HO IS JOHN SHRYOCK? This Tucson Magician who has wowed audiences on three continents is a very personable, everyday guy. I called John recently to catch up with him. Having grown up together in magic, we spent much of the interview reminiscing about old times.
John began doing magic nearly fourteen years ago at a local Chuck E. Cheese's® restaurant.
He soon found that his love of the magical arts ran deep, and he began to pursue magic with a passion. One of John's early influences was close-up magician Michael Ammar, which really came in handy for his restaurant job. Another early influence was Lance Burton. I remember sitting at the VCR with John, wearing out a copy of Lance's full bird act from his first appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. John not only studied Lance's steals, but the act's structure and the motivation behind each move. From this he began to work on his own bird act. John still enjoys watching dove and manipulation acts.
As John developed as a magician he began to find that more and more people were interested in hiring him to do magic. And John continued to evolve as a performer. As he got older he began to perform in comedy clubs.
John Shryock
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Soon he was on a circuit throughout the united states. He still remembers making a conscious decision to quit college and pursue magic full time, which he continues to do today.
The comedy club gigs expanded into trips to Mazatlan and Aruba, and soon John found himself performing at the world famous Magic Castle in Hollywood, California.
He has now worked every room at the Castle several times.That first night still stands out as one of the most memorable magic performances of his career.
John remembers another performance that happened early in his career. He was performaing at a local mall with a friend, Chris Lyon. The finale was the Metamorphosis. John was locked in the trunk, and Chris climbed on top. Three seconds later they had switched places. John always put the keys in his pocket, but this time when he reached for them, they weren't there. He remembers that the blood must have drained from his face as he began to panic. "The show must go on," he thought. Still scared, he knocked on the trunk. Somehow Chris had discovered the keys, and he tossed them through a small hole in the side of the trunk. The audience roared with laughter as John's face returned to its natural color. Most people thought it was all part of the act!
When you perform,
put some emotion
into your act. And
remember: excitement
is an emotion!
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It wasn't long before John was booked on his first cruise ship.
He has since performed magic for cruise ship audiences on the Cunard, Princess, and Norwegian cruise lines, which have taken him to Europe, the Mediterranean, and the former Soviet Union.
Working the cruise ships has opened up the opportunity for John to purchase several illusions, which he has added to his act, assisted by Mari Lynn. This in turn has lead to more bookings on cruise ships as well as Houston's Magic Island. John is also among a select group of magicians who can say that they performed at the Newport Beach location of the Magic Island before it closed.
John has performed and lectured throughout the United States and Europe, and also authored a book entitled Sleightly Tricky, which you can purchase by contacting him at:
John Shryock
9157 East Palm Tree Drive
Tucson, Az 85710
For a sample of what is in the book, check out Royal Aces in the magic section of this site.
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