Singapore Street Festival 2013

Posted on June 11, 2013 by alexander

I have been an avid supporter of the Singapore Street Festival since its inception as it showcases some of the best local talents in Singapore. What’s unique about the showcases of the Singapore Street Festival is that it never fails to display raw energy and dynamism of the performers. Except when it comes to magic.

For the past years, magic has fallen into a confused category in the Singapore Street Festival because, despite the festival’s aims and its title, the magic performances were mainly stage performances that were unlikely to thrive in the streets due to bad angles and lack of audience engagement, or close up magic which was done in small groups and did not fully encapsulate what street performing was truly about.

A half circle Street Show

It was a blessing that the event organizer, Annie, recognized this gap in the festival. After some email discussions, we arranged a meeting. After feeling assured that we can fill this gap in the festival, and I am very proud to announce that Meta Illusions’ Street Theatre show will be a feature in Singapore Street Festival 2013!

Jonathan, performing for a featured footage for Channel News Asia

While Jonathan and myself both already had an existing street theatre show, we worked hard in developing new material for Singapore Street Festival 2013. Therefore you can expect a show that is different from the typical stage magic shows, a show that exudes audiences participation and interaction!

Street Theatre by Alexander

Jonathan and myself will be performing on 14th June (Friday) from 6.30pm to 10.00pm and on the 15th June (Saturday) from 3.00pm to 9.30pm at 313 Somerset. Do join us and have fun!

See you there!

Signing off,

Alexander Yuen

Pasarbella Soft Launch Event

Posted on May 9, 2013 by alexander

Last weekend was Pasarbella’s soft launch and I was very excited to be invited to perform my magic for the launch. I was excited for two reasons, the first reason was that I am always excited about sharing my magic and the second reason was that I love farmers’ market! I remember fondly of my exchange semester in America and travelling to the different states and their farmers’ market. So you can imagine how thrilled I was to be able to re-experience the joys of fresh food and vibrancy in Pasarbella.

Fresh Seafood in a Portland Farmers’ Market, Oregon

And I was not disappointed at all. The stalls in Pasarbella had very fresh seafood, pastries and food.

Opening of Pasarbella, Singapore

Upon entry, I was greeted by the fresh aroma of the sea. The seafood was huge and looks really fresh. They had a wide selection of fresh prawns, oysters, fish and crabs. Simply delightful!

Seafood at Pasarbella

My role at the soft launch of Pasarbella was to add to the vibrancy and buzz of the market. As such, I recommended sets of Interactive Roving Magic with Street Theatre shows interspersed throughout the day. I specifically declined doing a stage show because it would demand too much of the public’s attention and time. And it was my stand that the highlight should really be the stalls.

Interacting with the families and friends of Pasarbella

As you can tell, I also made several changes to my usual attire. Given the context, I decided to “dress down” so that I would fit into the Farmer’s Market theme. I added some accessories and quirky colours in my attire to make me stand out, without making me look out of place. In contrast, wearing a suit and a tie would make me stand out, but look out of place in this event. With that said, I have to put a disclaimer that there is nothing inherently interesting with a magician who dresses in bright flashy clown colours. If he fails to deliver good magic, no amount of coloured polka dots would make the audiences want to stay to continue watching him.

Crowd starting to gather behind

The curious crowd gathered to see what was behind the “oooo-s and ahhhh-s” during my performance. Having noticed a pattern in crowd formation in my performing experience, I anticipated this to happen. That was why I strongly recommended Street Theatre to be featured so that I could perform to a larger group curious audiences and satisfy their curiousity through a good performance.

Performing for the family crowd at Pasarbella

To add a personal touch to the show, I deliberately used the produce from the stalls. As you can see in the next picture, I produced a rock melon and 2 tangerines from a stall called Tangy Tangerines and the onion and lemon from a stall called Sg Organic. I also gave out balloons from my good friends, Brenda and Pearlyn’s stall: Party Blasters. This not only entertained the public, but also “educated” them and made them aware of what Pasarbella had to offer. Since it was cogent with the magic, I gave these stalls a shout-out and a quick pitch in the performance.

