“You have the Magic in You!” says magician and Lander graduate John Tudor to a group of elementary’ school children, during taping of a three part motivational video series. The kids took part in an after show discussion group: providing frank, spontaneous interaction with the magician and each other.”Having the children convey so much of the motivational content of the videos is very important,” says the magician.

Seven years ago, John Tudor was shot and left for dead by a pair of teen criminals. His life should have ended within minutes, but fate intervened in the form of some coins the young magician carried in his pocket. Those coins prevented damage to a vital artery in the leg area, damage that emergency room doctors said would almost certainly have resulted in Tudor’s immediate death.

Spared from death, Tudor has a new zest for life and is determined to eradicate the violent forces which resulted in his wound. As such, he has devoted his life to the education of children through the medium of magic. Although he had been a professional magician before the 1989 shooting, it was his brush with death that motivated him to use his magic to urge kids to stay in school, avoid drugs, and shun violent behavior.

Coupling his magic with frank discussions with a group of students from Diamond Hill Elementaryin Abbeville, SC; Tudor relayed his message of responsibility to the audience and the cameras. “Magic,” Tudor says,”can demonstrate deep ideas about the human condition” and is very effective in communicating motivational messages to youthful audiences.

He has been fascinated by magic since the age of six when he received his first magic kit. He knew then that he wanted to devote his life to the art of illusion. Growing up, Tudor was influenced by Jeff McBride, who has led the exploration of magic’s educational value, and by David Copperfield. He received his formal education at Lander University, which gave him an added edge in the profession. ”Most of the people in show business do not have the benefit of a higher education,” Tudor explained. Since graduating from Lander in 1983 with a degree in speech and theater, he has used “every bit of Lander training” as a magician and motivator.

The event has been four years in the making and took weeks of intense preparation. To assist him, Tudor assembled an extremely talented group of professionals, and interns in mass communication and theater from Lander. The interns assisted with lighting and props and some even participated on stage.

Sully Witte, mass communication and theater major from Mt. Pleasant, described the internship as “a chance of a lifetime.” Other students getting hands on experience were Woody Moore, a visual arts major from Pelzer; Greg Hendrix, a mathematics major from Simpsonville; and Susan Neason, a mass communication and theater major from Simpsonville.

As an added bonus, Lander speech and theater professor Frank Jackson was in the audience to watch his former student perform. Tudor’s life, like his magic, continues to be demonstrative of the depth of human potentiality. He maintains that magic, like the miracle that saved his life, can “develop a sense of wonder” and remove the barriers inhibiting personal growth and development.