Posted by Tom Cassani on 2026-06-09

“Theatre and performance studies scholars have recuperated and reframed other forms of popular, mass, or ‘trash’ entertainment, often following the guiding light of critical debates around representation, bodies, gender, sexuality, forms of labour, etc. Magic, however, is apparently a reach too far, even for scholars of marginalia. It seems there is something about magicians pretending to make objects vanish, acting as though they can manipulate the laws of space and time, that fails to garner any serious consideration.” (Corrieri, 2018, p. 13)

There is a distinct lack of scholarly engagement with performance magic as Augusto Corrieri notes. This absence grows even more when seeking out discourse that engages with how performance magic speaks to contemporary practices like performance art, Live Art, body-based performance, contemporary and experimental theatre. These fields are rich in discussion of repetition, endurance, duration, manipulation, authenticity, and truth. All conversations which are greatly relevant to the many disciplines that fall under the umbrella of performance magic. Magician and philosopher Eugene Burger suggests too that as a result of a “tremendously powerful conditioning” magicians themselves are guilty of perpetuating this treatment of magic “as if conjuring were itself trivial, insignificant, silly, not important, all of it. This is the type of magician most of us watched as children and, like good little monkeys, I am afraid that is what we ourselves imitate.” (Burger & Neale, 1995, p.2)

This special issue call for papers emerges from Tom Cassani’s ongoing research into the broader applications, intersections, and explorations of magic in contemporary performance practices. In his Manifesto for Expanded Magic he offers a definition of Expanded Magic as:

“the collision of a set of Live Art strategies with disciplines found in the field of Performance Magic e.g. Sleight of Hand, Illusion, Stage Magic, Sideshow, Mentalism. This collision forms a new lens from which to approach Magic performance-making, and to critique Performance Magic itself, contributing to wider discourse around authenticity, deception, truth and manipulation in the contemporary performance landscape.” (Cassani, 2026)

See issue Number 9 [edges] section to read the full Manifesto.

 

The Special Issue

We invite submissions that explore the evolving intersections of performance magic with contemporary performance practices and critical discourse. We are interested in submissions that approach performance magic in contexts beyond traditional stage performance or entertainment and discuss its application, exploration, deconstruction and reconfiguration within Live Art, performance art, choreographic practices, experimental, deconstructed or contemporary theatre. We welcome the submission of scholarly articles, interviews, accounts of practice, book and performance reviews from scholars, artists, practitioners, and practice researchers.

Topics may include but are not limited to:

·       Expanded Magic/Magic in the expanded field

·       Magic in Live Art and performance art 

·       Manipulation, lying, trickery and deception in contemporary theatre

·       Magic and: Duration, Repetition, Endurance, Time, Liveness, Choreography

·       Time-based magic, Temporal magic

·       Magic, authenticity and truth

·       Interdisciplinary magic and hybrid magic practices 

·       Unreal body-based acts in Live Art  

·       Deconstructed and Destabilised magic: Abstracted, Exploded, Dissected, Decoded

·       Post-Authentic magic performance

We welcome: 

·       Scholarly articles (4,000–8,000 words) 

·       Artist pages, visual essays, or video/photo/text contributions 

·       Practice-based reflections or documentation 

·       Interviews, dialogues, and annotated performance scores 

·       Reviews of relevant performances, exhibitions, or texts

Submissions may be made through the Journal website submissions section.

Deadline - 31/10/2026

For formatting guidance and author instructions, please consult the website prior to submission.

We welcome enquiries and are happy to discuss potential proposals, contact Tom.Cassani@hud.ac.uk 

 

The Journal 

The Journal of Performance Magic focuses on a multidisciplinary and contemporary approach to the field. Covering the influence, legacy and future of performance magic on wider performing arts practice and other diverse academic disciplines. In recent years, the academic study of performance magic has made exciting creative links within emerging disciplines; such links include the cognitive sciences, architectural design, and emerging technologies. The Journal of Performance Magic seeks to strengthen these links as well as encourage reflection on areas of performance magic not already covered in publication and develop new perspectives on areas already heavily researched.

We also offer a section of the Journal - [edges] for comments, reviews, and creative, non-standard approaches to magic performance and research.

Outside of special issues we also operate on a rolling-publication basis, releasing articles during the course of a volume. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch. 

 

References

Burger, E., & Neale, R. (1995). Magic and Meaning.

Cassani, T. (2026). A Manifesto for Expanded Magic. Journal of Performance Magic, 9(1), 1805. https://doi.org/10.5920/jpm.1805

Corrieri, A. (2018). ‘What Is This…’: Introducing Magic and Theatre. Platform, Vol. 12, No. 2, On Magic