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Magic Theater (Article)
________________________________________________
Now you see it
Magic Theatre presents live magic, video at Opera House tonight
By IVY MOORE , from The Sumter Item
The audience will be an integral part of John Tudor’s “Magic Theatre” at the Sumter Opera House tonight. Part of the NextWave Arts Festival, the video magic show/documentary will be shown on the big screen at 7 p.m. Live magic performances will also be presented.
“Folks who were at the original taping should be sure to come, as they might get to see themselves in the documentary,” Tudor said.
“‘Magic Theatre’ is a documentary of my first TV special, first broadcast (last) Halloween weekend on SCETV’s SC Channel, with some of the best magicians in South Carolina,” he explained. “It’s a fun, family friendly show that got a long standing ovation at the taping last September at the Sumter Opera House. It features a unique peek behind the curtain into the world of magic and magicians.”
Noting that “how he did it” is “a secret,” Tudor said the magic show “features six of the finest magicians in our area. During the creation of that, I did an independent video shoot, to create a ‘behind the scenes’ look at the hour-long TV special. This second unit was composed of three videographers, including international filmmaker Alan Geoghegan, and a still photographer. They were there to document the process, and give a peek into the secret world of magicians.”
Tudor said the coordinator of the documentary shoot was “Joey Vazquez, the leader of a small group of amateur magicians with an interest in digital media and stage performance that I have been mentoring.”
Tudor’s presentation of theatrical magic includes all the forms of magic — grande illusion, sleight of hand, comedy, bird magic, etc., with a storytelling accent.
“Six of us magicians from around the state have banded together in revue shows for the past decade, usually for charity,” he said. “This time we did it for the cameras, too. I hope the program will be rebroadcast at a later date on SCETV.”
Tudor said that, in addition to the documentary about the show, the final product will be an educational book and DVD for magicians and variety artists who would like to work in television.
He described the performances the audience will see tonight: “David Tanner of Myrtle Beach produces a woman from an empty box, shrinks her to a foot tall and back again. Tim Sonefelt of Anderson does classical conjuring: in white tie and tails he makes birds and scarves appear and disappear, etc.
“Sleight-of-hand prodigy Robert Moreland of Hilton Head performs close up to the audience with playing cards and coins. The emcee, comedian Glenn Strange of Spartanburg, tells a touching story of a childhood memory as he makes a snowstorm appear from his empty hands. The only female professional magician in South Carolina, Sarah Straney of Columbia, tells an Asian tale of personal enlightenment, with magic wands and dragon sticks, to a large group of children.”
Sonefelt will also tell a magic story about pirates, based on a library book, that urges young people to read. Tanner tells the true story of his lifelong magic mentor and demonstrates his ongoing presence by levitation.
Tudor said of his own act, “I feature the tale of a Spanish sword fighter’s redemption, disguised as a card trick, and capture the audience’s pure imagination in a drinking glass. Recurring nightmares of my own demise are experienced, disguised as another card trick. Finally, I reveal some lifelong inspirations as I make a woman disappear in a giant puzzle of a Chagall painting.”
To those who might wonder whether magic can work on TV, Tudor explained, “The live performance was the easy part, the television aspect was much more difficult and challenging. Magic shows in themselves have always been at kind of a loss on TV, especially today with the incredible special effects that are possible.”
The Magic Theatre show was filmed before a live audience, “with no camera tricks or movie special effects,” he said. “Fortunately I was able to build on my long association with SCETV, in particular, with director and amateur magician Gary Hipp. The SCChannel crew, Production Coordinator Eleanore Vaughn, and Station Manager Will Anderson, also provided invaluable guidance.”
Tudor was the producer, co-writer and lead performer. ”All of the artists involved took this show as sort of a mission, to create the best possible performance they could,” he said.
© 2009 John Tudor