PORT TOWNSEND — Joey Pipia doesn’t buy his props from magic supply stores.
So, when the Port Townsend magician took the stage at the North American Magic Championship in July, he brought a single coffee mug and three jingle bells in lieu of the silver engraved cups and soft balls typically used for the routine.
“Non-traditional” methods make him laugh as an audience member, so with viewers in mind, Pipia caters to the silly.
“When someone performs a piece that’s been presented the same way 1,000 times, and they do it differently, it just makes me grin ear to ear,” he said.
Pipia’s classic cups and balls routine earned him a finalist position — he came in third by his estimate, though just first and second place were awarded — in the international competition. He likens the show to a “Magic Olympics,” drawing hundreds of spectators, three sets of judges and five top magicians to Louisville, Ky.
Pipia performed first. At the last minute, he realized he would perform facing a large camera as judges watched from a big screen. But performing to a camera’s not unusual for Pipia, who demonstrated the same act on King 5’s New Day-Northwest three years ago.
After the five-minute act, he was ushered into a private room.
“I was told my character was very accessible and clear,” he said, adding that another judge described his calm stage presence as “awesome.”
Most surprising of all, he said, a judge recognized Pipia’s name from an article he wrote in Vanish, an international magic magazine, about the nexus between magicians and actors.
“Magicians would benefit from being skilled actors,” the judge told Pipia.
During the convention, Pipia also attended workshops that gathered the Fédération Internationale des Sociétiés Magiques (FISM).
He said the workshops reminded him of the importance of audience reaction. Rather than getting absorbed in the technicalities of a trick, magicians should be more concerned with how a particular trick makes audience members feel, he said.
Pipia recalled the first magic trick he saw at 10 years old — and how it made him feel.
His father just came home from work and told Pipia, “I need to show you something.”
He pulled out a penny and rubbed it on his elbow. It vanished.
“Where’s the penny?” Pipia said.
“It’s in my elbow.”
Tears started rolling down Pipia’s cheeks.
“Dad, you can’t put a penny in your elbow!” he protested. “You’re going to get poisoned.”
Ten-year-old Pipia was angry then, but the story taught him what an impression magic can make on the viewer.
“I think people are taken to a place, an unexplainable, joyful moment,” he said. “They really think everything is possible.”
He describes his magic, in particular, as “silly yet profound” — profound because it reminds us of something we’ve forgotten.
“We can forget that life has wonderful moments and wonderful joys,” he said.
Port Townsend can view Pipia’s coffee mug and jingle bells routine and others Dec. 31 when he performs, “Wine and Wonder,” a New Year’s Eve magic show at The Wine Seller, 1010 Water St.
Or you can view the act online. Although he doesn’t have a video from the competition, Pipia sent the judging panel the New Day-Northwest segment on his routine when he was applying to compete, and his final Kentucky performance was a near-replica, he said.
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Reporter Sarah Sharp can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56650, or at ssharp@peninsuladailynews.com.
