(GLASSBORO, NJ) -- One of the hottest illusionists in the country, Jason Bishop, will perform two shows on Friday, January 18 at Rowan University’s Pfleeger Concert Hall, presented by Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Camden County. The first performance will target children ages 13 to 18 in the foster care system. The second performance, starting at 7:00pm, is open to the general public and will raise funds for CASA organizations throughout southern New Jersey.
Bishop was born in Newark and grew up in foster care throughout the Greater Philadelphia region. The performances arose serendipitously, when Jonathan Cummings, executive director of CASA of Camden County, read Southwest, The Magazine’s cover story on Bishop. Cummings learned that Bishop not only spent time in foster care himself, but also that he bounced around homes within the Greater Philadelphia region. The story detailed how Bishop overcame a “nightmare of a childhood” to become “America’s Hottest Illusionist”.
“When I read the story, I knew that I wanted to get Jason in front of our youth as an example of someone who faced similar challenges to what they have endured, yet rose above them. He has found tremendous success, and he has done it in quite possibly the coolest career,” said Cummings. “I reached out to him to perform for the youth in our community who have faced adversity, and he offered the second performance to help us raise funds and awareness to support CASA and its mission. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our youth, and also for our organization.”
CASA is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that serves children who have been removed from their homes as a result of abuse and neglect. The Jason Bishop Show on January 18 will benefit CASA’s work on behalf of the Family Court System in New Jersey’s Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties. The organization assigns volunteers to work one-on-one with an abused or neglected child, advocating for his or her best interests in working towards getting them in a safe, nurturing home as soon as possible.
According to Cummings, there are over 2,500 children in foster care in Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties in need of an adult advocate. A CASA volunteer works with just one case at a time to give that child, or sibling group, his or her undivided attention. The volunteer gives that child a “voice in court,” often providing crucial background information to attorneys to advocate for an outcome that is – always – in the best interest of the child.
Bishop knows firsthand the importance of CASA’s work. He and his brother recently detailed horrors of their childhood in a recent CBS Sunday Morning segment. Bishop also shared what changed the trajectory of his life in a video he sent exclusively to the southern New Jersey youth served by CASA. In the video, he noted that when he was about 10 years old, he told his foster father that he “couldn’t be anything successful, ever, because I’m a foster kid, so I can’t be anything.” Bishop explained that his foster father told him that he knew a judge who had been in foster care. “That statement alone,” said Bishop, “sort of changed my outlook and my perspective about what I thought I could do as well.”
Bishop was the youngest person to win the Magician’s Alliance of Eastern States Stage Award, and one of the youngest people to compete in the Society of American Magicians World-Class competition. He has starred in two of his own Off-Broadway shows, “Jason Bishop - Straight Up Magic” and “Jason Bishop - Believe in Magic”, both at the New Victory Theater on New York’s famed 42nd Street. His performances, which feature modern costuming and music, fast-paced illusions, sleight-of-hand and audience participation, have led him from China to Paris, from Hollywood to New York City, and every state in-between, and to more than 30 countries on 6 continents.
Tickets are available at https://donate.chip-in.us/?causeId=304. Tickets are $25, and purchases support CASA and its programs to assist children living in foster care in southern New Jersey.
Pfleeger Concert Hall is an 800 seat concert hall located in Wilson Hall on Rowan University’s Glassboro campus. The venue has been in continuous use since it was opened in 1972. It is located at North Campus Drive in Glassboro, New Jersey.
PHOTO BY Matt Bishop
