[Archive 2025-11-10] Wikinews interviews magician and illusion builder Bruce Chadwick for National Magic Week

Historical archive — originally published 2025-11-10. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

The last week of October was National Magic Week in the U.S. Wikinews recently caught up with Bruce Chadwick, of Fort Worth, Texas. Bruce is a professional magician and illusion builder, as well as a magic dealer. A prolific performer for several decades, Bruce has produced several written works on magic.

BC: A couple of weeks before my 8th birthday, my dad ordered some simple magic tricks from the Johnson Smith Company. When the tricks arrived, my dad demonstrated the Ball and Vase trick. I was shocked, awed, and literally flabbergasted. On my birthday, dad reached up and grabbed the small box of tricks from on top of the refrigerator and gave them to me as an additional part of my birthday presents. It was one of the greatest moments of my life.

BC: In my early teen years, Charles W. Dodson and his wife Gwen opened Dodson's Fun'n Party Shop in Midland, Texas. Located way out on the outskirts of the town, the facility was a house with a storefront. Charlie was a magician himself and gradually took me under wing and guided me somewhat in magic. Later I saw the large touring illusion shows of Fred and Ann Story, Vince Carmen, and they helped instill the love of stage magic and illusions.

BC:I attended Odessa Junior College for my freshman and sophomore years of college. I took many hours of theatre and transferred to Baylor as a Junior. I earned my BA degree in Religion and my MA degree in Theatre Arts at Baylor. I performed heavily throughout my college years and basically paid my way through college.

BC: Both my father and grandfather were adept at woodworking and other industrial arts, and both had backyard workshop buildings. I learned a lot through those interactions. In school I took shop in 7th, 8th, and 9th grades. From about sixth grade onward, I built a lot of my own magic tricks because I couldn't afford to buy them. I fell in love with stage illusions while seeing the shows of Story and Carmen as referenced above. After Baylor, I moved from Waco to Fort Worth where I attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and earned my Master of Divinity degree. During that time I built a workshop in the backyard of my home and began to build stage illusions for myself. That blossomed in 1985 when I finished my second master's degree. With the drive to take care of a wife and baby boy, I began building custom illusions for other magicians. Most of my training building stage illusions has come from reading books, buying illusion plans, and a lot of trial and error.

((WN)) I know you've been involved in many large magic conventions. Any special memories come to mind from those?

BC: I was stage manager for the SAM national magic conventions for many years. I have also stage managed many TAOM and several IBM conventions. There are a hundreds of stories. Of all the conventions, I have always tried to attend the TAOM conventions and have only missed three conventions since the age of 14. I even became the president of the Texas Association of Magicians in 1988 and was instrumental in planning and executing the convention that year. That was a memorable experience.

((WN)) Along those lines, can you explain for our readers what a magic convention actually consists of?

BC: A magic convention is a gathering of magicians who usually meet for several consecutive days, usually at a hotel. There are lectures, performance contests, shows, and usually a large dealer's room where magic distributors offer their wares for sale.

((WN)) If you feel comfortable answering, have you built any props or illusions for any noted performers?

Source and licence

Text adapted from Wikinews interviews magician and illusion builder Bruce Chadwick for National Magic Week by Wikinews contributors under CC BY 4.0. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. Contributor history.