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Grapevine High School alum Zak Mirz is no stranger to secrets. In his field, that’s a very good thing. For over 15 years, this first-generation American has been enchanting audiences around the world with his indelible talent for sleight of hand, together with a flair for storytelling. After tragically losing his father when he was just one year old, Zak eventually sought comfort in an unexpected place - magic. These days, Zak’s career is on an upward trajectory. Not only has he acted as an advisor on David Blaine’s series “The Magic Way,” he left Penn and Teller spellbound on “Penn & Teller: Fool Us!” and launched his first special “Ticket for One,” which is streaming on YouTube. His current tour, “Flashes of Magic,” is heavily inspired by what he considers his most magical creation to date – his 2-year-old daughter.
MY UNCLE FOUND A MAGIC SHOP… in the Yellow Pages. He took me [there], and I met this magician who helped me navigate through the books and theory. Because the temptation is just to buy magic tricks rather than understanding the theory and the foundation and why the tricks work.
WHAT I LOVE IS… storytelling. I found that what I love to do and what I'm really good at is telling stories to people. So everything I create and everything I perform is through the lens of a story.
WHEN I GRADUATED… from Grapevine in 2010, I packed my bag and started hitting the road. I went to a small town in Minnesota [to perform a show], and it was there that I met my wife. She was helping us with merchandise, and by the end of the night, in my head, I was like, I would love for her to be my wife.
I COULD HONESTLY SAY THAT I’VE MET… all my mentors and heroes in my life because magic is a very small circle. I got to work with David Blaine on his special in 2020, so I got to learn under this guy that I idolized as well. It was the most amazing experience in my life -- to see how he works, how he talks to people, how he interacts, how he sees magic.
DAVID BLAINE TAUGHT ME SOMETHING I’LL ALWAYS REMEMBER… Basically, he asks himself, “Would I do it for $1,” and if the answer is yes, he'll do it for whatever amount of money on the table. But if the answer is no, even if someone throws a million dollars at him, he's going to say no. And that's how I approach my art form now.
FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO GET STARTED IN PERFORMING ARTS… the best advice is do the same thing that great athletes do. They rehearse, they practice, they play and then they watch film… It’s brutal, but the only way you can get good is from seeing yourself through that lens and then making small adjustments.
WHEN I’M WORKING ON NEW IDEAS FOR MY SHOW… out of 100 ideas, I might come up with one or two that are amazing. Then I try to figure out what the music is, what the script is. Then I might go to open mic night and try it out at an improv or a two-minute [set]. I'll listen to how the audience reacts. I’ll see how they engage with a trick. If I feel like all those things are in place, it might have bones to actually go on my show.
A LOT OF MY MATERIAL NOW IS INSPIRED BY… the playfulness and youthfulness of my two-year-old daughter. Even doing magic tricks with letter blocks that I would have never considered before, because it's all magical to her.
ONE OF THE MOST INSPIRING THINGS… my daughter has shown me magic still exists. We just have to find it… My new show is a reminder that the greatest magic trick you could ever give to yourself is seeing the world through the lens of a child.
* "Flashes of Magic" is proudly presented by GM Financial