Next in the the series of Canada's Got Talent contestants is Montreal's JP Parent!
Who inspires you that is not a magician?
I think passion is so important in life and it emanates through someone’s work when someone’s passionate about their art. Anthony Bourdain was a good exemple, Martin Short, Dave Chapelle, Eddie Izzard, Ricky Gervais, Steve Martin (started as a magician), Kristen Wiig, Jim Carrey to name a few.
What is your first memory of magic?
My very first memory of a magic trick was my father making a penny disappear inside his arm , then making it reappear in my ear I must’ve been 5 years old. Completely mesmerized!
Who from the magic community inspires you?
So many people inspire me, but for me Paul Harris for his incredible creativity, JC Wagner for his way to adapt his work with the environment that he’s in, Harry Loraine for his close up magic but also his memory lectures (incredible BTW), Lennart Green for his ground breaking techniques and logic, Alain Choquette incredible performer but also a serious magic creator , Penn & Teller for their unique style and of course David Copperfield who I think is still to this day the leading name in magic.
Was there anyone or anything instrumental to you becoming a magician?
When I started to get really interested in magic I was 9 and my father took me to my very first magic shop in Montreal called Perfect Magic. This sweet lady showed me a card trick and my selected card ended up printed on a silk. I was hooked! Then I had Mark Wilson’s complete course in magic that was my very first “real” magic book, then came VHS tapes with Michael Ammar’s easy card miracles such a great series for beginners, everything and I mean everything by David Williamson the guy is a Genius worker. My very first lecture was Paul Harris he was so funny but also incredibly good. I was 17 when I attended my first magic convention, Magie Montréal where I met all these other super passionate magicians that would generously share their art with myself and
others. That’s when I met this older magician that started talking about working on cruise ships. Little did I know that 3 years later I was about to embark into a 25-year cruise ship career. Alain Choquette and Greg Otto have been mentors throughout my career, always there to give insights and advice through the different aspects of our art.
Did you ever get discouraged and think about quitting magic?
Not really to be honest. I was never really good in school so when I thought of quitting college to do magic full time my father was really supportive of my choice (thank God lol).
Do you have any tour or pre-show rituals?
I work around 30 weeks a year on ships. In a 7 day cruise they ask us to do 2 different 45 min shows twice a week. So one night you do your first show 7pm and 9pm and another day you do your other 45 min again twice.
The day of the show we have a rehearsal 2 hours prior to the show, checking the sound, equipment and if there are illusions in the show, we run the numbers full out with the sound, lights and automation. I usually eat 3 hours prior to the first show and then after the second show. I don’t go to the gym on that day. I practice around 1 hour every day especially for close-up. But apart from that I don’t have a special ritual.
What inspired you to be a part of this season of Canada's Got Talent?
I wanted to be able to try something new and establish myself a little more on dry land.
I think magic is a very special art, one that brings people together and help them escape for a few minutes from our everyday lives. I think it’s more important now then ever.
Thank you JP, for making the time to answer our questions! Break a leg on CGT!
Learn more about JP at his website JPParentMagician.com and follow him on Instagram.
Watch
Canada's Got Talent Tuesday nights at CityTV.
