Interview: Colin Cloud Plays Head Games in THE ILLUSIONISTS LIVE FROM BROADWAY Coming to the Durham Performing Arts Center in May

Colin Cloud considers himself more Sherlock Holmes than David Copperfield. Still, he says he is incredibly honored to be part of the cast of The Illusionists Live From Broadway coming to The Durham Performing Arts Center in May.

"The caliber of magicians that this show has, I am excluding myself here, I am talking about the other guys, are some of the greatest names in magic," he says. "These are guys who are hailed by other magicians as being the living legends of magic today."

Still, Cloud has performed his "weird mind tricks" as he calls it, all over the world and was a semifinalist on Season 12 of America's Got Talent.

"The funny thing is that when I was younger, I was really shy and quiet and reserved, so if you would've told me I would be doing this, I would have laughed at you or hidden in the cupboard and cried," he says.

Cloud started studying forensic investigation at Glasgow Caledonian University at the age of 16. It was while studying in Glasgow that he discovered stand-up comedy.

"I realized very quickly that standup comedians are great at observing the world and their attention to detail is incredible," he says. "So that led to me getting into stand-up comedy, performing stand-up comedy, and mixing the weird psychological tricks and techniques that I was developing and creating, and before I knew it forensics led to me performing."

That is why Cloud calls himself a forensic mind reader rather than a psychic.

"I think I use the skills that fake psychics use but in a very different way," he says. "I use it to be very entertaining and reveal things in a fun way rather than trying to deceive people to get them to make life changing decisions."

"I'm very much aware of how psychics perform and the skills that they use," he adds. "I like to think that I am just more honest about how I'm using them."

Cloud is in the process of writing a new show to take on tour across Europe starting next fall, but says he really enjoys playing to American audiences.

"I think Americans are much better at showing their emotions," he says. "I think here it's always easier, and when I say easier, I don't mean that disrespectfully, I mean that it's more fun, more high energy off the bat rather than in Europe, where people still make you kind of prove yourself."

Still he says The Illusionists ensemble performs to a higher standard than what audiences here may have seen or experienced before.

"I think being able to create your own material, perform your own material, and do it in a way where you engage the audience, those three things when they overlap is rare," he says. "And the fact that The Illusionists company are performers that all do that is really what sets us apart."

The Illusionists Live From Broadway will perform at The Durham Performing Arts Center May 11-12. For more information visit:

The Durham Performing Arts Center

The Illusionists Live From Broadway

Photo Credit: Claudia James

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