For most people, childhood dreams for

time. Visiting performer Mat Franco, however, has always known that he would become a magician.

“I started trying to learn magic when I was just four years old,” Franco said. “I saw a magician on TV and was hooked ever since. Next thing I knew, I was doing it at show-and-tell in kindergarten.”

Franco performed an act comprising a mix of comedy and magic for a packed house in Marty’s on Friday, Feb. 8. He wowed the crowd with card tricks, mind-reading and making money appear out of thin air. The performance was sponsored by SAC Spotlight.

beginning of the performance, Franco held the audience’s attention throughout the show. Some of Franco’s magic was truly bizarre, including being able to guess the song on an iPhone after pressing

Dylan Smallwood (‘16) was one of the many students beckoned to the stage throughout the show. Smallwood gave a twenty-dollar bill to Franco, who then proceeded to make the same twenty-dollar bill appear inside an unopened

“The whole Ramen thing was kind of creepy, but at least I got my money back,” Smallwood said.

Franco said that the Ramen trick is one of his favorites.

“It’s something I came up with a couple years back, and no one else in the world does it,” Franco said. “It’s my own invention.”

Franco notes that he has been performing magic all of his life, and it has been his only job since graduating in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

sense to pursue it full-time,” Franco said. “I never put serious thought into any other profession.”

Franco said that his favorite part about being a magician is that he has the opportunity to do what he loves while being his own boss. Additionally, he loves traveling to many different places and meeting other people and performers. Franco enjoys performing in smaller venues such Marty’s.

“It’s got an underground café feel to it,” Franco said. “You can really feed off of the audience in a venue like this.”

Colleges are Franco’s favorite places to perform, because he is of similar age to the audience and his sense of humor is easy for college students to appreciate.

“Corporate events are cool, but it’s a different type of audience,” Franco said. “With college students, you can really have a lot of fun.”

February 14, 2013 5

LUTHER COLLEGE CHIPS

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He’s a magic man. Franco wows Ben Warner (‘15) and Ben Nordquist (‘15) with a bill trick after the performance.

Eve Christensen/Chips

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Though William Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” comes to Luther nearly 400 years after its premiere, it has yet to diminish as a creative work.

“It deftly intermingles the passionate verve of young love with the cynicism and melancholy of lived life,” Professor of English Mark Muggli said.

“As You Like It” is widely known as a musical comedy, since it has more songs than any other Shakespeare play.

“We have original music composed for the production, using verbatim the songs that Shakespeare wrote,” actor Noah Putterman (who plays William and Amiens) said. “The music has a very contemporary kind of folk/pop feel to it — it’s really fun to sing.”

Professional theater troupe The Acting Company is bringing “As You Like It” to Luther as part of a national tour following three weeks of performing at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minn.

Putterman enjoys the timelessness of the production and feels that audiences respond well to its relatable themes.

“Nobody has been able to tap into the human experience quite so delicately as Shakespeare was able to; I think

that’s why he still remains relevant today,” Putterman said. “[Shakespeare could write plays] in a way that people gain a greater understanding of what it means to be human … it just [shows] how we really haven’t changed in all these years — our basic human desires, instincts, feelings are still the same as they ever were.”

Bringing a professional acting group to Luther to perform Shakespeare has been a long time in the making.

Director of Campus Programming Tanya Gertz has wanted to bring a Shakespeare production to the Center Stage Series for several years. So when Muggli contacted her about bringing one as part of the “Our Shakespeare” initiative, Gertz was thrilled.

“I made the decision not to [just] consider it but that we were doing Shakespeare,” Gertz said. “So then it was a

our schedule, what opportunities it presented.”The Acting Company is offering two workshops before

the performance on Friday: 12:15 and 2:45 in the CRH.

“As You Like It” will serve as the last event in the two-year “Our Shakespeare” program and Muggli’s Dennis M. Jones Professorship in the Humanities.

“‘As You Like It’ is one of the world’s great plays,” Muggli said. “We’re hoping that the momentum of the whole ‘Our Shakespeare’ project and the three very different fall productions will stimulate audience interest

and appreciation for ‘As You Like It.’”

Gertz greatly appreciates the way Muggli’s “Our Shakespeare” initiative has integrated with many programs across campus, including the Center Stage Series.

“I just dream [that] could happen on a regular basis,” Gertz said. “He has really done an exceptional job of

Shakespeare to so many things.”The Acting Company will present “As You Like It” at

7:30 p.m. this Friday, Feb. 15, in the Main Hall of the CFL, sponsored by the Performing Arts Committee and the Center Stage Series.

Throw thine hands in the air. Chris Thorn and company take the stage in The Acting Company’s reimagining of William Shakespeare’s comedy “As You Like It.”Courtesy of Heidi Bohnenkamp/The Acting Company

2%(#3.&(+$.,#1+&+$,1"#$+&4*$/&.%*)*#(5&-()*3Eve Christensen

Staff Writer

Katherine MohrStaff Writer

“It deftly intermingles the passionate verve of young love with the cynicism and melancholy of lived life.”

-Professor Mark Muggli