Now you know who Gatlinburg's newest Mentalist is, what about the other half of Impossibilities? Is who Chris Collins? 

Get ready to meet the brains behind the mayhem. Get ready to meet Magical Comedian: Chris Collins.

Born in Norfolk Virginia, Chris had a very interesting childhood. With a father who worked for IBM he moved around frequently growing up.  “I Lived in Colorado, Minnesota, and even in Texas for a few years, we were not to far from NASA and I attended school with several kids whose parents were part of the space program.”

It was in third grade when Chris realized what he wanted to do with his life. This is when he met Minnesota based Magician Norm Barnhardt. Norm had come to Chris' school to perform his Magic show and Chris was mesmerized. "I got to interview him after the show for our school newsletter, his love for the art and story fascinated me," Chris explains, "he inspired me to get into magic and I still consider him a great friend and mentor today.”

After high school Chris took his magic on the road, he has been featured on stages in Las Vegas, at comedy clubs, and corporate events across the country.  Chris is a graduate of the Professional Performers Workshop in Hollywood, and a 3 time Magician of the Year as voted by his peers.  

Chris eventually landed in North Carolina to be closer to his family, but he never lost his love of Magic. Then one day he bumps into North Carolina based Mentalist Erik Dobell and the rest is Impossibilities!

For more information about Magical Comedian Chris Collins please visit www.chriscollinsmagic.com You can also follow him at  Facebook.com/ChrisCollinsMagicalComedian or Twitter.com/magicalcomedian

Impossibilities: An Evening of Magic, Mind Reading and Mayhem is a magic and mind-reading show starring the Magicial Comedian Chris Collins and Master Mentalist Erik Dobell now playing in Gatlinburg, Tennessee at the Iris Theater located at the base of the Iconic Gatlinburg Space Needle.

 But...who are Chris Collins and Erik Dobell?


Today we're going to take a look at Gatlinburg's new Mentalist, Comedian and Mind Invader: Erik Dobell!

Born in the latter half of the 19th century, Erik Dobell's path to Mentalism started with a childhood obsession with Sherlock Holmes. "I've always been fascinated by the idea of a character who can accomplish super human feats without the use of a superpower," said Erik, "like Sherlock Holmes' ability to know your entire life story by glancing at your pocket watch. I wanted to be like him."

It was all a pipe dream until Erik wandered into a magic shop one day and out of curiosity bought a book written about Mentalism. "I didn't understand a word of it, but I knew that's what I wanted to do. I realized that Sherlock Holmes and his abilities may be fictional, but I could recreate this fiction on stage for an audience. Not only could I live out the fantasy, I can also create this fantasy for other people as well."

​So how did a Mentalist team up with a Magician for a theatre show? "Well, I met Chris by chance one day and we took a liking to each other. It was one of those friendships where it just sort of happened. We'd hang out and exchange ideas and one day; out of the blue, he asked how I felt about doing a two man show."

Erik was hesitant at first but then started to see the potential in that type of act. "There have been some two-person Magic acts and a lot of two-person Mentalism acts, but I'm pretty sure this is the first time a Magician and a Mentalist have done a show together."

After thinking about it for a while, Erik realized that this type of show could appeal to a lot of people. "There's comedy and drama mixed with magic, illusions and mind reading. There's literally something for everybody."

For more information about Erik Dobell visit www.themindinvader.com
You can also follow him at Facebook.com/themindinvader or twitter.com/erikdobell

As of this week Impossibilities has secured North Carolina dates in Winston Salem, Asheville,Wilmington and more! 

Tickets will be on sale very soon. Until then, you can check out our Tour Page to see if we're coming to your town.