Two Bakersfield born and raised
magicians performed at Bakersfield
College’s indoor theater Aug. 28. The
audience welcomed the magicians with
cheers and a round of applause. Both
magicians integrated the audience by
using children and adults as volunteers.
The audience was almost balanced between
children, teens and adults.
“Magic is an art, think of it as theater.
Magic requires a lot of discipline, rehearsal
and some more discipline,” said
Ron Saylor, one of the magicians in the
magic show. Saylor has been practicing
magic for about 35 years now. He
graduated from the Academy of Magical
Arts in Hollywood, “Yes, there is a
magic school,” said Saylor.
Saylor discovered his passion for
magic at the age of 9 when he was introduced
to his first magic show. At 10,
he performed for the first time. Now, he
holds almost 300 shows a year all over
the U.S. and Canada. “It takes me about
six months to prepare for a show, that
includes promoting and advertising.
One of those months is strictly rehearsal,”
said Saylor.
Many people enjoy magic shows because
they only see the entertaining side
of it, but they often tend to ignore the
other side; what people don’t see is all
of the preparation and sacrifices magicians
have to go through in order to awe
their audience.
Magician Christopher Lopez said
that magic is a lot of mental and physical
work and that it takes time and years
to perfect. “I think one must have a lot
of patience and must be willing to make
sacrifices because once you know how
a certain trick works, the wonder and
feeling you get from watching a magic
show is never the same,” said Lopez.
Lopez has about 20 years of experience
with magic. He was first introduced
to magic at the age of 7 and at 8 decided
that magic would not only be a hobby;
he decided to pursue it as a career. The
first time he was in front of an audience
was when he was 10. “Although I was
not getting paid for that show, I didn’t
care because I enjoyed performing for
people,” he said.
Lopez performs mainly in central and
southern California and he holds about
200 shows a year. This, however, is his
second to last show for 2009. He is taking
about two months off to practice
new illusions, new tricks, think about
new ideas and to relax. “I am constantly
thinking about how to improve for the
upcoming year,” said Lopez.
Audience member Nikki Day, 26,
said that this was the third show she
has seen and that she has enjoyed all of
them. “I like the fact that he switches
and adds new tricks. My favorite one
was the prediction because I have seen
it many times before but have never
been able to figure it out,” said Day.
Esteban Nunez, 37, said this was his
first time watching a Lopez and Saylor
show. “I am amazed by the magicians
that add their own flavor to the water
because even if the show is performed
numerous times, the crowd will always
give a different cheer,” said Nunez. “I
really enjoyed when he cuts the girl
in half, I know it can’t be real but the
amazing part is that it appears real.”
After the show, both stayed to sign
posters and greet the audience. Lopez
and Saylor will perform together again
for the last time this year at the Bakersfield
Magic Circle Veterans Hall with
other Bakersfield magicians on Oct. 9.