Strange Exits Podcast

Season 1: “Vanishing Violet” Extended Trailer

[MALE VOICE 1]: Anyone who tells you they knew Violet Volk is a liar. I was married to her, and I still couldn’t tell you who the “real” VV was. Because nothing was real with her. Her life, her career, it was all a series of illusions.

[FEMALE VOICE 1]: Violet was a strange one. Part gutter punk, part diva. She was unpredictable, whip-smart, charismatic as hell. Not conventionally beautiful but alluring, in the way that self-assurance gives people a special magnetism.

[MALE VOICE 1]: There was this … malleable quality to her. Sometimes Violet could be the most gorgeous woman you’ve ever seen and other times she was utterly hideous. Either way, it was impossible to take your eyes off of her.

[FEMALE VOICE 2]: I worshipped her. I think a lot of girls in the nineties did.

[MALE VOICE 2]: She was a phony, and she made millions off people buying her lies.

CAMERON FRANK: Violet Volk was the greatest magician of our generation, arguably of all time. Her act was jaw-dropping, with illusions that defied explanation—some even believed she was gifted with special abilities that extended beyond those of a skilled magician.

[MALE VOICE 3]: Nobody could do what she did. I don’t know what you’d even call it … it was more than magic. There are tricks she performed that nobody’s figured out to this day. All that stuff with fire and blood and levitation—it was mind-blowing. Deep down, you knew these things had a logical explanation, but sometimes you still felt like you were watching something … miraculous. Violet Volk didn’t perform magic—she was magic.

[MALE VOICE 2]: You know how many guys can do what she did? Pfft. If Violet wasn’t a sexy chick, we wouldn’t even be talking about her.

[FEMALE VOICE 1]: Stage magic has always been a boys’ club—even today, over ninety percent of professional magicians are male. History has forgotten greats like Adelaide Herrmann, Dell O’Dell, Celeste Evans, and Dorothy Dietrich, and relegated women to serving as little more than pretty props. Violet made a name for herself in this boys’ club and showed us we can be more than pretty props, onstage and off. History will not forget Violet Volk.

[FEMALE VOICE 3]: A feminist icon? Gimme a break. Less performance artist, more con artist, if you ask me.

CAMERON FRANK: Whether you loved or hated her, whether she inspired you or pushed your buttons, you have to give her credit for how provocative she was. Being neutral about Volk was not an option—you were bound to have a strong opinion.

[FEMALE VOICE 4]: Violet’s biggest talent was knowing how to provoke attention. Some find that admirable. I think it’s cheap and disgusting. She’s not worth the spotlight … Sorry if I sound bitter, but that bitch broke my heart.

[MALE VOICE 3]: She was a visionary. And like all visionaries, she faced her share of being misunderstood, judged, and criticized. That doesn’t make her any less brilliant.

CAMERON FRANK: From her meteoric rise in stage magic and pivot to self-help guru, to her salacious romantic entanglements, to a muddy personal history filled with contradictions and obfuscations, VV was perennially complex and enigmatic. If there was one thing you could rely on her to deliver, it was the unexpected.

[FEMALE VOICE 2]: How could this have happened? There were so many witnesses … hundreds, thousands of us. And nobody saw a thing?

[FEMALE VOICE 3]: We all thought it was a giant publicity stunt at first … but as weeks passed, then months … Now it’s been almost ten years. You gotta start to wonder if … maybe we’ll never see her again. Maybe she’s not with us anymore.

[MALE VOICE 4]: I heard she was hiding out somewhere in the Amazon.

CAMERON FRANK: In the years since her mysterious disappearance, she continues to capture public curiosity and spark speculation. There have been various unconfirmed sightings of Volk and countless theories persist around her vanishing.

[FEMALE VOICE 3]: I don’t think she’s dead. There were some … unpleasant realities VV was about to face … and she was getting tired of her fame and notoriety. She had plenty of reasons to want to start a new life. Staging her disappearance would be the perfect way to do it.

[MALE VOICE 1]: Violet once told me, “When you’re rich and famous, you can get away with anything. You have no idea what I’ve gotten away with.” The thing is, she looked scared when she said that.

[DISGUISED VOICE]: There were people who had grown tired of her antics and felt threatened by her. I don’t know how much more I can say. I wouldn’t want those people coming after me …

[MALE VOICE 2]: We’re never gonna know what really happened. Someone as clever as Violet? If she doesn’t want to be found, she won’t be.

[FEMALE VOICE 2]: I miss her every day. And I’ll never stop looking for her.

[FEMALE VOICE 3]: She loves being a puzzle—she prides herself on it. Violet reveals different pieces of herself to different people, and nobody ever gets to see the full picture.

CAMERON FRANK: Join us on Strange Exits as we put together the pieces and try to solve the puzzle of Violet Volk.

