1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:09,520 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here with a classic episode from 3 00:00:09,560 --> 00:00:13,440 Speaker 1: our archives. I love stage magic and sleight of hand 4 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:16,640 Speaker 1: precisely because I know that it's fake, but that doesn't 5 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:19,360 Speaker 1: always mean that I know how it's done. It creates 6 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:22,880 Speaker 1: a space of curiosity for me. In this episode, we 7 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:25,439 Speaker 1: go behind the scenes of stage magic to talk about 8 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:31,440 Speaker 1: the relationship of magicians to their assistance. Hey brain Stuff, 9 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: Lauren Vogebam Here. In magic industry, lingo magicians, assistants are 10 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:39,159 Speaker 1: called box jumpers because to the audience, that's all the 11 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:43,199 Speaker 1: lovely assistant appears to do. She's there to distract the audience. 12 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,159 Speaker 1: You know, look pretty, smile big, and wave her hands around, 13 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:49,080 Speaker 1: then pop out from the padlocked box precisely when the 14 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 1: magician says tada. But magic insiders know the real story. 15 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 1: When the trunk lid closes, the sheet is raised, or 16 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:59,000 Speaker 1: the saw is lowered into the box, it's often the 17 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:02,560 Speaker 1: assistant who does the real magic of the illusion, releasing 18 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:05,080 Speaker 1: the latch on the false bottom and cramming herself into 19 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:07,839 Speaker 1: a two foot space while executing her third costume change 20 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:10,080 Speaker 1: of the evening, all before the guy in the top hat, 21 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 1: says Tada. Although magic is undeniably a male dominated profession 22 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 1: if you only look at the name on the marquis, 23 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:20,040 Speaker 1: those who know the most about the stagecraft behind the 24 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 1: magician assistant relationship say that the industry isn't as sexist 25 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: as it might appear. Blair Baron, who co produced the 26 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:30,320 Speaker 1: two thousand eight documentary Women in Boxes about the Unsung 27 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:34,120 Speaker 1: Magician's Assistant, explains that onstage, both the magician and the 28 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 1: assistant are playing roles, roles that artfully play off of 29 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:42,080 Speaker 1: the audience's gendered expectations. Baron says the biggest misconception is 30 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:46,000 Speaker 1: that the magician's assistants are marginalized, objectified bimbos, if you will, 31 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:50,040 Speaker 1: who are deferring to some guy, when actually, in my experience, 32 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 1: they are the brains behind a lot of the illusions. 33 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 1: Baron would know. She married into one of the royal 34 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: families of magic. Her husband, Dante Larson, is the son 35 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:02,080 Speaker 1: of ire and Bill Larson Jr. Two of the co 36 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:05,280 Speaker 1: founders of The Magic Castle in Hollywood, the world's pre 37 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 1: eminent magic club, and Irene, who passed away in twenty sixteen, 38 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 1: was herself an accomplished magician's assistant in her day, Baron 39 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 1: says that Irene and her generation of assistants doubled as 40 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 1: the business brands of the operation, keeping track of finances 41 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 1: and booking appearances. And although they played integral roles in 42 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:27,520 Speaker 1: both the planning and execution of allusions, these old school 43 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 1: assistants never wanted to steal the spotlight from the magician 44 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:33,919 Speaker 1: off in their husband by billing themselves as equal partners. 45 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:38,280 Speaker 1: Modern magicians assistants see their roles a little differently. Hannah 46 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:41,080 Speaker 1: Lynn Wagster is half of the South Carolina based duo 47 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:44,680 Speaker 1: The Wagster's Magic and Illusion, who perform a weekly show 48 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:48,200 Speaker 1: at the Carolina Opry Theater in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. 49 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:50,919 Speaker 1: Hannah is still primarily the one who gets locked in 50 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:53,760 Speaker 1: the boxes, but says that she and her husband Brandon 51 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:56,920 Speaker 1: are very much equal partners on and off the stage. 