Q and A with magician Seth Grabel

By Allison Duck

Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010 | 11:59 a.m.

Anyone can say “abracadabra,” but few can say it while suspended from the ceiling on silks.

Magician Seth Grabel isn’t your garden-variety illusionist. The multi-talented entertainer, who opens for The Amazing Jonathan at his Harmon Theater show, incorporates his gymnastics background into his act.

Grabel also has regular gigs at the Foundation Room on Friday and Saturday nights where he wanders through the crowd showing club goers his magic tricks up close. Catch Grabel this Saturday as he headlines his own show at Club Fortune Casino.

Do you ever use your skills as an icebreaker at parties or to pick up ladies?

Oh, all the time. That’s one of the reasons why I got into it, because it’s a fun thing to do to entertain people. People are standing around bored and then I bring it out and it breaks the ice.

How did you get your start in magic?

I actually started doing close-up magic in my apartment in San Luis Obispo, and I started little by little picking up new things. It’s basically trying to impress people with slight of hand. My favorite trick is the watch steal, which is rather comedic. Basically I take someone’s watch off without them knowing. I do a pick-pocketing act on stage. That’s kind of my comedy bit. I bring two people on stage and I take everything from their watch, their wallet, their shorts, suspenders, ties. It depends on what they have that I can take off. I take it off and show the audience, and they get a big kick out of it.

Pick-pocketing is an unusual skill. How did you come to discover you were good at it?

I just decided to try it to see if it worked. At first I was a little nervous to be taking someone’s watch without them knowing or allowing me. I just did it and it worked. Then I gave it back to him and he said, “I didn’t even feel that. How did you do that?” It kind of became an addiction, and I started doing it more and more.

What type of magic do you do with Amazing Jonathan?

I work with him one week out of the month. I open the show. I do all silent magic because he’s the comedian, so I don’t even talk. I get on stage and do a lot of physical magic. I call it acrobatic magic. It’s like Cirque du Soleil meets David Copperfield. I’m a gymnast. It depends on the stage, but I usually come out with a round-off back flip. Then for the finale I do silks, aerial acrobatics. It’s so cool to see the audience’s faces when I fly over them.

Are there any magicians you really admire?

I admire different people for different reasons. I mostly admire entertainers, for example, Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire for their dancing, or Michael Jackson, for that matter. He’s a phenomenal performer in every way. As for magicians, I admire Criss Angel for his marketing abilities, not necessarily for his performance abilities. I’m a businessman and I appreciate his marketing ability. Everyone is so quick to bash him, but I try never to bash anyone because I’ve made errors in my career too. Amazing Jonathan has amazing timing. I watch him and he just has impeccable timing.

Have you ever gotten in trouble for your pick-pocketing act?

I haven’t. Everyone seems to think I have and I think that I should have, but I haven’t yet. I haven’t because of my happy-go-lucky nature I guess. I steal it, then I say, “Oh, this must be yours. I’m sorry.” They’re just happy to get it back. I love people’s reactions. That’s really how I got into magic.