In the last year or so there has been more magic on American television than ever before (at least in most of our lifetimes). The Carbonaro Effect has been a hit for TruTV, SyFy was recently running not one but three magic series and magic can be found on networks such as Reelz and Pop TV. Meanwhile, on broadcast television magic carried the day last summer when Mat Franco won America’s Got Talent and has been well represented on this year’s edition with acts such as Piff, Derek Hughes and Oz Pearlman. The CW has been the real champion of magic, though, with their resurrections of Masters Of Illusion and Penn & Teller: Fool Us. Behind the scenes, Rick Lax has been a major part of magic’s return to television as the co-creator of Wizard Wars, which went from an Internet pilot to SyFy series. He will soon be jumping in front of the cameras, though, to compete on Fool Us Monday, September 14 (check your local listings).
![]( "Rick Lax on Penn & Teller: Fool Us")
iTricks: You are known more as a magic creator and as one of the guys behind Wizard Wars, which featured Penn and Teller. Do you think that either of these things put more pressure on you as a Fool Us contestant?
Rick: I felt more pressure. On Wizard Wars, I worked to advise the Challengers and Wizards as to how to best fool Penn and Teller. This was a real ‘put your money where your mouth is’ situation.
iTricks: No offense, but you are not known as a prolific live performer… was this a factor?
Rick: Definitely a factor. The last paying gig I’ve done…was a kids’ birthday party, probably when I was 17. I’ve never done a paying show for adults, never performed magic on TV before. Certainly never done magic with two magicians as knowledgeable and experienced as Penn and Teller staring at hands, unflinching.
iTricks: How do you feel about performing? I know that I am not in love with performing for performing’s sake while other guys can’t get enough of being in front of the audience. Where do you fall?
Rick: Don’t love performing, don’t hate it. But I do like sharing my work with others. And if the ‘work’ is a magic trick, well, somebody’s gotta perform it. If I create a trick and somebody else performs it well, that makes me really happy. If they perform it poorly, I start wishing it was me up there.
iTricks: Once you found yourself a Fool Us participant were you kicking yourself for sharing anything with Penn and Teller that you wished you could use on Fool Us?
Rick: Luckily I hadn’t showed them any of my own magic before filming. So they didn’t really know what I was capable of. I’d guess they mostly saw me as a magic enthusiast who’s written about magic in the past, and helped to develop a magic TV show…but hasn’t really been in the trenches. Again, all speculation on my part.
iTricks: Do you think working behind the camera so much provided any advantage to you on Fool Us?
![]( "View From The Stage")
The View From The Fool Us Stage
Rick: Yes, working behind the camera in the past was really the ace up my sleeve. I’ve probably performed less than anyone else on the show (including the 13-year-old [iTricks note: That was Riley Siegler] I just saw this week), but I’ve spent a TON of time thinking about magic, creating magic, helping others perform, and, yes, working on Wizard Wars, a magic competition show.
iTricks: Has anyone else used one of your creations on Fool Us?
Rick: I will be the first to do one of my tricks on Fool Us. But because they just got renewed for Season Three —which is awesome— maybe somebody else will do a trick of of mine then.
iTricks: How competitive are you? Do you compare your Fool Us appearance to appearances made by other performers that you know?
Rick: I’m probably the most competitive person I know. Ask Bizzaro. Most the other performers I know went into Fool Us with a much more chill attitude. And for many of them, it paid off big time. They looked like they were having a blast on stage, and Penn and Teller loved them.
iTricks: So does this mean we should be looking forward to an increased stage presence for you? What about more on camera TV stuff? A little Rick Lax on America’s Got Talent, maybe?
Rick: We’ll see how this one goes and go from there.
iTricks: Sadly, Wizard Wars was not renewed by SyFy. Do you want to say anything about Wizard Wars or any new TV projects?
Rick: I’ll just say that I’m still bummed about Wizard Wars ending, but I’m truly happy to be a part of Fool Us. It’s another show that’s “Good for magic.” Happy it’s on the air, and very happy so many people are watching. Good magic showcased well helps all of us.
iTricks: Is there going to be a Fool Us viewing party in Vegas?
Rick: I should probably get on that, shouldn’t I?
iTricks: As most of our readers know, you are actually a lawyer. Does your family ever give you trouble for being a magician instead of a practicing attorney?
Rick: For a couple years, yes. Lately they’ve been more accepting of it. And here’s a fun fact, when I wrote a book about my experience in law school, Penn was kind enough to give me this blurb: “I’m really glad he’s getting the law degree so he has a job other than magic—we don’t need this kind of competition.” Now the prophecy (of us competing) is kind of coming to fruition…
iTricks: So your parents weren’t initially thrilled with you being a magician instead of a lawyer… how’d your former clients and bosses take it? Were they like “Yeah, magic is probably a good way to go…”?
Rick: I found out I passed the bar exam as I was driving to Vegas to write my second book. The dean of my law school, Glen Weissenberger, didn’t seem too bothered by my lawyer-to-magician transition. But maybe that’s because he’s a lifelong magician himself. Just saw him last week at MAGIC Live, behind a dealer’s booth, pitching sound equipment. Sales were good!
iTricks: Do other magicians hit you up for legal advice?
Rick: If I say yes does that mean everybody reading this is going to start hitting me up? Uh, let’s go with “no.”
iTricks: Finally what is your favorite Rick Lax effect? What about non-Rick Lax effect?
Rick: From what I hear, my most popular trick (the one people are performing the most) is a trick with a matchbox called Vuja De. I’m always in love with whatever is the latest. And my favorite non-Lax tricks are: Invisible Deck, Color-Changing Sponge Ball, Micro Psychic.
