RAL ACADEMY
450 guests. One awards night. Two standing ovations.
Residential Assisted Living Academy (RAL Academy) brought in comedy magician and mentalist Zach Michel for its annual Assisted Living Conference on October 16, 2026 at the Renaissance Glendale conference center in Glendale, Arizona.
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​Client: RAL Academy | Guests: 450 | Strolling magic + 45 minute comedy mentalism show
The event
RAL Academy brings assisted living professionals together every year for its annual conference. This year they wanted entertainment that would work in two very different settings: a busy vendor floor during the day and a formal awards dinner for 450 guests at night.
What Zach did
Strolling magic at the vendor booths. Zach worked the exhibit area, doing close up magic for small groups as they moved between booths. It gave attendees a reason to stop, laugh and start talking with each other and with the vendors.
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​A 45 minute comedy mentalism show at the awards dinner. During the awards dinner, Zach took the stage with a comedy mentalism show built for a seated banquet crowd, with volunteers from the audience, mind reading and laughs from every table.
The finale
The room rose to its feet twice: once in the middle of the show and again at the end. Two standing ovations from a banquet crowd of 450 assisted living professionals.
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​Why it worked: one entertainer covered both the networking hours and the main stage, so the conference got one consistent experience from the vendor floor to the last award of the night.
What guests said
"The show was amazing. It was just amazing. It left you baffled, wanting more."
Conference guest
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"Oh my gosh, it was awesome. Super funny and just blew my mind."
​Conference guest