Alexander May is a Cape Town (South Africa), based magician… we caught up with him to find out a bit more.
(Alex can be hired from this page- see contact form at the bottom of the page)
Do you use a stage name?
No, my Stage name is the same.
Would it be rude to ask your date of birth?
26/08/1982
What made you become a magician?
I have a couple of cousins who also do magic as a hobby so growing up we all shared the love of the art and shared new effects.
Where are you based, where do you live?
I live in Bloubergrant, Cape Town and operate from there.
How long have you been performing for?
I have been doing proper shows for 18 years now.
What type of magic do you most enjoy performing?
I love both stage and close-up magic… it would be difficult to choose a favourite!
Where are some of the places you have performed?
I have performed all over SA, from Cape Town to Joburg. I have done corporate functions at Fancourt Golf Estate, CTICC, GrandWest Casino, Club Mykonos, Mount Nelson and we did a show at the 2014 Woordfees in Stellenbosh.
What is your best magical story (i.e. funniest moment, scariest thing, etc.- something you would like to share)? What are your top tips for performing?
I was performing on stage at a very posh function one evening, and during the cut & restored rope effect I nearly cut my thumb off with the scissor! Blood everywhere, and a very abrupt ending to my show!
(Editor’s note: we now know that Alex is a “gusher”!)
My tips for performing would be mainly to have fun and so your best to make the audience have fun as well.
What would you like to make even “better” in magic?
Getting people to understand that I can’t put a phone in a bottle like Dynamo!
(Editor’s note: WHO SAYS?)
What would you like to see on this site?
Great site and looking forward to seeing more magic and info about magic in SA
(Editor’s note: that is and will continue to be happening. Readers… let me know if you have something exciting happening. We can always post under “Latest Magical News”)
What do you consider the best books/ videos/ etc. to learn magic from?
The classics… the best magic is still in Tarbell’s Course in Magic, Rice’s Encyclopedia Of Silk Magic, and 13 Steps to Mentalism.
Have you won any special awards that you would like to put on the page?
Did win the 2014 Daelin Trophy from the CMC :)
(Editor’s note: this is a trophy for best performance, the competition is held every year for entrants from the Cape Magic Circle.)
Have you designed/ invented a product/ book/dvd, etc. that you have for sale?
I have a book called (Menta)Lists which got great reviews, which also includes routines from Banachek.
http://alexander-may.com/html/mentalists.html (will ist this when i get it from Murphy’s magic supplies) And I also make sponge items which will soon be distributed world-wide by Murphy’s Magichttp://alexander-may.com/html/sponge_items.html(will list this when i get it from Murphy’s Magic Supplies).
Well, I would like to thank Alex for his time in answering all our question..
(Editor’s note: As you can see above Alex makes handmade realistic sponge items. He also gets up to “other” things.
Below is a photo of myself and Alex, with his personal “rabbit from hat” puppet and some other “lookalikes” he made – you’re not allowed to mention the brand name as made personally for own fun)
