Megan Joyce
Executive Producer of the Ram Review
See some of Fabian’s magic tricks
Magicians: they always manage to find money in your ear, rabbits inside of hats, and the correct card in the deck before you even get the chance to ask yourself, “How did they just do that?” They have the ability to shock, captivate, and “wow” their audiences, as the seemingly impossible becomes possible right before your eyes. What you may not realize, though, is that there are students right in our school who enjoy entertaining others with their magical talents. Just put a deck of cards in senior Fabian Hough’s hands, and he will find a way to amaze you.
Fabian’s fascination with magic dates back to his elementary school years. “I started reading Harry Potter books when I was younger, which got me interested in magic in general,” Fabian said. Harry’s world of witchcraft and wizardry even inspired Fabian to purchase his first magic kit when the Scholastic Book Fair visited his school.
As the years went on, Fabian continued to earnestly research his interest. “I would go to the library and check out books on magic and conduct internet searches to just learn as much as I could,” he said.
Despite this intensive reading, Fabian admits that he never really learned the basics of card magic. Instead, he opted to just start shuffling the cards and see what happened.“Even now, I only sit down and practice intensively when I really want to learn something new,” he said.
It wasn’t long before he started performing for his classmates and peers. “One day at school, I decided to do a spinning card trick, and the other students responded positively to it,” he said.
What started out as a fascination with card tricks eventually expanded into other possibilities. Now, Fabian has the ability to create illusions for a variety of audiences. For those interested in “shock magic,” he can make a string of dental floss appear to go through his throat. Or, if he’s performing for children, he can turn dollar bills into the shape of a butterfly.
No matter who he is performing for, Fabian prefers to take on “close up” magic, which usually makes use of everyday items, such as cards and coins.“Most magic is really intended to be impromptu. The whole point is to perform for anyone who happens to cross your path,” he said. He chooses his tricks “very carefully” when he performs, noting, “The smallest nuances to your technique can make the biggest differences.” As for his future goals, Fabian plans to “continue magic as a hobby.”
Those who are familiar with Fabian are aware of his additional talents both in the orchestra classroom and on the stage in drama productions. “I get really into the things I do, and become totally engrossed in my activities, whether it’s magic, playing my cello, or anything else,” Fabian said.
Magic, then, has given him the opportunity to master yet another type of performance. “Based on my experiences with being a cellist and in theatre, I would say that I am a person of the arts,” he said. “It makes sense that I am interested in magic, because magic is a very serious and old form of art.”
[quicktime]https://nchscourant.comwp-content/uploads/2010/04/FABIAN.mov[/quicktime] Video by Megan Joyce
