Interview: Magical duo Lawrence and Priscilla on the art of the escape
Their debut show "From Illusion to Reality" was staged at the Indoor Stadium in 2000 and went on to tour Taiwan. Other big shows followed: "The Magic of Love," "The Spook Show," "An Evening of Enchantment," showing the pair's trademark style of dance, drama and music combined with technically challenging illusions and stunts.
Now, the father-daughter duo are set to perform their latest illusion –- "The Escape" –- at The Singapore Flyer on December 31, just before midnight.
CNNGo: Ever pulled a rabbit out of a hat?
Lawrence Khong: Frankly no! My mother did not allow me to keep rabbits when I was young.
Priscilla Khong: Yes I have! I borrowed a friend’s pet rabbit to perform at a kids’ show. The parents requested for it.
CNNGo: How do you train to become a magician?
Lawrence: I picked it up when I was in secondary school by buying tricks from a magic shop. I then started performing for free at school functions and parties. Pretty soon, friends and acquaintances were asking me to perform shows at their private or company events for a fee. That’s how I got started.
Priscilla: I was lucky as I had my father to start me off in magic. In Project SMILE we help aspiring magicians learn and perform their craft. I find it's a great way to help people get started in magic.
CNNGo: How do you work together? Is there a main and secondary act, or are both of you equal performers?
Lawrence: Each of us has our own solo act. Priscilla takes maximum advantage of her training in contemporary dance in her stylish acts. I am a good speaker and engage my audience with light banter. We combine my years of show experience with her youthful and creative routines to present an explosive and entertaining act.
CNNGo: Speaking of explosives, how much explosive are you using in "The Escape?" Enough to bust a capsule of The Flyer?
Lawrence: Not at all. The safety of the audience, our crew and us, is of utmost importance. We have just enough to disengage the hinges of the box so that it opens up completely. If we don’t escape in time, we will fall to our deaths on a cluster of nasty spikes.
CNNGo: What are your individual roles in "The Escape?"
Lawrence: We help to free each other in the shortest time possible from a box that will fall apart in two minutes and plunge us to our deaths. And as I have no intention of plunging to my death with my daughter, precision is an essential.
In the production process, I planned the technical aspects of the stunt to help make sure of that. Priscilla worked on the presentation to ensure clarity and that the audience feels the tension with us throughout the stunt.
CNNGo: Can you give us a tiny clue about how you do it?
Lawrence: We can take our bodies apart and put them back together in two minutes. No, that is not the secret. The real secret is that we have clones that can break all the locks and chains in seconds. We just chill out in the box for two minutes to build the tension and get out at the very last second…
Priscilla: Actually, we have a tiny transmogrification device. Comic strip characters Calvin and Hobbes built it and lent it to us for the show.
CNNGo: Right, I guess you’re not going to tell us. Do tell then, how you became a magician in the first place?
Lawrence: Well, I have always enjoyed entertaining people and I realized that I was good at it. And it is great to be paid for something I really enjoy doing. My magic workshop is really my toy room. I haven’t grown up yet!
CNNGo: When you travel overseas what do you state as your profession on immigration forms?
Lawrence: I put down "magician" and the immigration officers often get friendly and ask me to show them a trick. I usually clear immigration in a matter of seconds, and walk away with new friends and fans!
Priscilla: Yes. I put down "magician" and perform a magic trick. I love putting smiles on people’s faces -- especially on grumpy, dour-looking immigration officers!
