Chicago magicians adjust to ‘virtual magic’ amid coronavirus pandemic

The gig economy has all but crushed any major means by which its workers can make a living amid the coronavirus pandemic.

For some entertainers, even the magic is gone — at least in the traditional sense.

That’s why some Chicago magicians are keeping the art form alive in new ways.

Magician/mind reader Dennis Watkins is one of them.

Magic is literally in his DNA — he’s a third-generation magician.

“I’ve been performing magic my whole life; it’s the only real job I’ve ever known, and it is certainly my career and the support for my family,” said Watkins, whose one-man-show, “The Magic Parlour,” has been running at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel for 10 years.

“That show is a good part of my work life. And the other part of my work life is performing magic for high-end corporate events and private events all over the country, and booking entertainers to provide entertainment at similar events all over the country.”

Watkins, like many gig performers, has now made the transition to performing online instead.

“I was glued to the news feeds and reading all of the incoming news about COVID-19 and shutdown this and shutdown that and ... looking at the sheltering-in-place things that were [falling] into place. It got a little dark in my world for a few days,” Watkins said.

Now he presents “The Magic Parlour” during “Magic Mondays” on Instagram and also posts videos to his Facebook account, where he teaches viewers (ages 12 and older) how to perform magic with items found around their homes. A salt shaker and napkins are used in a trick called “Coin Through the Table.” .

In another video, Watkins enlists his husband, Sean Kelly, who helps him perform a card trick where he shuffles the deck and works his way through to find two cards that match the prediction Watkins makes — a trick viewers also can do at home with their families.

“That’s something that I wanted to send out during this time of quarantine when I know that families are all at home together all the time trying to find ways to engage each other and engage their imaginations and offering a little bit of insight into my art,” he said.

Rich Hein

Waukegan-based “hip-hop illusionist” Jibrizy does “man-on-the-street” magic shows, where he raps while pulling cards out of his nose and eating glass, among other tricks.

He has also felt the pinch of losing gigs as the pandemic took effect. He had to cancel a trip scheduled for Egypt, and a corporate deal he had to perform in Las Vegas has been put on hold.

“It sucks,” Jibrizy said. “In my profession, I need people, an audience. Doing a magic video online, rather than [in front of a live] audience isn’t like the same killing, so I’ve been going live on Instagram. There’s no edit; it’s all one continuous thing so people love it. … I really do appreciate the support of the fans. And, in fact, when I go live, my numbers have tripled.”

The folks at Chicago Magic Lounge have made a similar pivot to performing online shows, through Zoom, an online conference service that has capitalized on the social distancing COVID-19 has created.

“We spent a lot of time looking at what to do right, so immediately we knew that the world needs magic more than ever; the world needs misdirection,” said Joey Cranford, Chicago Magic Lounge’s CEO and co-owner.

“We have a gift to provide to people sitting at home right now. It’s just been really cool. And the other really fun part about Zoom is that it’s as close to a show as you can imagine, so we send out the emails, we announce that tickets have gone on sale and we sell out the spots within about 45 minutes.

“If the magician needs someone, the producers find this specific person, or maybe someone who’s got their ‘hand raised.’ And so a producer is now part of the conferences, just looking through, scrolling and finding that hand raised, spotlighting them for a minute and getting a real-time live interaction.”

Cranford says he’s trying to take care of his employees as best as he can amid the pandemic. Many people who are service/hospitality industry workers have been laid off.

“I made sure that they got a promise from me that they would get an extra paycheck,” said Cranford. “After all this happened, we got shut down when the bars and restaurants got shut down. We understood that it was more important for the safety of the community than it was to keep our shows at full capacity.”

Chicago Magic Lounge magician Paige Thompson has been performing magic since she was 6 years old. Thompson, now 36, who has been performing online with the magic lounge, says people need magic more than ever and the reaction to the Zoom shows is proof.

“It’s been really refreshing to hear the comments,” Thompson said. “The excitement and people are just happy to have something different to do, but it’s still interactive. That way they’re not just watching Netflix for 40 hours, so it’s nice that there is a change of pace. I think for people who like to dress up and make a fancy cocktail and watch a magic show — people want something unique to do at this time.”