“The Magic of Mark Toland” will be featured Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon at Iola Community Theatre’s Warehouse Theatre, 203 S. Jefferson Ave., the latest of ICT’s One Night Stand performances.
In addition, Toland, a home-grown magician, will put on a free workshop for aspiring magicians, ages 8 to 14, at 2 o’clock Saturday afternoon.
Youngsters must pre-register. The class will be limited to 20 participants. Registration may be done at Jim Talkington’s Shelter Insurance office, 365-2042.
Performances are at 7 p.m. Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. A Whitehead Trust and the ICT are sponsors.
A 2009 graduate of Wichita State University, Toland has performed magic since he was a toddler.
He received his first magic book when he was only 3 and wanted to learn magic so badly he taught himself to read by comparing text and illustrations. Soon he was amazing family and friends at special events, he wrote on his website. By age 8, he was performing professionally at libraries, festivals and schools.
Today, Toland performs throughout the year at college and corporate events in such places as Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. He also does consulting in the ways of magic and has been employed as a consultant by the universities of Kansas and Wichita State.
Having grown up in Iola, Toland relishes opportunities to perform here, and have time for family and friends. This weekend’s gigs will be a repeat of one-night stand events he did for ICT in May 2010.
He and wife Stephanie plan an imminent move to Chicago.
“This may be the last chance for the people of Iola to enjoy his talents for some time to come,” said Dee Sell, ICT board member.