52 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 1: Hannah considers herself a magician, not just an assistant, and 53 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 1: does a few solo tricks in the act. She also 54 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:07,359 Speaker 1: runs the show backstage, giving technical and lighting cues to 55 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 1: stage managers and making sure the next illusion is lined 56 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:13,679 Speaker 1: up and squared away. But Hannah admits that at the 57 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:16,240 Speaker 1: end of the day. Her primary role on stage is 58 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:19,360 Speaker 1: quote to make sure the magician looks good, which often 59 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 1: means contorting herself into tight spaces or dangling from high 60 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:26,079 Speaker 1: wires without giving the audience a clue about how incredibly 61 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: difficult it all is or how many bruises, scrapes and 62 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:32,760 Speaker 1: sprained ankles she's endured along the way. And despite her 63 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: husband's efforts to give Hannah equal billing and equal credit 64 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 1: on stage, the audience often can't see behind the traditional 65 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: magician assistant divide. Hannah says after shows, folks always want 66 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:47,200 Speaker 1: to talk to Brandon and congratulate him on his magic. 67 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: They'll literally push me aside. We also spoke with Dean Carnegie, 68 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 1: a veteran stage magician and the magic historian behind the 69 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: blog The Magic Detective. He explains that the first magician's 70 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:01,160 Speaker 1: assistants were the product of new school of magic that 71 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: emerged in the mid nineteenth century called the Illusionists. In 72 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:09,360 Speaker 1: the eighteen fifties, pioneering French conjurors Jean Eugene Robert Houdin, 73 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: the inspiration for Houdini's stage name, and Boutier de Culta, 74 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: created startling illusions that involved the levitation or disappearance of 75 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:21,240 Speaker 1: a second person and assistant. Carnegie says Robert Houdine's first 76 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:24,240 Speaker 1: assistant was his young son, but as more illusionists entered 77 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:29,040 Speaker 1: the game, the assistants were invariably female. Women. It turned out, 78 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: were much more effective victims in the minds of the audience. 79 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:35,720 Speaker 1: When a woman was in peril, it raised the emotional steaks, 80 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:39,320 Speaker 1: and that still seems to be true, says Baron. She said, 81 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:41,920 Speaker 1: they've tried to reverse it and have the female be 82 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:43,960 Speaker 1: the magician in the alpha role and the man be 83 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: the assistant, and it doesn't work. No one cares. Magic 84 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:50,760 Speaker 1: trends come and go, and for the moment, the bigger 85 00:04:50,839 --> 00:04:53,480 Speaker 1: names and magic are focusing on close up card tricks 86 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,600 Speaker 1: and mind reading, which don't require assistance, or at least 87 00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:59,560 Speaker 1: not visible ones. But there are plenty of acts like 88 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:02,800 Speaker 1: the Way Ugsters, who still wow with set piece illusions 89 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:07,360 Speaker 1: executed with precision choreography. Baron, who now runs the Los 90 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:10,760 Speaker 1: Angeles Drama Club, a Shakespeare program for kids, reminds us 91 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:13,600 Speaker 1: that what the audience sees on stage is itself a 92 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:17,320 Speaker 1: play within a play. She said, the assistants are winking 93 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:19,760 Speaker 1: at you. It's all very tongue in cheek because it's 94 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:29,839 Speaker 1: trickery and illusion. Today's episode is based on the article 95 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:32,440 Speaker 1: is the Lovely Assistant the Real Magician on hous to 96 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:35,320 Speaker 1: works dot com written by Dave Roose. Brain Stuff is 97 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:37,760 Speaker 1: production of by Heart Radio in partnership with houseworks dot 98 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:40,159 Speaker 1: com and it's produced by Tyler Klang and Ramsey. Out 99 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:42,919 Speaker 1: four more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeart 100 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 101 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:46,280 Speaker 1: favorite shows.