Atlanta-based magician Arthur Atsma has been conjuring up his own brand of sleight-of-hand wizardry for more than 20 years. Audiences of all ages, from corporate suits to church groups, have seen Atsma at work. But his next show will be decidedly for kids as Atsma takes the stage at Aurora Theatre’s Children’s Playhouse.
Q. Your show at Aurora Theatre will be for children, but you also perform for adults. What's the difference between the two audiences?
A. Kids are more perceptive. Everything is magic to a kid, so it's got to have more sparkle and imagination to it. Kids expect to see magic. They want to see it and experience it quicker in some ways. Adults are pretty skeptical, for the most part, because they rationally know magic doesn't exist. But kids haven't gotten there. They want to see it happen. At the same time, if they think you're tricking them, they'll call you on it pretty quick.
Q. You have six kids of your own. Do you try out tricks on them?
A. All the time. They are the testing ground. My kids have seen a lot of magic while growing up. My oldest is 17 and my youngest is 8, so there's quite some gamut there.
Q. So you'll be doing a Halloween show?
A. It is and it isn't. We call it a Halloween show, because it's right before Halloween, but there's not really anything spooky going on. I've got some cool things that are going to be floating in the air. It's really a family show that's fun for everyone. There is one scary trick that I'll do when I use a volunteer from the audience. We'll see if it works. ... You're going to see a lot of amazing sleight-of-hand, you're going to see some excellent, funny comedy magic, and you're going to see a lot of interaction. I use volunteers throughout the whole show.
Q. You might inspire some young wannabe magicians at your show. Any advice?
A. I actually will be bringing with me my DVDs ... I teach magic on them. They'll be available for purchase after the show. I also suggest getting library books that teach sleight-of-hand magic. Those are fantastic resources for the budding magician. ... I practice all the time, I'm always doing something new and working on different things. When I started doing magic, I had a couple of tricks that I could perform. Then I had a few more that I could actually do really well. And I used to do them over and over and over for my mom. I don't know how she watched it all of the time. She was my first audience. ... It's like a musical instrument. You just keep doing it until it feels natural and there's no thought to it.
Magic show preview
Arthur Atsma. 10 a.m. Oct. 30. $7. Aurora Theatre, 128 Pike St., Lawrenceville. 678-226-6222, www.auroratheatre.com .
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