Halifax magician gets a break
HALIFAX — A Halifax-based magician recently got his big break in prestidigi-tainment, when he appeared on stage — and on television — with the marquee magician double act, Penn & Teller.
Vincenzo Ravina's flirtation with slight-of-hand began young, as he explains it. And at the old Alfredo, Weinstein & Ho restaurant, of all places.
“There was a magician who performed there, at the tables,” said Ravina. “His name was Dave Moon, and he dressed up like a wizard in purple robes.”
Ravina said that it wasn't long until he was accumulating magic kits and checking out books on the subject from the library in bulk. Eventually, he started performing some himself.
“Off-and-on throughout my life, I've been doing magic,” said Ravina, who performs at open mics and, a few times a year, with local magic group The Conjurer's Court at The Bus Stop Theatre.
“If I had to describe my style, it would be ‘absurd.' I like to present mysterious objects that have magical properties. The object does the magic, and we're kind of sharing a strange, absurd experience.”
It's a bit of a chasm between local theatre shows and the famous magician's stage in Las Vegas, Ravina is the first to admit. But the gulf began to close when his friend surprised him with a trip to Vegas and tickets to several magic shows — including Penn & Teller's, where he got to meet the duo — as a bachelor party surprise.
“I've been a fan of Penn & Teller: Fool Us ever since the show premiered, and I've watched every episode of every season,” Ravina said, explaining the premise: magicians from around the world showcase their original tricks, attempting to fool the prolific pair.
“It's very difficult for a magician to fool another magician, because most of us know a lot of the secrets. Or at least we think like magicians, so we can kind of puzzle things out.”
“A good goal to strive for would be to be on this show,” Ravina adds. “I didn't think I would be able to get on it, because I would say I am a hobbyist magician ... I applied, just wanting to see if they would even respond to my email. To see if maybe they might send me some feedback.
“A month later, I heard back — they were interested.”
Ravina was secreted away to Vegas again in March of this year to record his segment, where he tried to stump Penn, Teller and cohost Alyson Hannigan with his trick, the Mind-Reading Glasses. The trick involves a pair of 3D specs and a thought-projecting helmet — a few of his many mysterious objects.
“I'm using chicanery to create the illusion that the mindreading glasses work,” said Ravina. “If you fool Penn and Teller, you get to come back to Vegas and perform on the Penn & Teller stage, again!”
But you definitely won't see him — or anyone — fall on their faces, so to speak. Unlike some other reality TV contest shows, Fool Us doesn't revel in schadenfreude.
“Fool Us does not air failure,” assures Ravina. “The show is meant to showcase magic in its best light, using great performers from all over the world. They want to make me look good. And Penn and Teller are always kind to the act on stage.”
Whether or not he returns as a prize for master trickery, does Ravina expect to conjure a career in magic, thanks to this experience?
“I suspect I've peaked,” Ravina admits with a chortle. “I never really had the goal of being a full-time, professional magician. I would love to make magic, and performing magic, a bigger part of my life. But in the form of doing Halifax Fringe, that kind of thing.”
He may not be the next David Copperfield, but he'd be thrilled to be the next Dave Moon.
“If I inspire anyone younger than myself, that would be wonderful. Or anyone older than myself!”
Ravina's segment aired on the Aug. 3 episode of Fool Us on The CW, though for readers without access to that network, Ravina himself planned to upload his segment on his website, vincenzoravina.com.
And if you needed any more proof that magic exists in the world, Aug. 3 also happened to be Ravina's first wedding anniversary.
“I feel like I brought this on myself. I wore my wedding shoes on-stage for good luck,” said Ravina, whose wife, Laura MacKenzie, helped him rehearse for a month before recording the show. “Now, that good luck is coming home to roost. We're looking at it like this: good things happen on Aug. 3.”