Richy Roy has had a number of titles in his entertainment career. Game show host, DJ, and perhaps that who has had the most reach over the years, magician. After spending more than 15 years performing across the country, the skilled illusionist is looking to enter a new phase of his career, moving from the spotlight to more of a mentorship role to help teach up-and-coming magicians not just about the craft, but the business of it as well.
He is planning to publish and produce his own tricks and routines, things he has created and invented over the years, to bring them to magicians around the world.
“That really entails teaching younger magicians, the next generation, and bringing them up to be the new magicians that are actually going to go out there and perform, and do some cool things,” Roy told Discover Weyburn.
The plan is to attend magic conventions and be a keynote speaker at some of them, helping elevate his career to the next level.
There is an old adage in the world of magic: if you want to keep a magic trick a secret, you publish it in a book. For Roy, this is a process he has already been through before. He published The Wealthy Magician several years ago, talking about the business side of magic and entertainment in general. Then, the second book was Maxims of a Magician, talking about the showmanship and how to be a great magician on stage.
While he has written books before, Roy understands that the technology has shifted over the years. His approach for the 12 books and guides he has planned will involve making the knowledge accessible to a modern audience.
“Getting those into the younger generation’s hands means you need to have it accessible on their iPhones,” Roy explained. “It’s just how we do things nowadays. Whether it’s in an audio file, a PDF guide, or an e-book, get it into their hands so they can learn it, create it, and start performing it. That’s going to be the kind of route that I’m taking.”
In addition to getting his knowledge out into the world at large, he also wants to make sure that those in Weyburn get a chance to learn more about the craft. While he has already been passing down what he knows when it comes to magic and DJing to his kids, Roy knows there are a lot more people who are interested in learning about the skills, and he is looking for ways to pass that knowledge on.
“I’m hoping, in the future, to be offering some free magic classes down at the library, which I think would be fantastic for the young kids that want to come out and learn some magic.”
He finished by adding it’s important to teach the younger generations not just magic, but all art forms, “so that we have people in our communities that can provide entertainment, give back, have some fun with it, and really grow and expand from what we built.”