Food and Magic at the International House
by Derek Gayle ‘11
Staff Writer··································
Last Friday night, the Randolph-Macon’s International House hosted an International Dinner Theater, organized by CAB. It was promised to be “an evening of food and fun”—and it certainly lived up to its proclamation.
As the doors to the International House opened, guests were treated with a diverse array of multicultural appetizers, such as various kinds of sushi, brushetta, and shrimp. Cups of separated colors of M&Ms were also placed around the room, which was a very nice and creative touch.
The main course featured an even more diverse food arrangement, including a baked ziti dish and German potato salad, among many other delicacies. Also, in addition to a general selection of sodas and other drinks, there was also a delicious mix of citrus punch. Topping it all off were some dessert dishes, including international ice cream balls.
The highlight of the night, however, was the performance of Jonathon Austin. An entertainer from based in Richmond, Austin’s acts were almost as sundry as the menu. While his main attraction was a magic act, he also performed such acts as juggling and unicycle riding, and had a great touch of stand-up and improvisational comedy throughout his performances.
The magic act itself consisted of a diverse selection of sleight of hand, card tricks, and mindreading acts that could be downright baffling. Being in such small numbers, guests were up close to all of his tricks, and most were picked quite a few times for different successful tricks, which only added to the mystifying effect—even with being a part of the illusion, it was (and still is) impossible to figure out exactly how he did any of this. They also were not always just the basic “is this your card?” tricks; one had a drawn stick figure on the deck revealing the right card, and another had the card somehow appear folded up in the back of Austin’s mouth. Austin was also very willing to get to know the guests during his time there, engaging in casual conversation during his break and getting to know many students on a first name basis.
The night was completed with a drawing for valuable gift cards for iTunes and a movie theater.
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