Where Magic Matters Most

I’ve been fortunate to travel around the world doing magic, but I had never been to a conflict zone before. I had never seen war up close. I had never been confronted with how anyone—and in particular children—are forced to confront war head-on and fold it into their daily life. This trip is something I’ll never forget.

Sharemagic sent a group of magicians—Mattia (an Italian magician specializing in conflict-zone intervention), Jeff Kowalk, George Luck, and myself—into Ukraine to provide what we felt was an important and overlooked mental-health service: entertainment. Our goal was relief, escape, and astonishment.

We did shows for children battling cancer, families displaced by the war, children with developmental disorders, Ukrainian and international journalists, and more. But the most moving day, for me, was having the honor of performing for injured soldiers.

In addition to our Sharemagic crew, we were joined by three Ukrainian magicians. Some of the soldiers I spoke to were injured less than a week ago. Some lost limbs. One lost an eye. One had burns on most of his body. I wasn’t sure, when we arrived, whether any of these soldiers would even want to see magic, or whether it was appropriate to interrupt their health regimen.

In the end, we performed for the soldiers and their caretakers, and I’m so glad we did. The room erupted in laughter, applause, and gasps at all the right moments. It’s easy to forget the integral role our mental health plays in healing. Magic can work wonders for people deprived of it.

We spent part of a night in a bomb shelter when Kyiv was attacked. We had to travel nearly two days in and two days out to reach our destination. We had contingency plans for every performance in case it was interrupted by an air raid. These were scary, new experiences for me—things I won’t soon forget. But I’m proud to have used our craft as a force for good and for healing, and I believe, now more than ever, in the restorative properties of magic.