular night and for contributing to such a worthy cause.
Those who would like to contribute towards Sylvia’s medical expenses can contact the Department of Chemistry main office (631-632-7920) or send donations to: Graduate Chemical Society, Sylvia Tracz Fund, Department of Chemistry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-3400. Checks can be made out to Graduate Chemical Society, Sylvia Tracz Fund.
(Story adapted for the SBU Graduate Newsletter from an article written by Gary Brown for Genii Magazine, with his permission)
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