3 Things Magicians Can Learn from Trigg Watson's Tech Magic on AGT
Is tech magic taking over?
This week I’ve been able to start working out again, something I started during lockdown when I weighed myself and saw a number I hadn’t reached before. It’s a great way to release stress and feel good afterwards after spending so much time sitting down writing posts or watching tutorial videos.
Speaking of tutorial videos, this past week I rewatched Anton James’s “At the Table Lecture” and was reminded of some great mentalism bits and pieces which I plan to incorporate into my sets at my residency. I’ll report back how it went in the future.
Trigg Watson recently competed on AGT, passing his audition1 and making it to the live rounds2 before bowing out due to lack of votes. But what he showed off in two acts pushed the envelope and showed us what is possible in the impossible world of magic.
I noticed three main things Trigg does well in his performances that I wanted to highlight here.
1. Embrace Technology in Magic
Trigg mixes magic and technology in new ways, much like Nicolas Ribs3 last season, who plucked objects out of a projected table, Trigg utilises a television and interacts with it, throwing things in and taking things out.
Apart from being able to play to a larger audience as it’s playing up and not down there’s a different level of freedom, being able to make use of the space behind the television. But magicians have done things like these previously, whether on a smart phone or tablet, taking cards, coins, business cards out, so how does Trigg take it to the next level? In his audition objects seemingly extend past the confines of the television frame and float out into the real world, something never seen previously in tech magic. His qualifier act takes it in another direction, melding digital and analog solutions in a very satisfying way.
Technology can scare people, but when you embrace it, you can find really interesting ways to enhance your magic with it.
2. Make Magic Relatable
The use of a television screen opens up many ways to make magic relatable to today’s audience, even if not many people consume entertainment on a television as they used to.
In his audition he rotates the television to act as a giant smart phone, displaying Tik Tok-like reels and interacting with them in different ways. If this act was done 5 years ago Trigg would be flipping through channels and interacting with various tv shows and advertisements, but these days, reels and shorts are more relatable. His Qualifier act related to us with another familiar mode of communication, the zoom/video call we all endured during the pandemic and ended an awesome and surprising ending.
Look for the things that are relatable or familiar with your audience, then put a spin on it to create those magical moments.
3. Collaboration breeds creativity
Magic may be a lonely endeavour, learning and practicing tricks by yourself but if you want to grow in your own magic, you’re gonna need some friends.
Trigg’s audition with the social media reel was full of Easter eggs with Trigg’s friends providing content for the reels. You may have noticed the Magic Crasher, Rachel Mueller, Kyle Marlett to name a few. His qualifier act highlighted his friendship with Kyle which I’m sure they and others collaborated a lot on to get the act polished for the AGT stage. When magicians come together and work on magic, you start bouncing ideas off each other to the point where you’ll have more ideas than what you know to do with, which is a good problem to have.
Trigg’s acts wouldn’t be what they were if he was working my himself, so find yourself a good friend like Kyle (but not Kyle) to push your magic to new creative heights!
The Future and You
What I’m most excited about with magicians who go onto AGT and do well is that with their newfound recognition they’ll get to charge more for their performances.
Okay, that’s just a bonus but with the ability to charge more, they have more resources to work on their magic and implement the many ideas they’ve been keeping in notebooks. As time moves on, technology will get better, and magicians will find ways to use them for magic purposes. Will all magicians need a special screen to use in the future? No of course not, I barely use my mobile phone for magic outside of Toxic+ at the moment, but it’s good to be aware of what’s possible and who can do what for the times you want to connect for a future performance. Note you may not always get a response back if you’re looking to do someone else’s act, which you shouldn’t!
Magicians on AGT are here to showcase the best magic possible to the widest audience there is and I’m glad we are able to study them to improve our own magic, whether it’s taking another look at that magic app, getting rid of your references to VHS’s and dial up internet in your script or reaching out to a friend to have a look at your act.
What stood out to you as you watched his performances that can be applied to your magic?