The Magic Of Westley Annis | Thibodaux Rotary Club
March 26, 2013
By: Amy Connor-Flores
Last Tuesday our rotary group was treated to a bit of magic thanks to our guest, Westley Annis. A native of Chalmette, Westley moved to Thibodaux with his family after hurricane Katrina. He is the owner of da-parish.com and his wife is a teacher at St. Genevieve.
Westley spoke with us about Louisiana Magic Weekend, a magician’s convention which takes place at NSU, in Peltier Auditorium on April 12th and 13th. The convention features 7 or 8 magicians from around the country that will speak to amateur and experienced magicians alike before performing a public stage show on the Saturday night.
The role of the magician has changed over the centuries dating as far back as the ancient Egyptians, when magicians were part of the pharaohs’ royal court. During the renaissance, magicians took on the role of gypsies, bringing their magic acts to carnivals and into the streets. But a significant influence on the type of magic we know today came from a Frenchman named Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin in the 1800’s. Houdin, originally trained as a clock-maker, brought magic to the stage and gave it a more upscale appearance through choreographed performances.
Houdini’s acts inspired another magician from Hungary, by the name of Ehrich Weiss, to hone his skills and eventually wow audiences of his own. Weiss, more commonly known as Harry Houdini, become one of the most famous escape artists and illusionists of all time. Houdini stunned audiences for years escaping from shackles, boxes, and various contraptions because of his ability to swallow objects like lock-picks and regurgitate them in order to free himself.
Westley gave us a demonstration of a similar trick when he swallowed a long piece of string and seemingly pulled the end out from his eye! He then engaged the audience in a card trick involving each member pulling four cards that represented their birth year. The remaining cards in the deck were then moved around into and out of various piles. The four birth year cards were put into the mix and seemingly lost in the jumble. However, through strategic pulling of cards, each audience member was eventually left with four – surprisingly, the very same that represented his/her birth year!
Those interested in magic, illusion and other clever tricks can attain more information about Louisiana Magic Weekend at http://www.louisianamagicweekend.com/
