Madam Zola & The Master

01/20/2024

I cannot deny it. I am a lover of stinky cheese. I very much hope you are too! Madam Zola xoxo

01/15/2024

So...what a crazy year 2023 was. Sorry for the radio silence. We were overwhelmed with private parties, theatre shows and corporate gigs. 2024 is going to be a VERY exciting year. We have multiple theatre shows in the pipeline as well as more original short stories for you. Stay tuned. It's going to be a wild ride! xoxo

12/14/2023

What a beautiful wedding it was! We felt honored to be a part of it. Xx

Horror filmmaker Charles Band married actress Robin Sydney in Santa Monica, California, on Dec. 9. The pair incorporated lots of chandeliers, candelabras, "money-green" and "royal purple" accents, and even puppets from Band's movie Puppet Master at their ceremony

10/25/2023

It’s very exciting we are beginning to sell out so if you haven’t got your ticket yet for ‘Enchanted: The Magic of The Paranormal’ I would get it soon. See you there!!! Xx 😘

You are invited to enter the mystifying world of the weird and things that go bump in the night!

06/12/2023

We have been so busy lately with gigs and kittens and now we have a theatre show coming up which we are very excited about. It is happening at 'The Main Theater' in Santa Clarita on Friday the 30th of June 2023 and tickets are selling out fast so if you fancy some quality entertainment and you are in the area Madam Zola and The Master will be performing alongside the very talented Allen Gittelson and the absolutely marvelous Nader Hanna. We hope to see you there! With love as always, Madam Zola & The Master xx

04/11/2023

Wow! House of Zola was temporarily changed into a cat maternity ward. If you are following our crazy story ‘Mr Sniffy’ the overweight stray cat we feed demanded to be let in and promptly had kittens on my office floor. A couple of weeks later ‘Mama’ cat (a very skittish feral cat who visits our yard and occasionally allows us to feed her) gave birth in my outdoor cat shelter. So we had 10 kittens and 2 mother cats to take care of. Mama cat stayed with us for a week and then we woke up to an empty cat shelter. She had moved her kittens (as feral cats are prone to do.) She’s still turning up every day and demanding food but she hasn’t brought the kittens back. Maybe when they are older she might visit with them? It’s tough for feral cats especially for feral kittens as raccoons eat them.

03/26/2023

Been so busy lately what with work, prepping my tax and taking care of mama cat and her beautiful babies so it was so nice to wake up to this lovely review on GigSalad. xx ;-)

03/21/2023

An update for you. Apart from going through the existential angst of becoming a mother and a little bit of incontinence to add insult to injury "Sniffy" formerly Mr Sniffy is doing well and is a very loving and attentive mum. She and her babies have been to the vet and he is very pleased with both the babies and Sniffy's progress. We have fallen into a routine now which keeps both mum and fuzzy babies happy and stress free. The babies are now 5 days old. They are squeaking, yawning and crawling around. In a few more days they will open their eyes. xx

03/16/2023

‘Mr Sniffy’ a stray cat who we thought was an overweight male turned out to be Ms Sniffy. We realized yesterday and brought her in because after feeling her tummy was solid I knew it wouldn’t be long before she’d give birth and I wanted her and her babies to be safe. I thought we’d have another week or so but nope last night after going to The Magic Castle we came home to 4 kittens and a very hungry mama cat. You can’t really see them in the video but she had 2 tabbies, a black and white kitten and a pure white kitten. If you listen closely you’ll hear them squeaking. Xx

03/11/2023

Just packing my bag now for a 50th birthday gig tomorrow. It should be fun. It's strolling fortune telling and because I have no pockets in my costume everything has to be small enough to fit in my purse. I will also be trying out a portable speaker and microphone. Last time I did a gig in a bar I had to scream the readings at people so I had almost no voice by the time the gig ended. I've never been great with technology so we'll see how that goes ;-) xx

03/08/2023

International Women's Day is a global day that celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Madam Zola and The Master stand with women across the world and call for an end to discrimination against women in the workplace and in legislation.

03/05/2023

Another 5 star review on GigSalad. Woohoo! I do love bachelorette parties. They are so fun to do. xx

03/02/2023

Happy March Everyone! This year is flying by already. I never used to have this problem when I was a kid ;-) xx

03/01/2023

It’s snowing!!! The weather here is crazy at the moment 😜 xx

02/26/2023

The Master's Tiny Tales of Terror may be teeny but they certainly have teeth! Madam Zola xx

02/24/2023

Here is an update for those of you who are following the exploits of our latest addition to the 'House of Zola'. Monkey (destroyer of shoelaces and eater of pretty much anything) was a feral kitten that we found hiding behind our shed and took in him because the weather was getting really bad. He has adapted wonderfully to being domesticated. He is now approximately 14 weeks and is starting to really look like his brother from another mother (same feral dad) 'Pickle'. He is the kitten equivalent of 'Scrappy Doo' he is unafraid of anything and anyone. He purrs at the drop of a hat and loves a good long cuddle. xx

02/21/2023

Another of my trials and tribulations for you. A sneak peek into my performing life. Enjoy! With love, Madam Zola xx

02/19/2023

Today we honor the legend Jack Goldfinger who is a respected magician and talent booker for The Magic Castle and Dove his fantastic magic partner in this dynamic duo. Jack Goldfinger is considered the ‘godfather’ of magic and is an iconic role model for all magicians.

