At first glance it might seem like Benjamin Butner is stuck in a rut. But then again, his concept of a rut may be on a distinctly different scale than the rest of us. As stage manager for famed magician / illusionist David Copperfield, Butner’s gig can sometimes be repetitive, but it’s never, ever dull. “The show is constantly changing. It’s the same group of people [working together], but the show is constantly evolving.”
For the past four years Butner has divided his time between the show’s Las Vegas home base at the MGM Grand and, well, pretty much everywhere else. Over that time, Butner has traveled to places he never thought he would see, like China, Europe, and Mexico, as the Copperfield tour has made its way across the world. “Touring is my favorite … because it’s a different city every couple days.”
During each performance, Butner makes his home behind the scenes doing what is dubbed “calling the show” – a monumental undertaking that consists of organizing, keeping track of, and announcing over two hundred cues per show. Basically, Butner explains, he does for the show production world what directors do for films. “I sit at the front of house and make sure the fifty to one hundred people running around are doing what they’re supposed to be doing. No main changes in the show happen unless I tell them to.”
As specialized as his position might seem, it’s exactly what he hoped to end up doing when he went to school at Full Sail for Show Production & Touring. Butner long had an interest in magic, and after seeing Copperfield on television during his youth, he began thinking about a career in the entertainment arts. “This is a little bit different than theatre, a little bit different than rock n’ roll,” he says, “and it looked like a lot of fun, so I decided to give it a shot. When I was at Full Sail I did some research online, found some email addresses and gave it a shot. I was just really persistent. I was like, ‘This is where I’ m going to go, this is what I’m going to do and I’m going to give one hundred percent to try to get this job.’ It was full force straight ahead and it worked.”
Of course, persistence works that much better when you have the knowledge and attitude to back it up. “Everything I learned about power, sound, video, and lighting…everything ties together with what I’m doing now and helps with any other small projects that they may have me doing between shows or after shows.” Projects like creating new illusions in Copperfield’s Vegas warehouse are some of Butner’s favorite off-time activities. Of course, he’s not at liberty to expand on that – after all, a magician needs his privacy. “I leave all the secrets to David.
“I’d always hoped to be on tour with David,” he continues, “and this is pretty much how I envisioned it would be. I definitely got what I had hoped for.”
