Friday the 13th: a date that may send shivers down spines, that spooks some people into walking with intentional tenderness on sidewalks, (so to not break their mother’s back). a date where, if anything bad or spooky happens, it’s because of the date on
the calendar.

To Zac Tenneboe, better known as Z*stonish, Friday, October 13 is a date that he has been scheming for for nearly two years.

Tenneboe will be performing a one-man show at the Orpheum Theater, exploring the realm of superstition, departing from his typical routine of comedy hypnosis.

“My Superstitions show is much different than my comedy hypnosis shows,” said Tenneboe. “In fact, there really isn’t any hypnosis in the upcoming show. My comedy hypnosis shows have stand-up comedy, improv, and audience members hypnotized to do silly funny things. Whereas the Superstitions show is a more sophisticated performance with serious moments. There is still comedy and funny bits throughout, but far different than the hypnosis shows.”

According to the Facebook event page, Tenneboe’s show is different than what anyone’s experienced before: “It’s more than just a magic show, but a stunning one-man performance weaving mystery and theater. No rabbits. No top hats. No smoke and mirrors. Witness a different way to experience illusion.”

Superstitions as a theme was inspired when Tenneboe booked the Orpheum for the show.

“I wanted to do something a little bit different than my previous shows,” said Tenneboe. “I’ve always wanted to incorporate a theatrical experience into a magic show, and I knew I had the best possible date, Friday the 13th… so what could I do with that? It made perfect sense and I wondered why hadn’t I thought of that prior?! It was simple.”

Tenneboe, a second-generation magician, has spent his career finding his niche and evolving his craft. With a background in the art of theater, he felt led to dramatize his usual act and meld it with superstition, realizing that superstition is all around us.

“I think we use superstitions as a way to control fate, our reality,” said Tenneboe. “Does playing your lucky number in the lottery actually make it lucky? Probably not. But we try anyways, and I think that’s the fun part. I think fear of the unknown is also a part of the equation. For example, if you walk under a ladder… will it cause bad luck? Probably not. But yet, we still choose not to walk under it.”

Youth has a way of making you see magic all around you, creating your own reality that can include things as far as your imagination can reach. For Tenneboe, that creativity did not fade. Inspired by his father, young Tenneboe found magic compelling. He found that it was his creative outlet.

“I’ve always been interested in all things strange and macabre. As a child my favorite television shows were The Munsters and Ripley’s Believe it or Not. My lucky number has always been 13.”

Now, as an adult, Tenneboe has carried along the world of strange and mysterious that he was surrounded by as a child, his craft growing as he grew.

“[It’s] an expression of myself while also creating an experience for my audiences. As an artist, you’d have a painting. For a musician, you have songs. For me, my creative work takes its place on stage. And, as any artist grows, so have my shows. When I was younger, it was all about the tricks themselves. Nowadays, it’s about the people and creating meaning with those tricks.”

Tenneboe is thrilled to see how his show has evolved: “Most magicians don’t give their show this type of a theatrical perspective.”

Cryptically, as if he was about to disappear behind a tuft of smoke, he states that his audience will witness a different reality while being led on a very mysterious journey…

‘Superstitions’ is recommended for ages 13 and older. For more information, visit zstonish.com.