August 1, 2001
Teens work their magic instead of dull summer job
Practice pays off for young Traverse City magicians
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
When the eyes light up and the mouths form a big 'O', local magicians Kody Schwartz and Chris Douglass know they nailed their trick.
From levitating cards and disappearing money to card tricks and mind reading, the two teens have parlayed their lifelong love of magic into a small business. One they hope will grow by magic.
They both bask in the reactions of their audience as they astound with sleights of hand, illusions or an intricate card trick.
"Kids like the element of surprise in magic," Douglass noted. "And adults, too, they are just as amazed as the kids."
Both 13, the two met in school last year at Traverse Bay Community School. When they discovered their mutual interest in magic, they began getting together to practice tricks. By summer, they had put together enough tricks for a routine and began searching out gigs, the next step in professional development.
A few birthday parties and neighborhood gatherings under their belt, they are ready for more. And more gigs means more money to get more tricks (they both yearn for the bowling-ball-in-a-briefcase trick), which will get them more gigs and more money_so go their magic dreams.
"We could do other summer jobs, but why not do what we love and get paid for it?" said Douglass, who hopes one day to be a naturalist.
For now they tote around their tricks in a fishing tackle box and constantly practice, practice, practice. They get together almost every day and practice all day long. When they are not together, they are practicing separately.
"We practice an uncountable number of hours," said Schwartz, whose aspires to be a scientist.
Constantly on the lookout for new tricks, they search online and in books and frequently scour the local magic store, Hocus Pocus. They have also found other magicians willing to share tips and tricks, though after so much practice themselves they have become experts at seeing through other magicians' tricks.
Even after they find a trick they want to do, they make sure it is perfect before they add it to the act, which means even more practice.
But sometimes the inevitable does happen and a trick does not work.
"Every once in a while you screw up and drop a card or something," Douglass said, adding that the audiences are understanding. "It takes dexterity and practice to learn a trick and even though we know the trick, we make sure that we can't see it being done."
Douglass and Schwartz both learn all the tricks in their act, though they each have favorite ones. Douglass especially likes the levitating ones and Schwartz prefers the disappearing ones, whether the subject is cards, money or handkerchiefs. Their repertoire also includes different tricks geared to different age audiences.
Rehearsal also includes perfecting their delivery, which can be as important as the trick itself. Introducing a the trick, working with audience volunteers, especially children, and tricks back and forth takes practice and confidence being in front of an audience.
"This is good for confidence in self and getting used to being in front of people," said Douglass, who has acted in plays at school.
They also have a trick to getting their act off the ground: starting off with a bang.
"We usually start off with a big, good trick to get their attention," Schwartz said. "Then they settle down and wait for another one."