Today we’d like to introduce you to Sher’ril & Samantha Knox. Them and their team share their story with us below:
We started performing magic in 2012 when Sher’ril was 14 years old and Samantha, 10. As far back as we can remember, we’ve always enjoyed magic, watching David Copperfield specials our parents had recorded on VCR tapes, and our first magic kit when Sher’ril was 7 years old. When Sher’ril was 13, she began reading a book about Harry Houdini. Wanting to try some escapes of our own, we experimented with tying each other up in various ways with multiple ropes, belts, scarves, and locking each other up in chains, timing ourselves to see how quickly we could escape. With our parents’ support and assistance, we were able to have our first professional performance at a local middle school exactly 86 years after Houdini’s death, and even before we had seen a magic show in person!
Since then, we’ve been performing in and around the Nashville area at all sorts of places and events. Birthday parties, restaurants, charity events, Halloween and Christmas parties, county fairs, children’s homes, nursing homes, libraries, you name it!
For a time, we were also involved with some magic clubs in Nashville and performed a couple of shows alongside some other great magicians in the area. Being the only female magicians in the club meetings was quite the experience!
Today, we continue learning and creating more magic, escapes, and illusions to add to our shows. We’re constantly improving, and constantly performing!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Magic and Escapology aren’t cheap, so our journey hasn’t been near as smooth as we’d have preferred. Besides that, most people we’ve met over the years had a difficult time believing us when we’d tell them about our act. Sometimes we could get through enough to demonstrate our talents, but those opportunities didn’t come as often as we hoped. People seemed to make the immediate judgment that because we were young girls, we were incapable of putting on a professional and entertaining magic show.
One of the most frustrating disappointments was having an appointment for an audition at a local haunted woods attraction, bringing several props and equipment, then being denied a chance to audition. What was worse, we were told that instead of performing as magicians and escape artists, we would be allowed to be ticket takers and line herders who yell the attraction’s rules and guidelines at the crowds of visitors.
While the owner of the attraction had contacted us through our business page, implying that the audition was for magic, we were later told, “I love card tricks as much as the next person, but I don’t want that here.”
We’ve also had struggles with being taken for granted. While we’re happy to help out with charity events and organizations, there have been many free performances at parties and church events where our friends and acquaintances will rave about how good the show was, yet when we have a paying gig that we’re trying to promote, very few, if any of our friends will attend and show support. Having heard similar stories from other business owners and artists, we think it’s incredibly sad how common it’s become for people to take others for granted.
Although we hate to say it, we’ve faced some sexism from those in the magic community, both locally and nationally. Generally, women exist in magic only to wear skimpy outfits dripping with sequins while being used and abused in ways that would be horrific if it weren’t for the handsome and charming male magician repairing all the damage he had just caused. Because of the idea that women in magic should be stared at and chopped up like meat, several of the magicians we’ve met over the years haven’t taken us seriously and have suggested that we add more sex appeal to the act, relying on the appearance of our figures, rather than our talents and skill. This is beyond insulting and infuriating.
Despite all this, we have continued to push through the obstacles, becoming stronger, and are thoroughly enjoying our career in magic. The joy our audiences experience and the fun interactions after our shows are more than enough to make up for every challenge we’ve ever faced.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
What sets us apart from most magicians in the area, besides our gender, is the classic storytelling style we use in our magic and escape routines. We’ll often take a classic illusion or escape that has been performed for many years and incorporate it into a choreographed routine that changes it to fit our personalities and the story we’re telling on stage. We also prefer to create our own escapes and illusions, things that no one else performs, rather than buy simple tricks from a magic shop or online. Every show has routines that flow into each other, creating smooth transitions that build up into our grand finale, instead of choppy transitions where we switch from one trick to the next, using the same script that was included in the trick’s instructions. We also pride ourselves on being very family-friendly in our shows and performances. We don’t perform primarily for one particular audience. Our shows are safe for small children as there’s no foul language, indecency, or adult humor, but still very entertaining for adults and older children as well. We don’t consider ourselves to be magicians for kids or magicians for adults.
One of the most wonderful things about our act is what a great team we are. Sher’ril is best at the physically taxing escapes and the magic routines that require a witty or playful script, while Samantha is best at sleight of hand and routines that require plenty of physical comedy. However, we’re both accomplished escape artists. Sher’ril’s signature escape is the “Triple Layer,” Samantha’s is her unique performance of “Tom Horn’s Belt,” and we both are known for our special “Double Escape.” We’re two sisters who love working together, building on each other’s strengths to make the perfect show that people of all ages will enjoy.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
We’ve noticed that in Nashville, music is king, which is great. We love music! However, because music is king, many venues are designed specifically for musicians, many event planners are specifically searching for musicians, and most open mic nights or performance opportunities are open only to musicians. It’d be really great if the business owners, event coordinators, and performance planners of the Nashville area would consider having more opportunities for performers like us, those who are not musicians to show our talents and brighten the community. Until that happens, you can call or text us at 931-774-6951 to discuss a collaboration or availability for an event. Or, you can visit our website: magic escape artists.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to show your support and interact with us personally in a free and fun way!
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: magic escape artists.com
- Instagram: @sherrilandsamantha
- Facebook: @SherrilAndSamantha
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCE2lsWoXoBvEhO-Iq55BQMg
