Expanded Magic

A performer working in the contexts of theater, circus, cabaret, live art, nightclubs, and gallery spaces, Tom Cassani’s research focuses on the body as a site of apparent deception in contemporary performance practices.

Tom Cassani

Florentina Holzinger

At the Forecast Forum in Berlin, Cassani, who also performs under the moniker Strange Boy, presented a series that highlighted the performing body as an unreliable measure of truth.

Cassani was selected by choreographer Florentina Holziger to continue to develop his proposal to completion within the framework of Forecast. Drawing on an expanded approach to magic and sideshow, Expanded Magic will test the limits of body-based illusion while mapping new territories in the fields of choreography, contemporary magic, theater, and performance art.

By deconstructing and reconfiguring the aesthetic and linguistic indicators of magic, Cassani seeks to observe the change in audience perception of physical possibilities. Holzinger said: “In Tom Cassani’s unique style—informed by years of practice as an entertainer—I particularly enjoy an interesting combination in which a very analytical and anatomical approach meets the mysterious and deceptive to create an almost mystical event for a thinking audience. I am curious to see how he can further the research on the body as a site of deception and develop this into a thought-provoking event that can both amaze but also challenge people’s perception of physical possibilities, entertainment, and staged magic.”