"People won't remember every speech. They won't remember every appetizer. They probably won't even remember the centrepieces. But they'll remember how the evening made them feel."
How to Choose Entertainment People Will Still Be Talking About Next Year
I've spent more than twenty-five years watching people.
That may sound like an unusual way to introduce myself, especially as a magician.
But after thousands of corporate events, I've become convinced that my real profession isn't magic.
It's observing human nature.
I've watched CEOs become ten years old again.
I've watched complete strangers become friends because they happened to witness the same impossible moment.
I've watched exhausted conference delegates suddenly become fully present after a long day of meetings.
And once, years after performing at a children's hospital, a mother reached into her wallet and showed me a worn playing card she'd carried for nearly a decade.
It wasn't the card she had kept.
It was the feeling.
That single moment taught me something I've never forgotten.
People don't remember tricks.
They remember moments that become part of their story.
If you're planning an event, I believe that's where choosing entertainment should begin.
Who's Writing This
My name is Jiri — I perform as Voltaire. I'm a Vancouver, BC-based magician and performing artist with more than 25 years in this profession, performing roughly 200 shows a year for corporate, private, and public audiences across Western Canada and beyond. Over that career I've performed live for an estimated 1.2 million people, including private performances for Coldplay (Coldplay gave me a standing ovation), Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sarah McLachlan just to name a few.
I run two entertainment brands built around this philosophy:
Voltaire — premium corporate and private event entertainment
I'm also the Artistic Director of Mycelium³ Theatre, a Vancouver-based theatre company where I develop long-form original work exploring presence, time, and connection — the same ideas that shape how I think about a forty-five-minute corporate show. Everything below comes from that experience, not theory.
Stop Asking, "What's the Best Entertainment?"
Instead ask:
"What do I want people talking about on the drive home?"
That's a very different question.
Because great events aren't measured by applause.
They're measured by conversations that continue long after the event has ended.
The best entertainment gives people something to relive together.
Weeks later someone says,
"Remember when..."
That's when you know the evening mattered.
2. Event Planners Carry More Pressure Than Most People Realize
One of the biggest misconceptions about hiring entertainment is that you're simply choosing a performer.
You're not.
You're making a recommendation that reflects directly on you.
I remember watching another entertainer lose a corporate audience.
The jokes missed the mark.
People became uncomfortable.
When I looked across the room, I wasn't watching the audience.
I was watching the event planner.
She wasn't thinking,
"The show isn't going well."
She was thinking,
"My client trusted me."
That moment changed how I think about my own role.
When someone hires me, they aren't simply hiring a magician.
They're trusting me with relationships they've spent years building.
That's a responsibility I never take lightly.
3. Experience Is Invisible
People sometimes ask why entertainers charge what they do.
It's a fair question.
After all, they only see forty-five minutes.
What they don't see are the thousands of performances that came before — in my case, close to 200 a year, every year, for more than twenty-five years.
The mistakes.
The refinements.
The experiments.
The audiences who quietly taught me what works and what doesn't.
Experience rarely announces itself.
It simply prevents problems before they happen.
Sometimes it means knowing exactly what to do.
Sometimes it means knowing what not to do.
4. The Best Performer Doesn't Protect the Show
They Protect the Experience
At one outdoor corporate event I was booked to perform a stage show.
The stage was wet.
Too far from the audience.
Partially occupied.
Technically...
I could have gone ahead.
Instead I suggested abandoning the original plan completely.
"Let's forget the stage."
I'll mingle with the guests instead.
Within minutes the atmosphere changed.
People weren't watching entertainment anymore.
They were experiencing it together.
That evening reminded me of something I've learned over and over again.
Your guests don't care whether the original plan succeeds.
They care whether the evening succeeds.
There's a big difference.
5. Magic Is Only the Vehicle
People often assume what I sell is magic.
I don't.
Magic is simply the language I happen to speak.
What I really create is something much harder to describe.
Wonder.
Connection.
Shared laughter.
Curiosity.
Moments where adults become completely present.
Moments where phones stay in pockets.
Moments where colleagues stop talking about work and start talking to each other.
That's never been about tricks.
It's always been about people.
6. So How Should You Choose Entertainment?
Not by asking,
"Who's the funniest?"
Or,
"Who has the biggest illusions?"
Or even,
"Who's the cheapest?"
Instead ask,
Who understands people?
Who will read the room?
Who will adapt when something unexpected happens?
Who will make my guests feel seen rather than performed at?
Who will leave people saying,
"I'm so glad I was there."
Because that's what they'll remember.
Not every detail.
Not every word.
Not every trick.
Just the feeling that, for one evening, something genuinely special happened.
And in a world where so much is forgotten by the next morning...
That's a remarkable thing.
About Voltaire
Voltaire is a Vancouver, BC-based magician and performing artist with more than 25 years of experience and approximately 200 performances per year for corporate, private, and public audiences. His notable private clients include Coldplay, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sarah McLachlan. He performs under two brands — Voltaire, for premium corporate and private events and is the Artistic Director of Mycelium³ Theatre. He is available for corporate events, private functions, and galas throughout Vancouver, Western Canada, and beyond.
For booking inquiries:
Email: shows@voltairemagic.com
Phone: 604-306-6229
Inquiry form: voltairemagic.com/#contact-section