Magician, Ames native comes to Temple Theater

DES MOINES — Des Moines Performing Arts is pleased to present Ames native, Nate Staniforth, magician, writer, traveler and former host of the Discovery Channel’s international hit TV series, “Breaking Magic,” at 7:30 p.m. on April 6-7 (two performances). Tickets to the Nate Staniforth: Real Magic Tour are on sale at DMPA.org, the Civic Center Ticket Office or by phone at 515-246-2300.

“Just caught a Nate Staniforth show,” one reporter tweeted after opening night, “and now I have no idea what to believe about anything ever again.” No rabbits. No top hats. No smoke machines. Nate abandons the ubiquitous style-without-substance bravado so often associated with magic and appeals instead to the imagination and intellect of his audience. The journey is wild, visceral and immediate, and like all great art, encourages us to open our minds and hearts, and see the world in new ways.

“When you’re young, it’s easy to be amazed,” Staniforth said. “As you get older, that experience of astonishment gets harder and harder to find. Good magic isn’t about deception. It’s about trying to see things the way you saw them before they became ordinary.”

For over a decade, Nate has toured the U.S. college circuit as one of the busiest working magicians in the country. He’s given a TED Talk, lectured at the world-famous Oxford Union, and on Jan. 16, the Harry Potter-famed Bloomsbury Publishing released Nate’s memoir in bookstores worldwide.

Here Is Real Magic follows Nate’s evolution from obsessed wunderkind to disillusioned wanderer, and tells the story of his rediscovery of astonishment — and the importance of wonder in everyday life — during his trip to the slums of India, where he infiltrated a 3,000-year-old clan of street magicians.