Dennis Kyriakos Featured: Following His PassionInside MagicMagic News Updated Daily for the Professional Magician

dennis_kyriakos The Darien Times (CT) has a great spread on magician Dennis
Kyriakos in today's edition.

Mr. Kyriakos considers himself fortunate to be able to
follow his avocation as his vocation.

Even his parents at one point encouraged him to become a
clown and do kids shows. Kyriakos chose to follow his heart — and he is glad he
did. "I'm doing something I'm passionate about and making a living out of
it," he said. "Not a lot of people can say that."

He hasn't hit the big-time yet and still worries about
making ends meet at the end of the month but he's optimistic and ready to take
on the economic reality of being your own boss, salesman, research and
development department, and accountant.

"He has done shows for corporate companies and
charities, including TIAA-CREF, Perdue, New Line Cinema, Children's Aid Society
and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. For the past year, he has been
performing table-side at the Melting Pot restaurant in Darien,
doing a card trick or two for patrons before their meal arrives, between
courses or during dessert."

He enjoys the intimacy of close-up magic and is delighted
his audiences enjoy his performance.

"I do a lot of
close-up magic," Mr. Kyriakos said. "It's a very pure form of magic
because there isn't any distance between the audience and the performer. It
happens right in front of your eyes. The stage is where I'm standing."

The article promotes Mr. Kyriakos' work at a local Melting
Pot restaurant in Connecticut.

"This is a fun way for the restaurant to extend
hospitality to their guests," Kyriakos said. "Most people don't get
to see a magician up close, only at a big stage show or on television. So this
is a pretty amazing experience for them."

Mr. Kyriakos got the gig through a friend of his who was
doing the same thing at a Melting Pot in New Jersey,
which is owned by the Layfields, who also own the one in Darien.
After seeing Kyriakos perform on the nights he would fill in for his friend,
the Layfields invited him to bring his shtick to their location here every Friday
night. Kyriakos quickly accepted.

Mr. Kyriakos would like to expand his restaurant work whist
developing a sort of one-man close-up show suitable for a longer or permanent
run in one venue. Of course, he still
has to make sure the bookings are solicited and satisfied. In essence, he has about three full-time
jobs.

He began studying magic at the age of ten after watching a
magician on New York
television. He ordered a magic book from
Scholastic Press and fell in love.
"By the time he was 15, he began doing close-up magic, starting
with simple tricks that anyone could figure out and moving toward more
complicated ones as he matured. While mastering certain tricks proved
difficult, Kyriakos could not shake his desire to uncover the mystery behind it."

He learned from experience that exposure of magic secrets
wasn't worth the momentary flash of ego and self-satisfaction. "It was a let-down," Mr. Kyriakos
said. "Once they knew, people would become cynical and there's too much
cynicism out there. Not knowing is a powerful thing."

As a graduate from St. John's
University in business management,
he had the tools to strike out on his own.
He decided to work on the talent to perform as well. Mr. Kyriakos followed his college years by
working as an actor and director in theater and independent film. Like virtually all actors, he supplemented
his income with temp jobs but he also performed magic shows.

He took the plunge two years ago. "I had some doubts the first few months,"
he said. "But I figured I had put enough energy into answering phones for
someone else. I put that energy into myself and polishing my act."

He learned people skills essential to performing in varied
venues. "Dealing with 13-year-olds
at a bar mitzvah is different that dealing with middle-age, high-powered
executives at a cocktail party," Mr. Kyriakos said.

We found intriguing his willingness to perform free shows on
stage or strolling to help both charitable organizations and to hone his
performance skills. "It was good
for me," Mr. Kyriakos said. "I got experience performing for people
in the real world. And I got to learn from my mistakes."

"I'm doing something I'm passionate about and making a
living out of it," he said. "Not a lot of people can say that."

If you are in the Darien
area, check out Mr. Kyriakos close-up performance at The Melting Pot.

We're inspired again!
Thanks, Mr. Kyriakos.

Check out Mr. Kyriakos incredible web site here.

dennis_kyriakos The Darien Times (CT) has a great spread on magician Dennis
Kyriakos in today's edition.

Mr. Kyriakos considers himself fortunate to be able to
follow his avocation as his vocation.

He enjoys the intimacy of close-up magic and is delighted
his audiences enjoy his performance.

The article promotes Mr. Kyriakos' work at a local Melting
Pot restaurant in Connecticut.

Mr. Kyriakos got the gig through a friend of his who was
doing the same thing at a Melting Pot in New Jersey,
which is owned by the Layfields, who also own the one in Darien.
After seeing Kyriakos perform on the nights he would fill in for his friend,
the Layfields invited him to bring his shtick to their location here every Friday
night. Kyriakos quickly accepted.