Artist’s Dream
“O! For a muse of fire, that would ascent the brightest heaven of invention” William Shakespeare
Obsessed by a fairy tale, we spend our lives searching for a magic door and a lost kingdom of peace. ... Eugene O’Neill
In a realm where magic and music interweave, two groups of ethereal goddesses resided where a singing contest was underway: the alluring sirens and the brilliant, radiant muses. The sirens, known in the kingdom for their enchanting voices, oozed confidence, believing victory was guaranteed for them. Meanwhile, the muses, stewards of encouragement and creativeness, welcomed the challenge with determination.
As the contest got underway, the sirens' evocative melodies intrigued the audience, weaving a magical tapestry of sound that resounded through the cosmos. When it was the muses’ turn the muses they took the stage with harmonies exceeding mere notes, their music sitting the souls of the listeners. Their voices are a symphony of inspiration and imagination, painting scenes of wonder.
In the end, it was the transcending magic of the muses'melodies that prevailed and won these goddesses a solid victory, proving genuine love and beauty lie deep within the human spirit and endless possibilities are born from the union of art and inspiration.
When the Greek muses won the singing contest competing against the mythical sirens, they proved their song of advancement, innovation, creativity, and godliness was a clear message to follow the divine voices guiding you to move forward motivated by these famous goddesses from Greek mythology who were patrons of the arts inspired by their discoveries and inventions from the sciences, arts, and literature. Their feathered opponents — the sirens, half bird, and half women creatures received punishment for defeat after they sang a song calling to drown into your past, a clear melody of danger. The sirens were well known deceived sailors, enticing them with their beautiful music, causing them to crash into the shore and sink. The moral of the siren’s story is to avoid temptation — a lesson from Homer, and the lesson learned from the muses is to follow the perceptive you voices coming from divine sources. Allow your intuitive inner voice to be your inspiration for your own body of creative work. These goddesses were said to be designed to give inspiration, artistry, knowledge, and music to the ancient world. Those who heard the siren's call had to resist the temptation of the past and observe the divine voices urging them forward. Today, muse influence continues beyond ancient Greece. It extends to our modern time, inspiring artists worldwide, including an illusion performed by The Pendragons—a fairytale told in the form of magic.
The enchanting tale of the "Artist’s Dream" orbits around an artist who immortalizes his late wife through a portrait. As he tires of his creation, he hides it behind a curtain, only for the painting to seemingly come back to life as his wife steps from the canvas. In 1893, British magician David Devant crafted this whimsical illusion, motivated by one of his earlier creations called "Vice Versa." Initially, it was performed on more prominent stages, but Devant adapted the illusion for an intimate setting, portraying an artist's studio where the portrait magically animates. In collaboration with Mel. B. Spurr, Devant unveiled "Artist’s Dream" at the Egyptian Hall in London on September 4, 1893, starring himself as the artist and his wife, Miss Marion Melville, as his ethereal muse. In the United States, his American contemporary Alexander Herrmann introduced his version in 1895. Then, it disappeared until the 1940s, when the Thayer Magic Company returned its enchantment to the stage. It vanished again for several decades until later in the late 80s when Jonathan and I breathed new life into the Artist’s Dream”. As The Pendragons, we offered a modern twist on this classic tale. Our interpretation infused our unique style and flair for showmanship, which we brought to all our illusions. While the core concept of our version remained similar to the original, we added several critical personal touches and electrifying changes that have inspired other modern performances of this enchanting love story.
Performed in a vignette style, I played the part of the muse, the dead wife who springs back to life, giving energy, vitality, and hope to the despairing artist played by Jonathan. Jonathan’s visceral performance always reminded me of the lyrics to the song In Dreams composed and sung by Roy Orbison back in the early ’60s. His portrayal of a tormented artist lamenting the loss of his muse was a captivating performance and a masterclass in portraying the despair of the soul. Subtle nuances showing trembling hands, downward eyes brimmed with sorrow and grief, and slumped shoulders fortified his connection with his audience. But when he sleeps, everything is alright as he drifts off into the magic of the night, where the veil of reality falls and the realm of fantasy lifts. A place where memories mesh with imagination. In this dream, his shaking hand strokes the canvas of her portrait when his muse appears standing before him again. Bathed in ethereal light, she steps out of the unfinished painting, appearing glowing as her attention turns to a red rose, a symbol of memory of love gone. What’s a muse without an artist? Like an apparition, she moved in her dream as familiar sights and sounds of the studio comforted her heart, and bittersweet reminders of canvases and the smell of oil paint told her of passion once shared. But she only found emptiness in the space she once shared with her lover as he remained elusive and invisible in her dream. With hope a doe driving his passion, he tried to capture her attention. Loving and gently covering her cold shoulders with an artist’s cloth, she ignored his invisibility. She seemingly floated to the muse platform, where she posed hundreds of times, absorbed by the nostalgia. The artist, trying to make her notice him, pulls the cloth from her to see she’s gone, only to be left with the memory of her last goodbye when dawn woke him from his beautiful dream.
