Cody Clark is not only on the autism spectrum, he incorporates his lived experience as a neurodivergent person with magic and motivational speaking to simultaneously entertain and educate. He recently told the Penguin Magic Podcast that he uses targeted marketing “to make a new way of being a professional magician. Instead of just being like, “here’s a magic show and here’s how much I charge,’ I pre-select audiences who are most likely to like my weird combo of magic with story.” Cody exemplifies the axiom of creative limitation, the idea that our limitations can force us to be more creative.
The next installment of his magic and variety show Cody and Friends is on his 31st birthday, Saturday, June 22. The celebration will feature three of Cody’s favorite performers. Elizabethtown-based country music artist Gracie Yates will emcee alongside Cody (and lead the audience in singing “Happy Birthday” too). Newport-based comedy magician and advocate for bipolar disorder Jake Dapper. Kentucky Kingdom’s resident magician David Garrard. Tickets are available now.
Cody and Friends has been hosted at the Highview Arts Center since 2022. Each show features Cody’s best friends in the magic community and the performing arts scene, and no two shows have been alike yet. The sponsor of the series is Shirley’s Way, a non-profit organization who raise funds for cancer research by operating charitable gaming and thrift stores in the Louisville Metro area.
Cody’s Magical Birthday Bash
Highview Arts Center
7406 Fegenbush Ln.
Saturday, June 22
7:00 p.m.
This article appears in Jun 5-18, 2024.
