The Magical Legacy of a Third-Generation Magician & Award-Winning Entertainer
Dennis Watkins grew up with magic. His grandfather was a phenomenal sleight of hand performer who ran a small, storefront magic shop in Dallas, TX for nearly 30 years.
“When I was 7 years old, I asked my grandfather to teach me to do magic,” Dennis tells his audience in a recent show. “He took me into his parlour, sat me down and told me, ‘As a magician, your job is not to fool people. Though, fool them you must. Your job is to spark their sense of wonder…to ignite their imagination. Your job, in short, is to help people remember what it felt like to be a kid.’”
35 years later, Watkins continues his grandfather’s legacy of magic in a show that is three generations in the making.
"The show soars on Dennis Watkins' brilliance as a genuine magician!"
– Chicago Sun-Times
After studying theater at Meadows School of the Arts and the British American Drama Academy in London, Watkins moved to Chicago to create The House Theatre alongside cohorts from school.
The fledgling theater company launched on Halloween of 2001 with a bold portrayal of Harry Houdini’s life, featuring Watkins as the legendary escape artist. To date, Death and Harry Houdini has enjoyed 8 sold-out productions.
Watkins successfully performed Houdini’s infamous Water Torture Cell escape in each and every performance. He won a Joseph Jefferson Award for his work on the show in 2012.
Watkins has collaborated as an actor, writer, director and/or designer on more than 30 world-premiere theatrical productions with companies like The House, Lookingglass, Steppenwolf and The Goodman.
“A master of misdirecting attention and technical skill..He is without an obvious peer!”
-The Chicago Tribune
Watkins carries a lifetime of studying and performing magic into each of the nearly 400 live shows he performs every year.
In addition to creating and starring in The Magic Parlour, Watkins delivers world-class magic and mentalism to corporate events worldwide. His client list boasts some of the world’s largest companies, including Apple, General Mills, Microsoft, IBM, General Electric, Accenture, Miller/Coors, Kraft, JP Morgan Chase and many, many more.
His work has been seen on FOX, WGN, ABC, the A&E network, and he was recently featured on The CW’s Penn & Teller: Fool Us.