The Local Magician
Story by MacKenzie Rogers
Photo provided by Jordan Allen
A single spotlight shines down from above, filing the otherwise dark room with light. From behind a black drape, a lone man emerges and approaches the spotlight, his purple vest beaming under the light. The man, a magician, reaches into the front pocket of his vest, drawing out a single card.
The card, an ace of spades, looks unimpressive at first. The magician flips the card around, showing both sides off. From another pocket, he pulls out a crisp $20 bill.
He folds the bill next to the card, sliding the two along each other. In an instant, the $20 appears to have merged with the card, and the two cards stuck together with the $20 bill in the middle.
Magic tricks like this are just the tip of the iceberg for local magician Jordan Allen, who has been entertaining people since he was five years old. Today, Allen offers sensory-friendly magic for weddings, corporate events and birthday parties.
Allen said as a neurodivergent person himself, he wants to advocate and educate about his life with neurodivergence through his comedy and storytelling.
“I was a magician ‘before’ I was neurodivergent,” Allen said. “When I got my first magic kit at 7 years old, I found something that I was good at.”
After being diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder, Allen said he navigated his pre-adolescent years struggling to fit in due to judgment from those around him.
“It’s a myth that people with neurodivergence ‘grow out’ of it. They don’t; they get better at hiding it,” Allen said. “Magic teaches us that things are not as they appear and that there are things beyond our understanding.”
Initially dreaming of doing grand scheme illusions, Allen found his true calling in ‘sensory-friendly neurodivergent affirming magic.’ By avoiding music and eliminating extra lighting, Allen creates an atmosphere that minimizes sensory overload.
At the beginning of all his shows, Allen does a quick introduction to the sensory-friendly show format, which includes a shift from clapping to hand waving and having interactive magic without requiring the audience to join him on stage.
The idea to do sensory-friendly magic came to Allen when he was auditioning for “America’s Got Talent” in 2019.
“They have you fill out a bio. What they want is a sob story. I didn’t have a sob story,” Allen said. “I didn’t make the cut and I’m okay with that because that audition process got me thinking that I needed to be more open about who I am.”
Impacted by the pandemic and being sent onto Zoom, Allen started finding ways to better provide a social experience that doesn’t cause overstimulation.
In 2022, Allen debuted “Oh Look It’s Magic! An ADHD Advocacy Magic Show” at the IndyFringe Festival, where it was selected in the Amplified Voices category. Utilizing the skills he developed during his youth as a Gospel magician, Allen created a show that was entertaining and spoke on his experiences as a neurodivergent individual in hopes that they would resonate with other neurotypical individuals.
After the show received attention from agencies that work with neurotypical adolescents and adults in Upstate New York, Allen took the show there on tour in 2023. The tour eventually returned to Indianapolis as a sensory-friendly show for everyone in the neurodiverse community to enjoy.
“Be your own advocate. No one knows your needs better than you,” Allen said. “Don’t be afraid of showing who you are, your tribe will find you or you will find your tribe.”
Allen has high hopes for the 2024 year, with plans to host a local show in March. When he’s not on theatre tours, you can expect to see Allen performing at the Downtown Farmers Market during the marketing season.