Making fresh produce appear!

I resumed my roving magic after the Street Theatre set and I was very privileged to perform for the brilliant mind of the Pasarbella, Mr Clovis Lim. Clovis was featured on several publications about the concept and creation of Pasarbella. He is truly a young entrepreneur who dares to take an idea and push it into realization.

Performing to Clovis Lim and friends

Very much like the conception of Meta Illusions’ Street Theatre show (which was inspired by street shows in America and Europe, not seen in Singapore), Pasarbella was conceived from other global markets. And prior to Pasarbella, there weren’t any “farmers’ market” in Singapore. I take my hat off to Clovis and team in being brave and bringing this first-of-its-kind idea into life in Singapore.

Pasarbella Singapore

I did several Street Theatre shows during the launch on each day. Given the wideness of the place, I alternated my shows between both ends of the market to maximize visibility and engagement of the public.

sIMG_5686

There were a lot more children in the audience in the West side of the market because of Party Blaster’s bouncy castle but it did not affect the show as it was specially designed to engage children and adults, without having to be too kiddish nor clownish. This is the strength of a well designed show that aims to provide fun and magic, instead of aiming to “cater to kids” or “cater to adults”.

Audience participation and anticipation

All in all, it was a super fun experience performing at Pasarbella and reliving the sights and sounds of a farmer’s market. I am really glad that I was able to add buzz, colour and energy to the event making it fun for children, adults and families in general.

Signing off,

Alexander Yuen

Interactive Roving Magic for a Gala Dinner

Posted on May 8, 2013 by alexander

Last week, I was invited to perform at a gala dinner at The White Rabbit off Dempsey Road. It was a really exciting and fun performance as I got to work with a good friend of mine, Saiful (Check his company out here: Fabulousity Party). It is always a pleasure to work with him as he understands my USP and appreciates the value that I give when he gets me for an event. Truly a joy working with him every time : )

Good friend and events producer: Saiful

I was specially engaged to interact and engage the guests during the cocktail reception before the main dinner. The White Rabbit is quite a charming place with a nice garden porch. Guests who arrived earlier were treated to my magic instead of just “standing around” and waiting. The crowd started to stream in shortly.

Performing to an Australian couple

Interactive Roving Magic allows me, the magician to bring the magic even closer to the guests. The magic is often done in their hands and they get to experience the magic on a personal level. It creates a new dimension of amazement as magic is not only visual but tactile. This is something that stage magic cannot achieve.

Performing close up magic up close!

From the pictures, you can tell that the guests consisted of a diverse group. A large majority are Singapore expats who had been in Singapore for a while. In the midst of performance, one of them even jokingly exclaimed, “Please come to Australia with me to perform!” I was amused and flattered.

Singapore Expat Magician

My performance during the cocktail session was highly appraised by the organizer as well as the guests. What set me apart was the fact that I was able to perform my magic in a clear and eloquent manner which allowed my audiences to understand and appreciate the magic even better. Saiful understood this and why it was necessary to have a performer who speaks eloquently, therefore making me his choice for this event.

Magic in the hands of a spectator

It was a fun filled night and when the doors were open for dinner, the crowd were energized and ready for the evening to come! It was satisfying to hear the many praises and future engagements that were conveyed to me by Saiful at the end of the night.

For an events producer, this is a positive indication of success. You can never go wrong when you choose quality over budget because quality and class will make your current event a success and secure future engagements for you. Like Levi’s motto: ”Quality never goes out of style”

Signing off,

Alexander Yuen

PAssionArts Festival 2013: Arts for everyone

Posted on April 30, 2013 by alexander

“Hi Alexander,

I have to give a huge thanks to you for all your help in this event! You were a real crowd-puller, and you were really great in engaging with the residents. Many were impressed with your magic and I believe your presence really helped to make the event a success. So thank you!”

