2013 Lance Burton, Teller, Seigfried and Roy, Penn and Criss
the morning … me and Nick will stay
there all night doing lighting, or you
know what, if I wanted to produce
a new element to the levitation or
something like that, I’d do it at that
time. I’ll usually then sleep at the
theatre, because I have a bed in my
dressing room, just crash there, then
get up and start my next day there, or
I’ll go home and sleep for two or three
hours, get up and do it again. And
this, I work 6 and a half days an average week, Mondays I work a half day,
or sometimes I try take Mondays off.
David:
Do you ever get burnt out?
Criss:
I am burnt out right now. I’ve been
burnt out for a long time, but it’s
really really hard to say no to things,
because when I was struggling and
I couldn’t get a break, I couldn’t get
arrested, you think about that. I risked
my life to kill myself, and we couldn’t
get 10 people to watch it, then I eat an
apple after the first season and I have
500 people watching me eat an apple.
For me I gotta get a better balance
in my life, but I’m so consumed and I
have so much in my mind that I want
to get out creatively … you know,
everybody has a life span. I don’t wanna be like some of these magicians in
town that are just walking through the
show – they don’t want to be there,
they’re just doing it because of ego,
and so for me it’s not about that. Basically, I have 2 years left of my contract.
I’ll probably still work doing tours
although I probably won’t do as many.
I’ll probably have a better balance, because my goal is to have 10 shows out
and bounce around to different parts
of the world doing my own show.
David:
So that was one of my questions,
you’re kind of answering it – you’ve
achieved more than any other magician has ever achieved, you’re the
most watched magician on the planet, you’ve got the biggest show in
Vegas … you used the word ‘journey’
earlier, are you still on that journey,
or are you going further, how are you
going to take it further, do you want
to take it further, or do you want to
spend more time with your family,
do you want to cut back? Where are
you going to be in five years time?
Criss:
In five years I think I’ll have between 6
and 10 shows out that will play all over
the world, Cirque, because the show
has been very well received, the
Mindfreak Live show, it’s something
that they have a five year option. It
has to be mutual, and they’re already
talking about extending it, but it’s
not about money for me, I don’t care
about money. I just don’t know if
I wanna be in Vegas doing this for
five more years. I definitely wouldn’t
do the amount, I do 450 shows a
year, 460 something like that … it’s
ridiculous, and I’m 48, so it’s like, I’ve
done enough shows … it is awesome, but my child, and the greatest
thing that I can do, is to use the
blessings that have been bestowed
on my life for the greater good for
children. I really believe that. My son
has leukemia, and I’ve been working
with kids since 2001, before I was
even successful. I think I’m in this
situation because I am meant to do
something and be a voice for these
kids, to get in front of congress, to
raise awareness and get a higher
percentage of dollars that would be
spent for the disease than less than
3% of almost 4 billion dollars that
they do currently. I think that’s my
greater mission, but I want to set it
up in a way that I can have time in
the year that I don’t have to perform
VANISH MAGIC MAGAZINE
45