Here's an essay that I wrote for MAGIC MAGAZINE several months ago.  It was edited into an article that featured many of my green magic friends in the November 2011 issue.  Here's the whole essay written by me and edited by Gabe Fajuri.  Enjoy. 

Why Green Magic?  by Steve Trash_® - Rockin’ Eco Hero

Revolutions happen all the time. In fact, a green one is happening right now.

In the 19^th century, Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin revolutionized magic by dressing it up, taking it off the streets, making it respectable society entertainment, and adopting an acting persona of “being” a real magician. His approach was unique for the time — even revolutionary — and the public loved it.

At the dawn of the twentieth century, Houdini revolutionized the field again, this time by becoming a symbol of the everyman’s desire for freedom. When he performed, escapology was as much a symbol as it was a trick. Totalitarian governments across Europe were clamping down on their citizens and Houdini became an icon for the ability to escape persecution and be free. The public loved it.

MarkWilson revolutionized magic once again, starting in the 1950s with his TV magic. The small screen became a cultural touchstone and a shared experience for all, no matter where they lived, worked or “experienced” the shows. “Did you see that on TV?” became a pervasive and national catchphrase. It’s estimated that more people saw Mark Wilson’s TV magic specials than saw Houdini perform in his entire lifetime.

As time passes, the public craves change. When the 1970s arrived, out went the top hat and tail-wearing image of a magician. A charismatic young Canadian, Doug Henning, came along with his hippie wizard look and wonder-filled magic. The public ate it up. His contemporary take on magic set a new tone for the craft, and put magic back in the collective public consciousness. Doug’s bellbottoms and long hair connected him with current and fashionable thoughts about “peace,” “free love,” “consciousness expansion,” and most of all “wonder.” The public rewarded him with sell-out runs on Broadway and exceedingly popular TV specials. Throughout the 1970s and early 80s, Henning was magic’s guiding, driving force.

At about the same time, two new forces in magic burst onto the scene: David Copperfield and Penn and Teller. Copperfield took his successful appearance in The Magic Man, his romantic storytelling, MTV style illusions, Emmy-winning TV specials, (all things that were popular with the public at that moment in history) and created stratospherically high quality and very successful global touring illusion shows.  

 “The Bad Boys of Magic,” Penn and Teller, developed a reputation as hilarious and thoughtful advocates for skepticism wrapped in a ball of cynicism, illustrated with magic tricks. Together with Copperfield, they were game changers. And the public loved them for it.

The revolutions continue today. As we crept into the twenty first century, the time was right for two new revolutionaries: David Blaine and Criss Angel. They didn’t wear suits or costumes. They dressed as themselves: young, urban, and street savvy. With a heavy dose of help yet again from TV and YouTube, they reshaped and conquered the magic world. Angel and Blaine’s heavily edited street-style broadcasts addressed something the public wanted (even if it didn’t know it wanted it).

So far, I haven’t told you anything you don’t already know. We all know the basics of these “revolutionary” tales by heart. So what’s the point?

This collection of magicians is connected by at least one thread: public interest. Each magician, in his own way and own time, addressed something the public had an appetite for. Whether by design or by accident, each entertainer fulfilled the public’s wishes to be entertained in a new, different way.

As working magicians we sometimes forget that tricks and illusions don’t happen in a vacuum. Magic always takes place against a backdrop of current events and contemporary thought, even if it’s not performed onstage. What is happening in the world? How are each generation’s beliefs and ideas shaping their view of how the world works?

Which brings me to green. Green is happening. Popular magic has always responded to what’s flowing through the hearts and minds of the public, and the “green” concept is very much a part of the public’s collective hearts and minds right now.

Don’t’ believe me? Read on, oh ye of little faith:

• Wal-Mart, the largest retailer on the planet, has sold hundreds of thousands of energy efficient CFL compact florescent light bulbs (which save 80 percent of the energy consumed versus standard incandescent bulbs), and according to their director of Strategy and Sustainability, Candace Taylor, the firm has also set a company wide goal of creating zero waste at all of its retail outlets. Currently, Wal-Mart recycles or reuses most of the waste generated on site and is working toward a goal of no waste at all. None.

• BMW, the German auto manufacturer, designs its cars with disassembly in mind. This way, the parts can be replaced, reused or recycled easily. It’s a smart business choice and a smart green choice.

• Each year, Popular Science Magazine publishes a list of the 50 “Greenest Cities” in America.

• Las Vegas, a town not known as a sustainability-driven hippie haven, is investing almost $50 million in renewable “green” energy, with substantial investments in solar energy generation.

• There are currently over 8650 curbside recycling programs in cities across the US and many more around the globe.

• Best Buy (the huge electronics retailer) has implemented a program called “E-Cycle.” The company will take back all broken electronics regardless of where they were purchased or who manufactured the device.

• Ask any school age child what “the three R’s” are they will immediately respond with, “Reduce, reuse, recycle.”

• Coca-Cola Recycling has implemented a “take it back” program that has recovered over 200 million pounds of recyclable plastic coke bottles to date. After returned, the bottles are recycled into new plastic Coke bottles.

• Most of the major automobile manufacturers (including GM, Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Ford) offer electric cars for sale alongside their internal combustion engine vehicles. Electric cars and hybrids are “greener” than other vehicles because they can potentially rely on a renewable fuel source, the sun, for their energy.

• The majority of Fortune 500 companies have established “sustainability” divisions dedicated to energy efficiency and reducing their impact on the planet. In effect, they are greening their companies.

The list goes on, but most importantly, none of this activity has happened in a vacuum. It’s happening right now, and because green is what is on the public’s mind right now, we, as entertainers, need to be a part of that consciousness, too.

If current issues and ideas — green chief among them — are not at least a small part of our magic, we risk being irrelevant and we become yesterday’s news. In a culture that moves at light speed or faster, yesterday’s news is no longer news at all.

So consider using this “green” issue of MAGIC Magazine as a jumpstarter for a green theme in your show or routine or act.

Think of it this way: good magicians are always looking for a story or idea that will connect them with a crowd. There is plenty of evidence that green will connect you with today’s audiences. So go ahead. Give it a try. I am.

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