Newsletter No. 393

10 No. 393, 4.3.2012 …… 如是說 Thus Spake… 歐錦豪2001年畢業於中大自動化與計算機輔助工程學系， 曾當全職魔術師，最近改任魔術師中介人及節目統籌。 Mr. Au Kam-ho graduated from the Department of Automation and Computer-aided Engineering, CUHK, in 2001. Having been a full-time magician for several years, he recently has been working as an agent for magicians and programme coordinator. 你是怎樣喜歡上玩魔術？又如何學習？ 最初根本不懂甚麼是魔術。還是小學生時，看到電影和電 視裏的法師能從無變有，控制大局，十分厲害。於是我不 斷尋找有關超自然的資料，還做剪報和記錄，就是為了要 知道為甚麼會這樣，不過始終找不到答案。唸高中時，有一 次與同學到深圳閒逛，目睹魔術師的現場表演，赫然發覺 原來是有「可以學習的法術」的。接着，便開始找書自學。 是否在唸大學時已經常於校內外表演？ 那時我還是處於初學階段，更興致勃勃地希望在中大組織 一個魔術社。我到處打聽，找志同道合的人，可惜只找到兩 個略懂魔術的，組魔術社的想法最終成了泡影。倒是我畢 業後三年，中大真的成立了魔術學會。說起來，在學期間， 我未嘗於校內演出，反而經常向社區中心自薦，為的是爭 取演出和練習的機會。 可否給魔術下個定義？ 我認為魔術是：（一）一種表演藝術；（二）當時的常識是 不能解釋的；（三）必須是人為的。 魔術師能為觀眾帶來甚麼？ 魔術像其他表演，可以帶給人娛樂的效果。不過說到其不 可替代的位置，就是將不可思議的現象呈現予觀眾。魔術 師─這個演員─是通過不可思議來傳譯歡樂、詭異或 傷感等訊息，甚至是藝術的視野。說到底，讓人感到不可 思議才是魔術表演的根。 哪位魔術大師是你努力的目標？ 西班牙的Juan Tamariz。他愛用紙牌表演，那是最常見的 魔術效果，但即使行家也找不出破綻。Tamariz為人謙虛， 涉獵廣泛，對戲劇表演更有獨特的看法。他的表演就是一 種藝術。 唸工程學對設計魔術可有幫助？ 我在中大開放日看到學院展示的機械人、激光等，覺得是 另類「法術」，因而被吸引入讀。工程學着重邏輯思考，把 物理學知識應用於現實生活上。很多魔術也是借用物理學 原理，有了工程學根底，對閱讀有關書籍，以至設計和製 作道具，幫助很大。 是甚麼驅使你以魔術為業？ 我在一間台資電路板公司工作，做的是低層次設計，工作 繁重，每天像只有上班時間，沒有下班時間。由於勞損過 度，一天早上醒來，雙手和肩膀硬得像石膏般，一動也動不 了，要母親摻扶才能起床。那一刻我想，我不怕捱苦，但總 該有個價值，這份工作的意義在哪？於是，我計算一下一年 不全職工作，但要維持生計和給家裏生活 費所需多少，待儲夠了，便立刻辭掉工作， 希望利用一年思考該做甚麼。值得一提 的，是不用上班後一星期，我的手痛毛病 即不藥而癒。 及後一年，我嘗試了多種不同工作，包括表 演魔術和小提琴、參與劇團演出，甚或當 跟車工人。最後，因為覺得當魔術師既由自 己主導，又是自己的興趣，便在2006年起 當全職魔術師。 全職魔術師的生涯怎樣？ 雖然我很喜歡魔術，但也得說是「辛苦得 要命」。從找客戶、洽談、設計到演出等一 概瑣事，都是自己一手包辦。由於每次的 觀眾都不同，每場演出也就要重新設計一番。最諷刺的， 是再次日以繼夜地忙個不停，有次更在演出前咳出血來。 是否因此而改當魔術師中介人？ 健康問題是個警號，催促我思考日後發展。可是，我已租 了工作室，又添置了不少道具，一下子放棄了有點可惜。去 年，澳門漁人碼頭招標建鬼屋和安排人扮鬼，我之前曾參 與設計海洋公園鬼屋及表演，於是試着提交標書，結果獲 選。與此同時，又取得安排魔術師到澳門銀河娛樂表演的 合約，靈機一動，決意轉型當中介人，並兼理節目統籌。 對在學的師弟師妹有甚麼忠告？ 我寄語他們要認真學習，做好本份，才能讓人相信他們日 後可勝任挑戰；也不必急於看到成果。以我的個案為例， 唸書時的知識，有助我學習和設計魔術。由於平素把表 演資料詳細載列，客戶看到我的準備充足，也對我更有信 心。還有就是不要小看自己所學，因為你不會知道現在用 心學習的東西，甚麼時候會大派用場，所以不要放過任何 學習的機會。 How did you become fond of magic and how did you learn it? I didn’t know what magic was about. In primary school, I saw in movies and on television powerful wizards who could produce something from nothing. I began researching the supernatural, keeping clippings and making notes to understand why magic happens. But I couldn’t find the answer. One day in high school, my classmates and I went to Shenzhen where I saw the performance of a magician. I then found out there is ‘learnable magic’. From that time on, I started learning magic from books. Did you perform on or off campus while at CUHK? I was a novice. I wanted to establish a magic club in the University. Though I tried to seek like-minded friends, I could only find two. So my plan fell through. Three years after my graduation, I learnt of a magic society being formed on campus. I never performed on campus as a student. On the contrary, I volunteered to perform magic at community centres to gain more opportunities for practice. Can you define magic? I would say magic is: (1) a performance art; (2) something that cannot be explained by common sense; and (3) man- made. What can a magician bring to the audience? Like other performances, magic entertains. Its uniqueness lies in its putting on display incredible phenomena, through which the magician—the performer, conjures up joy, strangeness, sadness, etc. He can even deliver messages about art. The trick of a magic show is to make people’s mouths drop. ‘How did you do that?’ Is there any master magician that you admire? Spaniard Juan Tamariz. He plays with cards, the most common magic trick. But even magicians can’t understand how he does it. Mr. Tamariz is humble, knowledgeable, and has his unique views about dramatic performance. His performance is an art. Did majoring in engineering help you in your designs? I visited CUHK on its open day before enrolling. All the robotics, laser equipments on display at the Engineering Faculty were magical in their own ways. They attracted me to the Faculty. Engineering emphasizes logical thinking and applying physics to life. A lot of magic tricks also make use of physics knowledge. My major has been very helpful in enabling me to understand what I read in magic books, and also in trick and prop designs. Why did you become a full-time magician? I worked at a Taiwanese integrated circuit company responsible for low-end engineering design. The workload was very heavy. It seemed that there was never time for leisure. I was drained. Waking up one morning, my arms and shoulders felt as if they were made of cement. I had to ask my mom to help me get up. That moment I told myself that I did not mind having to toil, but it must be for something worthwhile. But was my job worthwhile? So, I calculated my total living expenses for a year including money for my family. After I had saved the desired amount, I quitted. It’s funny that the pain in my arm went away a week after I left the company. In the following year, I did different types of work, including performing magic, playing the violin, taking part in drama performances, even becoming a delivery worker. In 2006, I finally decided to be a full-time magician as that way, I can take charge of my career doing something I like. How’s the life of a full-time magician? Though I love magic, I was working like a dog and was stressed out. I had to look for clients, negotiate, design, and perform by myself. As every performance is targeted at a different audience, it has to be tailor-made. Once, overworked, I coughed up blood before a show. Is that the reason you became a magician agent? Health problems forced me to contemplate my future. But due to logistic arrangements already made, such as the studio and the props, it would be a waste to give up. Last year, the Fisherman’s Wharf in Macau invited bids for building a haunted house and recruiting artists. I had experience designing a haunted house and doing similar performances for Ocean Park, so I tendered for the contract and was accepted. In the meantime, I also secured a contract for arranging magicians to perform at Galaxy Macau. The idea of being a magician agent and programme coordinator came to my mind. Any advice to your juniors? My advice is to study hard, pull one’s weight, so as to gain people’s confidence that you will overcome any challenges. Don’t be impatient for the outcome. Take my case as an example, my studies helped me a lot in learning and designing magic. I keep detailed records of my performances and present them to my clients whenever necessary. They tend to trust me because I am well-prepared. And never belittle what you’ve learnt. What you’re studying hard for now may come in useful in the future. You never know. So don’t give up any chance to learn. 歐錦豪 Au Kam-ho 研究院院長黃永成教授 Prof. Wong Wing-shing, dean of Graduate School 下期預告 Coming