As I mentioned previously, most magicians initially learn their tricks out of books, by watching video tutorials or from fellow magic lovers but when you’ve learnt all of the basics and “utility” moves, where does the inspiration for original magic performances come from?.
I can’t speak for others, but over the years I’ve definitely taken inspiration from plenty of sources: particularly the arts and various forms of live entertainment.
As discussed in one of my blogs last month, one of the best ways to learn magic is by watching fellow professionals. They may not strictly be in the same genre as me, but I find that I really gain a lot from seeing performers do their bit on the stage, in a circus ring or whatever platform they may choose.
After having a little reflection on this, I thought that today I’d talk about some of the places that I find inspiration to do what I do:
Theatre
Being based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, I try to get down to the Theatre Royal whenever I can, what a place, designed by the amazing theatre architect, Frank Matcham. All successful magicians need to be able to hold an audience, as do all performers so observing the way this is done by many other types of entertainer it’s easy to see there are a lot of transferable skills.
Circus
I’ve loved circus for years, dad used to take me as a teenager when they came to town despite his hatred of clowns. As I grew older I became obsessed with Cirque du Soleil (more on that in another article) and I try to catch them whenever they are on tour in the UK. Their designers have redefined the whole ‘circus’ genre, and their form of entertainment is very different to anything else out there at the moment although there is an increasing number of imitators. One of my favourite show of theirs had to be KÀ which I saw at the MGM in Las Vegas where a lot of their shows dominate the strip.
Pantomime
Since it’s Christmas I didn’t really think that I could get away without mentioning pantos. The history behind them is fascinating, and audience participation is great. My friend Mark is in a production at the moment too and I’m trying to squeeze in a trip to Mansfield to see him before his run finishes but December is manic with bookings!
Now that you know a bit about where I get my magic inspiration from, if you are based anywhere in Yorkshire or the UK and want to know what I can bring to your next event, please feel free to either pick up the phone or drop me an email.
