If you want to find out what it’s like to carry out an international tour, The Spencers: Theatre of Illusion-Asia offers an entertaining compilation of backstage and on-the-road footage. The DVD demonstrates no secrets and the performance segments are limited, but it’s fascinating to watch The Spencers and their support team in action and experience their Asian tour through their eyes.
In December 2004, The Spencers, the popular illusion team, performed for two weeks before audiences in Hong Kong and Taipei. The DVD presents the trials and tribulations and the joys that Kevin and Cindy Spencer and their crew experience on their trip. Most of the footage consists of home-movie style segments that show the crew on the road, setting-up for shows and checking out tourists destinations.
Full Scale Show
Magicians and entertainers can gain insight into all that’s involved in taking a full-scale illusion show to another continent and performing for audiences of a different culture. There’s lots of footage that shows the crews moving equipment, adapting to various theaters and setting-up and configuring the many lights, backdrops, special effects and illusions, and adjusting the sound. I particularly enjoyed watching the Spencers work the press at various events to promote their shows.
For the trip, The Spencers brought along four crew-members. It’s fascinating to watch as everyone jumps into action when they arrive at each new venue. Each crew member works for the better part of a day to setup the show’s various elements, and each has his or her own responsibilities.
Travelogue
The DVD features some limited performance footage. There’s also lots of travel footage that allows you to discover the culture and sights of Hong Kong and Taiwan along with The Spencers. Throughout, Kevin Spencer appears to be the most enthusiastic about taping, subjecting the others to his camera as they wait in airports or at the end of long plane flights-hardly a time when most would feel at their best to talk on camera. At the trip’s start, Cindy Spencer is not feeling well and gamely puts up with Kevin’s video intrusions.
The Spencers’ DVD is somewhat reminiscent of segments that Tim Ellis and Sue-Anne Webster offer on their “24 Years Living Next Door to Ellis” DVD, which show the pair on tour. But here, Ellis and Webster offer advice on accommodating various performance venues, setting up sound and more.
While I enjoyed watching The Spencers’ DVD, I kept thinking about how useful the DVD could have been had the team offered staging and setup advice that they had learned from their years on the road. This is admittedly a different DVD, and The Spencers obviously chose to take a different approach.
As it stands, The Spencers: Theatre of Illusion-Asia is entertaining, and the DVD offers some thought-provoking insight into an intriguing tour by a pair of successful and charismatic workers. As long as you’re not next expecting more, the DVD is worth the look.
-Wayne N. Kawamoto
The Spencers: Theatre of Illusion-Asia- $20 plus shipping and handling ($5.00)
