We were lucky to catch up with Anthony Dempsey recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Anthony, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
In magic, most successful magicians will have a mentor who will show them the ropes and help put them on the right path with their performances. Basically like a director would help actors with a play or film. In my case, my mentor was the Amazing Aussie Tommy Garbin. I would create a magic or mentalism routine on my own and then take it to Tom to have him critique and shape it into the best performance possible. The only thing to do from there was to practice, practice, practice, and then take it out into the world and share it with an audience. It takes a lot of patience and thinking to make a trick come to life. Getting to where I am now has taken years of practice and involves constantly learning and improving upon everything I bring to an event.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m a Dallas based magician and mentalist who specializes in entertaining at private parties and corporate events. I perform amongst the guests as well as on stage. From audiences of 5 people to hundreds, I make sure everyone I meet has an amazing time. When a guest has a great time, it makes the host look like a million bucks. I travel all around the country (and the world) for work. My most sought after service is my “strolling” magic and mentalism, which is where I’m mingling with party guests for a few hours, entertaining one small group at a time- that way the magic can happen in their hands!
A famous saying in magic is “A magician is an actor playing the part of a magician”. What sets me apart is that I’ve been an actor since I was in kindergarten. Most magicians will learn magic and then learn how to act, I was the opposite. I had been performing in front of crowds most of my life (and won a lot of awards doing it) before ever learning any magic. Guests at a party don’t want to just see a trick; anyone can do that. They want to be ENTERTAINED and have a fun experience that they will never forget. That is what I live to do for my clients.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Being able to help people escape the real world for a few moments. Taking them away from reality where anything can happen and they are welcomed to just sit back and enjoy themselves. Helping old friends, colleagues, or complete strangers connect through laughter and amazement is something that I truly love to do. I will never get tired of making people happy.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Throw away any preconceived notions and take the time to experience a new type of entertainment. The world has so many incredible artists and entertainers who are just waiting to be discovered by you. Give them a chance to show you their work- you just might find your new favorite pastime!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.AnthonyEntertains.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anthony_entertains/
- Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-dempsey-magician-and-mentalist
- Other: Email: [email protected]
Image Credits
Harmland Visions and KMG Creative Photography