Nur Hazwany Mohd Razali (Ms) Constituency Manager

Changi Simei Constituency Office

One of the visions of PAssionArts is to showcase “Arts and Culture for Everyone, Everywhere, Everyday”. This was also one of my ideals while developing Street Theatre in 2010 after returning from America and experiencing the numerous sideshows on the streets and festivals.

When thinking about magic shows and performances, one might think of a grand stage and a theatre or a platform where the magician’s profile is accentuated. While these shows are fairly common, they are less accessible to the general public simply due to the technical requirements and setup of the performance. Street Theatre, on the other hand, does not require such technical arrangements therefore making it an art form that is truly for everyone and everywhere.

Stage Magic Performance at PassionArts Festival

Last weekend, I was very fortunate to be engaged by Changi Simei Community Club for both Street Theatre and Stage Magic in their PAssionArts Festival. It was truly a series of fortunate events as one of the organizers was a Psychology major in NUS and had watched my performance in The Swing Thing at the NUS Arts Festival. She was inspired by the message in the play and decided to give me a shot in the PAssionArts Festival. Thank you for the leap of faith! : )

Engaging everyone: The new generation of Singapore, as well as the older generation

The beauty of Street Theatre goes beyond its minimalistic technical requirements. It is the very fact that the performance does not hide behind a “4th wall” (a technical term for performances that does not engage/acknowledge the presence of an audience, like dance and traditional theatre), and that the magic props are objects that look real and does not depend on special mechanisms. Because of this show design and structure, very often I have audiences telling me the same thing “I have seen a lot of magic shows, but today, I have seen the real thing!”.

360 degree audience (a circle show)

With the vision of performing this show “everywhere”, one of the fundamental designs of the show was the material. Unlike magic performances that needs a special backdrop, this show can be done surrounded. I suspect this is one other reason why audiences think that they have seen “real magic”.

Arts and Culture for Everyone, Everywhere, Everyday

In closing, Street Theatre is a unique show that fits very nicely in festivals and even arts festivals where the engagement and interaction of the audiences brings a new dimension of theatre and Street Theatre is a magic artform , that can be appreciate up close regardless of age or language.

Signing off,

Alexander Yuen

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Magic Illusion Show for International Conferences

Posted on April 25, 2013 by alexander

The past couple of weeks have been really hectic for the team at Meta Illusions as we were engaged for two major international conferences, one from Pakistan (held in Orchard Hotel) and the other one from China (held in Resorts World Sentosa Ballroom). Because of the scale of the event, they both had backing from Singapore Tourism Board. In fact, the China conference was so huge that they had to run the event twice on different days to accommodate all their participants.

Performing for an international audience is not unfamiliar to us as both Jonathan and myself have had diverse experiences interacting with foreigners in our corporate engagements. However, there are still some subtle nuances that one needs to be mindful when performing for an international audience. The ignorance of cultural nuances will result in embarrassment for the performer and audiences.

Setting up the stage for Pakistan/Singapore Conference

After understanding the audiences type for the event, I had to change certain parts of my act for the Pakistani audiences. While my act was neither lewd nor obscene, I had to make some slight modifications. In a typical performance, at the end of one of my acts with a female audience member, I would make a rose appear and give it to her as a token of appreciation. I removed this segment as I know that while it is not uncommon for flowers to be given as a gesture of respect and appreciation in some cultures, this gesture in other cultures would be construed as an indication of romantic interest, and the display of romantic interest that is frown upon (and not the gesture of giving a flower).

Presenting roses as a gesture of appreciation to the VIP Table

In contrast, when the producers from China and Singapore were discussing with me what magic effects that I could do to present the VIPs with a souvenir, the idea of making roses appear by magic was extremely well received. I made a bouquet of roses appear for the VIPs and presented each with a stalk.

Apart from creating the magic moments for the VIPs by making roses appear, the team and myself was also involved in the cocktail reception, stage performance and making a VIP appear on stage.

