Magician and mentalist Mark Clearview loves being the magical character that oversees A Magical Cirque Christmas.
“We all know Christmas is magical, so to have a magician lead us through the story of our show and introduce us to all these acts and have a person we can connect with from the beginning is very special to me,” he says.
A Magical Cirque Christmas, coming to Altria Theater on November 18 at 7:30 p.m., is a dazzling holiday variety show with festive charm, laugh-out-loud comedy, and heartwarming magic. The high-flying spectacle showcases the extraordinary talents of the world’s most elite cirque artists as they perform to the soundtrack of favorite Christmas classics.
“It’s unique because it’s the highest level of circus artists and magicians, if I may be so bold, doing their special craft to a specific thematic device which, in this case, is Christmas and the holidays,” Clearview says. “I love doing the show night after night because I feel the magic of Christmas every time.”
It is perfect for people of all ages, he adds. “Children love it because they get to yell and scream at me on stage. Parents love it because their children are kept attentive for two hours.”
During the show, Clearview comes down from the stage to meet the audience and perform magic for them. “I feel like the host of the party. I make sure you have a good time, and if you don’t have a good time, I make sure nobody else can hear you,” he jokes.
Discovering the World of Magic
It’s obvious when Clearview talks about how he got into magic that he has a good sense of humor.
“I had a witch put a curse on me when I was eight years old, and I wasn’t able to shake it. I have these powers now and am trying to make them financially viable, if possible,” he says about his start in magic.
The actual story goes a little more like this: Clearview was three years old when he watched a magician perform at his birthday party. He credits his mom and dad who booked the magician for introducing him to magic.
“I couldn’t shake it,” he says of what he witnessed. “I’ve wanted to do magic since then.”
He started doing shows at home when he was four years old, and he began getting paid for his performances when he was six. “I haven’t done anything else besides magic since then,” he says. “I have no other skills.”
The first magic trick he learned was the cut and restore rope trick, which he bought in Canada’s Wonderland in Toronto. The trick was comprised of a piece of rope that you could pass through a cartridge, slice in half, and then put back together.
“I had no idea how it worked. When I bought it and learned the secret, I showed it to everybody that was willing to watch—my bus driver, my dentist, you name it. I started buying more and more tricks. My dad is a carpenter, and he helped build the tricks for me that I was inventing,” Clearview says.
Performing for Stars, Musicians, and Kids
During his career, Clearview has performed for stars like Neil Patrick Harris and appeared on Penn & Teller: Fool Us (and yes, he did fool them!). He now hosts New York City’s popular Magic, Unlocked, a close-up magic show.
Harris, a magician as well as an actor, used to be the president of The Magic Castle, the clubhouse of the Academy of Magical Arts, in Los Angeles.
“Neil is amazing. He’s such a nice person and a wonderful magician,” says Clearview. “I have performed for him three times. The first time, which was at The Magic Castle, I was very nervous. He and a bunch of other magicians that I looked up to watched me, and afterward, Neil said ‘well played.’”
In A Magical Cirque Christmas, Clearview gets to perform mentalism as well as magic.
“Both are similar to me,” he says. “Mentalism is just magic that involves the brain. All mentalism is magic, but all magic is not necessarily mentalism. In terms of the difference in performance, there is a level of attention and concentration necessary for most mentalism. There are a lot of mental gymnastics you need to do.”
Clearview is a fan of the artists in the show.
“I don’t know where else you can go and watch a specific Christmas show with artists working at the highest level that also has a story and a lot of heart,” he says. “It’s funny and moving, all the things you want when you think of the holidays.”
A Magical Cirque Christmas plays Altria Theater on Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. For tickets, go to altriatheater.com.
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