Sangria, at one time a popular nightlife destination on Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach, has long since vanished, but it was partly responsible for Sisuepahn Phila becoming a working, professional magician.
That was 20 years ago, one night in 1996. Sisuepahn and some girlfriends had come down to the South Bay for some entertainment. “On Aviation and Grant we stopped at a stoplight,” she says, “and there was a car next to us,” with a fairly nice-looking man behind the wheel. Pleasantries were exchanged, and he asked where they were going and (after being told) could he join them?
Oh, sure, yeah, come on over, they replied. “So he came, and he did magic for us,” Sisuepahn continues, “and he stole my watch. And I was so in awe with the magic; I had never seen anything like that. I was, oh my god, this is amazing.”
That’s how Sisuepahn met Brian Gillis, one of the country’s top magicians.
Six months later, because she was showing quite a bit of interest in wanting to learn the craft herself, Gillis asked Sisuepahn if she’d like to perform with him onstage.
“That’s how I became a magician,” she says, although a lot of study and practice was involved.
Sisuepahn points out that she wasn’t and isn’t simply an assistant, but a magician in her own right.
Their shows run about 45 minutes, Gillis opening with his comedy, his magic, his card tricks and his pickpocketing, etc. “Then he would bring me out,” Sisuepahn says, “and I would do mentalism, comedy, mindreading and body magic. Completely different stuff, but we put it together for the show.”
They were both local, Redondo Beach residents, but Gillis now lives in Hollywood, across from the Magic Castle, which is the place where all magicians aspire to perform.
What she’s conjured up
Meanwhile, Sisuepahn Phila is doing more shows and appearances on her own. She’s also constantly learning and trying out new material that will dazzle her audience, such as levitations and blink-of-an-eye costume changes. In mere seconds, she’ll do six costume changes.
This brings us to a noted magician named Jimmy Fingers (a name that makes you want to safeguard your wallet or purse), who has flown in from Houston for two very good reasons.
He’s in town because he’s skilled at a certain effect, producing a dancer out of nowhere, which Sisuepahn would like to learn and develop as well. And because he’s the featured performer this Saturday at Sisuepahn’s “Stars of Magic” show in Hermosa Beach, a show that also highlights Matthew Singer.
Now in its fifth month and taking place on the second Saturday of each month through at least the end of the year, “Stars of Magic” is the sensible antidote to driving up to Hollywood and trying to get into the popular Magic Castle.
Her friends had brought this matter to her attention often enough.
“So I thought, you know what,” Sisuepahn says, “I’ll bring some magic here once a month and (that will) allow me a really good stage to work on new magic also. So I do 20 minutes upfront as the host, and then the headliner does 20 minutes.”
Because Sisuepahn has worked with notable acts like Penn & Teller or for celebrities ranging from Johnny Depp and Lucy Liu to Paul McCartney (and that’s a short list), she’s connected to some of the true masters of illusion. “It’s a small community,” she says, and so most of them know each other. To put it another way, “Stars of Magic” isn’t amateur hour.
“These are top magicians, because I want my audience to come back. I want them to see really good magic.”
Perhaps to show that she’s the real deal in case I needed convincing, Sisuepahn does a couple of magic acts as I sit beside her, including one where you put a little ball into your hand, and then after you open your closed fist you find that there are now two or three balls, even more. Easiest trick in the book, right? Well, maybe for you but not for me. Afterwards, I joke that when she goes grocery shopping, for eggs let’s say, she only needs to buy one. When she gets home she can place it in her palm, close her hand over it, open her hand, and voila! A dozen eggs!
Giving back through magic
Sometimes we meet people, have a pleasant and rewarding conversation with them, and perhaps fail to realize that their background is quite different from ours.
The name Sisuepahn is not one to be encountered every day, and neither do most of us encounter someone from Laos. For that matter, I’d be surprised if the majority of people in the U.S. could even find it on a map.
Anyway, yes, Sisuepahn is originally from Laos, where she lived during quite turbulent years.
“I came here when I was in my late teens,” she says. “I’ve been here a long time. When I go back home they laugh at me because I have an accent.”
So she still has family in Laos?
“Yes, I have a really big family there,” she replies. “My dad owns a salt factory and they have 300 employees, and he says 150 of them are family!”
Although she hasn’t been to see them in a while, Sisuepahn hopes to do so soon:
“I want to produce a big show so I can take it to Laos. I work with a lot of children there, orphanages and stuff. So I want to put together a show for the tourists and make a lot of money, and donate that money to the kids.
“And here, one of the reasons I put on the shows here, is so I can also donate tickets to a lot of fundraisers, through a lot of charities, which I have. That’s a way of helping people, the kids, in need. It’s a good way of giving back through magic.”
But there’s another purpose as well. “I want my magic to be motivational,” Sisuepahn says, and with her magic she hopes to reach out to and encourage children, young girls especially. It’s about having courage and being heroes. Therein lies the message. “That’s what I’m working on.”
Stars of Magic is again taking place this Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Second Story Theater, located in the Hermosa Beach Community Center, 710 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach. The featured guests are Jimmy Fingers and Matthew Singer, and it’s an all-ages show. Tickets, $15 adults; $10 children under 12 and seniors 60 and up. $40 VIP tickets also available, and after the performance the audience is invited across the street to the Hermosa Beach Fish Shop to partake in a no-host wine tasting (BYOB; no corkage fee). Call (310) 971-5335 or email LadyOfMagic7@gmail.com. For additional information, go to Sisuepahn’s website at ladyofmagic.com.
