A Magician Must Be Seen

Back in November, I went to see magician Jeff McBride and his Wonderground night club/show at the Palace Station in Las Vegas, where I picked up a few ideas for presenting magic under adverse conditions.

The basic rules of performance are that the magician must be seen and must be heard. And this applies whether I perform from the stage or up-close.

I learned to be sensitive to the light while acting in the theatre — to be aware of where the light was most intense and to position myself in the hotspot. The use of light for the close-up magician is often overlooked, but if you want your magic to have maximum impact, you need to be aware of how the light is falling and where the shadows are.

Before I do any startling transformations (a coin changing from copper to silver for example), I want to position the object in the best light. If I’m obstructing the light and casting a shadow over the area where the magic will happen, the magic will get a muted response.

The more light I can get, the more impact my magic will have.

(As a side note, check out the movie, “To Have and Have Not,” with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Whenever Bogart or Bacall would light a cigarette for each other, the director (Howard Hawks) would use a pin spot to illuminate their faces (in addition to the general lighting) to throw in some extra light, and to make sure we would focus on their faces during these intimate moments. Sure they had good chemistry, but Hawks wanted to ensure that we would see this chemistry, and so he literally highlighted these shots.)

The thing I saw in Las Vegas, which I immediately adapted for my work, was the practice of bringing your own light to the table. In a night club, the lighting is often poorly suited for the performance of magic, however, at the Wonderground, magicians brought their own portable light to the table.

Here’s a light that I’ve been using:

This is the Lumatec Everest Reading Light. It costs about $20, runs on 4 AAA batteries, uses 2 LEDs (so the batteries will last for years), it collapses to fit easily in my coat pocket (6-inches long), and is free-standing so I can set it on the table and go to work. When I bought it, it was white, but I spray painted it black so it wouldn’t draw too much focus. Naturally, there are many other lights that will do the job.

Shortly after my Vegas trip, I worked with an event planner who wanted me to do close-up magic at her event. The catch was that she wanted to do a Rave-like theme with glowing necklaces and bracelets, and flashing ice cubes, with everything else in the dark (aside from the DJs light show). While I had some magic that would work in the dark (using D’lites and glow-sticks), the portable light really saved the day.

And one of the venues where I regularly work has extremely poor lighting at many of the tables, so when I produce my own light, I look professional and I get credit for coming prepared. (”Master of my domain,” as Docc Hilford would say…). Plus, it’s also useful for those times when a sponge ball rolls under the table…

Just a little tip I picked up during my travels; hope someone finds it useful.