Magic...
has fascinated me my entire life. As a toddler, one of my earliest and only memories of my grandfather is of him “performing” the whole coin behind the ear bit. A few years later, I was taken aback by the grand illusions of David Copperfield and the contagious energy of David Blaine’s street magic specials. And from there, it just snowballed into a huge love affair for me. So, when I had the opportunity to direct an incredibly moving piece about a woman in magic, it felt like I had won the lottery. And getting to work with professional magician, Kayla Drescher, made me feel like I won it twice.
That said, OPEN is as much a story of love, loss and rebirth, as it is about magic. Whenever I see magic, it turns me into a kid again seeing the impossible turn possible. The Magician in our story looks at her beloved in much the same way, though their love is very much real.
Speaking of the Magician, it is impossible to talk about OPEN, without talking about the phenomenal Ashley Kristeen Vega. We met early on in the quarantine through a play reading, and I was immediately blown away. From there we worked together on a few more of those, and I kept thinking in the back of my mind that we needed to do a full-out production someday.
The opportunity came sooner than expected, because as were brainstorming potential projects, she passed along OPEN. It was a revelation. She unknowingly had handed me a play that I had spent years looking for without my being aware of it. I knew immediately that this was the show for us. After we decided on OPEN, the decision was made to produce it through Party Claw Productions, who were absolutely the perfect group to make it happen with. It was the perfect show, at the perfect time, with the perfect people.
It’s impossible to talk about this show without also considering the global pandemic. In my view, it has given us one of the most valuable gifts of all – time. Time and space to consider our lives, and our relationships. To look at what was working for us, and what wasn’t. This show is about the same thing. We move forward so quickly that we seldom stop to really consider our journey. There’s magic in stopping and looking around.
Magic isn’t just sleight of hand, or an illusion. Magic is receiving love when we know we don’t deserve it. It’s when we pull a disappearing act, and reappear a better version of ourselves. Magic is building connections with others online when we can’t be in person. And magic happens when you do a good deed when it’s not expected of you. There is so much magic in all of us waiting to come out, and all we have to do is OPEN the door.
What magic do you bring to the people in your life?
Sophie Sam
Director
