Almost everyone has heard of "The Illusionists" touring troupe of magicians, and, over the past year or so, I suspect many of you have had an opportunity to actually see their live show when it came through your area. They have traveled around the world from Sydney, Australia to New York City and many lands and States in between. If you haven't seen them, don't fret. After proving to be box office titans, they are contracted to continue their show for years to come. And there is a television project in the works, too, that may give them even wider recognition.
When I saw their show in Houston, Texas, I was not only fascinated with their skills but also with the audience reaction. As a magician who attends a lot of magic conventions, I have seen thousands of performances over the years. The main difference between magician audiences and lay audiences is what it is that each reacts to and how they react. I loved watching the expressions on people's faces in the theater who had never seen a live magic show. Certainly there are a lot of magic shows on television currently, but this live show is nothing like what people see on the small (or large) screen at home. I loved seeing people sit on the edge of their seats when Andrew Basso was in the water torture tank, and the quizzical expressions when they were trying to figure out who Dan Sperry was and what kind of magician he is, and the gasps from the audience when Aaron Crow shot an arrow through an apple on a volunteer's head. Marvelous@ I loved every minute of it.
And one of the interesting things that I didn't even think of until later during our conversation was that there were no large "box" illusions like zig-zags, sub trunks and Origami. Yet their skills and personalities reached and resonated to the highest seat in the back of the balcony.
If you haven't yet seen "The Illusionists" or even if you have, then you will enjoy this podcast with some of the cast and crew.
