Kostya Kimlat - MAGIC Magazine

The Mystery, The Energy

PHOTO: MICHAEL CAIRNS

By Gabe Fajuri As he launched the deck of cards toward the ceiling, the audience held its collective breath, teetering somewhere on the brink between belief and disbelief. The set-up sounded preposterous. The magician strode out onto the platform and suggested the impossible. Unwrapping a brand new deck of cards, he tossed a pillow into the crowd. After a few more throws to ensure a random selection, a willing spectator was asked to merely think of a card and keep its identity a secret — that is, until the deck was airborne. Then, the magician

PHOTO: MICHAEL CAIRNS

promised, the thought-of pasteboard would stick itself to the ceiling! Eat your heart out, Michael Ammar. On the count of three, the deck flew from his hand, headed on a quick upward trajectory toward the ceiling some 30 feet away. No one seemed to believe what was happening. This must be a gag. At the same moment, the chosen-at-random spectator called out in a voice loud enough for the audience of 300 to hear it clearly, “Six of Spades!” This has to be a gag, right? HOLD THAT THOUGHT… Kostya Kimlat, his first name pronounced Coast-ah, was born in Kiev, Ukraine in 1983. At 22 years old, already he’s able to build tension, create moments, and stun spectators with the ability of a seasoned professional. Why? Because he is a seasoned professional. He’s a full-time worker with a full calendar. And his date book isn’t just full of lectures for the local IBM ring or the occasional $50 birthday party; it’s dotted with corporate shows and walk-around gigs as much as it includes engagements in front of the magic-minded masses. He’s at home as a performer under nearly every circumstance, in any surrounding — on the trade-show floor, cozying up to a table at a restaurant, lecturing or performing to magicians — whatever the situation. Kostya immigrated to the Orlando, Florida area with his parents, sister, and grandmother in 1992, at the age of 9. His parents wanted to raise their children away from communism and away from Chernobyl where, when Kostya was three years old, the family fled their home when the nuclear plant accident struck. They also wanted to raise their children in a country where their religion — Judaism — would never be drawn into question. Kostya was the first child in two generations of his family to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah publicly. It was about that time, as he became a teenager, that Kostya was bitten by the magic bug after watching Jeff McBride and Bill Malone on The World’s Greatest Magic. Shortly thereafter, he started working, performing for the first time at a restaurant at the age of 14. It wasn’t long before he cut his teeth as a demonstrator in various tourist magic shops, kiosks, and destinations in and around the Orlando area. Additional inspiration came in the form of all eight volumes of the Tarbell Course in Magic, which he not only devoured, but also made an easily searchable, personalized index of, granting quick access to his favorite effects. By the time Kostya was a freshman in high school, he’d started an on-line magic newsletter, The Magic Express. It was through that newsletter he met San Francisco magician

Walt Anthony, who suggested different ideas to Kostya, not only about what to perform, but what to read and how to think. To this day, the two stay in touch and Kostya cites him as a major influence in his growth as a performer and as a person. At the age of 15 Kostya found himself doing walk-around magic for five hours a day at a 21-screen movie theatre opening in Orlando, ending each evening with a movie. In Kostya’s mind, things couldn’t get any better: he was doing magic, getting paid for it, and the movies were free, too. Then, he says, things changed when a meeting with Jon Racherbaumer in 1996 opened his eyes to a maxim that colors his work to this day. Racherbaumer phrased it simply and succinctly: mystery is energy. Jon and Kostya met and talked at Magic on the Beach, a convention held in Florida.

his time — his free time, away from high school, and on summer vacations, that is — soaking up magic in every possible form. For one month, he served as an assistant to John Calvert. Dai Vernon appeared on his literary horizon, and so did Paul Harris. Meetings with Florida magicians like Paul Cummins, Chad Long, Bill Malone, and Jim Swain, coupled with visiting lecturers like Guy Hollingworth and Chris Power, also fanned the flames. By the age of 17, with those varied experiences under his belt, Kostya took the next logical step any other magic-minded teenager would have taken: he delivered his first lecture. His mentor, Walt Anthony, had booked him for the Oakland 75th Anniversary Convention and introduced him to Alain Nu, who invited Kostya to lecture at his Phoenix

Kostya’s love of ideas, of history, and of magic, not to mention his genuine attraction to and ability to interact with his crowds, are what make his performances transcend the ordinary. It was at that point that Kostya was devastated by two card tricks Jon performed — tricks that would send him searching for answers in the works of Ed Marlo, Al Sharpe, and Eddie Fields, and through the literature in general. The mystery Racherbaumer brought to Kostya was translated into energy in the form of his personal search for answers, information, and further inspiration, one that would last for the next year and a half. “Uncovering the methods behind those effects was the least important part,” explains Kostya. “It was the search for them that was of the utmost importance. In that year and a half I slowly came to hundreds of ideas and conclusions, hundreds of methods, and thousands of thoughts that still inspire me to create to this day. In that time, I gained respect not only for magic, but also for teaching and learning.” Kostya’s eyes were opened to the magic world at large and, at the same time, he was instilled with a sense of enthusiastic reverence for his forebears, a sense that’s apparent whenever he discusses their magic or his. You can’t help but be impressed by a 20something who loudly and proudly acknowledges the rich history that inspires, fuels, and motivates the magic he performs. PREPARE TO BE CULLED For the next two years, Kostya spent

