As a boy, he played board games and games in the street with his friends. Sure, he had an Atari 2600 home videogame system like so many kids his age. But when there were 20 to 25 others around the same age on the same block, everyone regularly wanted to play together outside, and they had the freedom to do that, so long as they were inside by the time the streetlights came on.
Santa Clarita magician Chris Canfield, 48, has entertained live audiences at the Magic Castle in Hollywood and TV audiences when he appeared on “Penn and Teller: Fool Us.” Now he’s got two performances of his new one-man theatrical show that are scheduled at 6:30 p.m. and then at 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28, at The Main Theater in Newhall. This show, he said, is going to be a very unique and interactive experience called “The Games We Play” about the games he and so many others have enjoyed over the years.
“It’s not a traditional magic show,” Canfield said. “There’s a story that I’m telling, which is the story of my parents’ last dream together when they created this game store.”
Canfield grew up in Elmhurst, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. When he was 12 years old, his parents changed careers and opened a game store. That game store sold board games, card games, puzzles, brain teasers, chess pieces, poker chips and so much more.
On many occasions, Canfield’s parents would have him go through the game catalogues and give his thoughts about what games he thought would be fun to play. He tested out many of those games. In fact, his family regularly played games together. Canfield’s childhood was very rooted in playing.
While Canfield would go on to become a professional magician, he’s also director of technology at a tech company called TraitWare. One thing he dreamed of doing, however, was theater.
“I’ve always wanted to use all the gifts and the talents that I have, the knowledge and experience that I have from spending so much time studying magic, studying theater, studying film, studying storytelling, studying play, and combine all that to create something like this experience,” he said. “We had a lot of free time on our hands a few years ago, and so, I thought, ‘I would love to honor this really amazing memory and this experience I had as a child with games.’”
As preparation, Canfield dug into the culture and psychology of play. Two books he studied carefully were “Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul” by Stuart Brown and Christopher Vaughan, and “Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture” by Johan Huizinga.
Of course, there were ideas about play and games that already seemed apparent to him or at least made sense, like how, for example, solving puzzles can drastically reduce mental decline as the years go on. But Canfield discovered how critical games are to children in preparing them for the real world — the social interaction from playing games prepares them for working with others; learning rules and boundaries in games evolves into participating in work, religion, government and, of course, professional sports.
Another interesting thing he picked up was that when NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is hiring people, they might choose a creative over an academic.
“So, they might ask people, ‘When you were a kid, what were you taking apart and putting together?’ Because those are the engineers. They want people who are creative and have that kind of freedom of play.”
Audiences of Canfield’s upcoming show can anticipate some game play throughout the evening. However, Canfield wanted to make it clear that people should not expect a game show. There are no winners or losers, he said. But he couldn’t say much more than that. He didn’t want to spoil the fun and what he’s prepared for the night.
And while Canfield has been “play testing” small bits and pieces of “The Games We Play” with those he knows, he’ll be offering the show in its “fully realized theatrical form” for the first time at The Main. A Santa Clarita resident for over 20 years, he’s thrilled to be performing it in Old Town Newhall.
“I know there’s been a lot of revitalization efforts going on down there,” Canfield said. “As a resident of this community, I’m excited to perform in my hometown at a venue that I think is really important to the community.”
“The Games We Play” is a 70-minute show intended for those over 16 years old. For more information or to get tickets ($24), go to https://bit.ly/4hH2uyy. The 8 p.m. show is already sold out.
