Well last night on America's got talent 27 year old Jay Mattoli was on! he made it through to the next round. So now we have to great magician going to Las Vegas. Here's the link if you didn't see it(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf5qoJeZJCg)I think one thing he shouldn't use in the next round is a bird act because we have had bird acts on the show and they never made it through but what do all of you guys think about him?

The mic lev with the lean looked great. Very impressive pose. He got the audience going with that, which is what it's all about. Nice work.

He's a very talented and very diversified guy. He's got lots to pick from. It should be interesting.

Yes, it's on...the more contemporary performer in Jay verses Drew. Both are good, but who will strike the cord in the lay people's heart...

LOVE his style. Awesome stuff.

Jay Mattioli is a fabulous performer. Originally born in Northeast Pennsylvania, my wife and I have had the opportunity to see Jay perform a few dozen times over the years at the Fernwood Resort.

Even since the age of 14, when we first met Jay, he has been exceptionally focused on his career ambitions in the worlds of theater, performance art, magic and stage illusions. During high school, Jay had the foresight to enroll in shop classes that would give him the skill and knowledge for building his own stage illusions. By age 18, he had already built many of the stage illusions that countless others only dream of owning. During college, he studied graphic design, sales and marketing, and other related courses that would contribute to driving his career.

It is rare to see such a laser beam focus of drive, passion and commitment in the hearts of people so young, as we saw with Jay. His approaches in designing his shows have always been highly innovative and exceptionally creative.

The energy you saw last night is the same high wattage energy that Jay pumps into his entire show. Non stop energy, from beginning to end. Never any lulls or "filler material" that dwindles down the enthusiasm level.

The Shrink-o-matic illusion performed on AGT is one that he designed and sells (check out his website to read about his other innovative designs).

Jay is blessed with loving and adoring parents who have given him their full support since his early teenage years. They drove him around the country to compete in magic competitions and to his bookings. Jay created an award winning dove act that made him a known name in stage competitions during his teenage years. He would seize any opportunity to perform in front of a live audience, and quickly built up his learning curve in mastering his performance skills.

One of the most admirable qualities about Jay is the fact that he has maintained a healthy, balanced and personable disposition. Always warm, friendly and approachable with people from all walks of life. Never a hint of arrogance. After his shows, he would always spend quite a large amount of time chatting with his fans, signing autographs and conversing with people. He would stay with his fans until the last person left the theater.

Jay Mattioli is a wonderful role model for young people. He envisioned his career ambitions at such an early age, and invested exorbitant amounts of dedication in pursuing every step to develop and enhance what he does. Jay truly deserves all of the greatest successes that life has to offer!

Rich

Rich, you've hit upon the single most important element that Jay possesses; his personality.

While the magic was certainly very, very nice it is that warmth and disposition that set him apart. I have never met him, nor seen him before, but it comes across wonderfully when he performs.

The one minor criticism I might have would be the moment right after he emerges from the box. I have never liked when a performer gestures to draw more applause from an audience.... especially when it it unnecessary to do so. To me it is important that the performance alone should be what draws applause. Jay's performance and personality were great. He certainly had no cause to beg for more applause. This is a very minor point, but for me the mark of a great performer is when the directorial notes become very small!

I do hope he goes far, and I believe that whether through AGT, he'll have a long and successful career!

Jay,
The very best to you. You vibrate like a high tension wire on stage. You are definitely in the competition, but take Frank's advice, you don't need to motion for the applause. I don't believe in holding back the compliments, you were absolutely sensational. Everything worked and I mean everything, even right down to your name. You made a believer out of me.

If you have a mailing list, please include me.

Your newest fan,
Bill

Yup another great performance, love it that several magi have made it through, saddened by the guy( not necessary to mention his name)who bragged beforehand that he was the greatest magician etc, then, did a very elementary bit of card work, straight out of the box "airborne' and , everybody has one in the closet version of a chair suspension, wow, soooo lame, on a positive note jay and drew look so good by comparison

Pierce really slammed the guy AND didn't do much for the rep of the chair suspension either, he basically exposed the method while he slammed the "performer"(quotes used purposefully here

Jay did a great job and was fun to watch. Interesting to me was that the mic lev and lean in the beginning seemed to be what really got the judges and audience primed. If he hadn't included that he very well might not have been voted through, Piers indicated that that may have been the case with him. That version of the crush illusion seems kind of obvious to me and I got the impression that it left most of the audience a tad underwhelmed. Just goes to show you how important material selection is. I have no doubt that Jay can pull of some killer stuff if he gets more opportunities on the show.
Charlie Caper really has a perfect style to win a competition like this with so much sleight of hand work. The tricks are coming a mile a minute, there's no way to figure it all out. He's always 3 steps ahead. Whereas with an illusion there is often just one secret involved and if that one secret doesn't totally fool the judges you're not going to make it through. Also, if anything looks the least bit old school (tuxes and doves for instance) you are going to have a much tougher time to overcome that initial impression of "well, we've all seen this before". Not saying it can't be done but much more difficult. They'll be looking for even the tiniest glitch or hiccup and then it's off you go.

Look forward to seeing more of Jay though. Good stuff.

