During his visit for the special New Year’s Eve at the Cabaret de Licques, we met Alexis HAZARD over a coffee—an acclaimed magician known for his incredible challenge performed at the dome in Helfaut.
He shares some of his secrets for becoming a magician.
Why did you choose the unconventional profession of magician?
I have been performing magic shows since the age of 16, but it was only after I stopped studying that I truly became an artist.
After my baccalaureate, I completed a BTS in sales at Armentières, but I had always been doing magic to some extent; it did not happen overnight. After my BTS, I joined ISEG in Lille, where I obtained a Bac +4 in communication. For a long time, I balanced my studies with performing. Having worked with producers from an early stage enabled me to accumulate my hours quickly and thus obtain intermittent performer status as soon as I left school.
Where did your passion for magic come from?
I come from a family of performers—”a child of the stage”. My father was a magician, as was my grandfather. I discovered the world of magic at a very young age. From the age of three, I would wander through the dressing rooms and rummage through the suitcases. Then I chose to continue because, like all artistic professions, it became my passion. I have made magic my profession for a few years now.
What qualities are necessary to become a good magician?
You need a certain level, and technical precision, but that comes with work and rehearsals: mastering your craft to remain consistently engaging. It is essential to be rigorous, not only in terms of personal work, but also professionally. You must be original and creative, constantly innovating and reinventing yourself to refine your show.
You also need to be able to adapt. For example, I work in many different venues (concert halls, cultural centres, arenas, theatres, or even at the Opéra Garnier). I must be able to adapt to all types of audiences; that is important. It is the audience that decides, that pushes you to be better.
Finally, I would say that an important quality is being a good manager—by that I mean the ability to wear many hats and to perform solo, which, let us be honest, allows me to earn a better living.
What are the drawbacks of being a magician?
The drawback is that nothing is ever guaranteed; you must constantly reinvent yourself, look for new ideas to surprise an audience that does not want to see the same acts again.
However, this drawback is far less significant than the expected benefit: I have turned my passion into my profession, and working is a pleasure.
What advice would you give to young people who want to become a magician?
My advice to young people who want to become a magician is to persevere in practising tricks and routines, but also to continue their studies at the same time. I am an example of this: my academic background now enables me to be independent artistically and financially. Studying is not a waste of time, because it allows you to pursue your passion in parallel. It has a major advantage: it will always be useful. Who knows—perhaps one day I will no longer do magic. On that day, it will allow me to retrain. It helps me today with the day-to-day management of my career and will always provide a safety net, just in case.
See Alexis Hazard once again on the cabaret stage on March 18 and 19 for two magical dinner shows.