Close up mingling magic

Fortunately for the team, we were all effectively bilingual. We presented our magic in mandarin and did our close up magic in the spectator’s hand. Such form of magic interaction transcends languages and is powerful across cultures.

Pre event magic entertainment by Jonathan Low

Godwin performing a classic close up magic effect

In designing the stage magic segment, I worked hard to incorporate the theme of the conference into the show. The main gist of the conference was to inspire and motivate the audiences, letting them know that nothing is impossible; just like magic. I crafted my show with these messages of hope and inspiration. In the final act, I presented an illusion in which a barren plant blossomed with flowers and then butterflies gathered and “danced” around it. Many of the audience member told me that that was one of the most beautiful piece of magic they have seen and that the music and message really touched them. I felt heartwarming sense of satisfaction as I knew that the message had got across to them.

The Butterfly Illusion

After the illusion show, we made the VIP appear on stage to present a lucky draw! This was a lot of fun as the VIPs were extremely spontaneous and they amused the crowd by looking confused and lost as they caught off guard and “teleported” onto the stage.

Click on the picture below to see a video of it!

VIP appearance Illusion

Both events were extremely fulfilling and it was a great team effort that made the events a success! I truly appreciate their involvement and assistance. Thanks guys!

Godwin, Jonathan, Tom and myself!

Signing Off,

Alexander Yuen

University Alumni Dinner

Posted on April 17, 2013 by alexander

I graduated from National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2012 with a Second Upper Hons in Social Science, majoring in Psychology. And while I was studying, I thoroughly enjoyed the learning process in NUS and being in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, I was exposed to various other modules that stretched my thinking, developed my creativity and trained me to think critically (some of my favourite modules outside the psychology modules are: Political Science 1101, Philosophy: Introduction and Logic as well as Japanese Studies).

Engaging in the conversation with alumni members from University of Singapore (in the 1970s before it was renamed National University of Singapore)

Last month, I had the privilege to perform for the various alumni members of the different departments in FASS. It was really enriching for me to perform and interact with the alumni members that graduated as early as 1975 to the more recent ones that graduated in 2012.

Interactive Close Up Magic

Despite the casual setting, it was important that I was dressed sharply so that I do not appear clownish nor kiddish. The idea of having a magician dressed in flamboyant costumes with outlandish mismatched colors is a thing of the past. Old time magicians and magicians without adequate experience or skill would have to resort to colors that scream “Look at me!” as they are not able to capture their audiences’ attention without relying on these peripheral means. There is a danger to this as the attention given by the audience is not voluntary, it is akin to an explosion, a meaningless bold word in a sentence or the shattering of plates in a restaurant where people would turn their attention to the event, and thereafter resume their normal activities (or in the case of an explosion, run away). In the same vein, having a magician who is dressed in a pink suit with green lapels combined with rainbow coloured polka dots, together an electric blue pants, would make audiences turn their attention to the distinct character, and then resume their normal activities (or in some cases, run away).

Engaging the audience through drama, humour and presentation

In contrast, the approach that my team at Meta Illusions and myself advocate is a lot stronger as we ground our engagement through theatrical principles. During the close up performance, the audiences are hooked by the drama and conflict embedded in the magic. Through this route, we are able to perform more elaborate magic effects and have their attention throughout the performance hook, line and sinker.

Performing for Dean FASS, Prof Brenda Yeoh

I had the honour of presenting my magic to the Dean of FASS, Prof Brenda Yeoh and her guests. It was a thoroughly enjoyable performance with lighthearted humour embedded in the magic. I would be inclined to believe that if I wore a rainbow coloured polka dots costume, it would be painful for them to digest the performance.

Performing for the Dean of FASS, Prof Brenda Yeoh and her guests

Engaging the table

In closing, FASS has taught me more than book knowledge; a lot of the content that I share in my blog about performance and attention were derived from reading psychological articles, attending cross faculty seminars and interacting with lecturers and professors. A lot of the learning has enabled me to perform for corporations that value content than superficial appearance, and it has broaden my worldview to synthesize knowledge for customization projects. This was a night that I enjoyed very much, and believed that the guests enjoyed this small homecoming gathering as much as I did.

