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Las Vegas-based illusionist Garry Carson, who has performed before millions of people in 38 countries over the past 16 years, says that magic is sort of a universal language.
"Magic is relatable all around the world — like music," says Carson, who will bring his new "The Reality Magic Show" to Wichita Tuesday. "I do a lot of comedy in my act but that can be problematic in different cultures. But when you pull out a deck of cards, well, everybody understands."
His show will be a benefit for Communities in Schools of Sedgwick County.
Carson prefers to be thought of as an illusionist rather than a magician.
"Magic is usually all about the hands, with cards or scarves or balls. It's close up. Illusionists create big scenes. They play with an audience's mind. I prefer to be an illusionist because you get paid more," he says with a laugh.
Carson is a Colorado native who took up magic as a hobby to help him recover from a snow-sledding accident that cost him a kidney and nixed his dreams of participating in sports. He got so good that he turned pro at 14. At 25, he was tapped to open the MGM Grand when it was Las Vegas' newest and largest hotel.
"The MGM Grand was supposed to be only six months, but they extended my run eight times. That was 12 shows a day, five days a week. ... It was the same show but what kept it fresh for me was the audience. Every night was different."
Carson is a self-taught engineer as well as an artist who designs illusions for other performers, such as David Copperfield.
"When I was growing up around older magicians, I thought everybody would do everything alike. I discovered that many magicians don't understand how something works so they couldn't build it. But mechanics came easy to me. For Copperfield, I designed a helicopter illusion for him to arrive on stage."
He has large illusions involving motorcycles and jet engines that he can't take on the road unless he signs for several months, say at a hotel or casino showroom. But he does have portable ones he's bringing to Wichita.
And this year's new "Reality Magic Show" features the audience as co-stars.
"I go out into the audience and pick people rather than ask for volunteers. I think I have good instincts about who would be good and easy on stage. Ninety percent of the time, I'm right. I particularly like working with kids. They are like animals. You never know what to expect," he says with a chuckle. "But they always steal the show."
