The Mega Event

Brad Henderson is an event wizard. He’s staged a full scale alien invasion, levitated a bride and groom at the moment of their wedding kiss, and produced the largest 2012 Mayan apocalypse event on the planet.

With his advanced understanding of the magical arts, Brad will design and implement a once-in-a-lifetime event that will never be forgotten—immersing your guests in a truly impossible experience worthy of mention in the national press.

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Magic at the Manor

Austin gaming mogul brings the world’s greatest magicians together to perform.

magic-at-the-manor-event-poster

What would you do if you received a card in the mail that read, “Mangled Cats. The Man Soars. Can You Imagine?” Well, if you’re a friend of Richard Garriott de Cayeux, you should start looking for clues, because you’ve just been invited to the magic party to end all magic parties.

The evening was billed as “Magic at the Manor,” featuring performances by 18 of the world’s leading magicians, but with a twist. In the party invitation, itself a cryptic message that had to be heated in an oven to display the URL where guests could find details for the event, Garriott vowed to re-create a long-forgotten method of sawing a woman in half—then reveal how the trick was done.

But during the main event, while the host stood onstage next to a box to be featured in the grand finale, a sand bag dropped and broke the box in two. Foul play was suspected, but by whom and why? As the 100 guests were led through Garriott’s castle, they watched illusionists and collected hints to the identity of the lord’s would-be saboteurs. Most of the audience knew magic only from television, where a camera angle or some other trickery offers a too-easy explanation and breaks the spell. No such reality would interfere here.

In the end, master of ceremonies Michael Weber, magic consultant on The Illusionist and The Prestige, pieced together the hints, deducing that the culprits were a set of twins who had performed at the party. That one twin was a petite brunette and the other a 300-pound man in drag made the outcome all the more mysterious.

The evening wound down a mere eight hours after it started, with the host pouring 100-year-old port for the stalwarts. “It’s all about secrets,” said a grinning Garriott. “I imbue my games and my parties with the process of discovery, with a physical manifestation of unreality.” With that, he corked the bottle, tucked it under his arm, and disappeared into the crowd.

MORE ABOUT THE EVENT

Birthday High Jinks for Ultima Online‘s Richard Garriott [WIRED]

MAGIC Magazine Article (.pdf)

Austin-American-Statesman Magazine Article (.pdf)

Austin Planetarium

A fundraiser gala designed by Brad to support the establishment of a planetarium in Austin. After cocktails and dinner, guests were treated to a one-of-a-kind dinosaur fossil exhibit, an auction, tours of one of Austin’s most famous homes, and an interactive art installation.

The End of the World

On 12/21/2012, people from all over the country came to Austin to celebrate the “End of the World” in spectacular fashion. Brad designed and orchestrated an immersive theatrical experience that blended science, religion, magic and myth—spanning acres and climaxing in a ritual performed alongside a giant Mayan pyramid.

Austin-American Statesman Article

St. Barth’s

A select group of who’s who were invited to the Caribbean island of St. Barth’s to spend New Year’s Eve aboard a yacht in the company of various luminaries. Brad recruited the very best magical entertainers from around the world to delight everyone in attendance.

Tabula Rasa

Aliens invade Austin, Texas, to herald the release of a new video game.

Two large buses filled with media reporters leave for Britannia Manor, home to video game mogul Richard Garriott. When the guests arrive, they are treated to dinner while Garriott introduces Dr. James Cooper, author and UFO specialist. Dr. Cooper begins by discussing the recent discoveries at Garriott’s future house, objects decidedly alien in nature, and remarkably similar to elements in the world of Garriott’s soon to be released video game, Tabula Rasa.

Other mysterious characters are introduced, including Alan Azzwami, an East Indian swami who informs the guests there is a ley line, a point of power, under Britannia Manor Mark III. Then there’s Max Maven, a parapsychologist who believes in the extraordinary cognitive powers of the human mind; and Eric Mead, Garriott’s wine supplier who not only travels the world, but also possesses the mental capabilities to bend spoons. The assembled guests are then given a tour of the manor, with stops along to the way to appreciate the skills of the intriguing individuals.

Once the tours are over, guests are taken down to the construction site for Garriott’s new home, and that’s where the action picks up. In one area there’s a tower. Nearby, there is a table with computers and monitors. In a semi-sheltered area, a floating metallic sphere can be seen—another of the uncovered alien artifacts. There are a few arcs and sparks from the sphere before four special guests are able to put their hands on the object without being zapped.

Ominous music begins and lights start flashing on the control point tower. The monitors and PCs send out flashes and burst into flames. An image pops up on a nearby black cloth, the image of the evil Bane commander, telling the assembled group that they are too late, the invasion is imminent and that the human race will perish. It calls for the human traitor and spy to step forward. A comely woman, speaking in monotone, answers. She is asked if she has eliminated the opposition and responds by pulling the head of Azzwami from a bag.

Attention turns swiftly as a photographer starts to snap flash pictures off to the side of the guest’s area. He is immediately hit with a burst of weapons fire—his chest erupting in flaring sparks as he falls lifeless to the ground. A Bane trooper wanders into view, ignoring the party guests and heading down into the construction site. Soldiers swarm the scene and follow in pursuit, firing shotguns and other weapons at the Bane. Balls of fire leap into the air, with countering flares of sparks. A helicopter hovers low overhead, its searchlight trying to stay fixed on the Bane. The firefight lasts minutes and culminates with the call that the enemy has been destroyed. The crowd erupts in cheers, and the spectacular alien invasion (and party) comes to an end.