ural fit . I already had a close-knit network of top magicians , producers , and directors as friends and colleagues , and I had experience on both sides of the production table . I felt well-prepared and abundant with resources . When I finally released clips of myself performing magic , the response was overwhelming ."
" I studied musical theater , including dancing , singing , and acting , at college and performed in musicals across the UK , USA , and Dubai . I took art A-level in school and have always enjoyed painting for fun . Now , I get to design my own merchandise at thehexclubstore . com . I truly believe that everything I learned from being a dancer , singer , actor , director , producer , artist , and even an office assistant has made me a better performer . Being surrounded by creatives like Neil Dorward , Siobhan Ginty , Jenn Rapp , Jamie Allan , and Dan Sperry set a high standard and taught me what makes a successful act and a smash-hit show . After all , it is show BUSINESS — being a good performer is only a small part of the job !"
" Magic has been a recurring theme in my life . All I ever dreamed of was being a dancer on the West End , which I achieved early on — in a magic show , no less ! This accomplishment pushed me to find new and bigger dreams ."
Embracing Mistakes
Performing live comes with its share of mishaps . One particularly embarrassing moment involved slipping on a puddle of water left on stage by another fellow act , Young and Strange . " I completely fell over like a cartoon character with the close-up camera on me ," Hollie laughs . Despite these moments , she believes in " getting back on the horse " to conquer fear and grow as a performer . Each mistake has become a valuable lesson , helping her develop quick thinking and improvisation skills .
" I think I naturally just bounce up again , but as I get older , it ' s harder to do !" Hollie laughs .
Entertained by her comedic encounter , I was determined to find out more .
" Even since I was a dancer , getting my first pair of pointe shoes and going through blisters and then my toenails all getting black and bruised a falling off , there has been the theme of ' suffering for your art '. What hasn ' t killed me ( sometimes literally ) has made me stronger ."
" I ' ve been shot in the face by a crossbow live on stage ( any lower and I would have lost my eye )."
" I almost drowned in a water tank after scraping the skin off my forearm and hip just before entering the water ."
" I was suspended and nearly fell 30ft from the top of a theater on a motorcycle when one of the safety straps broke ."
" Every single time I did the act again . I have a theory that if I didn ' t just ' get back on the horse ' then I ' d forever have fear . Overcoming fear is how you grow ( but I did only do these things again when the safety measures had been improved and it was practically impossible for the same things to happen again ).
The best thing is that I have really cool stories now ( and still have all my limbs and both my eyes )."
" This helped when I became the magician as when things went wrong or not quite to plan , I had to figure out the ' outs ' or ways that it could never happen again ( although mixing up a piece of paper doesn ' t have quite the same disastrous results as a misfired arrow )."
" Learning how to ' vamp ' is a valuable skill ! Also , it helps to have a solid crew who always have your back , can recognize when something is wrong and may be able to help you . I remember I saved a popular comedy magician on the West End when he had forgotten to set his prop and was walking on stage . I ran to his dressing room , collected all the materials and had a dancer bring on a table at some point with the missing pieces ."
AUGUST | 2024 33