He was a Fall River City Councilor and fought against LNG. Now, he's a magician.
FALL RIVER — It might be fun to watch videos of old Fall River City Council meetings and see if Mike Miozza was using Jedi mind tricks to influence his colleagues.
A former two-term city councilor, Miozza, by day, works for FM Global, a commercial real estate company. By night (and weekend and holidays), he operates Mike Miozza’s Mind Mysteries. He’s an entertainer. He’s ready to read your mind, make you laugh, influence your behavior temporarily, and dazzle you.
Miozza said it’s all fun. He said he embarrasses no one. He does not hypnotize. He promises to treat people with respect. He emphasizes that his act involves no connection with the occult. Nor the supernatural. He promises to entertain.
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“I’m using techniques to influence people to make decisions,” he said. “They’re scientific principles. I’m using persuasion. I’m reading body language. I influence people to do things and they don’t know I’m doing it.
Miozza uses his Magic Square box and does mathematical equations very quickly. He uses story telling. He uses oversized playing cards. He breaks out his beloved box of socks (all clean) to make predictions. Another part of the show is what he calls his Danger Act, but, Miozza said, worry not, no one gets hurt. He makes predictions about things that will happen over the course of the show. He reads minds. He’s even been known to give away money.
The show is visual. It’s mental. He can go just a half hour but 45 minutes to an hour works best for the full show with consideration to attention spans. Audience interraction is an important part of the show.
“I’ve gotten great feedback,” Miozza said.
Mentalism, Miozza explained, is a form of magic. And it’s nothing new in his life. It goes back to the 1980’s when when he lived in Florida, near Clearwater. At a flea market he and his family would visit, a magician had a table and did magic and sold tricks.
“I’d buy tricks, show my family. I got good reactions,” he said. “In Florida, there are a lot of restaurants where magicians do table hopping.”
Miozza has taken his mentalism as a hobby, but a hobby he takes very seriously. He said he has invested significant time and money into honing his hobby/trade. He is a card carrying member of the Society of American Magicians. He has trained under famous mentalists like Richard Sterlind of Kentucky, Mark Paul of Great Britain and Jans Froster of Germany.
For more than a few years, Miozza had to put his mentalist life on hold. There just wasn’t the time. For nine years, he helped lead the North End fight against LNG. There were the four years on the city council, and two years on the city charter committee.
Post-public service, Miozza revived his mentalist show only to have it derailed by the pandemic. Now he wants to get rolling again. He said he’d like to lock into, at no charge, a recurring gig at a restaurant with a function room “so I can keep fresh and try new material. See what works.”
He said his show works best with 50 or more folks on hand. It’s all about the audience. He does parties. He’ll do the table hopping at restaurants.
For legitimate charity events, Miozza, 67, said he will work at a discounted rate, or maybe for free.
He just wants to do what he loves while he can. “I know I don’t have much runway left,” he said.
For more on his shows and to book a show, search for Mike Miozza’s Mind Mysteries, email mmiozza@comcast.net or call 508-415-7127. Visit his Mike Miozza's Mind Mysteries on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Ex-Fall River City Councilor Mike Miozza promotes part-time magic act
