Popular hit songs played through the speakers of Wygal auditorium Friday night, welcoming an audience of about 40 students. Chris Ruggiero immediately took the stage filling the room with high energy as he began his One Man Variety show that was hosted by Lancer Productions. Ruggiero came to Longwood for his first time after flying here from Los Angeles.
Ruggiero started off by fitting his body from head to toe through a stringless tennis racket, then transitioned to a high-speed juggling act to impress the audience. He continued to switch between juggling and magic tricks throughout the hour-long performance. His magic tricks mostly included card tricks and guessing games. His witty sense of humor and talent were accompanied with the audience’s laughter and cheers, although he often joked that it was slightly delayed.
When asked, several students volunteered to join him on stage to help with some of the acts. For example, two nervous students balanced spinning plates atop metal sticks they held in their hands for a lengthy period of time as instructed by Ruggiero.
Sophomore Ryan Bultrowicz and junior Madison Arlett witnessed Ruggiero’s high energy before the show and both had the opportunity to volunteer in different acts.
“He had a lot of energy; we saw him jumping around backstage before the show, just jumping around doing some stretches,” said Bultrowicz.
Bultrowicz and Arlett have seen different magicians come to Longwood and, according to Arlett, they saw some of the same tricks Friday night as they have seen done by other magicians.
“I haven’t seen anyone ride on a unicycle though,” said Arlett.
His last two volunteers helped for a portion of the show by competing against each other in different acts and tightly tying Ruggiero up with rope in a chair for him to escape with ease, surprising the audience. These volunteers helped him steady his unicycle as he climbed to the top for his final act. They both were thanked with copies of Ruggiero’s book titled, “Just Go” and five dollar bills inserted as “bookmarks.”
Ruggiero wrote his book as he traveled around the country. He said it’s about “getting started before you feel like you’re ready.”
Ruggiero explained to the audience that his father took him to magic shows when he was little, and he eventually became obsessed with magic and juggling.
“One of my favorite venues is actually casino crowds so I perform at casinos but there is something really fun about the college shows because we have this like energy and excitement,” said Ruggiero.
Rugierro’s father taught him the basics of juggling and he decided to take it to the next level by adding nuances to his tricks and eventually becoming a professional, performing at colleges and different venues across the country. Almost all of his tricks are self taught. He said he never had proper training or went to circus school. He has performed his One Man Variety show for 10 years and is starting to make more TV appearances.
One Man Variety Show, Chris Ruggiero performed juggling and magic Friday night.
One Man Variety Show, Chris Ruggiero performed juggling and magic Friday night.
One Man Variety Show, Chris Ruggiero performed juggling and magic Friday night.
