Passing down a craft, a sustaining livelihood, from generation to generation may be a fading phenomenon, but Dennis Watkins never misses an opportunity to thank his grandfather for sharing his incredible skills with him. Watkins’ granddad not only owned a magic shop, he was also an accomplished sleight of hand magician. And now, thousands of professional appearances and boatloads of accolades later, so is Dennis. Like so many others whose job site is a stage and whose customers are audiences, these are tough days requiring ample supplies of ingenuity and adaptability to remain viable.
With The Magic Parlour, his popular and nearly decade old gig inside the Palmer House at full stop, Watkins has cleverly applied the wonders of the Internet to move his highly entertaining magic show from downtown Chicago to a global stage from the comfort of his technology laden basement. The Magic Parlour at Home’s first virtualized experience kicked off Friday, July 3rd with two performances. Others are scheduled throughout the month beginning again on the 10th.
Exceptional magicians have two things in common, daunting motor skills and beguiling gifts of speech. Both were on richly subtle display at the performance’s 9:30 show Friday night. Disarmingly personable, Watkins opened with an explanation of what led him to take his enterprise on-line. He also disclosed how he entered the world of magic by asking his grandfather to teach him “a few things” when he was only 7. From there the affable wizard proceeded to escort his audience through a variety of tricks that entrenched its appreciation for an art form requiring relentless study, endless practice, complete dedication and iron clad skill.
Evenly divided between sleight of hand feats using playing cards and extrasensory exploits where he peered into the minds of individual audience members to find an elaborately concealed word or number, the hour-long show delivered on its potential to instill a sense of genuine wonder and excitement. Both welcome antidotes to these sobering times. And accomplished while working in a format that you might not consider conducive to such intimacy.
That the show was structured to retain, even maximize, the interaction between the illusionist and audience added both to its enjoyment and its credibility. As currently designed, The Magic Parlour at Home only allows 30 tickets to be sold per performance; but up to 10 people can attend per ticket. Friday’s late show didn’t hit maximum attendance, but those that did Zoom in hailed from all over the US and included representation from Mexico.
Zoom and other video-conferencing tools have proven invaluable as they help us stay connected and come together while we remain physically apart. But we’re still in the early days of this community grafting technology and have much to learn. When at a magic show, even a virtual one, we’re more than spectators. The audience is part of the performance and anyone can be called upon randomly to “assist” the main act. And because everyone can see everyone else, understanding the importance of good lighting in a home setting might make for a more pleasant and well rounded experience for everyone.
Screens, whether television, laptop or computer; are no longer one way windows to the world. Interactive means we can be engaged; especially when we’re participating in a live performance. Applause, rousing and heartfelt, is always appropriate when enjoying the talent of a top flight artist; and Mr. Watkins certainly fits that bill.
Detailed information regarding The Magic Parlour at Home can be found at: themagicparlourchicago.com
