Title:
How a TV Appearance Did the Trick for a Rising Young
Magician
Description: This is
a VOA Special English General News Report.
See text below
Text:
STEVE EMBER: Many people first saw Jay Mattioli when
he performed on an American television program. The
28-year old Virginia man has been working as a
professional magician for six and one-half years.
JAY MATTIOLI: "I think uh, the big inspiration for
me as a kid doing magic was that dream, that small
possibility, that I can become a professional
magician and that would be my life."
STEVE EMBER: Mattiolis performances combine humor,
fast dancing and magic. His youthful image has an
effect on those watching.
JAY MATTIOLI: I wanted to be a magician that amazes
people, but again that is different enough that
everyone can say, Wow, that was special, that was
fun. And, I think the word 'fun for me is like the
biggest priority.
STEVE EMBER: Mattioli has won all kinds of magic
competitions. This is the second year that he has
been asked to perform at a money-raising event for
this school. Jason White is head of the schools
parent-teacher organization.
JASON WHITE: Last year was the first time and people
didnt really know what to expect. But the word of
mouth was so great and then with Jay being on
Americas Got Talent this summer, it just increased
the excitement even more. So we have already, before
the show even started, we had already sold more than
double the tickets of what we sold last year.
STEVE EMBER: Crowds enjoy Mattiolis performances.
Yet, is the life of a magician as exciting?
JAY MATTIOLI: A magicians life is full of magic ...
duh. The day-to-day life of a magician for me is
theres a lot of business. Theres a lot of business
to take care of: e-mails, making phone calls,
following up on potential shows that might be
happening a year from now.
STEVE EMBER: Mattioli says he is always thinking of
new magic tricks to perform.
JAY MATTIOLI: In general, to my stage show, I
usually add three or four things a year. And thats,
for me, thats a lot. Some of these props are very
expensive and I build whatever I can build myself.
STEVE EMBER: The lower level of Mattiolis house is
his workshop, filled with tools and materials. He
builds props not only for himself, but also for sale
to other magicians. Mattiolis wife, Flor, serves as
an assistant during his performances.
FLOR MATTIOLI: When we first did the levitation and
I go up in the air, and I remember feeling so
nervous. And, I was scared that what if I fell off
the top, and you know, in front of millions of
people?
STEVE EMBER: Each minute in a performance requires
countless hours of preparation. In addition, two to
three hours are needed to move equipment and prepare
the stage.
JAY MATTIOLI: There is a lot of physical work doing
this kind of show that we do as far as setting up.
This is the beginning of it. This is not the so fun
part. Then there is a show which is the fun part.
And, there is the part thats not fun at all thats
cleaning up.
STEVE EMBER: The Mattiolis say the way the crowds
react make it all worth the time and effort. Im
Steve Ember.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
