Being extremely keen on the emotion Amazement, I decided to do a couple of close up magic effects for the gang.

(Picture Credits to Liyun and Regina, thanks!)

I eventually did a mind reading effect where I tried to deduce the card a person was thinking of. When I finally got the card right, Prof Eddie made a comment which made me think about the perception of magicians and psychologist. He said “Wow, this is the real psychologist”.

Of course, one reason why he would say that was because of the common stereotype that psychologists can ‘read’ minds. I suspect this stereotype was derived from the research that psychologists produced in the academic field. We consistently discover theories about human behaviours and these theories in turn allow practitioners to make predictions about what a person or a population might do given certain sets of conditions. In a similar vein, skillful and experienced magicians who understand human behavior consistently make use of these “theories” to create that moment of wonder in their magic. As time and experience progresses, we develop a keen sense of “stimulus and response” detection. Noticing and understanding these patterns allow for us to do moves that will go undetectable, even at scrutiny. For instance, appreciating the fact that humans have the tendency to think of events in linear and sequential terms (that is, A must happens then B can happens), the experienced magician is able to delay the moment of magic and allow it to be misattributed to a cause that has no real bearings to the effectiveness of the magic. This is a partial explanation for the existence of magic words and magic gestures.

I believe that the overlap between magic and psychology is significant but not fully explored. In my course of performance, I had noted several consistent human patterns which I eventually hope to share in the academic field.

All in all, it was an amazing evening (no pun intended). The food, the music, the magic and most of all, the people were all awesome. I had a lot of fun performing in this slightly different bar setting.

Speaking of bar setting, I will be performing my Close Up Theatre set at Bar 84 at Gallery Hotel this Saturday from 9pm till late. Come by and say hi if you are around the area ; )

Signing off,

Alexander Yuen

It is trickier in the service sector, clients do not know what they will eventually get until the service is in operation and paid for. This makes it more cringe-worthy when you hear about budget doctors, budget tuition or even budget magicians. Would you really entrust your health, your child’s education or your reputation as a host to “budget” operators?

I think not.

A couple of weeks ago when I was doing an event at Mandarin Hotel, a guest came up to me telling me about this magician that his friend engaged. I could sense a tinge of embarrassment as he related the story. Essentially, the magician, while passable in techniques, had difficulty communicating with the other guest. He spoke in broken English and with a lot of “Singlish” (Singapore colloquial English), and cracked a lot of “kiddish” jokes. Pretty awkward for the host, as well as the guest as they were put in an extremely uncomfortable position.

From this sharing, I was once again reminded that my role as a magician is not to “fool the heck out of everyone” but to communicate, interact and entertain people with magic. Because, I believe, you can “fool the heck out of everyone” but no one will care. But if you are able to communicate and engage people, then they will appreciate your magic. This is Meta Illusions, going beyond the illusions, there is so much more to magic than what happens before their eyes. So much more intricacies than the deception itself. That is the difference between professionals and budget magicians.

Well, back to budget magicians. I believe that they have a place in the local entertainment scene. They are good for organizers with excess budget who just want to “fill the event up” with activities that might be out of place. I also think they are good for peripheral entertainment in which your guest would know there is side entertainment but will not pay much attention to it. And lastly, budget magicians are good when the budget doesn’t allow for a better magician.

But also know that, when you engage someone of a lower caliber, you run the risk of putting your guest in an awkward position, and eventually, making yourself look bad. I believe that it is difficult for laymen to tell the difference between a good magician and a great magician. The differences are subtle and both categories would pass a certain benchmark in their minds. However, it is easy to detect a mediocre magician from a great magician, only if you put them side by side. That is why we never go for the price cuts, we firmly believe that given our caliber, repeat bookings from clientele, positive reviews and media exposure, we are not in the league to call or brand ourselves as “budget magicians”.

In sum, given the ecological nature of the market, as unconvinced as I am, I think there is a right place for everyone whether you are a budget magician, hobbyist or a professional. The implications, sadly, is that there will also always be a place where you can find “bad magic”.

Signing off,

Alexander Yuen

Last Sunday, I performed close up roving magic for a birthday surprise. It was planned and coordinated by my good friend Leslie, who is an excellent and interactive host as well. Check him out here.

The common misconception magic for birthday parties are only appropriate for children. But that is evidently not the case. I was engaged to entertain and interact with the guest for the birthday party before the birthday “boy” made his grand entrance. And after that, I was did the dinner entertainment as well.

It was really nice as I knew some of the people there and performing for friends is a wonderful experience indeed. What surprised me more was that a lady was able to remember me from a different show years ago in which I presented a brand of magic that was different from my current style. Really heartwarming to hear it.

With that said, the bulk of my engagement was meant for adults. However, there are times where the adults bring their children as well and I do get to (and enjoy) performing for them as well.

Unlike most entertainers who “talk down” to children in silly voices, I believe that children like to be treated as matured individuals. While my performance style is slightly more animated when I perform for them, it is in no way childish or silly.

All in all, it was an excellent event with excellent people, I did a special magic trick for the birthday “boy” too. The reaction, was real magic.

Signing off,

Alexander Yuen

The truth is, the performance was only half the experience. I enjoyed working with Maggie who is the Secretariat of the CEO, in advising the best kind of magic entertainment, the best timing for the entertainment and the pros and cons for certain placements.

