Liz Toonkel

Liz Toonkel is a Los Angeles based magician and performance artist who combines sleight of hand magic with storytelling, comedy and activism. She has performed across the globe including at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Aarhaus Festuge in Denmark, the 2025 International Brotherhood of Magician’s Convention in Houston, The Elysian Theater in Los Angeles, headlined the Chicago Magic Lounge and at the 2024 Hollywood Fringe Festival where she was a Finalist for The Splash Award, The Soaring Solo Social Impact Award, Best Cabaret & Variety act and the winner of Best Costume.

When she’s not performing, Liz is a production designer whose credits include A24’s Oscar nominated Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, which earned her an Art Director’s Guild nomination, and the Aubrey Plaza thriller Emily the Criminal. Liz was the first time recipient of the Calarts Distinguished Young Alumnx of the Year Award in 2023 for her outstanding work across the arts. She is a magician member of the Academy of Magical Arts.

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“The piece is clean, heartfelt, and demonstrative of a level of craft that will make it a Fringe Festival standout.” Andrew Childs, Broadway World

“Her wit, warm persona, and at times vulnerability, are enough to make us follow her wherever she goes, even when it challenges our own preconceptions about our place in the animal kingdom.” Erin Murray Quinlan, FringeReview

“With carefully crafted movement, and delicate fingers, Toonkel had the audience entranced in a world she invited us to create for ourselves. She reminded us that we are the makers, the thinkers, the lovers, and we only need to see ourselves in all our flaws, to believe in ourselves once more. You cannot magically erase the mistakes you’ve made, but you can trick the mind into thinking your regret is a pearl in the making.” Grace Courvoisier, LA Dance Chronicle

Featured image:

Liz Toonkel, Photo: Myles Standish