Tech-savvy Magician Anna DeGuzman is a pro at charming audiences online with her awe-inspiring card tricks and illusions. With over 93,000 Instagram followers, and 27,000 YouTube subscribers, the 21-year-old — just on the cusp of Gen Z and Millennials — seems ready-made for adjusting to the new world of entertaining online during a global pandemic. Which makes her the perfect kick-off to Liberty Magic @ Home series, a new live streaming feed from the Downtown Pittsburgh magic venue.
The Queen of Cardistry, DeGuzman’s show at Liberty Magic, got cut short because of coronavirus closures, but during her nearly month-long run that launched Feb. 29 in Pittsburgh, she amazed audiences with her impressive skills of cardistry (“card artistry”), where she takes a deck of 52 cards and spins them around and throws them in the air, creating 3-D sculptures hanging on the edge of her fingertips. And while other magicians are often strict about cell phone usage, DeGuzman incorporated them into her show — taking audience members’ phones and guessing their passwords (often to their extreme discomfort; was she going to peek at their photos?!) and taking selfies with the entire room.
Starting tonight at 7:30 p.m., Liberty Magic is bringing the experience of its intimate theater shows into living rooms across the world every Friday night with a live streaming show on the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Tonight, DeGuzman will be joined by Philadelphia sleight-of-hand magician Eric Jones, the headliner who was the very first to perform when the Downtown venue opened in 2019. (Jones himself has over 54,000 Instagram followers, so also not unfamiliar with performing online.)
Each performance will be 30 minutes, with each magician independently sharing magic tricks, and hosted by Zoe Ruth, Liberty Magic’s venue manager. (If you’ve been to Liberty Magic, Ruth is the energetic and charming host who introduces each performer before their show and promises to be a great addition to this series.)
“We knew we wanted to be able to continue bringing magic to Pittsburgh, even during these challenging times of social isolation,” says Ruth. “We’ve all seen magic on TV, so we’ve known it is an art form that can play really well to a camera — or, in our case, a webcam. Viewers can expect a personal, close-up experience with some truly incredible magicians – and whatever magic tricks they’ve got up their sleeves, of course.”
Each weekly show will also be recorded, so if you miss a performance, you can still catch the recording on the Cultural Trust's YouTube channel.
Liberty Magic brings the art of magic and illusion online with weekly live streaming performances
