Published: September 11, 2007 10:42 pm         

Magician to teach his trade at HIP Studios

AVON — Children and adults interested in magic have the opportunity to learn the trade from a real magician.

Daniel Lusk, who’s been performing magic for five years, starting full-time in July, is conducting magic sessions that begin Saturday at HIP Studios, 1122 N. State Road 267. Sessions will be from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. on the first and third Saturday of each month through December. They’re open to anyone ages 8 and older. Cost is $25 per session and $15 for additional siblings. The price includes all printed materials and props needed for select magic tricks. Students may also buy additional props and materials after each class.

To enroll, call 536-8733.

Lusk says he’s always been interested in magic. Early on he learned tricks from reading books and started doing card tricks for his friends. His father is a minister, and his parents would serve as clowns in parades when he was younger. Lusk in turn started doing magic as a clown, but eventually dropped the act.

He got serious about magic three years ago when he joined the Fellowship of Christian Magicians. There Lusk developed his current act, which includes an hour-long stage show and presenting the gospel through magic in churches. He also does street performance at Metropolis and the family nights at Chick-fil-A.

“Studying becomes a full-time thing,” Lusk said. “You can study for years and always be learning.”

He got the idea for teaching because “parents would see me perform, but wouldn’t know how to get their children started in magic.”

The sessions will serve as an introduction to magic, with an emphasis on performance.

“A lot of people think if they know the method of a trick, they can perform it,” Lusk said. “These kids are going to learn not just how to perform a trick, but when to perform it and how to handle yourself during it.”

Proper technique, Lusk says, involves “a lot of hours in front of a mirror or someone you trust. It will come with practice. But an amateur will do a trick until he gets it right. A professional will do a trick until he can’t get it wrong. That’s what I want to instill in these kids.”

Lusk says the payoff is perfecting a skill that’s highly visual and interactive, with an aura of mystery throughout.

“Magic is such a unique performance art that immediately captures attention,” he said. “It’s addictive. Once you perform that first trick, the audience is immediately hooked. That’s what drives me. I want that reaction.”

He also wants to help children nurture their interest in magic, something Lusk had no guidance with when he was their age.

“Magic is often secretive in itself,” he said. “Magicians rely on that. But someone has to keep carrying that torch.”

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Online:

www.daniellusk.com



wade.coggeshall@flyergroup.com

     

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