Stage illusions are large-scale

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

tricks. As the name implies, stage illusions are distinct from all other types of magic in that they are performed a considerable distance away from the audience, usually on a stage, in order to maintain the illusion. Stage illusions usually use large

props A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

and may involve the use of assistants or large animals.Wilson, Mark. Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic. Running Press Kids. 2003. Examples of stage illusions include sawing a woman in half and Lady-to-Tiger.

Famous stage illusionists

Criss Angel Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos ( el, Χριστόφορος Νικόλαος Σαραντάκος; born December 19, 1967), known professionally as Criss Angel, is an American magician, illusionist and musician. Angel began his career in New ...

Harry Blackstone Sr. Harry Bouton Blackstone (born Henry Boughton; September 27, 1885 – November 16, 1965) was a famed stage magician and illusionist of the 20th century. Blackstone was born Harry Bouton in Chicago, Illinois. He began his career as a magician ...

Harry Blackstone Jr. Harry Bouton Blackstone Jr. (June 30, 1934 – May 14, 1997) was an American stage magician, author, and television performer. He is estimated to have pulled 80,000 rabbits from his sleeves and hats. Early life Blackstone was born in Three Riv ...

* Guy Bavli * Lance Burton * David Copperfield * John Daniel * Murray Hatfield * Doug Henning * Alexander Herrmann *

Harry Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...

* Harry August Jansen *

Jeff McBride Jeff McBride (born September 11, 1959), also known as "Magnus", is an American magician and magic instructor. He is known for his sleight of hand skills and specializes in the manipulation of playing cards, coins, and other small objects. His s ...

The Pendragons Jonathan and Charlotte Pendragon were a husband-and-wife team of American illusionists who called their work "physical grand illusion". They are widely known due to numerous national and international television appearances. Performing partnersh ...

Penn and Teller Penn may refer to: Places England * Penn, Buckinghamshire * Penn, West Midlands United States * Penn, North Dakota * Penn, Oregon * Pennsylvania ** Penn, Pennsylvania * Penn Lake Park, Pennsylvania * Penn Township (disambiguation), several muni ...

Siegfried & Roy Siegfried & Roy were a duo of German-American magicians and entertainers, best known for their appearances with white lions and white tigers. It was composed of Siegfried Fischbacher (June 13, 1939 – January 13, 2021) and Roy Horn (born Uwe L ...

Chung Ling Soo William Ellsworth Robinson (April 2, 1861 – March 24, 1918) was an American magician who went by the stage name Chung Ling Soo (). He is mostly remembered today for his accidental death due to a failed bullet catch trick. Early years Robinson ...

P. C. Sorcar Jr. P. C. Sorcar Jr. (formal name Prodip Chandra Sorcar; born 31 July 1946) is an Indian magician based in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. He is the second son of Indian magician P. C. Sorcar. He is also the recipient of Merlin Award in Magic. He hold ...

* Howard Thurston * Val Valentino

Stage illusions

Aquarian Illusion Metamorphosis is the name of a stage illusion invented by John Nevil Maskelyne, but most often associated with famous escape artist Harry Houdini and performed to some renown (for speed) by The Pendragons, among others. It is also known amongst mag ...

Asrah levitation The Asrah levitation, sometimes called Lighter than Air, is a classic levitation illusion. Effect The magician hypnotizes an assistant and commands them to recline on a table or couch. The assistant is then fully covered with a cloth and levitat ...

Assistant's Revenge The Assistant's Revenge is a transposition illusion in which two performers change places. It was created by magician and inventor Robert Harbin. Description One of the two performers, the ''restrainee'', is placed in a standing position in a la ...

Aztec Lady __NOTOC__ The Aztec Lady is a stage illusion designed by British magician Robert Harbin. It is a classic "big box" illusion that involves an assistant in a cabinet and is probably best categorised as a restoration-type illusion. Description The ...

Balducci levitation The Balducci levitation is a levitation illusion first described by Ed Balducci. Its inventor is unknown. It is an impromptu magic trick, which has been popularized by many magicians, such as David Roth, Paul Harris, and David Blaine. Effect ...

Battle of the Barrels The Battle of the Barrels is a transportation illusion also known as Barricaded Barrels, Through the Eye of the Needle or the Black and White Barrels. The illusion consists of two topless/bottomless barrels openly displayed on castered open fram ...

* Bullet catch * Cabinet escape *

David Copperfield's laser illusion David Copperfield's laser illusion is an illusion performed by David Copperfield in several magic shows. The magician or his assistant is cut by a "laser" into two or more parts and starts walking. Illusion description As performed during the 2 ...

* Devil's torture chamber * Guillotine *

Impalement Impalement, as a method of torture and execution, is the penetration of a human by an object such as a stake, pole, spear, or hook, often by the complete or partial perforation of the torso. It was particularly used in response to "crimes aga ...

Indian rope trick The Indian rope trick is a magic trick said to have been performed in and around India during the 19th century. Sometimes described as "the world’s greatest illusion", it reputedly involved a magician, a length of rope, and one or more boy ass ...

Metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...

* Mismade Girl * Origami * Predicament escape * Radium Girl * Sawing a woman in half *

Square Circle Production In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree (angle), degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rec ...

* Squeeze Box Illusion * Table of death * Wringer *

Zig Zag Girl The Zig-Zag Girl illusion is a stage illusion akin to the more famous sawing a woman in half illusion. In the Zig-Zag illusion, a magician divides an assistant into thirds, only to have them emerge from the illusion at the end of the performance c ...

References

{{Magic and Illusion Magic (illusion)