EDCS 3010

April 9, 2021

Kayla Drescher on Diversity and Inclusion in Magic and Education

<p>For my second Unessay, I wanted to look into how some of the topics that we discuss in class are applicable to other areas of interest to me, outside of education. For nearly the past decade, the performance and practice of magic and sleight of hand has been one of my favorite hobbies. However, magic is a very white male dominated profession, and it is important to recognize that it has a lot of growth necessary to become more inclusive. I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Los Angeles based professional magician Kayla Drescher. Kayla has performed on national television numerous times, including Penn &amp; Teller’s Fool Us, as well as being a headliner on the worldwide tour show “Champions of Magic. She is also a resident performer of the world-famous Magic Castel in Hollywood. Currently, she is in her third year of being the host of the “Shezam” Podcast, where they discuss how the variety arts can work to be more inclusive. In this Interview, Kayla and I discuss many topics similar to that in the course including Race, Sexuality, Gender and intersectionality. One recurring issue that we discussed was that of representation. It can be very discouraging to younger magicians if they watch shows or attend conferences and don’t see performers that look like them. We also talk a lot about this in regard to education, that while teaching our material, we want to integrate it with people from all different backgrounds so that our students are able to draw connections from the material to their personal lives. Additionally, by showing that we are knowledgeable on a topic, you can create a welcoming atmosphere and let your students know that you are a safe space.</p> <p>You can find more information about the Shezam Podcast here:</p> <p><a href="https://shezampod.com/">https://shezampod.com/</a></p> <p>And her is some additional information on Kayla, including some performance videos:</p> <p><a href="https://magicinheels.com/">https://magicinheels.com/</a></p>