THE FINCHLEY FREE PRESS

Vanishing Volk Causes Riot

By Cameron Frank

FEBRUARY 24, 2008

Friday night, two thousand people packed the Witkin Theater in Willow Glen to see legendary magician Violet Volk perform her first stage show in years. People came from around the world to see Volk’s act, with some paying over a thousand dollars per seat from resellers. They were expecting an extraordinary night. Little did they know, they’d be witnesses to the last confirmed sighting of this mercurial performer.

Violet Volk was one of the most popular stage magicians of the 1990s, her numerous tours and television appearances, along with a residency in Las Vegas, making her a household name. In the early 2000s, she reinvented herself as a self-help author and toured the world as a motivational speaker. While she incorporated some effects into her seminars, questions persisted, from fans and press alike, as to whether she’d ever return to the stage as a full-fledged magician. It wasn’t until early 2008 that they received a satisfying answer, when Volk announced a special performance in her hometown of Willow Glen, New Jersey. One night only, but many believed a proper tour would follow.

After Friday’s show, nobody is sure what to believe.

The performance was stripped down compared to her TV specials or Las Vegas show—Violet Volk Unplugged, relatively speaking. There were no acrobats or dancers providing colorful misdirection, no screen projections, and, apart from the final illusion, few pyrotechnics or elaborate set pieces. The restrained approach made Volk all the more astonishing to watch, and the audience was enraptured for a full hour until the Flaming Angel, one of her trademark disappearing acts. The effect proceeded smoothly until it was time for Volk to reappear. She never did. The confusion that ensued caused a stampede, with twenty-nine people hospitalized for minor injuries.

The Flaming Angel involved four hoops suspended six feet above the stage floor and lit on fire, followed by the magician, clad in a white bodysuit and matching angel wings, levitating and passing through them. While navigating the fourth hoop, her wings would burst into flame and she’d vanish in a puff of smoke and an explosion of feathers. Moments later, she’d reappear in a different part of the theater. Last night’s iteration was entirely unprecedented. When the spotlight trained its beam on the upper balcony, where it was supposed to find the performer, now wearing a (supposedly charred) black bodysuit and wings, it remained fixed on an empty space.

A theater crew member who wished to remain anonymous said, “We rehearsed it dozens of times. When she didn’t reappear, we were scared there was a tech malfunction. We checked the rigs and equipment but saw nothing wrong. So we went all over the theater, hoping we’d find her quickly enough that the audience would think it was part of the act.”

At first, they did. “Everybody was looking around, trying to figure out where she’d reappear,” said Nancy Martin, a fan who traveled from Vancouver for a front-row seat to the spectacle. “But I knew something was off. I saw Violet perform dozens of times back in the day, and the way the stagehands were rushing around felt sloppy and panicked, not rehearsed at all. I could tell right away it wasn’t part of the show.”

When Volk failed to reappear after a few minutes, the music was cut, and the house lights came on. “You could hear a worried murmur go through the crowd,” Martin said. “Then there was this announcement apologizing for technical difficulties and asking us to please remain in our seats. I got scared when I saw security guards walking down the aisle, and when the police showed up a few minutes later, I got really scared. Then somebody asked if there was an active shooter and all hell broke loose.”

“The manager of the theater called to report the disappearance,” said Willow Glen Chief of Police Howard Donegan. “It happened during the show, so we were concerned about foul play and wanted everyone to stay put. If that theater was a crime scene, we needed to preserve it and keep track of everyone present. You’re looking at hundreds of potential witnesses and there’s no telling if any might’ve been accomplices. But you also have to bear in mind the whole thing could be a big stunt.”

Law enforcement couldn’t confirm who initiated the panic that caused people to flee the theater.

“I don’t know what would’ve given someone the mistaken idea that we had an active shooter in our midst. One minute, everyone was sitting calmly in their seats, the next, it was a mob scene,” said Chief Donegan. “We’re lucky nobody was grievously injured.”

After the theater manager confirmed Volk’s disappearance was not part of her show, officers and theater security officials searched the area. They have yet to find any trace of her.

Volk’s sister, Sasha Dwyer, was in the audience Friday night, appearing composed and only mildly concerned, stating, “Violet’s been known to fall off the radar now and again. I have no idea what happened tonight, but I’m confident she’ll turn up soon.” Could she know more than she’s letting on?

Some audience members took a more cynical approach. “The whole thing was a setup to grab more headlines,” said one man, who preferred to remain anonymous. “No one generates publicity better than Violet Volk.”

A representative for the performer disputes the notion that her disappearance was staged. “Violet has deviated from the script before, which is what makes her such a compelling entertainer. But her vanishing is not a publicity stunt and is of serious concern to us. We urge the public to reach out if they have any information on her whereabouts.”

