than just a trick More By JIM HURCOMB
Hands up! How many of you got a magic kit
for Christmas when you were a kid? You know, the ones with the picture of the young blond boy in a top hat and a wand with magic sprinkles? Who could resist the temptation
to astound friends and open the portal between reality and the dark realms of magic? True, there was some measure of
disappointment when you opened the box and found three little foam balls, a couple of plastic cups and a wand that looked more like a straw, but still, it was a start. Ottawa’s Elliott Smith got one of those
kits when he was six. The big difference between us and him is that today he’s a professional magician, travelling the world and living the dream he’s had since he rushed to the TV on Saturday mornings to watch “The Mark Wilson Magic Hour”. “I was totally taken aback by this,”
he remembers. “I got the bug and knew right away this is what I really wanted to do. When my sixth birthday came I said I
50 BOUNDER MAGAZINE
wanted a magic kit. I would come home from school, do my homework, and then go to my bedroom and practice magic. It took over my life. I knew it was my calling.” A year later he made his “professional”
debut by performing at another kid’s birthday party. When Elliott’s parents travelled out
of the country, he made sure they brought him back at least one magic trick, so his repertoire quickly expanded. While other kids were out playing baseball or street hockey, Elliott was practicing, hour upon hour, just to master the basic setups that made the tricks work. That’s the work that separates the
dedicated magicians from the kids who quickly get frustrated and move on to other hobbies. “A lot of people who start in magic
think it’s too much, so they give up,” he says. “The key to any good trick is preparation. People don’t see the hundreds of hours it takes making sure you don’t see the stuff you’re not supposed to see. That’s
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