Entertainers live for the round of applause at the end of any performance; nothing else comes close to the high of a rapturous ovation.
What is it that makes receiving applause so addictive? Is it the gratification that one feels at a job well done? Or is it the knowledge that you have in some way please and lifted an entire room of people, matching and exceeding their expectations?
Applause is an expression of acceptance which, as human beings, is something that we all strive for in one way or another. It is the most basic of human rights and, when an entertainer puts on a performance, this is their way of expressing who they are. Without the applause, everything else means nothing.
Hooked from an Early Age
For most performers, there is one significant life event that propelled them onto the stage. For Oliver B, a London-based magician, this came at the tender age of six years old when he bought a magic trick from a man in Liverpool Street Market.
From the moment he first performed to his friend’s parents and the look of amazement on their faces, Oliver’s life was devoted to the art of magic. “The feeling never gets old, nor does seeing people’s reactions,” the magician says on his website.
Oliver B continued to wow audience from that moment on, setting his sights on becoming a full-time magician as this was where his heart lay. Magic, and its effects captured his imagination and that of whoever he performed to which, of course, satisfied Oliver B’s addiction – the need for the applause.
Why Magic?
The stage is home to a diverse range of entertainers – singers, dancers and comics among others. They all perform with the objective of making the audience feel good and, if even just for a moment, forget where they are and focus entirely on the events that are unfolding before them.
Oliver B
This is why Oliver B fell in love with magic, as there is nothing else that provides moments of astonishment as a well-performed trick that keeps the audience guessing long after the lights have gone out. The very best magicians make us question the laws of physics, second guessing everything that we read in our textbooks at school. For this period of time, anything is possible and our imaginations do not even cover half of it.
Who wouldn’t want to be the protagonist of such a series of unexplainable events? In that moment, you are more than human and, for a performer such as Oliver B who comes from a background not dissimilar from anyone else in the audience that is a special feeling.
Up Close and Personal
Smoke and mirrors is a commonly used phrase to describe magicians, which makes those that perform up close and personal in front of their audience all the more exciting. There is no room for error on the part of the performer, and the audience is engrossed in the trick performed right in front of them.
It is these performances that Oliver B thrives on, as he is able to actively involve the audience and remove any feeling of falseness that may cloud performances from a distance. Performing his magic live a matter of inches in front of the eyes his spectators, the magician is almost naked for all to see.
So imagine the feeling when he still manages to shock his audience, making them question everything that they thought they knew. The proceeding applause is the finishing, and most important, touch that gives Oliver B everything that he desires.
As much as Oliver is unique, he is also very much the same in the way that he lives to perform, loves to amaze and craves the applause and the acceptance that comes with it.
Photo Credits
Applause – Shutterstock
Oliver B – Courtesy Oliver B – All Rights Reserved
Guest Author Bio
Maise Hunns
Maise Hunns is Magician Oliver B’s right-hand woman. She has worked with him for many years and helped him to practice the art of magic and grow his passionate performances. As a family friend, she knew Oliver when he was just 6 years old and began his journey into magic.
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