Hey Jay,
I just have one quick question for you: Why Escape magic? What I mean is that many famous magicians (such as Harry Houdini, Alan Alan, David Blaine, yourself and even Criss Angle on occasion) seem to resort to primarily escape magic, and I was wondering what makes Escape magic so attractive to well known magicians. I've always thought of escape magic more of a feat of skill rather than "magic," and was never really drawn to it except for maybe 1 or 2 effects. I hope you can shed some light on this for me. Thanks for taking your time to be with us.

JIMC64

We'll to start, I believe that the other EAs would not refer to performing escapes as magic but as escapes for the pure effect. While I'm a purest, in that my motivation is to prove that "nothing is impossible", many escapes have an element of danger. On the other hand, some escapes like the "In again out again" routines are played for humor.

Many EAs are first introduced to escapes by reading about Houdini and like Houdini, we desire to create the illusion that we are trapped - then - through physical means we escape.

There is a group psychology where the audience is against us (some performers goat the audience by being braggadocio) THEN when the audience sees how vulnerable we are (confined) they shift their emotions to exhilaration as we escape. In some cases the audience lives vicariously through our efforts and it's not uncommon to have people in the audience chanting your name during the last few seconds of the effort.

In some cases the performer leads the audience to believe they manipulate their appendages to escape, this is aided by pregnant timing, while in others it's no mystery as to how the escape is made but great interest in the "plan of action" and the skill involved.

If you add a single escape to your show like a Thumbcuff escape (The cuffs are locked behind your back and you reach out to start the clock - or other silliness)... and you see how much fun the audience is having then you may be encouraged to learn more variety.

In our illusion shows, people talk about the 100 Foot Rope Tie with the same enthusiasm as a Disembodied Princess. In my sales meeting "talks" I escape from a Strait Jacket to prove that "everyone has problems but if they have a plan & practice it, then they may overcome their own troubles easier then not.

I believe that is the crux of why EAs do what they do. Escapes are used to illustrate weather the struggle is Man Against Man, Man Against Machine or Man Against Himself the human spirit can not be contained.... This is the same reason people climb mountains or travel to outer space. Escape artists have a message of hope they wish to share.

You said many escapes add the element of danger. Yet the ones you mentioned like the Thumb Cuffs, Straight Jacket, 100 foot Rope, don't really have this element. I would agree the element of danger adds drama. When I saw the Table of Death performed five feet in front of me at Magicopolis I was truly frightened. Even if I was mistaken, that element of danger seemed very real. When you see feats performed like that or escapes from tanks of water, or hanging upside down from a burning rope, do you think they can ever be 100% safe or do you think the danger is real? If the danger is even a little real can you explain why anyone do this?

Escapes and stunt work have a lot in common. Sometimes the escape artist will suffer for his art when he/she doesn't plan well or is not prepared. The one incident that comes to mind was a man who had performed a Buried Alive escape using a wood box then decided to try it wit a Plexiglas box. He admitted that he didn't have enough money for thick Plexiglas. The other disastrous element was the cement. It was full-strength. Needless to say, every escape artist knows the name Joe Burris as the man who didn't plan. The cement crushed the box with Joe inside.

But to answer the question of why people take risks, people who do risky things are all around us. I'd rather hang upside down from a burning rope then to try skateboarding. I have more control with burning rope then the board.