Susan's City Scene

RY: Like almost every professional magician in the world, my initial interest came from receiving a box of tricks for Christmas.

DJ: What was the first trick you learned?

RY: It’s called the Ball and Vase, a simple trick where a ball disappears from inside a vase. A huge reason why I stuck with magic was down to the fact that my parents played along. I was dreadful for a long time, but their fake praise encouraged me to continue.

DJ: How do you learn your illusions?

RY: When I was 14 I was taught by a professional magician who was towards the end of his performing career. He came to my house every week for three years and never charged me a cent. He was incredibly generous and just wanted to give something back, I was incredibly lucky to have his guidance. He taught me lots of techniques and tricks, however, the thing he taught me that was the most important was the style in which you present. If you think about it, a magician can easily look like a bit of a “show off.” Disarming that and being (fake) surprised by the magic myself during the performance I think helps the audience to like me and my magic rather than thinking it’s a battle of intelligence to figure out how the tricks I am performing are done. I can’t tell you how they are done, however, I will say you’d be sorely disappointed if I did.

DJ: How many illusions do you develop yourself?

RY: Becoming a good magician is a similar journey to the one a musician goes on to become good. A pianist will first learn the notes, then play the classics and maybe one day create their own music. It’s the same for a magician, a foundation knowledge of the age-old techniques is essential, then you learn to implement them by performing classic tricks which need them and then maybe one day you move on to creating your own magic tricks using old secrets. We have just developed a new illusion with a never-before-used secret which debuted in “Champions of Magic” just a few weeks ago. It cost an absolute fortune and the first night it went on the stage in front of an audience in Salt Lake City was one of the most exciting nights of my life. It didn’t go perfectly, but it did work. I cried after the show finished because I was so relieved.

DJ: What movies about magic get it right?

RY: “The Prestige” is truly excellent and people remember it many years later. My personal favorite is “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” which has a brilliant cameo by David Copperfield. Steve Carell is so good in this movie, it’s hilarious. I must have seen it five times and it always makes me laugh.

DJ: Which illusion seems to be the biggest crowd pleaser?

RY: In “Champions of Magic” there are two parts of the show which seem to really please the audience. The first is performed by our escape artist Fernando Velasco in which he recreates Harry Houdini’s famous upside-down water torture cell. The tension in the room when he’s hanging upside down by his ankles about to go into the tank is electric. The second is our parody tribute to the 1980s Las Vegas magicians which brings the house down and features a truck full of illusions, it’s really fast and exciting.

DJ: If an average person wanted to learn one easy card trick, what would you suggest?

RY: Go to YouTube and search for the 21-card trick.

CHAMPIONS OF MAGIC PARTICULARS: Champions of Magic is on stage at the Golden Gate Theatre, 1 Taylor St. San Francisco from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1. Running time is two hours and 15 minutes which includes one intermission. No children under 5 allowed. Tickets at www.shnsf.com/online/article/champions-of-magic. For a sneak peek: https://vimeo.com/78486910

Susan Cohn is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. She may be reached at susan@smdailyjournal.com.