Bronson Chadwick is a professional magician and the director of the Magic in the Library Initiative.
Illusionist and sleight-of-hand artist Bronson Chadwick engages audiences with electrifying magic experiences like no other artist can. Every magic performance is a unique blend of aesthetic, mystery, humor, and filmic storytelling elements making for a wild ride of pure illusionary artistry.
lllusionist and Sleight-of-Hand Artist Bronson Chadwick has entertained audiences commercially for over fifteen years. He specializes in theatrical presentations of magic for corporate events, event centers, colleges, and similar groups. Bronson's performance style lends itself to coat-and-tie events for private bookings and to theater settings.
When not on the road presenting his larger theatrical programs, Bronson can be found working with various nonprofits and educational organizations through his Magic in the Library Initiative which uses magic illusions to help teach readership skills to elementary students.
Proceeds from many of Bronson's magic performances for corporate, theater, and private events go to help fund productions of Magic in the Library in underprivileged schools and public libraries.
Bronson's Autobiography
I can’t recall a time in my life when magic wasn’t in the picture. As a kid, magic was a very normal thing in my family. I’m very fortunate to have been raised by my dad, who is also a full-time magician. My first magic act was about five minutes long, and I did it each month for the kids at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth alongside other young magic enthusiasts in a sort of gala style show format.
When I got a little older, my parents went their separate ways, but I never did shake my passion for performing magic. I spent the school year in the countryside in North Carolina with my mom and every summer I’d return back to the Dallas area where I had about eight weeks to cram in new magical knowledge training with my dad.
When I got to college I started performing commercially. Not long after that I landed a contract with an agent performing across the northeastern United States for a year. While I was working in places like New York, Philadelphia and Washington DC, I performed for all kinds of audiences that I had never encountered before. That experience spurred me on even further into the world of professional entertainment.
A few years later I was living in west Texas and I ran a small magic and joke shop. It didn’t fare so well, and I found myself at a depressing crossroads. I knew I wanted to continue performing my shows, but I wasn’t sure in what capacity.
I prayerfully considered the next step and then a concept began to form in my mind. I can’t explain it, but the idea for Magic in the Library took shape seemingly on its own. Clients from schools and libraries were calling me out of the blue and asking if I could do a magic show themed around reading.
I’m not the first magician to have a reading-themed magic show by any means. The problem is that most magicians who work in the educational community will do a good magic show, but the extent of their teaching is to simply tack on a phrase that says something like “…and remember kids, read more books!”
I wanted to do something more. My mother works as a teacher. I always liked the idea of introducing young people to new ideas. I suppose it runs in the family. I began to realize that I could illustrate fairly advanced language arts concepts in my reading-themed magic show. This would be far more than just a magic show to do at the end of the school year for fun. I wanted this show to be like School House Rock or Bill Nye the Science Guy where teachers could reference the material from my live shows and video recordings to play back in the classroom.
I partnered with English teachers and other educational professionals to begin crafting a program that would meet the needs of students, teachers, and librarians. I decided to simply name the magic show and the organization Magic in the Library.
The first program I did was for a Boys and Girls’ Club in Midland, Texas. A couple of news stations came out to tape the show and to interview me afterward. I could tell from the reactions of the kids and from the adults that the show was an instant hit.
That same summer I performed Magic in the Library for area public libraries with great success. Finally, it was time to start performing the show for school groups. I think my favorite audiences are in schools. I know when I was a kid the idea of a school assembly program was always fun since it got you out of class for an hour or so!
About a year later I was talking with another performer who, at the time, did children’s theatrical performances in schools. She encouraged me to apply to be a part of the Texas Commission on the Arts Touring Roster. Artists and performers who are recognized by the TCA and placed on the roster are vetted by the State of Texas and it allows them far more opportunities to work in schools and for other nonprofits. At that time, no magician had ever made it onto the roster. I was far from optimistic about my chances, but I applied anyway.
A few weeks later I received word that I had been accepted into the program, and I was the first magician to do it! Since then, I’ve had some unique and wild opportunities to reach groups beyond what I could on my own.
Magic in the Library is now my full-time operation. During the school year, most of my work is in public schools and on college campuses. In the summers I work in public libraries, museums, and other academic venues. I’m delighted to not only perform magic, but to use the theatrical techniques, special effects, and sleight-of-hand that I enjoy for the benefit of meeting literacy needs in communities. I travel all over Texas and now nationwide spreading the delight of reading through the mystery of magic.