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| Dewayne at a Comedy Club |
How did you get interested in magic?
I saw a substitute teacher perform a trick where he put the kings in the deck, shuffled them, and cut to them one at a time. And yes, that was one of the first things I set out to learn.
Do you remember the feeling when you first saw a trick that amazed you?
When I saw that trick (above) I just remember thinking “there’s no way possible” and feeling like I need to explain the realm of possibilities.
Is that the feeling you try to duplicate for others now that you’re performing?
The first thing I want is to cause the average person to forget. I want them to forget and escape everything that may be bothering them, and I think magic does that.
Second, I want to open their minds to other things that could be possible. Keep hope/faith in other words. If a person thinks its not possible and they believe that, that can be sad. There are people walking that were told by doctors, they couldn’t, and they are now– thats magic. someone believed in it and it came true.
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| Dewayne Works a Picnic |
You perform in many types of venues including corporate meetings, comedy clubs, baseball stadiums and schools. How do you modify your act to meet the needs of these venues?
The first thing is for me to understand the crowd. I ask “what type of crowd will be there” that answer tells me what show (of the 3) to do. Then I find out how they want things, i.e. close-up or stand-up. There are times when they say close-up and I tell them its best to do stand-up because of the layout of the venue, or vice versa. But I have my shows with me at every performance, so I could be ready to change game plans at the last minute. Sometimes, I’m not really modifying tricks, its more what comedy to do and what to leave out.
What type of magic do you perform in your stage act?
90% of my stage show are things I have made up or modified to fit my style/jokes I need. A magician may see something in my show start off the regular way, but at the end it will be different.
Do you — thinking of Robert Houdin’s statement that “a magician is an actor playing the role of a magician” — see yourself as a comedian doing magic or a magician who is funny?
I see myself as a magician who is very funny. When I decided to start to do that, I wanted my show to be able to have funny moments at jokes, with amazing magic. not corny one-liners that get chuckles. Or a comic doing silly magic shop gags. Dealing with comedy clubs and billing yourself out as a…
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