Interview with Steve Cohen

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Joe Mckay
Posts: 2026
Joined: April 13th, 2008, 6:56 am
Favorite Magician: Lubor Fiedler
Location: Durham, England

Interview with Steve Cohen

Postby Joe Mckay » September 24th, 2021, 10:50 am

Steve Cohen has released one book already this year, and has another one out soon.

A few months ago I had a chance to interview him (and his creative partner, Mark Levy).

Be warned - the following article is pretty long. But I think it provides a useful insight into how Steve Cohen (one of the most successful magicians in the world) approaches magic.

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I want to talk about a magic word.

Abracadabra.

Several folk etymologies trace the word back to a phrase in Hebrew that means ‘I create as I speak’ or a phrase in Arameic that means ‘I create like the word’.

Imagine a world where magic words really did exist? Where a single word could cause magic to transform your life.

Steve Cohen effectively transformed his life through some strategically-chosen words. By the end of this article, it will be clear which specific word enabled him to create a career that is singular in magic.

Steve has just released a new book titled Confronting Magic. It is a gorgeous coffee table book with beautiful photos of his famous Chamber Magic show. The book was published by a real-world publisher, and is available in high-end art book stores and luxury hotel gift shops in major cities around the world. With vivid photographs of astonished spectators and in-depth essays about his experience in entertaining society’s elite, the book commemorates 20 years’ worth of performances.

The foreword was written by film director Guillermo del Toro. Steve struck up a friendship with del Toro, and was invited to appear in a cameo in his upcoming movie, Nightmare Alley. Steve was told his cameo was “uncuttable” since it features the star of the movie, Bradley Cooper.

Nightmare Alley is a book by Lindsay Gresham. I have heard more than one magician say that Gresham’s biography, The Man Who Walked Through Walls, is the best one to study if you want to understand Houdini. Not because it is the most accurate, but because it does the best job of capturing the legend.

Although Steve is not sure if he will ever write a book for magicians detailing the inner workings of his show, he did want a book that captured the legend of the show. That book is Confronting Magic.

Magicians need more legends to inspire them and fewer tricks. We already know enough tricks.

A trick like the Hooker Rising Cards still inspires magicians because the secret is still a secret. Steve attended a performance of the Hooker Rising Cards at the Los Angeles Conference of Magic History. Midway through the show the audience was asked to volunteer a deck of cards for the next phase of the routine. Steve volunteered his own deck because he knew it was not gimmicked.

John Gaughan - who was performing the trick - asked Steve to reverse any card in the deck, and to remember the two cards either side of the card.

The deck was placed in the houlette and the reversed card rose from the deck. The deck with the selection still outjogged was immediately handed back to Steve. He confirmed that the card was still next to the same two cards in his deck.

Steve noticed some slight markings applied to the deck (that he still owns) that suggested how that phase of the trick was done. However - the routine consists of repeating the same trick over and over.

With a different method each time.

This is a fascinating approach to creating magic and something you rarely see. Pull out your copy of Greater Magic and look up The Tuned Deck. That is another routine that uses this approach.

Steve’s show climaxes with a performance of another legendary trick:

Think-A-Drink.

Any drink is called for by the spectators and it is poured from his magic kettle. You even have a choice of brand when calling out your drink. Steve said it was important to him that the drink that is poured clearly be seen to be the correct colour the moment it is poured from the kettle.

I am a bourbon drinker myself and my mouth watered as Steve told me that he offers a choice of different brands when a spectator requests one.

A choice that ranges from Bulleit bourbon (my drink of choice) to the legendary Pappy Van Winkle. A beautiful bourbon I once had the chance to drink. I can still taste it to this day.

Steve told me that Charles Hoffman’s Think-A-Drink was a sensation in its day. It resulted in Hoffman being the highest paid performer in vaudeville. Amazingly enough - Hoffman quit the act and got a job as an insurance salesman, since he couldn’t be bothered spending hours after each performance cleaning the glassware used in the trick.

