Abracadabra!
By Mayo Martin, TODAY | Posted: 04 July 2008 1203 hrs

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SINGAPORE: Magicians are known to be a secretive lot. Perhaps even more so than some MediaCorp artistes.

So you can just imagine our excitement when we managed to go backstage with not one, but two magic acts that are set to work their mojo on you this month and beyond, whether you fancy hanging out at Clarke Quay or prefer a more cushy experience at the Esplanade.

Without further ado, we ask you, our avid readers, to hold on to your seats and get ready for our most awe-inspiring, deadline-defying and headache-inducing story to date ... TODAY's Amazing Two-In-One Magic Feature!

Cue applause, thank you very much.

WEAVING HER MAGIC

With a naughty gleam in her eye, the pretty young thing before us revealed that for the past three weeks, she had been routinely shackled, chained and handcuffed.

But before you get any naughty thoughts, Ning Cai added that it's all in preparation for Saturday night's death-defying act called - take a deep breath - The Impalement Cage.

Ooh.

Staring death and dismemberment in the face, she'll be bound and trapped inside a steel cage in the middle of Clarke Quay Fountain - with exactly 90 seconds to break free before sharp metal spikes come crashing down on her.

Clearly, for this woman at least, an 'escape act' doesn't mean manoeuvering through hordes of shoppers during the Great Singapore Sale.

"Magic Babe" Ning's mind-boggling feat serves as a teaser of sorts to Ultimate Magic, a nightly act at The Arena featuring her and stage-partner JC Sum, beginning next month and continuing well into 2010.

You may have already heard of JC, a veteran illusionist whose most recent act saw him teleporting up 50 storeys in five seconds at Raffles City last year.

But Ning, who? After all, traditional types may ask: What's a woman doing in the world of magic?

You'll have to blame David Copperfield. The 25-year-old Ning shared that when she was young, she had a big crush on Claudia Schiffer's ex-boyfriend, while other girls her age were fawning over Boyzone.

She was also attracted to the exploits of Princess Tenko, a Japanese pop singer-turned-illusionist. "She had huge props and lots of men assisting her. It was new to me because usually it's the men in charge," she remembered.

From entertaining relatives, Ning graduated to doing private parties (get your mind out of the gutter). But she wanted more.

"I was looking for a female mentor for a long time but there weren't any. They were either wives or dancers or assistants. There was no woman doing her own thing," she said.

Two years ago, she met JC who asked her to join Concept Magic, a company he created in 1998 with some friends.

JC began giving her a short segment during his shows to 'wet her feet', honing her trademark acts like Linking Coat Hangers and the Straight Jacket Striptease - which she described as 'Harry Houdini meets the Pussycat Dolls'

JC also suggested that instead of the typical image of assistants in top hats and fishnet stockings ala the comic book character Zatanna, she take her cue from her favourite movies Charlie's Angels and Tomb Raider.

Finally, he proposed that she saw him in half.

"There's a reversal of roles. I'm the one who's spiking him and cutting him in half," said Ning.

"She's not an assistant but a full-fledged magician," said JC, 31.

For the past two years, they've been a tag-team with equal billing. Apart from their daily shows at The Arena, they'll also be doing a 'mega-illusion' during the GP Season on September 24, where they'll transport three people across the Singapore River at Clarke Quay.

While things seem to be looking up for Ning, it took some convincing for her family to accept her new, if somewhat unconventional, career.

"My family knew I was doing it mainly for fun but their eyebrows just hit the roof when I told them I was going to do it full-time after I graduated," said Ning, who holds a degree in Mass Communications from RMIT.

"My dad was like, 'Are you serious? What happened to the whole plan of joining an MNC?"

As for her social life, Ning said that it's all put on hold - including plans of hooking up with a boyfriend.

But surely she doesn't need to pull out a deck of cards and work some sleight of hand to get a double take from guys?

"Well, I feel like they're actually more interested in 'Magic Babe' Ning than in me," she said, with a laugh.

The Impalement Cage happens July 5, 9pm, at the Clarke Quay Fountain. Ultimate Magic sneaks run from Aug 2 to 30, 7.30pm, at The Arena. Tickets from $20 (kids) to $40 at Sistic.

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LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER

It may have only been a typical rehearsal day over at the Gateway Entertainment office, but the father-and-daughter team of Lawrence and Priscilla Khong were pulling parasols from their fingertips, stabbing one another with flaming spears and walking through an industrial fan.

At one point, the elder Khong began conjuring dove after dove after dove, which he promptly put inside a small, cloth-covered cage. With much flourish, he pulled the cloth away and in place of a cage full of doves was ... his daughter. (We were close enough to contemplate his pores but we so didn't expect that.)

This fluid relationship between the two wasn't forged overnight. In fact, Priscilla remembers that as a kid, she was sceptical about magic. Or in her own words: 'I thought it was full of crap!'

But she was eventually convinced that it wasn't just about pulling rabbits out of hats, thanks to an overly enthusiastic dad, who incidentally wears many hats (pastor, social worker, entrepreneur, and even national polo player - he was part of the team that bagged a silver at last year's South-east Asian Games in Thailand).

"He really loves his magic. It's not unusual for him to come to my room at 1am and go, 'Hey, I'll show you a card trick', and I'm like, 'Uh, not now, Dad ..." said Priscilla, 27.

Dad's enthusiasm has obviously rubbed off her, and she's now the only one among the elder Khong's four children who has seriously taken up the artform.

Their new show is called MagicBox, which will be staged at the Esplanade from July 12 to 20. It's a big scale magic show-meets-theatre production with an impressive crew led by director Loretta Chen, composer Iskandar Ismail, playwright magician Jim Steinmeyer and John Thompson, who's a consultant for the Mindfreak TV series by Criss Angel.

For Lawrence, a magical performance should be more than just about magic.

"Magic in itself can be dazzling, but it doesn't have much meaning. We'd like people to leave with something worth thinking about, like what happens after watching a movie," said the 56-year-old magician.

In the show, Lawrence plays a traditional magician who has to deal with a daughter who wants to strike out on her own. It may seem like a typical family drama - but not when it's combined with acts featuring Lawrence appearing inside a water tank, Priscilla walking through an industrial fan, and the both of them levitating.

But to truly enjoy these acts, Lawrence suggests that you leave your analytical side at the door.

"If people just go - 'how did he do it?', in a sense, I would have failed. I'd like them to be caught up in that moment of wonder when you just enjoy the fantasy. If you watch Harry Potter, you don't ask how the car flew, do you?" he said.

So, what's harder, doing magic or acting?

Lawrence's rather enigmatic response was: "We always think that a magician is an actor playing the part of a magician."

By that, we think it means knowing how to carry on with the show even when things go pear-shaped. Lawrence remembered a show they did in Dallas where someone had forgotten to close the hatch of a water chamber prop during the pre-act demonstration.

"Two hundred gallons of water poured unto the theatre and I was thinking: 'What do I do now?'"

Thankfully, people thought it was all part of the show.

"They thought it was a very expensive special effect," grinned Priscilla.

MagicBox runs from July 12 to 20,8pm, at the Esplanade Theatre.With 2.30pm matinees on weekends.Tickets are from $28 to $128 at Sistic. - TODAY/fa