The student news site of El Camino College

El Camino College The Union

The student news site of El Camino College

El Camino College The Union

The student news site of El Camino College

El Camino College The Union

‘Phantasms III’ offered extravagant show for audiences

Jason+Davidson%2C+ocmmunication+studies+professor%2C+lectures+on+necromancy+%28the+art+of+communicating+with+the+dead%29%2C+in+the+19th-+century+USA.++Phantasms+III+was+the+third+and+final+annual+show+by+Davidson+in+the+Marsee+Auditorium+on+Oct.+15.+Photo+credit%3A+Marlena+Keenan
Jason Davidson, ocmmunication studies professor, lectures on necromancy (the art of communicating with the dead), in the 19th- century USA. “Phantasms III” was the third and final annual show by Davidson in the Marsee Auditorium on Oct. 15. Photo credit: Marlena Keenan

Crowds were lined up awaiting to see the show. The seats were filled and one could hear the people chatting amongst themselves how excited and frightened they were, because they didn’t know what to expect from “Phantasms III: This Time, You Will Be Touched.”

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Communications Studies Professor Jason Davidson enters the stage at the Marsee Auditorium for his show, "Phantasms III," on Saturday, Oct. 15. Photo credit: Alain Miranda

“I thought it was amazing, very enlightening, very entertaining, he [Jason Davidson] is a great speaker,” Daphne Smith, 43, who works for the Santa Monica Police dispatch, said.

The show, hosted by EC communications studies professor Jason Davidson, began with a lecture of how spiritualism and communicating with the death began in the early 19th century and how it has impacted modern society.

According to the brochure handed out at the show, a phantasm is “1. A figment of the imagination or disordered mind; 2. an apparition of a living or dead person.”

“Definitely “Phantasms [III]” was one in a lifetime experience and I am glad I came,” Deangelo Smith, 18, business major said.

Davidson’s lecture talked abut how spiritualism began and how people started communicating with the death and its transition through the years. The lecture also included humorous jokes and magic demonstrations that coincided with his lecture and even included a musical.

Phantasms III
Communication Studies Professor Jason Davidson concludes his lecture on the art of communicating with the dead with the song "We'll Meet Again" by Vera Lynn in the Marsee Auditorium Oct. 15. Photo credit: Marlena Keenan

“I liked the song at the end, I was singing along with it,” Thomas Bennet, 22, physics major, said.

David.jpg
Guest magician David Blatter approaches volunteers from the stage at the "Phantasms III" show in the Marsee Auditorium on Saturday, Oct. 15. Photo credit: Alain Miranda

Award-winning magicians and “America’s Got Talent” finalists David and Leman were also part of the “Phantasms III” show.

Whether one believes in communicating with the dead or not, Davidson’s “Phantasms III” was filled with fun and entertainment, with the entire audience clapping and laughing through the show.

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Juan Martin, 24, fire tech major, dances with skeleton prop after the show at the Marsee Auditorium on Oct. 15. Photo credit: Alain Miranda

“I am skeptical, but I like to keep an open mind to this sort of things, I like to think that there is more to life than people can put in a bottle,”Joseph Whited, 23, arts major, said.

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