For two magicians, performing magic is more than a hobby; it is also a way to spread an important message.
Rick Smith has had a passion for magic since he was young, taking every opportunity to learn tricks and performing them for friends and family. Houdini and David Copperfield were among those he admired most.
Stephen Hawkins’ interest in magic was supported by his mother, who would buy him magic tricks at the local magic store in Florida where he grew up. At 15, he spent a week at a clown college with a youth group, where he learned not just to be a clown, but also acquired the skills it takes to do magic.
Both continued to practice their craft into adulthood, until they met at a church where they worked as part of the technical crew, doing sound bites and video. They quickly became friends.
“I really started to ramp up, going from doing silly magic tricks to wanting to put some shows together,” said Smith of Washington. “And Stephen talked more about promoting me at first, but a trip to New York City changed all that.”
The visit was work-related, but the pair took time to stop by Tannen’s Magic Shop, famous since 1924 and a mecca for every aspiring magician.
“Of course, I bought some stuff and started talking about coming up with tricks that would be good for one person to do,” said Smith. “But this is where we really started dreaming about maybe putting tricks and the two of us together, to play off each other. It just grew from there.”
That was almost 10 years ago, and they have been performing magic together ever since.
They keep their shows fresh by buying new tricks and adding new routines, but also credit it to the
fact that they are on stage together.
“ A lot of the tricks we do, Houdini did, so we know that the audience will like it, and then we put our personality into it,” said Hawkins, of Bloomington. “No two shows are exactly the same. I never know what he is going to say during a show, or vice versa, which makes it part of the fun.”
“Most tricks are marketed to be performed by individual magicians,” said Smith. “The nice thing is that we don’t do many tricks out of the box, the way they were meant to be performed. We take them and apply it to our persona, our shtick, we have created for ourself on stage.”
With as much fun as the two have on stage together, they take their work seriously.
“We have spent countless hours rehearsing to make it as much like a professional show as possible,” said Smith.”It is more than a hobby, it is a part-time profession.”
Smith and Hawkins perform locally for corporations, families and churches and have traveled internationally.
In 2001 and in 2008, Hawkins went to Honduras and Grenada on a mission trip, not only to spread the joy of entertainment, but also to spread the word of God.
“We are Christians, and one of the main reasons we do this is to send a message,” said Smith.
They say, they have seen too many Christian magicians preach to the audience with every trick they perform, and that is not their intention, which is why only at the end of every one of their shows, the duo delivers a Christian message.
“We want to be entertaining, keep it clean and want everyone to have a good time,” said Smith.
“But at the same time we want to deliver a Christian message. Seeing people making a commitment is the best feeling in the world to us personally.”
With family obligations (Smith has five young children), time to do what they love often falls short, and both will not give up their day jobs anytime soon.
“That is the magic question,” said Hawkins. “If I wouldn’t have to work, would I still do this? Without a question, I would. And as far as Rick and my partnership ... we will work together as long as we live anywhere near each other. We love what we do.”
Washington, Ill. —
