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MYSTIFIED
Master Illusionist and Mystifier
Shawn Anthony
by Byron Miller
The invitation arrived early this fall to come out to a private pre-showing of Shawn Anthony’s 2009 Mystified show. We drove from New York to a remote “secret location” in Baltimore MD where Shawn has been working and fine tuning his show. Now for those of you who are wondering who Shawn Anthony is I feel a brief biography is in order. In my humble opinion Shawn is one of the best kept secrets in the magic world. He began at the tender age of 9 with a magic set his parents bought him for the Holidays which led to many trips to the local libraries magic section. His first exposure to a magic show came when his parents took him to see his first live magic show featuring David Copperfield; Shawn was hooked and knew this is what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
At the age of 13 he was performing magic for his classmate and being hired out for Birthday parties and corporate events. He then saw what he deems to be real magic when he witnessed Paul Harris performing close up miracles which led to a very serious pursuit of close up in your face street magic. Anthony fell in love with performing street magic and began studying everything he could to help enhance his street performance including theater techniques, pantomime, mythology, psychology and a great book by Dale Carnegie entitled “How to win friends and influence people.” All of these tools would be put to the test when Anthony took his street magic on the road and began touring the streets of the United States and Canada an experience which Anthony says “was life altering” and an “awakening of the magical senses.” Anthony then turned his sights on Europe and Asia and took his brand of magic to other lands to see how other cultures would handle his magic. It turned out to be a very positive and eye opening adventure as Anthony discovered that magic could break through cultural barriers and allow a sharing of emotion and experience between two people who didn’t even speak the same language.
Upon Anthony’s return to the states he began recalling his own experience at the David Copperfield show he had attended as a child. Anthony tells me “I wanted to bring the emotional connection of a street magic show to the big stage.” So began his quest for the right mentors.
One day while Anthony was in a magic shop he saw an interesting video entitled “McBride magic on stage” he purchased this and began watching the largest magical influence he would ever have, Jeff McBride. Anthony recalls his first thoughts about this experience “I couldn’t believe it. Here was a guy who was on stage connecting with his audience like I was hoping to. A man who felt his magic and expressed it through every aspect of his routine.” This was the type of magician that Anthony wanted to be. He began studying everything that McBride had put out and through this found out not only how to be a better performer but also discovered new ways of challenging himself to be original and delving into his own personal experiences to make a real connection with the audience.
Anthony’s dream finally came true and he met his life long hero Jeff McBride who according to Anthony “he was a modern day Wizard full of magic and philosophy.” It was after this meeting and several e-mails with McBride that Anthony decided to take his show to the stage. Anthony developed a Cabaret show and began touring with his show. In 1996 Anthony took a break from the Cabaret scene and began doing comedy magic at the Comedy Zone franchise. As much fun as it was it wasn’t fulfilling him as a performer and he began searching for who he was on stage and the type of show that could reflect his true identity.
In 2007 Anthony decided to go for broke and put together a Grand Illusion show, as a student of the McBride magic and mystery school Anthony decided the best person to consult and help him build a great show would be his mentor and friend Jeff McBride, Anthony says “if this is what you want to do you need to get the best to help you and so I called Jeff and set up a private week long session.” I asked Anthony what it was like working with McBride on his show, “It was an experience I will never forget and one I will do over again in the future. Jeff pulls no punches and is an honest and caring teacher who wants to see his students succeed in every aspect of life. I went in thinking I knew what I wanted and came out with what I really needed.”
Anthony began his 2008 tour in Baltimore Maryland at the Lyric Opera House last January after which he traveled the East coast touring. Anthony says “well it was not an easy year, I learned a lot about touring with a large show and how the economy can effect ticket sales. We had our ups and downs this year but I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.” With that said Anthony spent this winter reworking his show to be exactly what he wants it to be.
