From hilarious magic tricks to death defying escape stunts, the world’s best-selling touring magic show “The Illusionists” stopped in Chicago last week to showcase their breathtaking magic at the Chicago Oriental Theatre. With seven performers — all a master of their own field and own style — the stage was filled with unearthly and aweing acts of illusions.
The DePaulia had a chance to speak with Kevin James, known in the show as “The Inventor,” and talk not only about his innovative illusions that he created solely for these shows but how he was introduced to magic in the first place.
The DePaulia: How’d you get involved in performing magic?
Kevin James: Well you know, it’s the classic story that a lot of magicians have. A magician came to my elementary school when I was a kid and I just fell in love with all of it — the performance, the tricks, all of it. I came from this small little town in Michigan and when I saw that magic at school, it really made me think that I could do this. That’s what’s cool about magic. It just takes one glance at someone’s performance and a kid. Anyone in the audience can be so intrigued that they want to try themselves.
The DePaulia: What was the process of turning that love for magic into a job rather than just a hobby?
KJ: Well it was certainly a long slow process — I mean it’ll take you years to become a professional magician and even then you have to be practicing every single day. I started off performing at birthday parties and Boy Scout events and then in high school I would perform at local festivals. When I went to college I was performing at our local college bars, which was always fun. So that was that, and then after college I thought I’d move to L.A. and try and swim with the big fishes.
The DePaulia: How’d that work out?
KJ: You learn quickly that in order to succeed in this industry, you have to have a unique product. Which is what I did with most of my time in L.A.; I studied other magicians and learned new tricks but always threw a twist on it in order to make it original and more my own.
The DePaulia: How would you describe your unique product?
KJ: To start, I invent all my own magic but even more than that, I like to tell a story that affects and reflects with the audience in an emotional way. Whether it is something visual or some form of nostalgia that I throw in my act, I want the viewer to really feel something.
The DePaulia: Are you practicing your tricks and illusions every single day? What’s the process like?
KJ: Well, for the show itself, we are doing eight shows a week, so I’ve had those tricks down for quite a while. I’m always practicing new tricks that I want to incorporate in my later shows. That’s something a lot of people don’t know; a new trick for a magician is a long process. You may learn 80 percent of a trick in a year and it might take you 20 years to learn the other 20 percent. It’s all has to do with attention management and being able to master the most difficult tricks. Magic takes time and even once you have a trick down, you also have to learn your performance that goes with it. Mastering all of this is what gets the audience’s attention because you have to make it flawless.
The DePaulia: What’s your favorite trick you do in this show?
KJ: I have a terrible accident with a chainsaw and I might accidentally cut someone in half. That’s a trick that’s been done forever, but here we do it with no box, and with both cut off halves of the body moving around. I eventually use a staple gun to put him back together. It’s a trick that’s been around forever now. It’s cool to put a little twist on it and see how the audience first reacts. We make it seem unplanned, and that’s again where the performance of the magician goes in with the tricks itself.
The DePaulia: What’s the biggest difference between being one magician and putting on your own show versus doing this in a traveling magic group? All your magic and illusions are distinctly different, correct?
KJ: Well, it’s awesome because I knew some of these magicians before the tour and some I had never met, so it’s cool to meet new magicians and see their magic. Everyone has their own style here, so the audience is getting seven different points of view of magic and illusions. Even if you don’t like one act, there are still an array of different styles to see. These magicians come from all over the globe; we have a performer from Italy, we have some from the States. It’s awesome because the show itself shows that magic can bring people together and that’s what we want to do.
The DePaulia: What is something people don’t necessarily understand about magic or practicing magic?
KJ: Well, the big thing for me is just how much magic has become an unbelievable art form — it always has been. Magic can transcend language, race, any socioeconomic backgrounds. It can be for adults only or it can be for kids, everyone can truly enjoy magic and that’s an amazing aspect of it. Magic is a wonderful thing and I think, when it’s done well, that everyone can agree on that point.
