Kristen Johnson grew up in a very eclectic home. Her father an engineer in management for one of the largest most prominent companies in America and her mother an entertainer. Her father’s work caused the family to relocate many times. By the time Kristen turned 18 she had lived in 7 states and attended 4 high schools before graduating. Her mother, well known in the magic community and across the country as an accomplished performer passed on to Kristen without Kristen even knowing it, the entertainment bug.
Kristen went on to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Relations and Political Science. After college she became very successful working for a number of Fortune 500 companies. It wasn't until her mother’s bout with cancer when Kristen stepped in to help out by running the family business that she fully embraced her entertainment heritage and finally realized that performing was in her blood.
During that time she met another accomplished magician by the name of Kevin Ridgeway. Magic being the common denominator, friendship ensued although they would not formally perform together until years later. After Kristen and Kevin had both become working entertainers they finally got together with the vision to create a dynamic, high energy production geared toward young people. After they realized how well they connected with the X Generation, Kevin mentioned to Kristen, "If we can attract and hold the attention of teenagers, we can attract everyone." In September 2000, Kristen and Kevin were married in Australia while they were there performing during the Summer Olympics festivities. It was then that they began planning to make the leap from performing regionally to nationally and the Living Illusions touring show was born.
News of the cutting edge touring show Living Illusions travel fast. Before they knew it offers to perform were pouring in from all across the country. Their first big break occurred when they were asked to perform on the Discovery Channel feature Inside the Houdini Museum, a television special documentary based on the life of Harry Houdini. Kristen was the only female featured on the special which ended up airing numerous times on both the Discovery & Travel Channel. Kristen set out to master every type of escape known to magicians. She learned Straight Jacket escapes, Rope escapes, Handcuff escapes, and finally the granddaddy escape of them all, the death defying Water Torture Cell escape immortalized by the Great Harry Houdini. In 2006 along with Kevin, she was bestowed the Master Award, the highest award given at the 4th Annual International Escape Artist Convention where they debuted their new futuristic Full View Water Torture Cell Escape, the only escape of its kind in the world.
Kristen and Kevin are in big demand all across the globe. While they have produced and performed several different touring productions for almost every market including fairs, festivals, theaters, trades shows, corporate events and schools there favorite performance is still the one that is closes to their heart. The show that started it all, Living Illusions, the cutting edge art of illusion production they created to reach teens with the Christian message of God’s Love. Even with Kristen’s demanding touring schedule she still accepts a few speaking engagements every year for teenage girls and women’s events. The topic she is most passionate about is Self Esteem. Since her family was constantly moving from state to state Kristen was always the new kids in school and felt very much an outsider. The fact that she wore braces and glasses also didn’t do much for self image as she viewed herself as an ugly duckling. Kristen when asked will often use one of her escapes or illusions to drive home the inspirational message she delivers.
Full View Water Torture Cell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVHPHja3wn4
In case you missed Kristen Johnson on her most recent TV appearance, here she is on national television doing her signature escape