“Magician” is a term that has fascinated people for centuries. But the mystery of the term remains intact even after centuries. Considering the mystery, no one completely understands what it takes to be a magician? What are the skills required? The amount of determination do you need? And several other questions that come to mind with the word.
To answer all your questions, we reached out to the great magician Drummond Money-Coutts aka DMC and got the answers to these questions for you.
The first question that we wanted to be answered was, what sets you on the path to being a magician? DMC responded to the question by saying, “My father’s side of my family comes from a long line of banking. Hundreds of years ago, my great-great-grandfather, started a bank, which is now a very successful private bank in the UK, and underneath the bank is the oldest magic shop in the UK. My father worked at the bank for 20 years. When I was 8 years old, my father took me to this shop, and he bought me a deck of cards and a catalog. And from there, I learned that it was possible to give people the experience that Magic always gave me. As a child, I was always fascinated by Magic, and by going to the magic shop, I learned that I could give other people that experience.”
One of the most prominent questions is, What is the kind of effort you need to become a magician? In DMC’s words, “People say it takes around 10000 hours of practice to attain proficiency in one thing. So I would have been around 19 or 20 by the time I completed 10000 hours of Magic. By the time I was in my early 20’s I knew I had a good command over the language of Magic. But I think it isn’t something you just have to reach a stage and then you are done. It requires constant practice so that you can create new Magic. It is an ever-lasting journey.”
Once you become a magician, it is not easy to keep people entertained. You need to bring in new and better, but where do we get these tricks? Is there some “Book for Wizards?” DMC answered our question in the way of an artist by saying, “It’s like music in many ways. As a musician, you learn to become inspired by the people you meet, the places you go, the cultures that you experience, and so for me. I like to be influenced and inspired by all these things. And I just find that now that I have studied Magic for so long and understand the language of Magic, I can get inspired wherever I go. And then a beautiful piece of Magic comes to my head. I think how wonderful it would be if I am able to create this feeling for someone, and then I work out to put that all together.”
The part about wanting to be a magician is not easy, but what about taking it up as a profession? To which DMC said, “I never really dared to imagine that this could be a profession or a career, but I knew that Magic would always be a massive part of my life. And slowly, it grew and developed. As I went through school and college, I performed more and more privately. Then I left school, and it became more successful. So, it’s been a very gradual journey. I always knew from that moment Magic would always be huge part of my life.”
Let’s admit it we are not living in an era where science and logic took a backseat. Considering modern times, what about magic still attracts people? “In today’s world, Magic is not something which it used to be. With technological advancements and internet, people are being more rational than ever. We, as humans, are becoming very rational and pragmatic. And in many ways, Magic has become more and more verified thing, so the human mind craves Magic more than ever now, a sense of mystery and astonishment, and hence I think it’s important that Magic should come to life.”
In an online world, where nothing is a secret anymore how magicians or magic are supposed to thrive? DMC changed our perspective about magic and technology with his answer saying, “With today’s technological advancements and growth of internet, anyone can learn magic tricks online. Technology in ways, is stripping back many of the Magic tricks by giving explanations to everything. At the same time with AI and AR, perhaps it could be said it’s generating that sense of Magic. As per me, the pleasure that humans get after witnessing something that seems breath-taking and impossible will never go away. So, when one removes technology, be it be today, a 100 years ago, or 300 years ago, people will always have that fascination with Magic. In many ways, there always will be that appetite for Magic and the need for magicians to fulfill that.”
After achieving a certain level of fame people start thinking about settling things a bit. Let’s see what DMC thinks about that, “For me, it’s never been about fame or money. It’s about creating that sense of Magic, that experience that Magic gave me as a child. I want to recreate it. So, giving people a fraction of the sense that Magic gave me to be able to recreate it. To pass that torch which Magic gave me as a child, and to hand that to other people. It was such an intoxicating experience to watch Magic as a child. It’s the greatest thing that I can convey to other people.”
