We recently connected with Alex Kazam and have shared our conversation below.

Alex, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

I was first paid to perform magic 19 years ago back in my home country of Ireland.

I had been teaching myself magic for a few years during university and practicing on my family. They’d seen every trick several times and were getting hard to impress, so I moved on to my friends at various house parties and pubs. The high from seeing the astonished reactions was intoxicating.

I started to develop a bit of a reputation locally. During a stop ‘n’ chat at a cafe with a university friend I was introduced to a woman who’s name I sadly have forgotten. My uni friend asked me to show her some magic and I obliged.

“I’ll pay you 35 quid to do this between bands at a concert I’m hosting!” she exclaimed.

That’s a princely sum of around US$50. I happily agreed.

I’ll never forget the sheer terror of approaching my first table as The Empire Music Hall in Belfast as a paid magician. Being officially on the bill made my identity as a magician seem so much more serious. The pressure was on to deliver the goods and justify that $50 payday.

Thankfully, everyone I performed for that night enjoyed themselves. After the first table, the stress dissipated and I had a blast.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m a magician from Belfast, Ireland now living and working in the USA.

I’m an all rounder magician; specializing in corporate magic, party entertainment and stage illusions.

Here’s the part where most magicians would put about six long paragraphs of corporate speak about how they’re gonna, “amaze your guests with the finest sleight of hand” and how they’re an “amazing, unique force is the magical world.” An amazing quantity of amazing words of amazement!

For both our sakes I’ll try to keep this brief. Here’s what you need to know:

– I’ve performed for thousands of people over 19 years. Close-up, parlour, stage illusions, mind-reading; I do it all.

– Happy clients include Universal NBC, Netflix, Doordash, Hilton Hotels, Home Depot, TLC, The Esports Awards & hundreds more companies, families and organizations.

– I’m an exotic foreigner with a North Irish accent which automatically makes your event 75% cooler.

– I’m a member of the Academy of Magical Arts. We’re better known by our world famous clubhouse – The Magic Castle.

Need a girl cut in half? Yes, I can literally do that! (Don’t worry, I also put her back together again). If you have a big crowd to entertain ask me about my stage show. I use big-box stage illusions that 99% of other magicians don’t have.

Parlor, like stage magic, is performed in front of a seated audience but in a more intimate setting. I perform this style regularly at birthday parties, corporate events, retirement parties, private shows and at venues like The Magic Castle.

Close-up, also referred to as strolling, table or walk-around magic, is performed to small groups or individually right in front of their eyes and often in their hands. This is great at weddings, restaurant openings, trade shows and corporate Holiday parties.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think a lot of non-creatives don’t get just how much of our time is spent not doing our core creative work. They think we sit around all day scratching our butts between shows. This often leads to them thinking our prices are insultingly high. If only they fully understood just how much of our work week is spent getting to the point of the magic happening.

I often quote four figure prices for a one hour magic show, which some people find hard to comprehend.

Here’s the non-performance work it takes to make that one hour show happen:

– hours and hours of unpaid sleight of hand practice.
– hours spend building my website.
– hours spent constantly enhancing SEO on my website
– time set aside every day to phone potential customers, create/send invoices and manage my books
– endless tweaking of marketing materials and campaigns
– networking events with potential corporate clients.

Hours and hours are spend slogging through all this to get to that 60 minutes of creative magical performance.

This doesn’t even cover the many costs, which also contribute to the four figure price.

In the end, of course, it’s all worth it.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

A lot of people think performers are driven by ego; the need to feel adulation from the audience.

That’s certainly true for some, and was true for me earlier in my magical career as a younger man. The thrill of performing well definitely boosts your confidence.

As I’ve gotten older, that need for validation has long passed. I can honestly say that most rewarding part of magic for me is the wonderful relationships it has created. I’ve met so many amazing friends through my career as an illusionist, and also through performing in metal and rock bands over the years on the side. If I wasn’t a magician, I probably would never have caught my wife’s eye.

Being a creative has led to a life filled with amazing friends and the most loving wife; without question it’s greatest reward.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alexkazam.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realkazam/

Image Credits
Laney Day, Brendan McGuigan, Lee Chan, Lara Herzeg, Luke Joyce, Blue Soul Photo