Marcel Oudejans the Magician
(Marcel can be hired from this site- see contact form at bottom of page.)
As I write this Marcel is busy performing at the Cape Town Fringe Festival 2015.
Marcel is one of South Africa’s best-kept secrets (until he appeared on this site…sic) – a leading magician with a sparkling personality who knows to how communicate, make people laugh and teach them valuable… business lessons at the same time. Once you’ve experienced his magic, you’ll never forget it!
Marcel in his first life, was a computer boffin and has several computer qualifications behind his name, including Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. (qualified in 2000)
However, his love of performance soon got the better of that… and he began a career as a full time magician (you could say a specialised magician).
The bug of magic had bitten Marcel at the age of 8, when he received his first magic trick.
He started performing professionally at the age of 15, starting off performing in family restaurants.
In 2003, after several long-term restaurant engagements, Marcel officially launched his career as a professional magician & speaker.
He later studied in Los Angeles under the guidance of an Internationally recognised expert Joel Bauer, in the art if “Infotainment” and in 2007 was certified as Africa’s only “Infotainer”. This makes him one of a handful of presenters in the world who are able to provide a bespoke & custom-branded performance that can be used for marketing events, training & conferences.
Marcel is very active in the Corporate sector… MC’ing conferences, events and does a lot of soft skills training (as well as Magic – remember “Infotainment”) for large corporates.
Marcel is also recognised as a Professional Speaker and does many Speaking events. When he isn’t doing all of the above, he is also a founding member of the Cape Town based improvised Comedy Troupe “the Long Shots”. His current position with the comedy troupe is the Production Manager, Marcel coordinates the event management & communication of their performances. They have gained a large following since their inception in 2011.
Where can you find Marcel?
Marcel is a born and bred Capetonian. He has lived in Cape Town for most of his life.
He has performed Internationally: Nairobi (Kenya), London, Los Angeles, Kiev (Ukraine), & Thiruvananthapuram (India).
He has also had the pleasure of travelling & presenting in every major town in South Africa, & has visited 5 Southern African states.
Accomplishments
Marcel has a long list of accomplishments, including as it now stands:
- Over 11 000 hours of professional performance experience (as of Oct, 2015), for over 180 corporate clients, for all types of events and audiences.
- Over 3 years as the in-house magician for the infamous original “Madame Zingara” and “Cara Lazuli” restaurants in Cape Town.
- Retained as the hotel magician for Sun International “Zambezi Sun” hotel at Victoria Falls, Zambia, for Christmas and New Year entertainment, 2006 and 2007.
- Performed in London, UK, and part of the “Marvin’s Magic” staff at “Harrods” in Knightbridge in 2004.
- Visited and performed at the world-famous “Magic Castle” in Hollywood, CA., in 2007.
- International guest performer and lecturer at “Vismayam 2008”, India’s largest ever magic convention. Over 1 000 local and international performers attending this prestigious event in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, hosted by the Magic Academy of Kerala. Marcel lectured on ‘close-up’ magic and performed on stage for over 1 000 people. He was awarded a trophy by the tourism council of Kerala.
- Guest lecturer at the 2009 South African Magic Convention, on the subject of “Magic and Marketing”.
- Currently the youngest registered Professional member of the Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa, a member of the Global Speakers Federation.
- 2009-2012 Vice-President of the Cape Town Chapter of the PSASA.
- A registered member of the Performing Arts Network of South Africa.
- Committee member, Western Cape branch, Performing Arts Network of South Africa, July 2014 –
- Current serving director of the Upliftment Programme, an PBO (Public Benefit Organisation) providing care and attention to children in hospitals and disadvantaged communities across Southern Africa.
- Founding member of ‘The Long Shots’ Improvised Comedy Troupe.
- Performed in his own shows, “Sleight Of Mouth 1 : The Art Of Talking Your Way Out Of Anything” (2013 & 2015), “Curious Things” (2014), and “Sleight Of Mouth 2: Now Talk Your Way Out Of This!” (2015)at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.
- Selected to perform his one-man show, “Sleight of Mouth”, at the inaugural Cape Town Fringe festival in 2014.
Links to find out more about Marcel:
Currently also performing at: The Cape Town Magic Club (closed for immediate future- May 2021)
