One of USAO’s most attractive features is the cultivation of creative talent and thinking. From the fine arts of acting and singing to personal satisfaction, students can learn and practice painting, dance, photography, and more. Students can also find a community of like-minded individuals to further enjoy and learn about these crafts. One craft that is sadly neglected is the performance art of magic.

Magic offers several benefits, starting with personal gratification for the magician. Cassidy Smith, president of the Oklahoma City Magic Club, said performing makes him happy.

“I enjoy magic mainly for what happens after a performance,” he said. “The genuine happiness and surprise on people’s faces, as well as my own feeling of accomplishment.”

Magic helps in other ways, too. Smith said that magic helped him work through a speech impediment, gain confidence in himself, and develop many friendships through the process of learning magic.

Magic is also closely related to other forms of entertainment, such as comedy, juggling, fire-eating, and more. Exposure to the history and culture of these crafts can facilitate the critical thinking and understanding that USAO works so hard to develop in its students. These types of performance arts are always beneficial to the learner. Juggling teaches both physical balance and mental focus, Danger stunts, such as fire eating and glass walking, create a mentality that sees beauty in all aspects of life, especially the difficult challenges.

Ming Da, a Singaporean magician, and the youngest magician to headline at the Magic Castle’s close-up performance said, “Magic doesn’t even have to be performed to benefit. Learning the art will teach self-discipline, and even some better critical thinking.”

Finally, USAO has already shown that magic has great purpose. At the end of spring 2020, the USAO Baptist Collegiate Ministry hosted a live-streamed magic show. The three magicians who performed were Cassidy Smith, Daniel Mac, and Justin Teeman.

An audience member, Abigail Dulle, USAO deaf education major, said she believes this versatility makes magic a strong tool for people to communicate great stories and ideas through even simple tricks.  “The show was an excellent demonstration of how entertainment, curiosity, and education can be fused together in a cohesive unit. The magicians provided some of the history and traditions surrounding the cup and ball routine, allowing for an element of education to marry into the captivation of the trick itself, utilizing the curiosity and wonder that is brought by magic to leave the audience with more than just entertainment,” she said.

Daniel Buster is a USAO sophomore communication major, who performs magic in the Oklahoma City area.