Bill

Videoman, I agree with you 100%. The "Out of the Box" illusions like the Lean and
mike levitation are more interesting for audiences( and definitely Judges) then watching someone, somehow, HIDE IN A BOX. I know as a longtime fan of magic I am a little jaded ,but I believe audiences have seen enough of these box illusions that they just don’t buy the “Disappearance” after the crushing, piercing . burning, cutting, or whatever form the illusion takes. Lets give the audience a little credit.

Hang on, are you saying that all box illusions have had it then?
I loved the performance and just because Piers said he didn't like the box you agree. Pierce sees thousands of magicians in boxes etc, granted some good and some that need more practice, but I personally think lay people don't get to see much of this form of magic these days, and when they do as long as the performers
have worked on their presentation, it goes down a storm.

Long live the Boxes,

Sileeni......................................

Hey everyone,

Jay Is a great friend of mine and we were he and I were talking jsut the other day and trust me if any magician can make some noise on AGT it is indeed Jay.

some one mentioned that he should not do the dove act - then obviously you have not seen his dove act. what makes him a stand out is the uniqueness of his routine.

have you seen his computor act? he has updated it. I remeber h anging in his dorm at caollege puttingthis thing together he is amazing and brilliant.

and as mentioned above what sets him apart even more is his love for magic and his love for the audience. he respects them and enjoys entertaining them just as mcuh as we enjoy watching h I'm him do so.

lets all hope he gets a fair shake and I am sure that he will be around for a few more weeks. wink wink:0)

sam

NO I am not “anti Box” I think what bothers me about most of these presentations, are the contrived over played sense of danger they try to portray. I don’t believe for one moment that an intelligent audience ever thinks the performer or assistant is being impaled by the spikes or whatever, so the showing of the box empty is anti-climatic and proves that all the false build up was for nothing, there never was any danger and the audience now knows it.

Contrast that with the light bulb girl illusion. The penetration is the effect. And actually seeing the girl proves it! Much more interesting and less insulting to the intelligence of the spectator. Same thing is true for the OP-ART illusion. Basically it is just a person hiding in a box trick but it is a lot more relevant to the spectators because they are seeing something interestingly impossible without the silly build up of the assistants impending death!

Yea I have seen his dove act and its really really really good. But I'm jsut saying that they have not really like dove acts on the show before. For example elliot zimet has a great dove act and he didn't make it to the next part so I just think there not looking for a magician that does doves. But if he does idk just my look at things. I no its probably diffrent then everyone elses

I agree with what your saying.
I think AGT judges think once they have seen a box trick they have seen them all. or if you produce a dove yea yea we have seen guys do that before too.

what they do nto realize is how much work goes into the performance and seem to knock magicians ingeneral.

tehy keep saying that they want something different yet tehy put a billion singers through!

lets hope we get some good judging this year on all the magicians that made it so far of course I am routing for Jay but I am an impartial fan:)

sam

ON this BOx thing you guys are talking about I woudl comment that the subtrunk has ben around along time its a box trick and many of us do it including myself and I will never stop performing it.

I did it today in my show. presentation is almost everything but you all need to keep in mind that the audience in most cases h as only seen it on TV. rarely have they seen it done live and that makes a big difference.

so when it comes to Box tricks I think it really relys on presentaion even more.
most if were honest jsut wheel out hte illusion and play soem music and perform modern art or sword basket etc. few put it to a theme or skit and build a routine around it. this wodu lhelp improve any ones show by adding ryme and reson for putting her in the box rahter than hey watch this I put her int he box and put the blade here etc.

any who Box trick will live on for many y ears to come just hope I can get a new one soon:0)

I think the dove stuff can work but would only work if it comes as a shocker surprise. If the audience and judges do not expect it and it comesfrom an unusual place, it could be very powerful. jay does a lot of moves like this so it may fit in.

Kyle

I'm not familiar with Jay's dove act my point is simply that a lot of times magicians will get all excited about how unique something is and overlook that to a lay audience it looks pretty much the same. However, I do believe that people can tell when something is done extraordinarily well, for instance Lance Burton's manip act he did when first starting out. It was the same old cards and birds but with classical sounding music and everything performed very slowly that even lay audiences were aware that they were seeing something special. It may very well be the same with Jay's but unless it's obviously new and refreshing (and that needs to be apparent to the judges immediately) then I would personally think twice about doing a dove act on the show, but as with anything if it is really, really well done then I have no doubt they will like it.

But here's the thing, the judges have made it pretty clear that what they really liked about Jay was Jay himself, his likable persona. So if he were to come out in a tuxedo (even a very mod one) and do a bird act to music it's possible they could be disappointed that they didn't see more of him shining thru. So I'd do something that really showcased my personality. But all this is moot until he does whatever he does next, which I guess may have already happened anyway if Sam's wink and nudge are are any indication.
Bill

Honestly, and this is no offense to any other magician that has been on this show, but if there was any magician who can actually win this, it would be him; he is good enough and has a style that is definetely appealing. I guarantee a spot in the finals for him at least.

PS. His dove act is what could very well win this thing for him. If I was him, I would do my very best to try and save that for the last round and use something else to vault himself to the finals. If he makes it to the final and can use the birds to end with, people will vote for him.