The Goldfinger and Dove act has been performed on television and all over the world. Their creativity and unique style set them apart. Their act is a unique showcase for their magnetic personalities, with slick movement skills, impressive card manipulation, dove production and precise presentation of illusions.

Goldfinger and Dove have most definitely left their mark in the history of magic. Thank you for your contribution!

02/17/2023

Another 5 star review on GigSalad. Woohoo!

02/14/2023

Here is our Valentines Day story for our wonderful followers. 'A Guest in Mind' written by the incredibly talented and prolific Dean Stalham. Edited, mixed and mastered by the marvelously ingenious Jorge Mario Reyes. Artwork created by the exceptionally gifted visual artist Evelyn Bogh and narrated by myself. We hope you enjoy it. All our love, Madam Zola & The Master xx

02/13/2023

Tomorrow we celebrate Valentine's Day and we have another supernatural story for our wonderful followers but today I wanted to share this somewhat unflattering and goofy photo of The Master and I taken a few years ago at a Lindy Hop dance (we dance as well). He will always be my Valentine. He is my everything. The love of my life. Madam Zola xx

02/06/2023

I have a bachelorette party booked for next week and I always like to get a special gift for my 'brides to be' to make them feel loved. I also have little keepsakes for all her guests too. For this particular bride she loves scented candles so I ordered her some beautiful scented tea lights decorated with crystals and petals from Etsy. Very, very pretty but unfortunately they stink. In fact they are currently making my office smell so bad I had to put them back in the packaging and I can still smell them! So, I had to pick up something less fragrant yesterday. I couldn't in good faith give my 'bride to be' a gift that would stink up her house for months on end. This new candle is very pretty and it smells gorgeous. Lesson learned. I will NEVER AGAIN buy scented candles from Etsy. They must always pass the sniff test! xx

02/04/2023

This is how magic is. By it's nature it has to be secret because if you knew how it worked the trick would lose its power so a good magician must become an excellent keepers of secrets! xx

02/02/2023

Our latest supernatural story for our followers is coming very soon. The story has been written, recorded and the art work created. It is now with our marvelous sound engineer and he is working his magic with it as I speak. Stay tuned. With love, Madam Zola xx

01/26/2023

As a magician you never stop learning. It's important to keep learning as it feeds your creativity and expands what is possible. However, it can be a little overwhelming as magic is huge subject and this is why it's a good idea to have a mentor to help you make the right choices and avoid wasting time and money on things that ultimately don't work. They also keep you focused and accountable. "A goal is a dream with a deadline." This is what Jeff (my mentor) told me in an email yesterday. Jeff McBride is a truly remarkable human being, a ridiculously talented magician and very kind too. This image was taken whilst he was teaching a wonderful course all about immersive magic theatre which I was attending. The great thing about Jeff is he makes learning fun. Thank you Jeff for all you do! xx

01/23/2023

The Master and I were busy last night performing at Dawn O'Porter (the marvelously talented and prolific British writer, director and television presenter) and her son's joint birthday. The Master was entertaining the children with magic whilst I entertained the adults with fortune telling. Everyone was so lovely and it was an absolute joy to read for Dawn and all her wonderful guests. At the end of the evening Dawn presented me with a copy of her latest book as a gift. I was so touched. It's so lovely to receive an unexpected gift but I'm not surprised as she is truly a beautiful soul. I feel honored to have read for her and all her wonderful friends. xx

01/22/2023

Clementine de Vere was the eighth child of the illusionist Charles de Vere (Herbert Shakespeare Gardiner Williams) and was known by her stage name Ionia. Ionia was one of the most influential female magicians in the first half of the 20th century. She was a British magician and illusionist however she was also known as Clementine Weedon and Princess Clementine Eristavi Tchitcherine. She was born in Belgium and lived in France for a long period. She performed under her stage name "Ionia - the Enchantress" or the "Goddess of Mystery” in Europe. Her act included six tons of equipment and elaborate Egyptian costumes for Clementine and her assistants. Her performing career was relatively short (5 years). Her act was constructed by her father and was truly spectacular using many illusions. She promoted her show with beautiful artistic posters that are now highly sought after (only 11 have survived) and have become collectors items.

01/19/2023

Just a little reminder. With love, Madam Zola xx

01/14/2023

I very rarely get a chance to take a picture at a gig what with parking and setting up etc but last night I had a few spare minutes before everything got going. So, I thought I'd take a sneaky pic in my Madam Zola regalia. It was a lovely corporate gig. Quite noisy (as always) but everyone very much enjoyed my readings and The Master's magic. Much fun was had by all and Friday the 13th wasn't so scary after all ;-) xx