Steve said that his performances of Chamber Magic took place in the suite of his private hotel room. It is a room that has a kitchen. And the hotel itself has an incredibly well-stocked bar. Much like Hooker’s Rising Cards - Steve is able to devote an entire location to the performance of a single trick.

Think-A-Drink trick is one of the purest examples of “wish fulfillment” in magic. That is to say - a trick that comes close to achieving what a person would really do if they had genuine magical powers.

I remembered David Blaine performing a trick on one of his TV specials where he approached a homeless guy who held a paper coffee cup in his hands. The cup contained only a few coins. Blaine held his hands around the homeless guy’s hands and focused on the cup. The cup then started to overflow with change. The homeless guy was left with tears of grateful astonishment.

Steve told me he was a consultant on that TV special and was involved in the development of that trick, which was the creation of Bob Fitch. It is another example of “wish fulfillment,” and follows the advice that Henning Nelms gave in Magic and Showmanship about using magic to meet a need. I wish more magicians would create magic like this. Magicians are brilliant at fooling themselves when it comes to understanding what it is that laypeople dream about. We need to look at our magic through the eyes of our spectators.

Steve recently visited David Copperfield’s museum to carry out research for his upcoming book devoted to Max Malini.

There is a sparkle in Steve’s eyes when he talks about Malini. He first became obsessed with Malini after reading about him in Ricky Jay’s book Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women. Steve was transfixed by the image of a magician who could walk into any room in the world, to entertain any of the world’s elites - without a single prop in hand.

Steve has visited the homes Malini lived in, visited the garden he died in and spoken to the man who held Malini’s head as he was dying.

Steve speaks Japanese and was even able to find stories about Malini in the digital archives of Japanese newspapers. If Malini were still alive - he would likely take out a restraining order against Steve.

Steve is excited about the upcoming book. The book details 95 tricks. This is many more than the Dai Vernon book written by Lewis Ganson in 1962. Steve felt that the Vernon book lacked many important details. His upcoming work will be informed by decades of experience performing many of Malini’s tricks in his shows. Steve’s extensive research allows magicians to understand what it was about Malini’s persona that caused him to attain such incredible success around the world.

I asked Steve about the size of Malini’s hands. Steve said he was able to try on one of Malini’s gloves in Copperfield’s museum - he was only able to insert 3 fingers. He also held one of Malini’s shoes and it was like holding a shoe belonging to a child.

Steve once performed a legendary effect of Malini’s. He got hold of a spectator’s jacket a week before the show. Like Malini, Steve convinced a tailor to stitch a playing card inside the jacket’s lining. The spectator spent a week wearing the jacket, unaware that a playing card was hidden inside.

This is a different understanding of the most famous lesson associated with Malini.

Charlie Miller once asked Malini, "Max, how is it you can always fool people with these sleights of yours?" Max replied "Well, you don't do it when they are watching".

"What do you mean?" asked Charlie. "Well, take this Side Slip I do." Max replied, “Well, I vait, I vait."

"What do you mean by "I wait, I wait?" said Charlie.

"Well, I wait until they are not looking!!” replied Malini.

Said Charlie, "But how long do you wait?"

Malini replied, "I'll vait a veek."

There is a photograph in Confronting Magic of the astonished university professor as his selected card is cut out from inside his jacket. Steve assured me that he paid for the damage to the jacket after the show. He also told me that the card was actually stitched into the jacket.

You have to work hard to fool people when your audience regularly consists of professors, billionaires and Nobel prize winners. These are the type of people who would love nothing more than to bust Steve on a trick.

Steve is a master at creating a brand and designing a show that reinforces it. Steve told me he has little interest in marketing or branding. Yet the show is remarkable - in the literal sense of the word. It creates a unique experience that gives people stories that they can share with others.

