Stage Magic: Why?

As a child (and adolescent), one of my favorite shows to watch was America's Got Talent. Without a doubt, my favorite acts to watch on the national talent show were the magicians. My young mind may have been more open to concepts of the supernatural, but I remained entertained by these acts even after I grew older.

Among my favorite magicians of all time from the show was Mat Franco. Mat's act often involved amazing tricks that utilized playing cards. He always found a way to amaze an entire crowd using something so simple. I recall his audition act where he told a story and "magically" flipped over cards representing every number he described in the story--while also sprinkling in some custom cards of his own. Although I assumed his tricks could be attributed to slight of hand, I was still amazed and entertained by his performance.

Why do modern-day people find entertainment and amazement in stage magic. While there are surely some who believe supernatural forces are at work, most believe each performance is a series of "tricks." Why, then, do they watch? I think a large part of it can be attributed to everything besides the tricks themselves. The best magicians, in my experience, have amazing showmanship and are simply entertaining people. Perhaps part of what makes their acts so successful is their ability to be so entertaining that the audience forgets that what they're doing is simply a trick. The audience is merely focused on the act itself and finds themselves entertained.

There are discussions of this topic that can support this conclusion. In A History of Magic, Witchcraft, and the Occult, the author discusses Siegfried and Roy as "the most flamboyant of all magic acts" and, because of this, "audiences flocked to see them." The costumes, setup, and animals involved in these shows likely are what made them so famous--not solely the tricks themselves. Regardless of what makes stage magic so entertaining, it is as widespread as ever, and I have no doubt the industry has an amazing future.