Check Out Colin Chung’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Colin Chung.

Hi Colin, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Yeah, we’ll start with where I am today and work backwards.
Right now, I’m a performing member of the Magic Castle in Hollywood and a professional magician. I live in Monterey Park but perform all over LA and OC. Close-up magic is my specialty: table magic, strolling, the kind of setting where I can make your card appear underneath the glass you’ve been drinking out of. My experience as a paid performer started with repeat gigs at breweries when I was in college, and from there it expanded to private parties, corporate events, stage performances… I actually got booked for a divorce party recently. So yeah, everything feels official now which is still kind of crazy to me. Even after all this time.

How I started is actually pretty funny. I learned basic sleight of hand as a kid so that I could make erasers and stuff disappear up my nose. Like, I would take something small like this quarter and then just sniff it really hard and boom… gone. I don’t do that one anymore. [Laughs.]
Well, I do sometimes. Depends on the vibe. You can definitely see how that influenced my performance style, though. My main goal is magic isn’t to make myself better than you or anything, which is honestly a problem with magicians sometimes. I just want to surprise people with banger magic so that everyone has a fun time. That doesn’t change. I always keep this in mind, and it applies whether I’m performing for kids in line at Disney or for a bunch of corporate guys. Well, working a corporate job in the day helps with that one, but you know.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Hmm. I mean, there are always struggles, but honestly it’s felt pretty smooth overall for me. I’m very lucky. There are definitely times where I get significantly less gigs, and things happen with the magic industry, sure, but magic itself has never let me down. I’ve definitely let myself down before, but each time I’ve been able to turn that into a learning experience and grow as a performer.

It’s a lot easier having magic friends. Magicians won’t often talk about this, but every performer’s got a group of other performers who act as a support group for each other, whether it’s for learning or feedback or figuring out how liability insurance works for the first time [Laughs]. Shoutouts to KM. Shoutout all my Castle buddies. Shoutout Nelson Lee who was actually featured here recently, he’s been working on a trick where a coin disappears and reappears somewhere on the floor. All of my friends are awesome.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
There’s a lot of magical things I’m proud of. That story I told you about little me making stuff disappear up my nose? The fundamentals of magic I learned at that time have very directly impacted a routine I perform at the Castle all the time. I’ll show it to you after. It’s more of a technical thing, and there’s definitely been a lot of technical hurdles that I’m definitely proud of getting through. Like, it took me two years to learn how to shuffle a deck in one hand without looking. All the other stuff, I legally can’t tell you about. Just trust that it’s really cool.
But I think I’m most proud of how comfortable I’ve grown with performing magic. Even if I get nervous for a bigger performance, I’m able to channel that nervousness into excitement. They go hand in hand. And this has bled into so many other areas of my life.

I think my performing style is definitely what sets me apart. I learned this pretty quickly once I started hanging out with other magicians. I try to make my magic seem unserious, though behind the scenes I’m very serious about what I do. I like going out of my way to make my audience comfortable. It should always be like I’m sharing something cool with you, rather than showing off. That’s my goal, at least. Sometimes you get more gigs by just showing off. There’s a balance.

Any big plans?
I’m currently working on expanding my stage repertoire. I’m testing out a lot of material, and then after I have it down I have to script it out. That’s something that’s way more important for stage stuff.
I’m also working on a new sleight of hand move. It’s tough as hell and I think it’s actually changing the physiology of my hand. It’s not for stage, I mean it’ll work on stage, but it’d be best for close-up situations like this. It’s a lot of work for something that is meant to not be seen, but to be experienced.

I guess that’s what magic’s all about, though.

Pricing:

• $300 for 2 hours of strolling magic
• Inquire for shows

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/trackjacketmagic
• Other: https://profiles.blue/colink

Image Credits
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