Steve told me he once attended a talk given by Seth Godin, the marketing expert, who made a similar point. Seth knew Steve was in the audience, and singled Steve out to illustrate that the Chamber Magic brand and experience is an example of a “Purple Cow”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBIVlM435Zg

Seth said that even though Steve performed for small groups of people - he was successful at creating stories that his audiences couldn’t wait to share with their friends.

Steve focuses his attention on the magic. His close friend, Mark Levy, is the person whose advice he takes when it comes to branding. He is also his collaborator when it comes to adding new tricks to the show.

Mark Levy is a fascinating character. I congratulated Mark on seeding a revolution in magic: the Social Magic revolution that is being pioneered by Andy over at The Jerx. Andy agreed with me that Mark was the first to create magic from this unusual point of view.

The first trick in this new genre of magic was his The Red Car Trick:

https://chambermagic.com/blog/the-red-car-trick/

Mark told me that he wanted the entire city of New York to be his close-up mat. I told Mark that this limitless attitude is at the heart of Andy’s approach to magic as well. It is about creating magic without limitations.

Ironically - it was by forcing Steve Cohen to accept limitations that he was able to help him find the key to his success.

Steve approached Mark Levy for advice on a publicity stunt to advertise his Chamber Magic show. Mark told him that publicity stunts only work if people feel invested in the character of the performer. Developing a compelling persona was more important than creating a publicity stunt. If the audience doesn’t care about you, then what drama is there in a life or death escape?

Mark observed Steve, learned about his background (he graduated from Cornell University), found out where he lived and looked through his press coverage. One of the media articles described Steve as “The Millionaires’ Magician.”

Mark told him this was the key. Penn & Teller were The Bad Boys of Magic. David Blaine was The Mysterious Stranger. And Steve should be The Millionaires’ Magician.

He told him to drop everything and focus on making this persona real. At the time Steve was performing in T-shirts, and pulling selected cards out of pickles. Even his own mother discouraged him from the idea of him portraying himself as The Millionaires’ Magician. It seemed distasteful, offensive and faintly laughable.

Mark told Steve that his new goal was to target the decadent rich. Status can be communicated by more than just beautiful surroundings. Steve hired a model simply to hand out programmes as the audience arrives at his show. To my mind, this was a touch of genius. A beautiful woman greeting you as you enter a venue also spoke volumes about the status of the performer.

Mark said you have to go all-in on a premise. There can be no half measures. If you go to an art auction to spend millions on a painting - the staff member handing you the brochure will also likely be a model.

I asked Mark how he went about designing magic for Steve. He told me he starts with the final image of the effect and works backward. He has a phone packed full of photographs of images he finds compelling. Mark agrees with Teller that the goal of the magician is to use method and effect to create a beautiful image that can be shared with the audience.

An example of this approach to creation can found in the Wishing Well effect that was the highlight of the feature on Steve Cohen in the New York Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/nyre ... ician.html

Penn Jillette once said that the great thing about living in America is you can have a successful career even if only 1% of the population is a fan of your work. Steve has achieved a similar level of success by focusing on the 0.1% of the population who want to sample the best that magic has to offer.

A simple way to focus your magic is to pick an imaginary audience and design your magic around the desires of that audience. It brings clarity to your magic.

I call this the Yo-Yo Ma effect. If you can offer people the very best your artform has to offer - you will attract an audience. People are always curious to sample the best.

Steve told me he is competing with the very best shows that New York has to offer. People visit New York to experience something extraordinary. As such, Steve hired the firm who did the marketing for the hit show, Hamilton, to create the publicity for his show. You can see this attention to detail in the following video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzCHZBp56zE

I asked Steve about how helpful this change in outlook was? How did finding the right persona help him? Steve told me the universe is a big place and you can get lost in a sea of infinite choice. So, in order to discover good ideas - you need to place constraints on yourself.

Steve said studying magic was much simpler since adopting the persona of The Millionaires’ Magician. He can pass over 99% of magic tricks, since he knows straight away they will not suit his persona.

