Piff's On Queer Eye
The cast of Netflix's Queer Eye just worked their magic on John van der Put - the guy in the dragon suit!
Piff the Magic Dragon was just featured as the hero in an episode of Netflix's newest season of Queer Eye. The "Fab Five" gave Piff's life outside of the dragon suit a serious upgrade.
Piff, whose real name is John van der Put, is a British magician and comedian known for his comedy magic. He has a successful residency at the Flamingo Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Globally, most audiences first saw Piff competing on America's Got Talent back in 2015. Fans of magic and audiences in the UK will likely have seen Piff performing on the first season of Penn & Teller: Fool Us in 2011.
Although he did not fool Penn & Teller, his appearance was a breakout moment for him, one he's credited as pivotal to his career. It was also the beginning of a friendship (and mentorship) with the comedy legend judges Penn & Teller. It was the pair of magicians who nominated John to appear on the new season of Queer Eye, along with the support of John's partner on and off stage, Jade.
Queer Eye, of course, is the smash-hit Netflix reality show in which five experts help transform the lives of "heroes." The group's members focus on specific aspects like food and wine, fashion, and grooming. Each season takes place in a new city, and the latest one is in Las Vegas.
The group is tasked with helping Piff outside of his dragon life, having become far more comfortable in the dragon suit than out of it.
On a personal note, I worked with Piff about seven years ago when I was an assistant producer on late-night television. At the time, I found it remarkable how John would interact with the studio team precisely the same way in and out of the dragon suit, and the way he was treated in the dragon suit was entirely different.
It's easy to appreciate how someone who's built a career performing almost every night in character might struggle to know what life should be like the rest of the time.
If you want to get emotional and cry multiple times at a man taking off his dragon suit, learning to make a simple meal, and tucking in his shirts—you should watch the episode. It's everything Queer Eye is intended to be, and it is worthwhile.
A more critical discussion to be had is how ridiculously unusual it is to see a magician participate in something quite like this on such a global scale. The relationship between famous magicians and external media is complicated.
Most famous magicians are remarkably clinical about how and when they perform on television in shows over which they do not have control of the editing.
There are two key reasons for this. One reason is rather practical, and the other comes from more of a branding or vulnerability angle.
There is an expectation for magicians to perform magic wherever they go. It's a reasonable expectation because it comes from people's excitement about magic.
You might sometimes hear a magician at a magic convention complaining about how they get asked to show people tricks when people find out their job role. They might say something like, "You wouldn't ask a dentist to show you some dentistry." No, of course, you wouldn't because dentistry isn't as incredibly rare and unusual as magic.
But performing magic in media that is outside of your control is a practical nightmare. First of all, there's a ton of coordination needed, there's rarely a chance to rehearse, and there's always a risk that they will not shoot or edit it well.
Then, for the branding and vulnerability angle. Many magicians find the idea of appearing in any public way out of "character" to be totally uncomfortable. Magicians are sometimes said to be actors playing the role of a magician. In this instance, who is supposed to be appearing on the reality show or interview show? Is it the actor or the actor in their role as the magician?
The net result is that most magicians do not appear on unscripted television, such as reality shows and celebrity panel shows.
Penn appearing on The Celebrity Apprentice, Ben Hanlin appearing on Dancing on Ice in the UK, and Timon Krause on Let's Dance in Germany are some of the few examples of magicians putting down the deck of cards and throwing their personality behind a show that is not their own.
The thing that is so brilliant about Piff's appearance on Queer Eye, though, is that the whole format feels like it was perfectly created for him. While showcasing his act in the best way possible, he's able to quite literally strip off the dragon suit down to his boxers and then take the audience on a journey to learn about him while rooting for him to be better in every way.
One Ahead has consistently noted the decline in the number of magicians "living the lie" and presenting magic as a real power. It's nearly impossible to do this in a world of social media and information at our fingertips.
Justin Flom speaks openly about how his discomfort with living a lie led him to do the opposite and expose magic online.
David Blaine appears to be moving further and further away from "real" magic and closer and closer toward real itself—with each of his specials involving more real stunts than the last, and Blaine's upcoming Disney series being primarily skill-focused.
Dynamo, in the UK, who has a new Christmas special airing next week, has been taking strides to make his magic more practical—prioritizing magic that's no bigger than his body. He only wants to perform magic on television, which he could reasonably perform anywhere at any time.
What Piff is doing with his appearance on Queer Eye is perhaps our favorite trend we see across the industry. It's a half-step towards the boxy and illusion-based period of magic seen in the past. It's something Willman is quite good at and something Penn & Teller certainly are, too.
Piff is telling the audience that these are all just tricks, and that's okay. For the rest of the time, he's John, and he's a lovely guy, too.
However, at the end of the episode, there is a short compilation of tricks Piff did throughout the shoot, all of which were omitted from the main show itself. We'd be curious to know whose idea it was to shoot the magic in the first place.
Whoever's decision it was, it's clear that the show's producers reached a good conclusion—magicians can be more than just their tricks.
Comedy has ballooned in recent years, in part due to comedians' willingness to go on podcasts, reality shows, and panel shows without worrying about being asked to do their act. Of course, comedians and comedy magicians have a humorous advantage in these scenarios. But it's also more than okay to simply be interesting, interested, and genuine when you're not busy asking someone to choose a card.
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