In Dreams
A candy-colored clown they call the sandman
Tiptoes to my room every night
To sprinkle stardust and to whisper
Go to sleep; everything is alright
I close my eyes, and then I drift away
Into the magic night, I softly say
A silent prayer like dreamers do
Then I fall asleep to dream my dreams of you
In dreams, I walk with you
In dreams, I talk to you
In dreams, you're mine all of the time
We're together in dreams, in dreams
But just before the dawn
I awake and find you gone
I can't help it
I can't help it
If I cry
I remember that you said goodbye
It's too bad that all these things
It can only happen in my dreams
Only in dreams
In beautiful dreams
Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison singing In Dreams
Although Orbison’s lyrics perfectly tell the story of this theater piece — when we presented Artist’s Dream in Monte Carlo for the ABC TV Special Champions of Magic, we used a different piece of music to accompany the unforgettable, enchanting love story. Focusing on the allegory of the rose, we collaborated with Princess Stephanie of Monaco, performing it to her beautiful voice singing about the symbolism of roses, a song dedicated to her mother, the late Princess Grace of Monaco, who died next to Stephanie in a car crash driven by Stephanie on a winding mountain road above Monte Carlo. Talking to her on the set, she had tears in her eyes, reminiscing about her mother. I could feel her close connection, and her passion showed through the expression of her beautiful song, What Is So Special About A Rose. It was a special moment in my career listening to the endearing Princess sharing with me part of a small of her soul. A few moments together gave me the zeal and motivation to give my performance the pathos needed to help make this a masterpiece. Although this TV presentation was not the first to perform this illusion, it was my favorite because of the extra layers of history and poignancy. The setting in the magical principality evoked feelings of being in a fairytale. Of course, every building in Monte Carlo makes you feel like you are in the land of enchantment., and The Hermitage Hotel, where we recorded the segment, looks like a palace. Ironically, during several of our previous stays in Monte Carlo performing at the Sporting Club, it was at the Hermitage Hotel where we resided. So it was nice to be in that same space performing our magic. But the history of our performance of our dream began in London years earlier when producer John Fisher for Thame’s TV requested we create and perform it on one of the segments of the successful British TV show - The Best of Magic in 1989.
Video of our performance of the Artists Dream in Monte Carlo
In collaboration with a Disney creator and illusion inventor, Jim Steinmeyer, we created the modern-day artist dream for the show. Jim’s idea of me appearing from a portrait varied from the original developed by David Devant, where his muse was produced by walking out of a complete body painting. Steinmeyer’s ingenious idea created a more mystical and magical effect because the space between the bottom of the painting and the floor was empty throughout the routine, baffling audiences who wondered how I appeared from thin air. For our part, Jonathan and I incorporated techniques I use in metamorphosis combined with new techniques Jonathan created to vanish me into thin air. Adding to the atmosphere was the rosebush built by famous illusion builder and automaton maker John Gaughn. Once our TV presentation on The Best of Magic was released in Europe, we had constant requests to perform our new famous illusion. In the original version, we performed it to a recorded version of Sarah Brighton singing Wishing You Were Somewhere Here Again from Phantom of the Opera after receiving special permission from Frank Lloyd Webber, who someone knew well, so he sent his blessing. Both interpretations, the Monte Carlo version, and the British version, are both powerful in their ways. But it's the performance with Princess Stephanie I feel compelling magnetism, and although very grainy in the video I've shared in this article, it's still my favorite. (But when we performed the Artist Dream on tour, we used the Phantom of the Opera piece sung by Brighton)
The Pendragons performing Artist’s Dream on Best of Magic for Thames TV in the United Kingdom. Sarah Brighton singing Wishing You Were Somewhere Here Again From Phantom of the Opera
Performing artist dreams transcended our usual Pendragon power illusions. It gave us a chance to connect more with our audience at a deeper level deeply. While our amazing, mind-blowing illusions may be impressive with our physical prowess, showmanship, and sheer spectacle, our magic was primarily driven by our performance style, which lacked emotional depth and was done to mystify and mesmerize audiences. Adding human connection with vignette-style performances like the Artist’s Dream allowed us a chance to see another side to performing a variety of arts. The Artist Dream helped balance our shoes and allowed the audience to see another side of our intensity. Audiences held deep empathy for Jonathan’s character at a much deeper level and worked with a storyline. The pathos presented in the illusion stems from the narrative and the personal investment of both the performer and the audience, making it more impactful on a more emotional and spiritual level. It was an illusion I enjoyed until the end of my career with Jonathan. All that remains is the rose bush and the original portrait painted by fantasy artist William Stout, who, when he painted it, was an Imagineer working for Disney. It's a painting I'll always cherish, as shown in the photo above at the beginning of the article. I had the rosebush in my possession following our divorce, and as a gesture of peace and love, I gave it to Jonathan, offering it to him as an olive branch. I’ve always thought it best to find tranquility with everyone.
Our shared legacy and artist-muse connection was left to future dreams in the lost kingdom of peace.
The End
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I love this story. Charlotte, you are gorgeous!
Blown away! ❤️🙌