While police are unsure whether to treat this as a legitimate missing person case, they are erring on the side of caution. “She’s a grown woman and has the right to go missing,” said Chief Donegan. “That said, the circumstances surrounding this disappearance are unusual, and, given Volk’s high profile, we need to rule out foul play. If she went missing voluntarily, we ask that she notify law enforcement to let us know she’s in no danger, so we can focus our resources elsewhere. Otherwise, for the meantime, we’ll keep looking.”

EntertainmentWhenever.com

Violet Mania in Full Bloom

By Reggie Moser

JANUARY 10, 2018

It’s hard to believe nearly a decade has passed since Violet Volk disappeared, considering how her legend endures. Video clips of her magic routines and motivational talks continue to get millions of views online, her signature alterna-glam-goth style still echoes in today’s fashion trends, and her books periodically reappear on bestseller lists, her brand of inspirational tough love still resonant today.

February 22 will mark ten years since Volk’s final performance and her mysterious vanishing. As this somber anniversary draws near, VV’s absence will be felt more acutely than ever, and thousands are expected to flock to the annual candlelight vigil in Willow Glen, New Jersey. If you can’t make it there, you’ll have plenty of other opportunities to celebrate the magical performer. Here are some noteworthy Violet-centric projects to have on your radar:

#violetisback—This trending hashtag is accompanying posts of current photos that supposedly feature Violet Volk. Most are amusing impersonations, but some are striving for verisimilitude. This social media fad has seemingly come out of nowhere. Is it a marketing ploy? A sign of an imminent comeback? An organic outpouring of fan appreciation? Nobody can say for sure, but if we can’t have the real thing, we’ll take these wannabe Violets any day.Strange Exits (Podcast, Sidecar Studios, January 23)—Journalist Cameron Frank delves into the life, the controversies, and the disappearance of our favorite magician. This podcast promises to be a revelatory examination of Volk, and after listening to a preview of the first few episodes, we believe the hype. Rumor has it Frank will be airing interviews with some of the most press-shy members of Volk’s inner circle—including her sister, Sasha Dwyer.Violet Volk: Behind the Magic (Saltworks Press, March 13)—This expanded reissue of Noriko Tomlin’s 2012 unauthorized biography contains a new foreword by illusionist Jenn Junk, whose current Vegas residency includes an homage to Volk. While the veracity of Tomlin’s chronicle has been called into question by sources close to the performer, it still makes for compulsive reading. We’re already saving a place for this one in our beach tote.Light & Magic (Limited Series, Vumi, Streaming May 11)—Focusing more on Volk’s early years, this eight-episode series traces her path from Jersey to Vegas, from obscurity to stardom. If the trailer is any indication, Light & Magic promises to be a feast for the senses, with a killer trip hop/dream pop soundtrack, stunning production design, and eye-popping special effects.In the Picture: A Retrospective of Violet Volk (Touring Exhibit, Fall)—Celebrity photographer Mayuree Sakda (who was romantically linked to Volk in the early 2000s) shares her most iconic images of the performer both onstage and off, along with never-before-seen private moments. An accompanying coffee table book is also forthcoming, so go ahead and add that one to your wish list now.COMMENTS (582):

RUNNINGWITHWOLFPACK: Did I read that right?? Sasha Dwyer is gonna spill the tea about her sister on a podcast?? Won’t that, like, short-circuit her robot programming?

PLANTSOVERPEOPLE: Can you blame Sasha for avoiding the media when she gets bullied by the Wolf Pack every time she doesn’t worship at her sister’s altar?

WOLFPACKJACK: Yes, I can blame her, cuz keeping media attention on a missing person case is EVERYTHING if you don’t want it to go cold. Sasha’s done nothing to help.

DAGLITTERBOMB: Dude, you’re talking about a missing chick who’s rich + famous + white. You don’t need Sasha putting up billboards and shit when the FBI is already on it. And you don’t know her sister’s life. Everyone grieves differently.

RUNNINGWITHWOLFPACK: Or not at all, if you’re VV’s sis.

PLANTSOVERPEOPLE: Would exploiting VV’s memory be better? Sasha could’ve made bank doing interviews, writing books about her sister—she even turned down an offer to do a reality show. I’m curious what she’ll say when she finally does talk.

DAGLITTERBOMB: Same. Maybe the WP will finally see her as a decent, loving sister and get off her ass.

RUNNINGWITHWOLFPACK: *side-eye* Yeah, and maybe Sasha will confess she’s kept Violet in her attic all this time.

PLANTSOVERPEOPLE: Like you wouldn’t already know with all the stalking and trespassing.

RUNNINGWITHWOLFPACK: I didn’t do any of that shit and don’t condone it. All respect to my fellow Wolfies, but some of y’all are giving the fandom a bad name. Drag Sasha all you want online, but don’t fuck w/ her IRL.

Copyright © 2022 by Margarita Montimore