My second story features comments from Krystyn Lambert. If you caught 2009's “Masters of Illusion” on television, you undoubtedly enjoyed Lambert’s stage magic. Also, her close-up routines were often showcased in the series’ “street magic” segments. I vividly recall the first time I saw her during a “Future Stars of Magic” week at the Magic Castle when she performed as an ethereal fairy. Since that strong first impression, I have enjoyed watching the evolution of her powerful stage magic. Her accomplishments and appearances are far too numerous to list here.
1. Are there challenges that female magicians encounter that their male counterparts do not? If so, what are they?
I think there are quite a few challenges women who are magicians face that men do not. First of all, there’s the fact that we’re considered “female magicians,” rather than just “magicians”. Some people are not always as ready to accept a woman performing magical feats as they are with a man, and I feel that may be largely owing to the preconceptions people maintain.
However, I think this unwillingness to openly accept magicians who are women is because: 1) occasionally the women some have seen have had poor routines in the first place; 2) they play up their femininity to the point where the performance becomes about the body; 3) they make their acts about the novelty of being a female in the largely male dominated world of magic or 4) they just are not talented. Frequently people will comment that the performance was weak because the magician is female, but that’s not the case; often it’s just that she’s an inferior magician.
Women also have to deal with the fact that most magic is created for men in evening suits. While many of the distinctions made between female and male magicians are self-induced, I believe that there ought to be some differences between the sexes in magic. I don’t exactly think women should go stomping around pulling mouth coils in an oversized suit, because that’s obviously denying a fundamental part of who she is. But that applies to anyone in magic…you have to be yourself. Still… if I’m going to wear something form fitting and appropriate for my gender, um, where am I going to hide my loads? I’ve really had to rework many tricks to suit my lack of suit, if you will.
There is also the issue of mentorship. Currently there are few women in magic up to whom we can look. It is easy for males to find role models, but we can only share those to a certain extent. I can admire Mac King for his character, skill, and knowledge, but he’s not exactly what one could consider a feminine performer, as I need to be. One of my early mentors suggested that I do my ring routine in black slacks and a black blouse, well, maybe it could have a bit of sparkle, he said.
The thirteen-year-old me wanted to perform as a fairy, but he was not in a mindset to help me with that. Finding a mentor who was able to accept my creative expression and help me technically was not easy, although the same could be said for both genders… You’ve got to find the right fit. For me as a girl, however, it *was* slightly more challenging because there were far fewer people who are open to the feminine performance style I desired.
What I’ve found is by having a more diverse collaboration, by using a layman choreographer who understands how females versus males can dance in addition to a professional magician for technical work, for example, I’ve been able to shape my performances to fit my creative expression.
2. What can magic organizations do to be more welcoming to female magicians?
When I initially entered onto the scene I was twelve and a half, and my group of people was comprised primarily of pre-pubescent boys with little to no social skills and fifteen-minute ambitious card routines. I think most magicians with whom I interacted in my early years weren’t sure if I was supposed to be a sister or a girlfriend, which added to the awkwardness of our already socially tenuous communications. In addition, there always seemed to be an unspoken challenge where I felt I had to demonstrate an extra impressive sleight in order to gain approval.
This was difficult for me to deal with, although as I matured I realized that much of this stemmed from the fact that other magicians were judging me on a silly basis. When I stopped fretting about how I was perceived and just focused on the craft that I love so much, I began to be taken seriously.
Magic organizations could be more welcoming to females by not treating them as though they are novel. By matter-of-factly accepting them to be magicians, and encouraging them to develop their skill and overall magic knowledge just as they would for any other member, they are helping to eliminate this self-induced gender gap.
I have noticed a number of incidents where people have commented to a young female, “oh, you’re doing very well for a girl!” This not only alienates the magician on the basis of gender, but also implies a message that females do not need to be as adept as males…almost as though there are different standards.
