Meet Bizzaro Galore

We were lucky to catch up with Bizzaro Galore recently and have shared our conversation below.

Bizzaro , so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.

I have been a magician since I was 6. I decided to go “pro” at 13 and thus entertainment has been with me my whole life.

My family never discouraged me from doing anything. They never said “you can’t do this” or “You shouldn’t do that” and I was exposed to a lot of arts and sciences as a kid. (I’m still not sure an 8 year old needed to match Marcel Marceau but here we are) I grew up in the 90s when magic on TV was at it’s height and had all of these amazing stage performers to watch. Thus I got to see a lot of magic and realize I didn’t want to do what anyone else was doing. I determined that if more than 3 people were doing the same thing I would stray away from it OR do it in a way no one else was.

The first big example of this was when I created an act producing, multiplying, and doing magic with eyeballs. From there I just kept making my own ideas and props with whatever I had access to. (A mindset that still persists to this day) I started doing magic in bars and nightclubs at 16 between bands. This helped reinforce my performance style of performing without talking and using music as a backing track. I had to find ways to grab drunk people’s attention in that atmosphere so that helped keep me creative for sure.

Through most of my 20s I had access to a lot of “good places to be bad”. Venues that I could just throw many things at the wall and see what stuck and felt right. Eventually, the scene I performed in (Deep Ellum in Dallas, TX) dried up so in 2008, I decided to move to Las Vegas. It was here I really had to ramp things up to compete on a professional level. That motivation helped me refine the acts I was already doing. Within my first week I was performing in Jeff McBride’s weekly “Wonderground” show. That was a great way to see what worked in Vegas and what did not.

A few years later I decided to start up a prop making and consulting business. Making things for other performers is a great way to flex creative muscles. It let me travel the world and work behind the scenes on various TV shows. I even got to make ideas for the likes of Gallagher and David Copperfield.

Flash forward to 2014 when I did my first escape room. It was there that I got inspired to join that world. I always had my fingers in many different pies. Sideshow, special FX make-up, video production, haunted houses, etc. Escape rooms brought ALL of that together for me, including magic. Making theatrical immersive experiences for people just seemed to fit. I get to make magic shows that continue on and I don’t have to be in the room for them to happen. Our company, Test Subjects (dot com), creates ideas and props for other people so there are ALWAYS new challenges and at the end of the day creativity is really just about problem solving and I think that is why I have always navigated towards creating things in different mediums. Having an idea and then going “Now how do I do that?” really scratches that itch to invent new things. Creativity isn’t always “output” driven either. Sometimes it’s just figuring out a way to streamline a workflow.

At the end of the day, I just want to do things that bring me joy and that can vary from being on stage, behind a camera, or making new experiences for people. As long as it’s a different challenge, I’m happy. Doing the same thing over and over again… now THAT sounds like a slow way to die.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

As for new stuff, our more recent endeavors have been helping a new Las Vegas based escape room, Monster Quest” build new experiences. We have also been working behind the scenes to help improve the newly opened “John Wick Experience” at Area 15.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Sticking it out longer than any other same person would ha ha. It’s a trite saying, but it’s very true: You learn more from failing. I have FAILED A LOT. Thankfully, my desire to make stuff usually surpasses my frustration with a project.

Here are some bullet points from my creativity lecture:
– Learn about the world around you. The more you know about things, the more creative it allows you to be.
– Question Everything. New things are created when you start getting curious about them
– Restrict Yourself! – Restrictions put in place help you figure out creative solutions. If you could walk through walls, you’d never have to invent the ladder or the door.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

We are always looking for new people to help make new fun stuff with. In the last year or so, I have focused solely on the immersive theatrical business side of things and have gotten to make some cool stuff. We know how to make Disney level stuff but without Disney-level money. If you want to make cool experiences, displays, or other adjacent ideas, hit us up at www.testsubjects.com

Contact Info:

• Website: https://testsubjects.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/testsubjectslv/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/escapetestsubjects
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TestSubjects