According to Anthony he had a lot of input after every show from Magicians who came to watch, he took into account what each had to say and weighed their ideas and critiques. He spent many hours at Denny and Lee’s magic shop in Baltimore talking with Denny Haney who has also been a huge influence on Anthony. At this time Anthony brought the creative genius of Michael keating to his show. Michael Keating is known best for having worked with David Copperfield as his former Illusion Manager and a consultant. Michael has since moved on to consult and work with some of the top industry professionals in both magic and in music. Of Keating, Anthony had this to say “Mike is a whirlwind of original ideas and concepts and has been a guiding force in my new show as well as some other projects I am working on. Having the combination of Jeff McBride and Mike Keating on my side really gives me a lot of confidence for my upcoming tour.” Having given a bit of background on Anthony and talking with my wife on our 4 hour drive from New York City to Baltimore we have finally arrived at the theater that we are to see Shawn Anthony’s new Mystified show.
Entering into the theater you automatically get a feeling of Anthony’s persona. The Theater entrance is adorned with posters, articles and memorabilia of Anthony’s career setting the mood as we are escorted to our seats. The Theater sits about 500 and the curtains are opened with fog rolling onto the stage and Fire pots hanging from the proscenium. Anthony has told me that he has three versions of his show being able to scale up or down depending on the Venue as Jeff McBride has taught him to do through sharing some of his own touring experiences with Anthony.
Tonight’s show is the full Illusion show however 30 min before the show is set to begin on stage it actually begins in the audience with Anthony and his assistants performing close up magic in the audience. His lead assistant Jessica Felice Feldman does a delightful routine producing light from her fingertips and throwing them around the room to other assistants. Anthony does a stunning self levitation in the audience fully surrounded an Illusion my wife and I talked about on the way home and all of this before the show even started. This pre show action really livened up the audience and gave us all a chance to meet and talk with the cast. It was very personal and had me excited that I knew the people on the stage. It really developed a great connection with the people there. Shawn got this idea from his mentor Jeff McBride who explained to him that “They may not remember one single Illusion you do but they will all remember that you greeted them and that you interacted with them personally.” I told Anthony that if he would of told me about this before hand that I would have complained that it would take away from the mystery however him being so accessible made me enjoy seeing his entrance even more.
The house lights begin to dim, the music kicks up and the show is now underway. Shawn Anthony takes the stage strong, Anthony kicks his show off with a rapid fire succession of magic that lead into an exciting dove routine and a disappearance and appearance all in the first 5 min of the show. Anthony then slows the pace down and does a silent torn and restored newspaper routine that floors the audience. The woman sitting next to us commented that “even though he wasn’t speaking his body language and motions told a full story.” I couldn’t agree more. I have seen many shows that are script heavy this show had little talking but was instead narrated through dance, magic, and motion that said more to this audience than a book could have. After the torn and restored newspaper we began seeing creatures of sorts dancing about the stage doing many different things, one was juggling, another was spinning LED poi, it was an amazing spectacle which set up the next Illusion in which Anthony stood on stage and had an assistant pass right through him and if this wasn’t enough he then vanished her in a cage raised above the audience.
The costumes, colorful Illusions and sets really set the tone for this unique show that blends the lines of ancient magic with a modern twist. Another aspect that made this show even more spectacular was how well the cast blended together on stage and the obvious chemistry Anthony has with his lead assistant and real life partner Jessica Felice. Their Chinese lantern Illusion was heart felt and when they performed the levitation it was sensual, passionate and as one audience member conveyed on the way out the door it was “hot”. There was nothing lacking in this show, from Anthony’s high impact ring routine to an escape that breaks Houdini’s record, this show and performer have something for everyone. From the simple magic enthusiast to the trained professional everyone will find something in this show that will have them wanting to come back for more. Mystified concludes with a phenomenal barrage of magic starting with card manipulation, to mask manipulation culminating in one of the best snow storm effects I have ever seen. After the show the entire cast comes out and does a meet and greet at the merchandise table signing autographs and thanking the audience for coming.
In addition to the show some of us were also treated to Anthony’s new lecture series “Magical Alchemy: Mastering the art of transformative magic” This lecture was full of knowledge on performing and developing a magic routine. Anthony plans on bringing this lecture to magic shops and clubs as he is touring in each city.
Shawn Anthony’s: Mystified is a must see show. When the public can enjoy a show like this as much as the 500 people did who were here tonight it is good for the magic industry as a whole.
Keep an eye out for this rising star he has definitely left a mark on me and this audience and has a bright future in this industry. You won’t be disappointed when he comes to your city.
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