Magic isn’t just about wowing people by pulling a rabbit out of a hat; it’s about telling a story. We’ve become so enamored with the spectacle of the ‘trick’ that we’ve forgotten that magic is really about forming a dialogue between the magician and their audience. It’s that relationship that Derek DelGaudio, star of the hit one-man show In & Of Itself, explores in a short film for the 2017 Future of Storytelling Summit, entitled ‘Invisible Dialogues’. 

“[People] automatically assume that a magician keeps secrets from people,” DelGaudio explains in the video. “A real magician keeps secrets for people. They use that secret to create a moment of astonishment, or a moment of transformation. The secret becomes a hidden narrative.”

It’s a short piece, but an effective one in showing why we’re so drawn to magic in the first place. We don’t just want to be amazed; we want the magician to take us on a journey.