[NEohioPAL] Berko profile: Joshua Seth (Beyond Belief: An Intimate Evening of Psychological Illusion)

[Roy Berko]

Joshua Seth…from Kent to Hollywood to PlayhouseSquare

Roy Berko

Member, American Theatre Critics Association

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--
LORAIN COUNTY TIMES--WESTLAKER TIMES--LAKEWOOD NEWS TIMES--OLMSTED-FAIRVIEW 
TIMES

--COOLCLEVELAND.COM-

Psychological Illusionist, voice-over artist, hypnotist and mystery entertainer 
are all names to describe Kent native Joshua Seth, whose Beyond Belief:  An 
Intimate Evening of Psychological Illusion will be showcased at Kennedy's, 
located in the lower level of The Ohio Theatre in Playhouse Square on January 
27, February 3, March 3 and March 24.

Seth, who is billed as “one of the busiest illusionists touring the globe 
today,” will present a show that is a  combination of psychology, intuition and 
hypnotic influence.  TV Japan calls him “The #1 American Hypnotist,” American 
Entertainment Magazine says “he's amazingly captivating,” and  Campus Activities 
Magazine declared, “He's the Rock Star of Hypnosis” and has “A high Energy, 
One-of-A-Kind Show.” In 2003, he won First Place at the Academy of Magical Arts' 
“Magic Castle Olympics” for his mentalist act.

It's been a long road from Kent to his present status.  Seth, whose name back 
then was Joshua Freedman, graduated from Kent Roosevelt High School in 1987.  
While a tween and teen he appeared on stage at Carousel Dinner Theatre and 
Kenley Players.  He received a BFA from New York University's Tisch School of 
the Arts in 1991.  After being signed by a Hollywood agent, it was off to 
Tinseltown where he became a stellar voice-over personality, appearing in over 
60 cartoons and movies, including many Disneyland radio commercials and Digimon, 
All Grown Up, Batman, Duel Masters, Gorgeous, Honeybee Hutch, Last Exile, 
Nightwalker, The SpongeBob Square Pants Movie, Wolf's Rain and Akira.  

Tiring of the Hollywood scene, he decided to use his talent to see the world.  
He has and still appears as a headline act on Princess cruises.

Seth, whose father was a hypnotherapist, fell in love with illusion when taken 
to see a Blackstone the Magician show when he was eight.  He started to delve 
into the field.  His present show grew out of the concept of mentalism, which 
allows him to work with the audience to influence people's thoughts and create 
illusion.  The Kennedy space is a perfect venue because it is intimate and 
allows for immediate interaction with the spectators.

He has taken his knowledge of people and hypnosis and written the book The 
Weight Loss Hypnosis Solution:  Discover How to Lose Weight Without Diets or 
Willpower.
  
Seth has many fond memories of his Ohio years including Vince Cardinal, the 
theatre director at Kent Roosevelt and being surrounded by a large and 
supportive family.  In fact, the family roots, his belief that the Cleveland 
area has such nice people, and the area has “lots going for it” caused Seth and 
his wife, who is expecting their first child, to move back to the Buckeye state 
and settle in Bath. 

If Beyond Belief:  An Intimate Evening of Psychological Illusion develops a 
local cult following like the show did when performed at The Magic Castle in Los 
Angeles, Seth plans to revive it on a regular basis at Kennedys.

For more information on Joshua Seth obtain a coupon for discount tickets for the 
Kennedy show, go to http://beyond belief show.com.  For tickets call 
216-241-6000 or go to www.playhousesquare.org.
 
Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 
2011, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at 
http://royberko.info.  His reviews can also be found on www.coolcleveland.com 
and www.NeOHIOpal