It was “Las Vegas” night at the Petroleum Club on the 35th floor of the ExxonMobil Building in downtown Houston (known for offering “an atmosphere of unsurpassed elegance and style since 1953″). I was hired to do an hour of “walk-around” close-up magic followed by a 45-minute standup show for the members. It was a black tie event.
When I arrived there were a dozen Vegas Showgirls dancing fully choreographed numbers on the main stage. They were beautiful and dressed in full Vegas revue costumes with giant feathered headdresses. Since the stage was currently in use I looked around the room for somewhere to stash my props and quickly spotted a screened off area to the side of the stage. Perfect!
45 minutes later the Showgirls started their 2nd set on the stage, and I went to the screened off area to grab my props for my show. I was hunched down rummaging through my case when suddenly the Vegas Showgirls ran into the screened off area with me and began tearing off their costumes. I froze, stunned. Apparently this was their backstage changing area. Oops.
There was no exit for me, and I didn’t know what to do or say for a second, but it didn’t matter because they either didn’t notice me or didn’t care. Moments later they had on their new costumes and bolted out back onto the stage leaving me still hunched over wondering what the heck just happened. And how much trouble I was going to be in.