Discus the revival of a new era magician chic.

Authors Avatar

Introduction                

Since the magician Harry Houdini stunned the world with his death defying antics in the early 1900’s, magicians have remained a source of intrigue and wonder to many people.  The 1970’s and 80’s brought about a huge public interest in the magic trade.  Performers such as Paul Daniels ruled our television screens as millions of people tuned into his show week after week and gazed in wonder at the tricks and illusions that were performed before their very eyes. This era of magicians reached its peak in the early 1990’s as viewers soon began to bore of the same tired tricks and the glitz and glamour that was attached, came to be seen as tacky and cheap.  

However, the twenty-first century has brought about a revival of a new era magician chic. As recently reported in the Munster Express: “Suddenly folks, right before your very eyes - it's magic, and it's cool again. Gone are the bald geezers, the toupee and blonde assistant blocks and we have the young set.”

Magicians such as David Copperfield have shot to stardom, famed equally for their celebrity lifestyles as their daring new magic skills.  David Copperfield’s relationship with supermodel Claudia Schiffer caused a media frenzy and this high profile has led to him being hailed as one of the greatest magicians of all time.

More recently a new star has emerged in America in the form of David Blaine who has received critical acclaim for his illusionist and magicianal skills.  Both these American stars have together monopolized the international magician and illusionist market for many years.  It is only in very recent times that Ireland and the UK has begun to produce their homegrown magical talents.  The UK has now got several leading names in the magician field such as Uri Gellar and Darren Brown.

However, at home in Ireland only one individual has emerged with the new style magician talents necessary to compete on an international level. Waterford’s Keith Barry is equal to each of the above stars by merit of his illusionist and magician talents.  All he currently lacks is the high profile which has propelled the others into the international limelight.

Background                

Keith Barry was born in Waterford; took up magic at 14; studied for an honors chemistry degree in Galway and worked his way through college entertaining in clubs and restaurants. In 1998 he relocated to Dublin, as he believed the demand for corporate entertainment was at it’s highest in the capital.  For the past 2 years he has gained himself the reputation of being the ‘Magician to the Stars’ performing at functions like the MTV Music Awards, the Brown Thomas Fashion Show Awards, etc.  He was also the resident magician in the VIP lounge of the U2 owned Kitchen Niteclub below the Clarence Hotel

(a) Goals and Objectives                

Keith was relatively unknown to the general public until the beginning of this year where his rise to fame has been nothing short of amazing.  In recent weeks, the Irish public has been left awed by Keith’s outrageous stunts and illusions on his new show Close Encounter with Keith Barry.  He has become a current topic of conversation and with the right strategy behind him, can continue this meteoric rise both at home and abroad.  

In the up-coming year if Keith wishes to gain strategic advantage over his many competitors he must carve out a place in the magic market by having a unique aspect to his show that will catch the public’s attention.  This must be combined with a clear set of objectives, which should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time bound).  With this in mind we have prepared the following list:

* Keith most successful venture to date has been the RTE show Close Encounters with Keith Barry.  This show is on Sunday evenings at 6:30pm which is prime time viewing and ensures maximum exposure.  Currently in it’s fourth week on air, this Midas Co. production has pulled in excellent viewing rates.  Today FM reported the day after the first show was aired, that over 1.5 million people had tuned in to watch Keith catch a bullet in his mouth.  Keith has currently been using Irish stars such as Niall Quinn, Pat Short, Shirley Temple Bar and Dave Fanning as his guests and he will be continuing with this style show for another season as it has raised his profile so enormously in Ireland.  

Join now!

* Keith is also featured in ITV's Astounding Celebrities (Granada), which airs later in 2003.  This will be Keith’s first major TV appearance outside Ireland and will be the perfect opportunity for him to gain a following in the UK.  As Keith will be in the British public’s eye, he must immediately follow up with a number of public appearances to ensure he is not immediately forgotten such as performances at awards ceremonies and celebrity parties.  

* In September, Keith returns to LA where he has been developing a new show with a ...

This is a preview of the whole essay