588: Stuart MacDonald - What a Character

Multiple award winner, Stuart Macdonald continues to reinvent himself. From a nine to five job in the corporate world, he developed a contest act that won awards after awards that took him around the world. Along the way, he performed magic on the college circuit and spent many years producing a haunted house that had thousands of visitors annually with a staff of over 50 employees. He developed a character (Richard Presto) for the digital age regularly performing on Zoom meetings with his hip, 1960’s persona.

Cryogenically frozen in 1962 Richard Preston was the greatest entertainer and magician of his generation. Stuart MacDonald, magician / actor www.stuartmacdonald.com

Richard Preston is the first entertainer to be cryogenically frozen in 1962 and was unthawed to bring the world back together. He was the greatest entertainer in history up to 1962 and now he's proving it again with a revival of his 2020 Christmas Capers Holiday Magic Show.

In this week’s episode, Stuart talks about his magical journey from the corporate world to the full time performances as a magician. Alon the way he also fooled Penn & Teller on their television show plus he is in demand giving keynote speeches to corporate audiences. This “chameleon” of a man is constantly reinventing his act and himself to keep up with the times by finding what his audience wants and needs at the time when they want and need it.

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547: Hannibal - Making a Connection

Hannibal is another magician who got into magic later in life. He was 26 when he decided to make it a career. In this episode, he talks about being creative, finding his character, developing his unique act after he was forced to improvise. He also talks about scripting versus “Jazz magic”, performing in theatres vs. intimate venues, the benefits of street performing, and his Renaissance character as Hannibal the Liar. He also discusses what “Magic” is to him. We even have a little workshop on creativity and “not stopping too soon” when thinking about your act or a routine. The main point of this episode is inspiring you create a memorable moment in your act that your audience will take home and keep forever.

He also has a blog entitled, “The Truth Is…” which you can find by Clicking Here.

A fun little effect performed at the Magic Castle. Enjoy! Thank you for watching,

This week, Hannibal talks about how (out of necessity) he developed a new close-up act, how he developed his character, the progress of developing his act, and he even holds a little workshop on how to think beyond what you believe is “finished.” It’s almost like a mini-lecture, all tied up neatly in this week’s episode.

531: Mark Connelly Wilson - Developing a Character

Mark C. Wilson is an actor, musician, filmmaker, producer, teacher and magician but perhaps best known in Texas as “Merlin the Wise” at the Sherwood Forest Faire near Austin. In this week’s episode, Mark talks about something that only has been discussed by a handful of previous guests: developing his character. Merlin is an iconic character so how does one pull it off? Mark has an acting background and has spent much time on developing this persona. You may not plan to every perform at a Renaissance Festival, but you will do well to take to heart the lessons he learned and teaches here. For more information, please visit his Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/MerlinTheWise/

Magician, actor, and musician Mark Connelly Wilson performs as "Merlin The Wise" with "Nimue" played by Lydia Kettle, and "Newt" played by his daughter Elissa Wilson, during the 2010 opening season of Sherwood Forest Faire on the Greenwood stage.

This was the movie discussed at the end of our podcast. The music and singing in this trailer was provided by Mark C. Wilson.

For a more in-depth article about developing a character, then read the article by Kent Cummins in the June 2019 issue of The Linking Ring entitled, “Storytelling is the Secret Sauce.” Click Here to see a PDF of that article.

588: Stuart MacDonald - What a Character

547: Hannibal - Making a Connection

531: Mark Connelly Wilson - Developing a Character

The Magic Word