James Sanden

As a full time Chicago magician I’m surprised and a bit annoyed (though I imagine I shouldn’t be) by how frequently I’m asked if I perform magic full time.  It’s a bit more understandable when I’m performing close up magic as a restaurant magician or for a birthday party magic show, but I’m even asked the question when providing corporate entertainment.  I’m always a little taken aback (again, I probably shouldn’t be) by the question, but upon inspection I think it’s quite telling because it says something about how normal folks view magicians and by extension, artists.

The simplest reason I think that people ask this question is that (as I’ve written about before), people have preconceived notions about magic and magicians, and not just Chicago magicians.  Specifically, they usually have only one context for magic and it’s either in the form of a birthday party clown or an illusionist on TV, though some folks do think of street magicians like David Blaine or Criss Angel.  They don’t think (and have no reason to) of the myriad markets magic is perfect for, including (but not limited to) weddings, trade shows, school assemblies, cocktail parties, promotions, etc.  More than that, they don’t consider that there could be an overlap between categories, which is to say if they see me in my fedora and vest doing close up magic at the restaurant or in my Disney vest doing a birthday party magic show, they wouldn’t imagine I could also perform sales magic at a trade show to promote their company’s service or product.

I believe the other reason people ask this question is that, and this is the unfortunate part, there’s a general belief that it’s not possible (or at least extremely difficult) to make a living as a performer/artist.  While it’s true that there are far fewer magicians than there are accountants, it is possible to make a living at magic.  Quite a good one in fact.  I know of a number of very successful magicians that no one has ever heard of who do quite well for themselves and will never be on TV.  In fact, I actually think it’s easier to make a living as a magician artist than as a dancer/actor/painter/musician type artist.  If only because there are so many different markets and venues for, in particular, a Chicago magician.  And while I’m not successful at the level some of these “unknown” magicians are, I’m getting there.

To sum up, I believe people ask me if I have a “day job” because a) they don’t really know what a professional magician does and b) are cynical about the economic feasibility of being a full time performer.  Given that (and after reviewing what I’ve written above), answering the question now seems to me to be an opportunity to educate.  I can spread the good word about how many different markets and ways there are to utilize a magician, and I can let people know that they can include my name in the “making a living as an artist” column.  Thinking back on it, I’ve found that people sometimes get quite excited and inspired to hear that I’m successfully living my dreams.  And we can always use a few more inspired people in the world.  Who knows, my living my dream might help others to take a chance and live theirs.

Thanks for listening.  I’m feeling much better now.