Magic and illusion up close and personal
Every kid goes through a fascination with magic growing up, but the illusion bug bit Chase Ellsworth pretty hard. “My uncle bought me what you could call an encyclopedia of magic” says Ellsworth. “It showed you how to perform hundreds of tricks.”
Ellsworth grew up in a dysfunctional family and spent some time in juvenile detention away from distractions like television.
“I wasn’t even able to see my friends so I buried my nose in this magic book and it took hold,” he says. “For me, I wasn’t influenced so much by David Copperfield as I was David Blaine.”
Blaine is an illusionist, endurance artist, and extreme performer, best known for his high-profile feats of endurance, and has set and broken several world records. Blaine innovated the way magic is shown on television by focusing on spectator reactions.
Thirteen years later, Ellsworth has practiced these tricks he learned as a child so much that he even fools himself.
“A magician practices sleight of hand like a musician practices chord progressions,” explains Ellsworth. “I practice in front of a mirror, up close, to where I’m confident enough to perform.”
Ellsworth prefers to refer to himself as a mentalist or illusionist instead of a magician, taking the moniker Artifice the Mentalist. Artifice is defined as clever or cunning devices or expedients, especially as used to trick or deceive others. While that can sound menacing, Ellsworth shows are all about fun and contain nothing more than a deck of cards.
“There is definitely a disparity and diversity when it comes to performing magic,” he says. “That’s why people have a certain cheesy or gimmicky view of it.”
Ellsworth mainly relies on cards, his new wife, and the audience to perform. He got married a few weeks ago and decided to jump off a cliff with his new bride.
“It was a gesture to symbolize that she trusts me, because she is afraid of heights,” laughs Ellsworth. “In a lot of ways, you have to get the audience to trust you. The audience is what makes the shows special.”
He has to size up the audience before every performance. For participation from the crowd, he picks a few volunteers before the show.
“You want to bring up people who like magic and are not trying to figure out every move,” he says. “You want excitable people instead of skeptical people.”
The audience experiences the show through these valuable volunteers.
“Sometimes people don’t know how to react and even look to me to show astonishment and amazement,” he observes. “But I love to see the reactions of people in that moment where I reel them in.”
Ellsworth has been doing this long enough to know a lot of times what the volunteers are going to say.
“I love the psychology behind these illusions,” he says. “It allows me to develop a more elaborate show.”
He is currently working on a stage show, planning a world tour, and developing a curriculum in magic. He wants to fill a niche and serve a market that’s unserved in Chattanooga.
“Restaurants are usually on a wait on the weekends, so I want to approach people while they’re standing around and entertain them,” he says. Once they’re seated and have their drinks and orders placed, Ellsworth makes his way around the restaurant to further enhance the experience.
“I love people and think I’m bringing families together,” says Ellsworth. “I want to provide a single moment they will never forget.”
He is currently performing at Puckett’s, Mayan Kitchen, Pizza Bros, and the Southern Belle. You can find dates and times at artificefx.com.
Also look for him at the Creepy Carnival Halloween festival at the Dwell Hotel October 31th. Visit thedwellhotel.com for tickets.