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Magic on the Stage

When I think of magic, the story that comes to mind for me is the man who worked at the Ruby’s diner in my hometown and would move from table to table performing magic tricks for cash tips. I remember being little and loving to watch this man perform card tricks, pull things out of my ears, and make handkerchiefs magically change colors. At the time, I really believed in the magic of these tricks and was in awe of this funny man that would walk from table to table. As I got older, I realized that this man was not performing magic at all, but slight-of-hand tricks. 
These sleight-of-hand tricks are called legerdemain. These illusions are so smooth and undetectable that, if performed correctly, make it seem as if events are happening by magic. One of the most notable performers of this legerdemain was named Richard Pitchford. He was able to produce cards arranged in perfect fans from out of nowhere. Here is a clip of him performing one of his iconic card tricks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ0cnTjgcAE They called him the great Cardini in reference to the other great performer of illusionistic magic: Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdini. 
Even now, I have a friend who loves to practice card tricks on our friends. She is not very good at them, but we love to sit around and laugh when she finally does guess our card correctly. I love that magic in this regard can be used as a tool to bring people together even if they are just sleight of hand tricks. The man in the diner brought my family together for a laugh, Richard Pitchford brought giant crowds together to ooh and ahh over his talents, and my friends gather to laugh and play with card tricks. The true magic behind legerdemain is its capability to bring groups of people together for entertainment and connection. 


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