Magic just part of engineer Shellen Wang’s bag of tricks
Toronto-based engineering student Shellen Wang is a man of many talents, including among other visual and aural delights, the ability to pull a rabbit out of a hat.
The Beijing native arrived in Toronto in August 2014 to complete high school and enter the faculty of engineering at the University of Toronto. He is soon to begin his second year of undergraduate studies this September. But engineering is just one of the diversified talents and aspirations this young new Canadian hopes to advance in his adopted country.
Attending the May 28 annual meeting of the Ontario Professional Engineers Foundation for Education to accept one of its scholarship prizes, Wang was not too subtle about his wide range of accomplishments. Although he was recognized for his engineering studies, Wang spoke confidently of his talents in music, table tennis, debating, reciting poetry and, more surprisingly perhaps, as a professional magician.
Magician dreams
It might seem odd that a student pursing a logical, fact-driven profession like engineering, would also dabble in a trade utilizing sleight of hand and visual deception. “When I was about 13 years old back home, a Chinese magician did several tricks there and it blew my mind!” Wang told Canadian Immigrant recently. “I was impressed and I felt like it was the coolest thing to make something impossible, possible.”
Overcoming his parents’ reluctance about a “waste of time” activity, Wang used his magic skills to gain popularity as a newly arrived international student at a west Toronto high school. He gave performances in high school and in a short time became the talk of the classrooms.
As he improved his performing skills and added to his magical repertoire, Wang eventually became a full member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, the world’s largest organization dedicated to the art of magic, with 15,000 members worldwide.
In many ways, the engineering study, the music, the recitals and the magic have allowed Wang to reinvent himself in his adopted country. It began with a subtle name change — as Wang explains: “I took the name Shellen when I came to Toronto. According to English language rules, an adjective, with the addition of letters “en” will become a verb — such as sharp–sharpen, deep–deepen. A shell is something tough and hard. Therefore, Shell ‘en’ to me means to be as strong and tough as a shell. On the other hand, it sounds like my Chinese name Shaoheng. So ‘Shellen’ is not only a name, it is a verb with expectation for myself. And it is a fresh start.”
Magic shows in Toronto and Beijing
Today, Wang performs magic shows in Toronto and in Beijing where he returns each summer. He can perform in both English and Mandarin with magic acts that usually include audience participation.
“A typical magic show will be 20 minutes because the audience will become numb after so many tricks,” he says. “Usually I involve audiences in my tricks so they are more engaged.”
Pursuing two seemingly contradictory activities as engineering and magic is not a worry for Wang. In fact, he sees a link between the two disciplines. “A magician needs not only sleight of hand, but, more importantly, the audience psychology and acting skills,” Wang said. “Magic is a type of art that takes practice to master.”
The connection between the engineer and magician is they both can make unreal things seem real, Wang added. “For instance, if I want to penetrate a coin into a bottle, how should I do that? Do I really need to penetrate it? Is there another way to do it? This is what magicians think about. So, we put a coin in the cap before the show, instead of having to penetrate the bottle. Engineers do the same. ‘I want to mail the letter!’ someone might say. In response, engineers will ask: how should I do that? Do I really need to deliver it in person? Is there another way to do it? So, engineers developed email, Facebook and other messaging systems.”
Wang credits his mother — who was initially opposed to his magician work — for his accomplishment in such diverse areas.
“She planted the seeds and I let them grow,” Wang says. “I feel this world is full of pressure, and if we don’t find a way to relieve it, we will explode someday. In music, I document my emotions. In speeches and debates, I share my stories and insights, and in magic, I try to bring happiness to myself and my audience.”
For the immediate future, Wang will continue engineering, tutoring, music and, of course, magic acts. He is also preparing for the release of his first CD album of piano compositions.
As to the possibility of giving up his array of leisure activities to concentrate solely on professional engineering, Wang has already come to a firm decision.
“I intend to continue them as my hobbies, no matter which stage I am in in my life,” Wang says. “And it will all be right in Canada. After all, my identity was forged here.”