Gathering convention later that year. His first lecture tour, which he booked on his own by simply calling up one magic club after another, was something of an adventure. Instead of driving or flying from place to place, Kostya made the trip by Greyhound bus. He took dozens of routes from city to city, including a 25-hour ride from Richmond, Virginia to Peoria, Illinois. “My parents have always been very supportive,” Kostya says. “Whenever I wanted to travel to a magic convention, there was never any question that they’d let me go — alone. As long as I called home, they were happy to hear of my adventures on the road.” The question is: what does a 17-year-old kid know about magic? What can he teach someone in a lecture? Enter the Roadrunner Cull. While demonstrating the finer points of a Stripper Deck at one of Orlando’s magic shops, Kostya suddenly realized that he’d forgotten to reverse the pack. He’d typically perform a Triumphlike effect with the shaved cards, stripping the face-up and face-down cards apart with one deft move. Not this time. He was forced to think quickly, and in the process, devised the bare bones of what is one of the most astonishing versions of Vernon’s classic ever devised. In his lecture notes, the trick is referred to as Cull-igula, The Hardcore Triumph. Read the following description. Then read it again. It is this good. And this

kid is this good, too: The set-up is extremely fair. As usual, a card is selected, noted, and returned to the pack. Then, the spectator shuffles the pack. In fact, the spectator does all of the shuffling. The cards are dovetailed together in the usual fashion. Then they’re mixed together face up and face down. For good measure, Kostya then invites the spectator to go wild. The pack is tossed on the table or floor, where the mishmash of backs and faces are further mixed. Kostya, all the while, is completely hands-off, though he wears a slight grin in anticipation of the eye-popping finale that’s about to come. Once the spectator is satisfied with the altered state of the deck, Kostya squares it up and quickly recaps the situation. Running through all of the cards in no more than 10 or 12 seconds, there’s no question that the cards have been hopelessly mixed together, face up and face down. Nothing could be more certain. Finally, with no strip-outs, shuffles, blocktransfer work, and with no fishy funny stuff, Kostya spreads the pack between his hands. As if guided by Vernon himself, the pack has miraculously righted itself. All of the cards are face up. All of them, that is, except for one: the spectator’s selection. The crowd, wherever it happens to have congregated on this particular occasion, goes nuts. The secret to this miracle of near-biblical proportions? What Kostya discovered that afternoon with Stripper Deck in hand was that he’d refined the traditional Hofzinser Spread Cull to such a fine degree — modifying it to suit his own purposes — and created The Roadrunner Cull. In less than a quarter of a minute, no matter what the condition of the cards, and under the guise of what appears to be a casual stroll through the pack, the Roadrunner Cull allows Kostya to cull multiple cards incredibly quickly. Reds separate from blacks. Face-up cards melt apart from the face-down ones. It happens faster than you can believe. Both for magicians and lay-audiences, Kostya’s close-up shows often involve petty larceny. On occasion, Kostya will invite a prominent spectator to assist in a card effect. After mixing the pack, seven cards are produced. When the audience volunteer is asked if the selected cards mean anything to him, they are revealed to, in fact, make up the digits of his phone number! Not bad — for starters. To follow up that strange “coincidence,” he asks the spectator to make random marks with a pen on a piece of paper on which Kostya has written out the alphabet and the digits one through nine. He then asks if the letters and numbers that the spectator’s pen passed

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through hold any significance to him. The spectator is usually at a loss. So, in an effort to jog their memories, Kostya brings into play a prediction, which has been sitting on the table throughout the lecture, sealed in gift-wrap. When unwrapped, the prediction turns out to be the license plate of the volunteer in question, removed off the back of their car! Bob Elliot, David Oliver, and Hank Lee have all fallen victim to the license plate trick. In one instance, after the plate had been stolen off the car of a corporate client, it was discovered that the client had driven off, none the wiser that the plate was gone. Luckily, before he got too far down the turnpike, Kostya was able to reach him via cell phone and coax him back to the show, where he concluded the trick.

[Top] Kostya caught in the act, preparing for his famous license plate miracle. At age 14 [above], performing his first show, and presenting his first lecture [left] just one year later. Kostya amazing patrons at The Garlic [below] and posing with his latest book of lecture notes [facing page].