(Picture credits: Lionel Lin, http://www.lionellin.com/)

(A blog entry by FASS themselves about this article: http://blog.nus.edu.sg/fassnews/2013/04/04/fass-alumni-dinner-at-university-town/)

Signing off,

Alexander Yuen

NUS Arts Festival 2013 Closing Show: The Swing Thing

Posted on March 25, 2013 by alexander

And there it is, The Swing Thing!

The show debut on the 23rd March as the closing show for NUS Arts Festival 2013. I truly enjoyed the whole process and involvement in this play. I learnt a lot from the director, Jeremiah Choy and from the other cast and crew. This was an amazing journey of discovery, learning and unlearning.

Interview with Anita Kapoor on Okto’s Art Bites

I was really enthusiastic about this collaboration when I first heard of it late 2012. When I was a freshman in NUS, I thought to myself, “It would be really awesome to present my magic in NUS Arts Festival!”. When I saw the call for audition, I knew this was it! I went down to the audition and presented a snippet of my stage work. And I got through to being a part of the main cast!

Before the doors opened at University Cultural Centre

Despite the hectic work schedule that I already have at Meta Illusions, this project would take up a substantial amount of my time. In the end, it was all worth it and I have no regrets at all because I wanted to be involved not only because I could share my magic, but also to show the public that magic can be an art form, layered with meaning, symbols and emotions.

Before the auditions I felt that the public would not consider magic to be an art form. And unfortunately, most of the time, they are right. This is simply due to the fact that most magicians present their magic in a way that is meaningless, silly and obscene. Magicians that make one object after another appear and disappear without any rhyme or reason, magic happening so quickly that it leaves no room for the audiences to think and ponder on its implication. Because of the lack of intellectual stimulation from watching magic, adults immediately assume that magic is just for kids!

As always, I do my best to present magic in a meaningful and artistic way. With the help of the director and the team, I worked on 3 carefully crafted magic pieces in The Swing Thing. While the routines are considered classics in magic, each piece had a story to tell in relation to the whole show. I am really proud of my re-creation!

Alexander Yuen The Swing Thing Nus

In my other piece, I presented one of my favourite effects in magic and explained how psychology is used to manipulate my audiences’ perception. This was different from magicians/charlatans who claim to use “psychology” in their magic as the content on psychology that I used to present the bits of magic was theoretically grounded and it was something I learnt and synthesized from reading research papers in my classes in NUS.

After the show, the professors in NUS who attended the show were intrigued by my approach to magic and psychology. I too enjoyed sharing with them my research in NUS and listening to their insights on research. Also, I had a couple of people telling me that they really enjoyed the intellectual and insightful slant in my magic.

The show was a great success, and all the cast members did an amazing job in the show. All of us had a distinct role and contributed to the different layers of the show. I am honoured to have worked with these great individuals.

The day after, I received several emails expressing their enjoyment of the show, and also a few email request for me to present my magic in art festivals that they are organizing. You have no idea how elated I was when I read those emails! I am really glad that my performance resonated with the audiences and that they too feel that magic has the potential to be an art form. A small step of success for me towards making magic an art.

Signing off,

Alexander Yuen

Magic Workshop

Posted on March 19, 2013 by alexander

For the past 3 months, the students at Evergreen Secondary School has been working really hard in learning magic. You might think it is easy to learn the secrets of magic, this course focused a lot more than just the secrets. One of the key principles of doing good magic is being able to perform and present the content. The class also focused on presentation, public speaking, voice projection and confidence.

Hazim, gathering the crowd!

I am really proud of my students. They have shown me that they can deliver the show and performance when they put their heart and mind to it. And I really have to acknowledge their hard work because the magic that I taught was not kiddish in nature nor basic nor simple. In line with our belief in magic, they were taught effects that would impress their peers and family members, effects that would require weeks of practice and polishing. I am really proud of you guys!

