Freshman Grant Menon reveals what is truly important behind those fancy tricks
It all starts with a rabbit, a dove or an empty box. One minute it's there, and the next it's gone. We're left wondering, puzzled by the impossible, yet completely enthralled by the mystery. That's the charm that lies in the wonders of magic. A pack of cards, practice and the presentation are all that freshman Grant Menon needs to make an unforgettable magic show completely captivating.
"You start out with a great opener to hook them," Menon said, "and you slowly build up in the levels of amazing-ness until the end and you have a really good closer."
"Before he was doing kiddy tricks that [didn't] involve any manipulation of the hands and something that you can just buy and do," Guo said. "But now he does more advanced stuff."
Menon often works with partner freshman Brendan Duffy who also has developed a similar passion for magic.
For now the two magicians concentrate mainly on close-up magic.
"Close-up magic [uses] smaller objects close up to the audience," Menon said. "We try to incorporate stage illusions which is what you will see the professional magicians do on television. We [also] try to incorporate comedic magic because it's usually a good thing and makes things a lot better."
A magic show is only good if the magician and the audience share chemistry. By involving comedy and illusions, the magician invites an audience response of either laughter or shock and confusion. The more the audience interacts, the more the relationship between the two grows. And that's where presentation comes in.
"If you learn to present it properly, it keeps people entertained," Menon said. "A lot of magicians make the mistake of having magic be about them and being all about their performance but it's really kind of the bond the magicians and the audience experiences."
