Miracle Worker

Birmingham's Night On The Town features a future pediatrician who dabbles in the realm of magic.

JULIE WIENER STAFF WRITER

t first glance, 24-year-
old Scott Corman
seems like your typi-
al nice Jewish boy
from West Bloomfield.
A 1996 graduate of Michigan
State University, Corman
works at Pontiac Osteopathic
Hospital and will be attending
osteopathic school in the fall,
studying to be a pediatrician.
But since the age of 14, when
he first "got hooked" at a David
Copperfield performance, Cor-
man has dabbled in the realm
of magic.
And by reading minds and
making objects mysteriously
vanish and reappear, Corman
experiences his own transfor-
mation: from shy guy to outgo-
ing stage personality.
"When I get on stage I'm a
different person. I dress differ-
ently, I act differently," he says.
"I'm very shy, so this is the op-
posite side of me. My family
watches me on stage and
-they're shocked. They say, 'How
does he have the nerve to stand
up in front of 500 people?"
How does he do it? A true
magician, Corman won't reveal
his secrets. "It's tricks, illu-
sions," he says. "You can believe
in real magic, but it's basical-
ly mechanics."
Corman describes his reper-
toire as two-pronged: "close up"
and "stand up."
Close-up magic, which he
does all the time with friends
and while on breaks at work,
are impromptu routines for
small groups, making use of
small objects like rubber bands
and cards. Stand up, which he
does less frequently, is a stage
show involving extensive prepa-
ration, scripted routines and
large objects easily visible from
the audience.
Corman learned the "me-
chanics" of magic on his own
through a combination of books
and countless hours of practice.
Starting with the basics from a
book called Mark Wilson's Com-

Scott Carman: "You can believe in
real magic, but it's basically
mechanics."

plete Course in Magic, Corman
quickly moved on to more com-
plicated tricks. "It's like alge-
bra," he explains. "You have to
start out with Algebra 1, or Al-
gebra 2 won't make sense."
Like with math, mastering
magic requires a lot of home-
work. "You have to practice
over and over, in front of a mir-
ror," says Corman. "As you get
more advanced, it takes an in-
credible amount of practice. I've
literally spent eight hours
straight with a deck of cards in
my hand, because I'll be learn-
ing a routine that requires 32
manipulations, each of which
takes practice."
Although he has considered
working full-time in magic, Cor-
man says he prefers to keep it
a hobby. "If I were to do it pro-
fessionally ... I would have to do
it day after day or weekend af-
ter weekend, and frankly I'd get
sick of it," he explains.
However, he does hope to in-
tegrate magic tricks with a ca-
reer as a pediatrician. "I think
[medicine and magic] go hand
in hand," he says. "Even with
adult patients, it gets their
mind off their ailments and
their pain. It's just really
fun." ❑

Et Scott Corman will per-
form at 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.
outside of Crowley's on the
corner of Woodward and
Hamilton at Birmingham's
"Night on the Town," Friday,;'
July 18. He will be donating
proceeds to Hospice of
Southeastern Michigan, as
well as to a hospice in East
Lansing.
Starting at 6 p.m. and
lasting until 11 p.m„ "Night
on the Town" will feature ad-
ditional street performers as
well as a music and dance
show by Star Trax enter-
tainment. Downtown streets
will be blocked off to vehic-
ulAr traffic, parking will be
free, and local merchants
will be displaying sale items
on the sidewalks. For more
information, call (248) 43 3-
3550. 0