4 minute read
Magic Man
BY FRANCESCA PACCHIANO
Dressed in a sharp black suit and with a twinkle in his eye, Joseph Sisson has an undeniable air of magic around him. Known around Ladysmith as Joseph the Jester and for his close-up-magic, Joseph has set his sights on bringing magic to a wider audience.
Now at the end of his career as a carpenter, Joseph plans on turning his passion for magic into a fulltime job. “And I started late in the game. About fifteen years ago, I came across a little trick on YouTube and it interested me, and I thought, ‘That’s cool, I want to learn that.’”
He showed the piece to me and deftly shuffled the three cards around as I tried to track where he put the original. I couldn’t find it, and in the end, he turned up a card that hadn’t been there at the start. Logically, I know it’s sleight of hand, but I’m convinced it’s more than that.
“Three cards, this, that and the other. This little trick gets a variation of a three card Monte, a very classic effect in magic. And there are many, many versions of it. And I saw this version and … that’s what got me started in magic.”
Joseph learns magic effects from other magicians. “If a magician comes up with an effect, they’ll sell it to other magicians.” When he started, he used to buy the effects from brick-and-mortar magic stores, but now most effects are sold online.
“When I lived in Victoria, I was involved with the Victoria Magic Circle.” The club is a localized branch of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. “They meet once a month [and] there’s a period where people who are working on stuff can show what they’re working on. They can get other magicians’ advice as to maybe you [want to] do this or that.”
After COVID-19, Joseph moved to Ladysmith. Now he’s often found walking around at local events and performing pieces of magic for the event attendees. “I’m very happy to do that because I love to perform, but it is time consuming and I’m volunteering. So, at some point, I want to be able to charge for my services.”
The process of being a magician is one of constant learning and performing. “As an amateur, when you’re performing for friends and family or acquaintances, you have to be coming up with new material to keep their interest. I’m always working on new stuff, and when I’ve practised something to the point where I think it’s presentable, I need an audience.”
One strategy for gaining an audience is by going and seeking them out. “I wander around town. I’ll go into a business. A lot of them know me now because I’ve been doing it for the last three or four months. And I know which businesses are magic friendly and which aren’t.”
Joseph hopes to get into the restaurant business and perform close-up pieces while people wait for their food. “Magicians for many decades have performed in restaurants all over the world. You go into your restaurant, take your order and while you’re waiting for your meal to be prepared, a magician comes up to your table and entertains you.” The restaurants in Ladysmith don’t currently offer a side of magic with your order, but with any luck, that’s about to change. Regardless of the setting of his performances, Joseph has one goal: “To create wonderment and to create a sense of awe. The best thing is the reactions the children [have] when I do my illusions, [which] really make it all worthwhile.”