Many people have tried to emulate his success. Some even call themselves The Billionaires' Magician. I told Steve it reminded me of an essay by Tommy Wonder. He said if you wanted to make money running a restaurant, it would only work if you were passionate about great food and delivering a superb experience to the diners. Wonder says this creates a feedback effect that will eventually lead to profit and success.

However, if you open a restaurant with the sole intention of making money - it will lead to failure. In business - making money can never be your primary goal. You have to offer a value proposition that the customer is willing to trade money for.

There are no shortcuts.

Steve is passionate about magic and creating the best possible experience for his audience. Sure he loves making good money as well. But his real passion has always been the magic.

The persona that most suited him was also the one that led to the type of high paying gigs that most magicians can only dream of. The heightened expectations - caused by the high prices - also help make the show better. A magic show starts from the moment you buy the ticket. It frames the experience and creates anticipation in the minds of the audience.

This expectation also inspires Steve to deliver the best possible show. He is constantly researching magic, and it is always with a single goal in mind: finding the best version of a trick he wants to add to his show.

Magicians used to obsess over secrets. Today the problem facing us is trying not to drown amidst a flood of information. Steve’s approach reminded me of a line from Kierkegaard, ‘The more a person limits himself, the more resourceful he becomes.’

I envy his clarity of vision. Steve understands what he wants to communicate when he performs. It is a level of self-understanding that most magicians never get to experience.

And it is a vision that can be communicated in a single word.

A magic word.

Millionaire.

The moment he articulated his path as The Millionaires’ Magician, magic began to transform his life.

Joe Mckay
Posts: 2026
Joined: April 13th, 2008, 6:56 am
Favorite Magician: Lubor Fiedler
Location: Durham, England

Re: Interview with Steve Cohen

Postby Joe Mckay » September 24th, 2021, 10:58 am

You can also find a video interview with Steve Cohen by Damien Jennings here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsKmwgmgL68

Joe Lyons
Posts: 874
Joined: November 13th, 2017, 8:27 am
Favorite Magician: Wonder
Location: Texas

Re: Interview with Steve Cohen

Postby Joe Lyons » September 24th, 2021, 4:46 pm

Great stuff. Thanks Joe.

Michael Rubinstein
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Joined: June 28th, 2019, 2:41 pm
Favorite Magician: Michael Rubinstein

Re: Interview with Steve Cohen

Postby Michael Rubinstein » September 24th, 2021, 10:03 pm

That was very informative! I have known Steve for years, but a lot of that was new to me. Thanks for posting that interview!

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Brad Jeffers
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Joined: April 11th, 2008, 5:52 pm
Location: Savannah, GA

Re: Interview with Steve Cohen

Postby Brad Jeffers » September 28th, 2021, 2:15 pm

Joe Mckay wrote:There is a sparkle in Steve’s eyes when he talks about Malini. He first became obsessed with Malini after reading about him in Ricky Jay’s book Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women.

This would be a nice Christmas gift for Steve ...

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Interview with Steve Cohen

Postby Richard Kaufman » September 28th, 2021, 4:19 pm

He won't be able to afford that.
Subscribe today to Genii Magazine

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Brad Jeffers
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Joined: April 11th, 2008, 5:52 pm
Location: Savannah, GA

Re: Interview with Steve Cohen

Postby Brad Jeffers » October 28th, 2021, 10:05 pm

It sold for $75,600.

Tarotist
Posts: 1365
Joined: July 29th, 2021, 7:16 am
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Re: Interview with Steve Cohen

Postby Tarotist » October 28th, 2021, 10:12 pm

That's a lot of money for a bit of paper!

Joe Mckay
Posts: 2026
Joined: April 13th, 2008, 6:56 am
Favorite Magician: Lubor Fiedler
Location: Durham, England

Re: Interview with Steve Cohen

Postby Joe Mckay » April 5th, 2022, 3:07 pm

Steve Cohen's book on Max Malini is out now.

Here is Steve Cohen talking about it with David Williamson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohe2vXroSGA


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