Adding a touch of magic to tourist town
Crist show finds home at Lake Geneva
Growing up on the south side of Milwaukee, Tristan Crist dabbled in ballet and community theater. But what really grabbed his attention was magic.
“As a youngster, I acted in First Stage Milwaukee Children’s Theater’s ‘Winnie the Poo’ and was one of three Christopher Robbins they used,” said the 34-year-old illusionist, who runs the popular 50-seat Tristan Crist Magic Theater in Lake Geneva.
“I also took ballet classes at the Milwaukee Ballet School for six years. And because I was one of only a few guys, they put me in 'The Nutcracker,' 'Sleeping Beauty' and several other bit ballets.
“That was really cool, but what I liked best was watching the scenery, lighting and other technical aspects of theater. At the end of the day, that’s why I went into magic. It's the one art form where I get to do it all: be on stage, do all the scenery, lighting and build all the props, which is lots of fun for me.”
As much as he would have liked to have studied magic at a Hogwarts — the school of wizardry made famous in the Harry Potter books and movies — he earned a fine arts degree in theater technology, lighting and technical design from the University of Wisconsin—Stevens Point.
“I like to say it all started when my grandfather showed me a card trick at a very young age,” Crist said. “It wasn’t too long after that that I got a magic kit for Christmas or my birthday. I was fascinated by the whole concept of magic.”
He soon created a theater in his basement with curtains that opened and closed.
“I was down there 24/7 working on tricks and I even did a few shows for family and friends,” Crist said.
At age 13, he earned $50 for a 30-minute performance for a Girl Scout group.
“That was good pay, and truly, the springboard for my career,” he said. “Once I realized you could make money, something clicked, and I started advertising and doing shows for scouting groups, maybe even a few VFW posts. As a result, I’ve never really had a ‘real’ job.”
During college summers, he performed at campgrounds around the Midwest and earned enough money to pay his tuition, room and board. In the process, he learned the business side of theater. He also toured with a national magic show in the United States and Canada, working as the lighting designer and production manager.
After graduating from Stevens Point, Crist was hired by Circus World in Baraboo, home to the Ringling Bros. Circus.
“I had no idea that my first three-month contract would turn into a 10-year gig,” he said. “I did hundreds of shows every summer, which allowed me to find my own theatrical personality and work out new tricks, methods and props.”
After a decade at Ringling Bros., he decided to strike out on his own.
“I wanted to do my own thing and further my own career,” said Crist, who still performs some shows and does marketing work for Circus World.
Lake Geneva was never on his radar. And even though he’d grown up on the south side of Milwaukee, he had never visited the resort town.
“I didn’t really know anything about it, but I knew I wanted to stay in Wisconsin because part of my business is corporate shows here in the state. They often bring me in for dinner performances and I didn’t want to lose that.”
Friends told him he should give Lake Geneva a look, and he came away from a visit impressed with the number of visitors.
“It was packed in the summer,” he said. “I met with chamber officials and business owners who said the town could use evening entertainment. I got positive feedback and decided to give it a shot.”
When he first saw the 50-seat theater space where he ultimately set up shop, however, he was not impressed.
“I said, no way will that work,” recalled Crist, who opened his theater 18 months ago. “I wanted at least 100 seats. Heck, I’d had 400 seats at Circus World. But other locations didn’t work out, so I decided to risk it, embrace the small space and use it to our advantage.
“After all, where else can you see shows where the people in front are just two feet from major illusions? And the farthest seats away are only 20 feet from the stage. People always say, ‘We’ve never seen magic this close.’ ”
The reaction was positive. His business plan called for 120 shows the first year and he ended up doing 280.
“A buzz started and the word just spread,” he said. “The location could have been a negative, but within a short time, I realized it was a unique environment. Some days in the summer, we do four shows and they often sell out. I never thought it would be so. We’re now the No. 1 thing to do in Lake Geneva on TripAdvisor.”
Crist said he often weaves the history of magic into his acts and includes (updated) tricks by the great illusionist Harry Houdini, who spent part of his youth in Appleton. Crist also tells the history of sawing a woman in half, and then proceeds to do that to one of his assistants, with an added flourish or two.
Crist first did that trick nearly two decades ago at the age of 16 when he sawed his 10-yearold sister in half. While his parents always supported his magic career, they didn’t like it when he put his sibling in boxes. They also forbade him from using fire.
Crist said at least 60% of his Lake Geneva shows — which he regularly updates — have some kind of electronic or technical computerized aspect to it.
“I love that stuff, always have,” he said. “And when people ask who is running the light and the sound, I get to tell them that I’m doing it all by remote control, clicking my heels together.”