We recently connected with Martigan and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Martigan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
When I was about six years old I recall watching a show on TV called “The Wonderful World of Magic” and I was hooked, I knew that’s what I wanted to do. As a young boy I read every magic book at the local library and read about other magicians especially my favorite Harry Houdini. From that point on I continued to pursue magic and have always felt “at home” in the entertainment field.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I began preforming professionally at the age of 14 in my home town of Toledo, Ohio; mostly birthday parties and other small local events. My passion for magic and preforming grew and I entered local magic competitions and winning awards including taking first place at the prestigious Abbots Magic Get Together. In my early 20s I branched out and was asked to be a consultant on several haunted attractions in the area. I’ve always been interested in the supernatural and paranormal since I was young, even having some personal experiences, so incorporating illusion or magic in the haunted house setting seemed very natural for me. Moving forward I continued my career in magic and adjusted my preforming style from the large stage illusions to mentalism or psychic magic as well as offering services as a tarot card and palm reader. In 2014 I relocated to Orlando, Florida to pursue my MA in Sociology. Although my goal was to continue preforming it was very difficult to get work as a performer. Undeterred by this challenge I began to explore other avenues in which I could utilize my talents. With a little exploration I felt that acting would be an easy transition since, in the words of the great Robert Houdin, “A magician is an actor playing the part of a magician”. Because of my unique look I landed quite a few roles in local independent horror films. I continue to work as an actor and have even produced, directed and wrote films of my own. My experiences as a magician have benefited my work in film greatly as film and magic have many things in common. Most recently I have started a project which allows me to blend all of my film experiences, love of the horror genre and magic together. Continuing on with the traditions of the late night horror host I have developed my own show called “House of Dolls Midnight Horror Show”. I am the host Master Dali the doll master who has created a menagerie of living dolls. Master Dali and his dolls showcase all new independent horror films and shorts along with all the other antics you would expect from a horror host. It’s a lot of fun to do and it allows me to give viewers a look at some great independent horror films by talented filmmakers many of which I know personally.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Choosing the life of a performer has it’s challenges. Throughout my life I’ve relocated a couple times which compounded the challenges of a major move with reestablishing myself as a performer in the new market. Even though I had experience as a magician each move forced me to adapt and change my performance style. For me it’s been about being flexible and adaptive. When I was younger my goal was to be a professional magician and I pursued that path for a long time. When I relocated to Florida in 2914 my goal was to get back to performing magic full time. Unfortunately the market had changed so much I needed to shift gears which let me to acting in films. Never did I imagine that I would find myself acting, directing and writing films. The transition from performing magic and acting was very seamless. I see a lot of parallels in film and magic. I feel my path in the film industry gives me more opportunities to continue creating in a different capacity and even greater opportunities for success.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
If you are a performance artist you are in show business, the “show” part is easier than the “business” part. For creative individuals social media is a necessary evil. Keeping up with all the platforms and posting content is a full time job. Since most creative people are creating, keeping up with social media the “business” part of show business is an after thought. For me, as well as many other artists, the goal is to make living at what we are passionate about- creating. Yes, I/we seek out those paying outlets and that poses it’s own set of challenges. To increase our chances of exposure and generating income in between gigs requires social media vigilance. Today with the advent of platforms like YouTube, Instagram and TikTok supporting creative individuals is easier than ever and doesn’t require you to hire them. Showing recognition for one’s creative efforts is as easy as clicking a “Like” button or subscribing to their social media platforms, it’s really that easy. It might not seem like that would do a whole lot but those “likes’ and “subscribes” go a long way in the platform algorithms and increases the chances of us getting exposed to a wider audience.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://houseofdollshorrorshow.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/houseofdollshorrorshow
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/houseofdollshorrorshow?view_public_for=2229301163858200
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEhYJj-1y54Kx-3Zn85Mm-g
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@houseofdollshorrorshow
Image Credits
All photo credits- Martigan