Professor Whizzo MIMC reflects on 25 years as an illusionist
My sister hired a conjurer from the Yellow Pages for her 60th birthday. He was so bad that on the way home my wife declared, “You could do better than that!” Although I had a magic set as a child, I had been too busy during my anaesthetic career to take any further interest in the subject. In retrospect it would have been a useful skill to have in the preoperative preparation of a nervous child patient. As I had recently retired and always felt it is important to have an interest which provides a ‘soft landing’ for retirement, I decided to take up my wife’s challenge.
Not knowing where to start, I contacted Richard Rawlins, a surgeon and member of the Magic Circle, for advice. He suggested I investigate the subject of magic as an academic exercise and decide which of its many branches (mentalism, close-up, sleight of hand, stage magic etc.) interested me most. He strongly advised me not to perform unless I had trained myself thoroughly and could not resist the urge to do so. Apart from libraries, magic shops are a good source of information. Many offer (for a modest fee) regular lectures and demonstrations from professional magicians. I soon began to acquire a collection of books and CDs, falling foul of the beginner’s urge to purchase far too much material, most of which I would never read or look at, let alone perform.
The next milestone in the development of my new hobby was meeting Steve Price, then president of the Fellowship of Christian Magicians (FCMUK). He introduced me to their local group who taught me tricks with a message suitable for schools or church functions, many adaptable for promoting commercial products at trade exhibitions. I did eventually succumb to the temptation to perform, first to friends and family and then entertaining fellow guests at dinner parties. In 2014, I was delighted to win the FCMUK stage competition, but my main reward has been in the reaction of an audience, especially the wow factor on the face of a young child.
After a couple of years Steve and another FCMUK member, James Stubbs, both also members of the Magic Circle, offered to provide the required sponsorship to allow me to sit the entrance examination for that prestigious body. This involves performing for around 10 minutes in front of other magicians. The three examiners in the audience only award a third of their marks on technical ability, with the rest allocated to entertainment value and audience involvement. Along with a positive outcome to my examination, this reinforced arguably the most important lesson for an aspiring magician: the trick or illusion should only be used as an aid to the overall performance, providing a platform for the performer’s own ability to entertain. It also made me much more selective in choosing illusions that suited my personality and style of entertainment. Working with surgeons for over 30 years required a sense of humour which serves me well in my magical performances! I have been particularly influenced by other magicians whose style is light-hearted and accessible, including Steve Price as well as other full-time professionals whose lectures I attended, such as the late Pat Page.
I have built on my stage name – Professor Whizzo – to develop a theme as an academic illusionist, informing the audience that I will be educating them as well as entertaining them. Humorous anecdotes about famous magicians provide a smooth link to individual illusions loosely connected with them. Talking about the famous escape artist Houdini for example is followed by a sequence using ropes. I have resisted the temptation to saw a woman in half ever since my father failed in his attempt to do so, leaving me with two half-sisters. (Boom, Boom!!)
I have always disliked the term ‘amateur’ as it has overtones of incompetence, and I try to resist performing any illusion unless I have practised and rehearsed it to professional standards. Fortunately, my pension allows me to perform without personal financial reward but as a part-time professional I have raised several thousands of pounds for ‘Mercy Ships’, my favourite charity. This allows me to avoid any accusation of undercutting my full-time professional colleagues who perform for a living. I also aim at different audiences such as Rotarians or Probus groups who regularly raise money for charity, which again helps to avoid any conflict of interest. I avoid children’s parties! A website helps hough most of my engagements come through personal recommendation. DBS certification and third-party indemnity are essential, the latter being a benefit of membership of Equity, and costing less than an annual subscription to the BMA.
It has been a privilege to have been a member of the Magic Circle for the last 15 years, during 10 of which I held the office of Welfare Officer. As with most branches of the entertainment world, only a few earn a decent living. Many struggle to survive and are forced to continue working in their old age. Illness may then lose them the ability to do this, so for them the Welfare Fund can provide a lifeline. A solo artist entertaining around the country may make few friends, so part of my role was the occasional phone call to lonely retired magicians. When I retired as Welfare Officer, I was delighted to be presented with the Magic Circle’s Silver Wand and promoted to membership of the Inner Magic Circle (MIMC).
Although I spent over 30 years putting people to sleep, I now take pride in keeping them awake. Since anaesthesia itself still seems to me like magic I suppose my second career has been a very natural extension of my first.
David Hatch, aka Professor Whizzo
Emeritus Professor of Paediatric Anaesthesia, University of London