Real Genius of Magic Performance
From One Magician to Another
Yesterday, I visited the renowned Santa Monica Pier, and a street magician there really impressed me. This marked the third time I had visited the pier this year, yet it was the first time I had seen him. He was dressed in a formal suit and a top hat, his movements elegant, professional, and proficient. His years as a magic performer were apparent. Despite having a stereo and microphone to amplify his voice, the volume wasn’t particularly loud. Nevertheless, his performance attracted a sizable audience surrounding him, captivated by his show.
As an aficionado of magic tricks, I’ve been practicing them since the age of 6 (so I’ve been performing tricks as a hobby for almost twenty years). Although I never had the opportunity to perform on a larger stage than a classroom party, I certainly consider myself an amateur magician. Growing up, given any chance, I would perform tricks for the people around me. In my childhood years, my dad would often take me to his office by the university bus on weekends. I would always bring my collection of classic magic props, such as the “Hot rod chameleon diamond stick,” “Svengali deck,” and “Stripper deck,” to entertain the other passengers. Most of the passengers were my dad’s colleagues and friends, and they were always fascinated by my shows. Because of these tricks, I became known as “the magic prodigy” among the university staff who frequently took the bus. Even the driver would sometimes sneak a peek at my show at intersections during red lights, until a passenger would joke, “Hey, not you, you cannot see his tricks!” Then when I arrived at my dad’s office building, I would perform these tricks for the janitors to make their routine work hours much more interesting and enjoyable.
Due to my extensive experience with magic tricks, I can usually decipher the mechanisms behind most seemingly mysterious tricks by applying the general magic tactics I’ve learned and the numerous boxes of special magic props I’ve purchased. Here too, I immediately figured out how the magician made a 20-dollar bill vanish, procured from the audience, only to reappear inside an orange. I also immediately understood how he managed to transport the red balls under two cups into a third cup. This isn’t very surprising for a magic enthusiast like me since they are quite typical tricks. Actually, a magician should enjoy being fooled by magic tricks and consider it a privilege since that doesn’t happen often.
Hence, what attracted and impressed me the most was not really the show itself, but the street magician’s exceptional ability to control and galvanize the on-site atmosphere. You know, magic is far more than what transpires within a magician’s hands and the mystery presented before the audience’s eyes — it’s about exceptional verbal aptitude and stage performance. I’ve always believed that a magician is a special type of “actor”, playing a character who commands real magic. Thus, a truly skilled magician should not only deceive the audience but also themselves — the magician should believe that they indeed possess magical powers to conjure objects like making a coin disappear or transform. That way, the magician will become a truly excellent actor, delivering convincing and attractive performances that fascinate the audience — the same philosophy I described in one of my previous articles, “A Coherent Guide on Poetry Reading (and Acting)”. In other words, a magic show isn’t just about adept sleight of hand, but also about acting and stage performance including audience interaction and atmosphere control. Adept sleight of hand is important, but it’s not the centerpiece — it’s merely the “foundation” of an excellent magic show. Just as I mentioned in “Real Genius of Math”, the understanding of current math concepts serves as a “foundation” for constructing our own mathematical theories. Mathematics is about unruly creation by breaking rules and thinking out of the box, rather than merely being confined to others’ mathematical works. Similarly, magic is about acting skills and convincing others that the spectacle is real. That is the real genius of magic performance. In this way, the audience will truly be transported to a mysterious world where the impossible becomes possible. That’s what creates a fantastic show, and that’s what leaves a lasting impression on the audience.
The magician at the pier achieved this remarkably well. He paid careful attention to his audience, interacting with them multiple times during his performance, and ensuring everyone had a clear view of the tricks. He didn’t ignore anyone and showcased excellent verbal communication skills, combined with a strong sense of timing and humor. When he asked a young boy who was assisting with his show his age, the boy responded, “12”, and he promptly retorted, “When I was his age, I was 12 too”, which triggered a wave of laughter. As I watched his performance, I was wishing my professors also commonly possessed such stagecraft abilities. If they did, students would eagerly attend their lectures, and hardly anyone would be absent. I touched upon this flexible aspect of teaching in another article I wrote about my thoughts on math teaching: the second principle in “Thoughts on What Good Math TAs Should Be Like”.
Before his performance, he took off his top hat and declared, “After my magic show, this hat will magically be filled with cash from you”. So, after the show, many audience members willingly placed bills into his hat. Given his thorough preparation and excellence in stage performance, I believe he genuinely deserved them.
Ivan Zhanhu Feng
July 24, 2023
Last update: July 25, 2023
