1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:06,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff Works, Hey, brain 2 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:10,600 Speaker 1: stuff luring bog obam Here. In magic industry, lingo magician's 3 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: assistants are called box jumpers because to the audience, that's 4 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:17,680 Speaker 1: all the lovely assistant appears to do. She's there to 5 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 1: distract the audience. You know, look pretty, smile big, and 6 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:23,840 Speaker 1: waiver hands around, then pop out from the padlocked box 7 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:28,600 Speaker 1: precisely when the magician says tada. But magic insiders know 8 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:31,520 Speaker 1: the real story. When the trunk lid closes, the sheet 9 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:33,720 Speaker 1: is raised, or the saw is lowered into the box, 10 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:36,800 Speaker 1: it's often the assistant who does the real magic of 11 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:39,640 Speaker 1: the illusion, releasing the latch on the false bottom and 12 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:42,440 Speaker 1: cramming herself into a two foot space while executing her 13 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:45,080 Speaker 1: third costume change of the evening, all before the guy 14 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:48,960 Speaker 1: in the top hat says tada. Although magic is undeniably 15 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:51,479 Speaker 1: a male dominated profession if you only look at the 16 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:54,320 Speaker 1: name on the marquis, those who know the most about 17 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 1: the stagecraft behind the magician assistant relationship say that the 18 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:01,440 Speaker 1: industry isn't as sexist as it might appear. Blair Baron, 19 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:04,319 Speaker 1: who co produced the two thousand eight documentary Women in 20 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 1: Boxes about the unsung magician's assistant, explains that onstage, both 21 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 1: the magician and the assistant are playing roles, roles that 22 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 1: artfully play off of the audience's gendered expectations. Baron says, 23 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:19,800 Speaker 1: the biggest misconception is that the magician's assistants are marginalized, 24 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:23,320 Speaker 1: objectified bimbos, if you will, who are deferring to some guy, 25 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:27,040 Speaker 1: when actually, in my experience, they are the brains behind 26 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:30,320 Speaker 1: a lot of the illusions. Baron would know. She married 27 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:33,400 Speaker 1: into one of the royal families of magic. Her husband, 28 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 1: Dante Larson, is the son of Irene and Bill Larson Jr. 29 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:40,080 Speaker 1: Two of the co founders of the Magic Castle in Hollywood, 30 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:43,960 Speaker 1: the world's pre eminent magic club, and Irene, who passed 31 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:47,720 Speaker 1: away in twenty sixteen, was herself an accomplished magician's assistant 32 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 1: in her day. Baron says that Irene and her generation 33 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 1: of assistants doubled as the business brains of the operation, 34 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 1: keeping track of finances and booking appearances. And although they 35 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:02,320 Speaker 1: played integral roles in both the planning and execution of illusions, 36 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:05,360 Speaker 1: these old school assistants never wanted to steal the spotlight 37 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:08,639 Speaker 1: from the magician. Often their husband by billing themselves as 38 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:13,119 Speaker 1: equal partners, Modern magicians assistants see their roles a little differently. 39 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:16,360 Speaker 1: Hanna Lynn Wagster is half of the South Carolina based 40 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 1: duo The Wagster's Magic and Illusion, who perform a weekly 41 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:23,880 Speaker 1: show at the Carolina Opry Theater in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. 42 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:26,560 Speaker 1: Hannah is still primarily the one who gets locked in 43 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 1: the boxes, but says that she and her husband Brandon 44 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,600 Speaker 1: are very much equal partners on and off the stage. 45 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:36,960 Speaker 1: Hannah considers herself a magician, not just an assistant, and 46 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:39,680 Speaker 1: does a few solo tricks in the act. She also 47 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:42,919 Speaker 1: runs the show back stage, giving technical and lighting cues 48 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 1: to stage managers and making sure the next illusion is 49 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:49,240 Speaker 1: lined up and squared away, but Hannah admits that at 50 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:51,760 Speaker 1: the end of the day, her primary role on stage 51 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:54,520 Speaker 1: is quote to make sure the magician looks good, which 52 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: often means contorting herself in two tight spaces or dangling 53 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:00,919 Speaker 1: from high wires without giving the audience a clue about 54 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 1: how incredibly difficult it all is or how many bruises, 55 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:07,800 Speaker 1: scrapes and sprained ankles she's endured along the way, and 56 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:10,640 Speaker 1: despite her husband's efforts to give Hannah equal billing and 57 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: equal credit on stage, the audience often can't see behind 58 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:19,239 Speaker 1: the traditional magician assistant divide. Hannah says, after shows, folks 59 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:21,920 Speaker 1: always want to talk to Brandon and congratulate him on 60 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 1: his magic. They'll literally push me aside. We also spoke 61 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 1: with Dean Carnegie, a veteran stage magician and the magic 62 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:33,160 Speaker 1: historian behind the blog The Magic Detective. He explains that 63 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 1: the first magician's assistants were the product of a new 64 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:38,520 Speaker 1: school of magic that emerged in the mid nineteenth century 65 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 1: called the Illusionists. In the eighteen fifties, pioneering French conjurors 66 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 1: Jean Eugene Robert Houdin, the inspiration for Hudini's stage name, 67 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:50,920 Speaker 1: and Boutier de Culta created startling illusions that involved the 68 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:55,200 Speaker 1: levitation or disappearance of a second person and assistant. Carnegie says, 69 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:58,800 Speaker 1: Robert Houdine's first assistant was his young son, but it's 70 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 1: more Illusionists centered the aim. The assistants were invariably female. Women. 71 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:06,880 Speaker 1: It turned out were much more effective victims in the 72 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:09,560 Speaker 1: minds of the audience. When a woman was in peril, 73 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,800 Speaker 1: it raised the emotional steaks and that still seems to 74 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:16,360 Speaker 1: be true, says Baron. She said, they've tried to reverse 75 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:18,280 Speaker 1: it and have the female be the magician in the 76 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:20,800 Speaker 1: alpha role and the man be the assistant, and it 77 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:24,920 Speaker 1: doesn't work. No one cares. Magic trends come and go, 78 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: and for the moment, the bigger names and magic are 79 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 1: focusing on close up card tricks and mind reading, which 80 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:33,719 Speaker 1: don't require assistance or at least not visible ones. But 81 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:36,560 Speaker 1: there are plenty of acts like the Wagsters who still 82 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:41,719 Speaker 1: wow with set piece illusions executed with precision choreography. Baron, 83 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:44,640 Speaker 1: who now runs the Los Angeles Drama Club, a Shakespeare 84 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:47,679 Speaker 1: program for kids, reminds us that what the audience sees 85 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:51,320 Speaker 1: on stage is itself a play within a play. She said, 86 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:54,480 Speaker 1: The assistants are winking at you. It's all very tongue 87 00:04:54,520 --> 00:05:03,080 Speaker 1: in cheek because it's trickery and illusion. Today's episode was 88 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:06,120 Speaker 1: written by Dave Rouse and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain 89 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:08,880 Speaker 1: Stuff has merch now you can get phone cases, tote bags, 90 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:11,719 Speaker 1: and of course t shirts. Every purchase helps keep the 91 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:14,280 Speaker 1: show going and supports us directly. You can find all 92 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 1: that stuff at t public dot com. Slash brain Stuff 93 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:19,960 Speaker 1: for more on this and lots of other tricky topics. 94 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:33,799 Speaker 1: Visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com.