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NEW TRICKS, YOUNG DOG All of this gushing about Kostya’s finger flinging in the cull department shouldn’t lead readers to believe that he’s merely a one-hit wonder. Yes, pasteboards are both his first love and his strong suit, and he has wowed the magic set with them at events like Fechter’s, The Magic Castle, and MAGIC Live!. However, his work for the lay public includes a wide range of material, from closeup classics like the Chop Cup to a Mentalismheavy stand-up act geared toward corporate clients. Other favorites of his ever-changing, ever-evolving stand-up show include classics from Malini, Tarbell, and Corinda, and more modern effects inspired by the likes of Eric Anderson and Barrie Richardson. All of these, however, are carefully interwoven with material that Kostya has developed on his own, tricks that he has used successfully in closeup settings. “I’m surprised how well some of my close-up effects work on stage,” he says. This means that card effects, including his Cull-igula Triumph and the license plate trick, often find their way into his real-world work. Yes, the kid has corporate clients, and yes, the kid works trade shows. After hitting the magic circuit and lecturing, working at conventions, entering contests, and publishing his effects, Kostya began building his client list. He graduated from walk-around gigs and family shows to corporate cocktail parties and trade shows, two areas of his business he continues to develop. Along the way, he has consulted for theatre groups, designed illusions for a dance company, and has had his hands featured in a nationally televised calling-card commercial. In the last two years, Kostya has traveled the country working for clients that include Absolut Vodka, IBM, CVS Pharmacies, RaceTrac, and SunTrust Bank, and last year he made an appearance with Marco Tempest in an episode of his TV program, The Virtual Magician. This month he’s

trade shows, creating not just new magic and sales presentations, but entire marketing campaigns for his clients. And if time allows, he will continue to share his thoughts and his magic with the magic fraternity. AND NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED CARD ON CEILING… It seemed ludicrous to the crowd that the trick had gone this far. What Kostya had proposed, and was apparently going through with, seemed to be the ultimate effect. Not even with the most complicated of apparatus (unless a gaffed ceiling were involved), could such an impossibility come to pass. Who could stick a thought-of card to the ceiling of a theatre with 300 well-posted magicians watching the proceedings? Apparently this young man was about to do it — or he was putting everyone on. As the deck thumped against the ceiling and fell toward the floor, it became obvious. There was a solitary pasteboard stuck up there. But it was stuck with its face toward the ceiling. The crowd exploded with laughter, releasing the built-up tension. Everyone breathed a deep sigh of relief, as this clearly had been a put-on. Or had it? Kostya stared at the card, looked at the spectator, and then scanned the eyes of the crowd. “Okay, you have to believe me. That is the Six of Spades.” Then, a smile came over his face and you could sense an idea had materialized. “Wait, where’s the deck? We never shuffled the deck! Sir, please come up here and help me out. You will act as the eyes of the audience.” With that, Kostya picked the deck up from the floor and took off the rubber band holding it together. He ran through the first block of cards, the Hearts, handing them to the spectator.

They were all there, in new deck order. The same went for the Clubs and the Diamonds. Each card was in place. Finally, he came to the Spades. He spread through them slowly — too slow for any funny business — and revealed, as the crowd had both been hoping and dreading, that indeed only one card was missing from the pack – the Six of Spades. The audience erupted in a burst of applause and cheers. The crowd was convinced that the six was stuck up there, and yet the mystery remained. The card looked down on them for the rest of the show, a playful reminder that the beauty of magic is in mystery; that the unknown can be both captivating and entertaining. For Kostya, that mystery is his energy. And for his audiences, that mystery is highly contagious. ◆

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PHOTO: MICHAEL CAIRNS

working at the Magic Castle and will lecture at the inaugural Session Convention in England. The following months are already filled with corporate events and a host of stand-up engagements. And when he’s not on the road, he performs at The Garlic, a beautiful, family-owned Italian restaurant in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. When it comes to running with the right crowd, magically speaking, he’s in good company. This past summer in Toronto, Kostya was invited to 31 Faces North, where he both lectured and performed in front of 30 members of the glitterati. To say that the group of magic celebrities was impressed with Kostya’s work would be a gross understatement. His sincere enthusiasm demonstrated what Max Maven likes best about him: “Kostya has chops, but he’s also learning how to think.” John Carney echoed Maven’s thoughts: “I was impressed with his clear effects and clean routining. But no less important was his manner. He’s neither cloying nor arrogant. He genuinely connects with people. As Leipzig used to say, ‘People like to feel they’ve been fooled by a gentleman.’” Carney’s sentiment is perhaps the best way to describe the manner in which Kostya goes about fooling a crowd. Yes, the magic is strong, and the technical foundation he bases his tricks on is strong, too — very strong. But the gentlemanly part of his personality, the genuine smile and joie de vive emanating from him while delving into philosophy, art, theology, house parties, or any of the other varied topics he touches on while discussing card tricks, doesn’t come across as mere patter or part of a script. Kostya’s love of ideas, of history, and of magic, not to mention his genuine attraction to and ability to interact with his crowds, are what make his performances transcend the ordinary. You, as a spectator like him because he likes you. It’s a philosophy that seems simple enough to write about, but isn’t nearly as easy to put into practice. Yet Kostya, already in his career, has learned this lesson well. “When I first decided to perform professionally, I was afraid it would become too much of a job and I would get burned out,” says Kostya. “Now I’ve found that although I spend a large portion of my week taking care of business, when I go on stage, it’s the most pure and wonderful experience, where I think of nothing but the moment at hand.” Recently influenced by Juan Tamariz, Penn & Teller, and numerous musical and theatrical acts, Kostya is writing his oneman show. He hopes to find a quiet time in the near future where he can perform art for art’s sake and develop this show outside of a business environment. At the same time, he’s also getting ready for another busy season of

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