Atikah presenting and explaining the premise of the magic.

The magic courses that we structure was not simply based on book knowledge and tricks, we believe that magic facilitates other skill development like creativity, confidence and team work. You can imagine the joy I feel when I see the class cooperating in setting up the booths, preparing the performance and making balloons for their peers. It was an epitome of team work!

Nurilman, performing for the crowd!

What is truly remarkable is that these students were able to gather their peers, held their attention and delivered their performance. It was not an easy task especially when their generation seems to be more peripheral in their selection of content and have a shorter attention span. Great job!

As a trainer, I am very proud of these kids. More importantly, years from now when they would have forgotten how the magic tricks were done, from their display of team work and perseverance, I know that they have learnt greater lessons in life that cannot be taught through a textbook.

Signing off,

Alexander Yuen : D

A Theatre Production: The Swing Thing

Posted on March 18, 2013 by alexander

The past couple of months have been really hectic for me. I was literally running around between rehearsals for a theatre production for NUS Arts Festival and conducting corporate and magic workshops.

The theatre production that I am involved in is called, The Swing Thing. It is really about the crossroads people face in life, whether to go for their passion or whether to follow convention. It is about individuals from NUS who are at various points of their life when they have to choose; to follow the academic path and be a programmer or follow her heart and be a clown, or whether to work in a government body or start a brand of circus shows, or whether to pursue a career in the academia or be a magician and etc.

This show will be at University Cultural Centre (NUS) on the 23rd March 2013 (Saturday) 8pm!

The stories are pertinent to everyone, not just NUS students. I know people who deal with the dilemma of staying in secondary school versus choosing a career in magic. The Swing Thing truly explores these decisions and dilemmas that ordinary people face.

Amongst other artiste, we have a clown artiste and a circus artiste who has have their stories to share. You will be quick to realize that this show is not a superficial “variety show” featuring different acts, it goes beyond the surface to explore the inner struggles of these artiste that make you laugh. You will be amused and touched by their stories, stories that you can relate to.

Jay Che from Circus In Motion

We had guidance from the highly acclaimed director, Jeremiah Choy (NUS Law School Alumni) in creating and producing acts that exemplified our stories. So don’t miss this chance to catch the Closing show of NUS Arts Festival 2013!

Get your tickets here!

Interactive Stage Magic Show

Posted on February 22, 2013 by alexander

“Dear Alex,

Thank you for your wonderful performance at the UTown Residence Welcome Party Night. Everybody is amazed and captivated by your magic tricks! We would definitely recommend your service to others!”

Wei Yung
Organizing Committee for NUS Residence Welcome Ceremony 2013

When the school semester in NUS started in January, I was invited to perform for a welcome ceremony that consisted mainly of foreign students from across the world coming to Singapore to further their university education.

Interacting on stage with an audience

Consistent with how I approach all my performance, I focus more on the central content of my show than peripheral factors. What this means is that I do my best not to use dress in flashy and colourful outfit that would immediately identify me as a stereotypical entertainer.I use my words and magic to captivate and entrance the audience. While dressing up in colourful outfits may catch the attention of a general crowd, to an intelligent and educated crowd, it serves more as a warning for a cheesy performance to come.

The organizers enjoyed the interaction that I had with the audience members. They found it refreshing that my performance was engaging and involved the audiences. I have been told that they would prefer a magician that addresses and interacts with the crowd than one that simply turns up a 20 minutes music track and does his/her feats of magic on stage without even acknowledging the audience members.

Performing along side with an exchange student

Being accustom to performing for an internationally diversity crowd, both the audience members and I enjoyed the session very much. I even manage to chat with some of the foreign students after the show and sharing with them some of my research plans I am undertaking in my Master’s degree.

So if you find our brand of magic to be suitable for your event or corporate function, check us out here! You can be sure that our sleek brand of performance will not embarrass you in front of your important and high profile clients. ; )

Signing off,

Alexander Yuen

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