An Inside Look at the Magical Career of
Entertainer Rusty Ammerman
by Holly Marie Tong

People most commonly think of a magician as one who simply is skilled in magic or “fools” the audience. However, magician Rusty Ammerman strives for something more. Rusty has a passion for bringing his audience continual enjoyment by incorporating personality with his magic. He realized that simply doing a magic trick wouldn’t make him a magician and being a magician would not necessarily make him an entertainer. He realized that tricks are all about bringing enjoyment and suspending disbelief. Thus, Rusty wanted to be not just a magician but a performing one that would consistently bring entertainment. His realizations have obviously played a key role in bringing him to the successful point where he is today.

As I continued to learn what sets Rusty apart from other comics and magicians he explained that unfortunately some may see magic as a “hobby of last resort,” but he genuinely got into magic to entertain. Rusty went on to explain that early in his career he was very active in magic being heavily influenced by David Copperfield, having a similar approach and attitude. While he was used to doing a lot of tricks, he said at some point he got into doing a collection of routines, running gags and catch phrases making it more of a cohesive show. He continued by saying that when you go about such an approach, it makes the routine “yours.” Another interesting aspect that sets Rusty apart is that his magic is truly a reflection of him and the time period he was raised in. As a child of the 80’s Rusty likes to incorporate a lot of music from that decade, along with other surprises to bring a special touch to each show. Rusty’s personal style gives him the opportunity to be funny, be serious, tell stories and bring his audience a wide variety of entertainment. Rusty knew another advantage he could have was that he could rehearse on his own, be independent, not have to rely heavily upon others and could be a self starter. Evidently Rusty knew and still knows precisely what he is doing as he is not only a staff magician for Good’s Candy Shop in Anderson, IN but is also now a regular and featured performed at the world famous Magic Castle in Hollywood, California. In the same way that an aspiring country music singer dreams of singing on the Grande Ole Opry stage, an aspiring magician dreams of performing at the Magic Castle.

With over 25 years of experience, Rusty has wowed audiences in 43 states and nine countries, including two overseas military tours. When one has such a fascinating career, I seldom find anything more exciting than learning about the journey that lead them to where they are today. Rusty explains that he had an epiphany in which he realized his dream in 1984 the summer before his junior year. While he had an interest in magic, he couldn’t help but notice the importance of personality and entertainment in shows and the disservice that would be brought to show if these attributes were lacking. He recalls coming home, digging up tricks and putting the best ones together in his briefcase. Rusty’s friend then made photo copied flyers and pasted them throughout their town. Just as Rusty had confidently believed, the phones began to ring. He was able to do shows for his part-time job and it was working out quite well. He spent his summer vacation working at an old time Wild West Amusement park doing everything from staging gun fights and stunts to playing comic characters. He notes that he somehow fundamentally knew he could do it but acknowledges the disappointment he could have faced if his plans hadn’t panned out as he was shooting for something challenging. Now realizing rejection could have been a possibility though he somehow deep down knew everything would work out, he humbly expresses his thankfulness that he has gotten the chance to live a dream.

As aforementioned, Rusty is all about entertainment and music. I asked him to further elaborate on the different types of entertainment that show goers can expect to see. He said that his shows are always music heavy and incorporated into his different routines and tricks. Rusty emphasizes that little moments make a difference. He also believes audience participation to be an integral part of the performance and says that as a result every performance ends up slightly different because you never quite know what is going to happen when each person comes to the stage (something strange may happen or something funny may get said that will really make the audience feel involved in something all new and different). He enjoys it when the audience feels that they have seen something special that no other audience before has seen or he can at least make them think that. It is important that audiences feel they are a part of something unique and individually personalized. He said while most magic shows can be somewhat compared to a documentary, his shows have more of a mainstream movie feel.

Anyone who has ever been to a magic show has most likely tried to figure out the logic behind the trick or even how to solve it. This led me to my next question: “Do you ever have audience members try to spoil the fun for everyone else or point out what they think you “actually did?” “If so, how do you deal with this?” Rusty explains that this does happen at times but he does his best to ignore it and that it is best to not go out of his way to prove or explain. However, he is hopeful that his entertainment and what he develops into a show is a preventative from this being an issue or causing their need to figure it out from being a focus. He emphasizes that his shows are not a “me vs them” scenario as once again it is not about “fooling them” but about going on a journey together.

One particularly interesting aspect about Rusty’s career is the priceless knowledge that he has gained and how it can applicable to so many different areas in life. Through his experiences he has learned to become a skeptic, critical thinker who is not susceptible to shenanigans. It is clear that he has truly learned a great deal about people and the human mind just from interacting with audiences. Needless to say, a majority of people who see a magic trick try to quickly conjure up in their head a method to explain it. Rusty has realized that their explanations are almost always incorrect, often absurd, yet they want to think they have figured it out. Their assumptions may include anything from a cold fire to a trapped door in the floor, etc. However, Rusty knows his show goers are always going to try to come up with something and this is why he strives for fun and entertainment, so he seeks to take the heat away from making the solution to be of the main importance. Still though, Rusty has encountered a diverse array of people over the years and has had the chance to see how different minds work. He has learnt that perceptions are rarely correct but the simple minds are the most difficult to fool, especially children. In contrast, the analytical minds with high IQ’s that look at things in a complex manner are the most guillable and the quickest to make false assumptions. Rusty stands by his word that magic is never complex and that the over analytical are often quick to find patterns and desperate to believe something. (Admittedly, I must personally confess that my analytical mind was among those always quick to try to find a solution from watching past magic shows from other magicians). Rusty has truly opened up my eyes to a different approach to doing magic tricks and a different way for me as an audience member to view those tricks.

On a humorous note, I couldn’t help but confess to Rusty that I have heard that the ladies love him and find him charming. As a result, curiosity caused me to ask him if he has ever performed a magic trick on a date or how magic has played into his dating life. Rusty humbly admits that he personally sees himself as a very average guy and sees his limitations. However, he acknowledges that magic is the ability he personally has that has helped give him reasons to start a conversation which may otherwise be difficult or awkward to start. He went on to say that women don’t see men the way that men see women and magic has been an asset in this area. It is clear that it provides an opportune avenue to have a good and entertaining conversation in which he can interact with someone who he has maybe just met. He went on to say that some women are excited about the possibility of seeing a magic trick. Sounds to me like Rusty’s profession can understandably serve as a great icebreaker at times!

As for upcoming projects and goals on the horizon: Excitedly, Rusty recently got accepted to perform as a variety entertainer on Disney Cruise lines, and will hopefully be appearing in 2011. He says that he flew to Orlando to do a showcase in which many families and variety performers such as those from America’s Got Talent and American Idol performed. In addition to this anticipated opportunity, Rusty also tries to add 2 or 3 new routines every year to his show. He explains that magic is much different than music as musicians may always receive requests that their hit songs be sang…however, magicians shows greatly differ as they cannot perform the same shows forever. Show goers want something new and exciting.

I can truly say that Rusty has helped me to personally gain a whole new perspective on magic and what being a magician really means. As a top notch entertainer and impressively unique talent, it is certain that he will continue to hone and positively excel in his craft gaining fans everywhere he goes. Rusty Ammerman is a genuinely personable guy with sure-footed direction, bringing a unique one of a kind show that all entertainment enthusiasts must see.

www.magicmanrusty.com