I am really happy that the client and the audiences enjoyed the performance and most importantly, enjoyed working with me. In fact, I am really pleased to share a feedback by the client:

“Everyone enjoyed your show! The Magician who supported SERIS on 30^th March 2012 at NUS Guild house brought additional colours to the group of SERIS crowds. He exercises professionalism in his work, flexible in the timing and provides supportive suggestions during the show. On behalf of SERIS, we would like to thank Alexander YUEN for his professional support!”

- Maggie Keng, Secretariat of the CEO, SERIS.

So awesome! This literally brighten up my day! =D

To find out more about having magic in your next event, check us out at: http://www.metaillusions.com/our-services/

Or you can drop me an email directly at:

alexander@metaillusions.com

Signing off,

Alexander Yuen

Big thank you to the Sinema Team, JC Sum, Ning as well as my Harapan, Jonathan and Samuel who gave me magic advice. Thank you! Do check out their profiles!

So this is it, enjoy!

Signing off,

Alexander

I’ve always felt strongly against magicians (or rather, “magicians”) who use magic as a tool to get intimate with women. While I think that magic offers that kind of potential, a serious student of magic would find these “magicians” distasteful. It is one thing to perform magic and share the wonders of magic and another to use it as a means to an end.

Last year, a colleague and I did an academic paper titled “Are magic tricks inherently flirtatious?”, and needless to say we examined the magicians as flirts stereotypes and surveyed the ground. It is pretty remarkable that a large proportion of local students found that stereotype to be true. The data also revealed that they perceive magic as a tool to get close to a girl, to maintain physical contact and sadly, to allow for conversation. I think for these people who are using magic as a means to an end, magic is a crutch to them. One might argue that magic gives them a chance to level against men who are well-endowed with social skills. But the truth is, without magic, what are these “magicians” going to rely on?

So to all these pick up artist classes and course disguising themselves as magic and disguising their purpose as a contribution to increase awareness in magic. I say not. You are probably doing more harm than good. What would be better is to capitalize on these victims student’s existing strength. This is validated by positive psychology research, and if you would like more information, check this facebook page on how to maximize your character strength that you already posses: https://www.facebook.com/TheHappinessRevolution

The nice thing about having such strong opinions was that my opinions were picked up by an NUS student writing for a campus wide publication called The Ridge, and she did an interview in which I shared my thoughts about magic as an art, magic as a flirting tool and how I used psychology in my magic.

If you wish to read the article, check out the scanned copy below:

I am certain that the other camp will have their argument as well, and I am more than happy to engage in an academic discussion. =)

Signing off,

Alexander

I was fortunate to have one full page in the National University of Singapore Student Union (NUSSU) campus wide publication, “The Ridge”. It was pretty awesome sharing my thoughts on magic, the feeling of amazement and how psychology plays a large role in my magic. I spoke about “magicians” who used magic as a crutch to form relationships or pick up women. Of course, I discussed the progress of Meta Illusions as well.

Check out the interview in the picture below!

The Ridge Magazine Interview on Magic

Signing off,

Alexander Yuen

I was mesmerized by the beautiful midnight skyline. Even though I knew that the picture would not do justice to its beauty, I took a shot.

Perhaps like what they say about magic as well, “Somethings are meant to be seen live”.

The next day, I did a networking event for a prestigious company, JP Morgan. There were other activities as well like caricature and calligraphy. I thought magic was a good choice as it helped to break the ice for the invited guest as well.

It is important to have a magician which is eloquent, confident and able to communicate with your guest. I could imagine a terrible scenario in which another magician (who may not be as eloquent or well versed in general knowledge) stumbling and tripping over his words when performing for a similar high end event.

Consult us to for more!

Signing off,

Alexander

On the 11th February, Jonathan and myself were invited to perform for an event organized by the National University of Singapore. It made sense cos we were students there as well. We were there to perform our brand of Close Up Magic.

The event was Parent’s Day in which parents were invited to learn more about their children’s education and the student life in NUS. The faculties involved this time were: Faculty of Dentistry, School of Business and Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine were invited to NUS. Jonathan and I doubled up as student host and performers.

Magic was a wonderful way to break the ice and share some of our personal experience as students in NUS. I spoke to a couple of parents about the bidding system and resources available for students in freshman year.

One parent even showed me a picture of her daughter and asked for my phone number so that her daughter could call me! It made me chuckle a little inside, but it was a nice warm feeling knowing that parents want the best for their children. =)

It was an exciting opportunity to present my magic for the NUS community. I also managed to speak to several professors and faculty members. The one most common question asked after knowing that I am a psychology major was, “Do you use psychology in your magic?”. And the answer is yes (Read: here if you want to know more). But it is also fun sharing some of my beliefs and hearing from their opinions on magic and human perception. I was even offered free residence in the up-coming RC3 dorms after speaking to a marketing faculty member.

Overall, I think it was a very good event in which NUS was able to share with the parents what college life is, and featuring close up interactive magic, it helps to break the ice and facilitate sharing amongst the student host.

Picture credits: NUS Parent Programme (https://www.facebook.com/NUSParents)

Signing off,

Alexander

When magic meets technology

Check out this superb M for Magic episode, with Joakim Gomez from Singapore Idol:

Special thanks to JC Sum and Ning, Joakim and Sinema TV.

Also check out and like SinemaTV’s facebook page for more exciting stuff!