Magic for Animals

“Liz Toonkel isn’t your average magician. She isn’t going to pull a live rabbit out of a hat. She’s not going to make a real dove vanish up her sleeve, nor is she going to saw herself in half or make herself disappear. Instead, the queer Jewish performance artist and production designer is making herself and her beliefs as visible as possible – that’s the point.”

-Evelyn Frick, Hey Alma

“Liz Toonkel achieves the impossible, fusing heartfelt sleepover confessions with insane animal magic.”

-Rupert Dannreuther, To Do List

“With carefully crafted movement, and delicate fingers, Toonkel had the audience entranced in a world she invited us to create for ourselves. She reminded us that we are the makers, the thinkers, the lovers, and we only need to see ourselves in all our flaws, to believe in ourselves once more. You cannot magically erase the mistakes you’ve made, but you can trick the mind into thinking your regret is a pearl in the making.”

-Grace Courvoisier, LA Dance Chronicle

about

Magic for Animals is a one woman magic show about agency, consent, and animal rights. Multidisciplinary artist and production designer, Liz Toonkel, uses humor, charm, and continuous storytelling to offer an antidote to the gendered and speciesist history of magic. The show examines how we treat animals and pushes the audience to reconsider how we treat one another.

Part of Toonkel’s narrative in the magic community has been progressing its culture of inclusivity. Her presence and perspectives as a queer woman in a historically male-dominated space bring to light conversations about representation and diversity in magic. In this show, Toonkel never uses live animals as props, extending questions of representation to all beings.