02/07/2022
Family of Magicians puts on Show during Manistee National Forest Festival
By Arielle Breen, Manistee News Advocate, July 2, 2022
MANISTEE — One of the unique gems of Manistee National Forest Festival is an annual magic show and it is performed by a family for families at the Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts in Manistee.
Wissner’s Wizards is composed of five kids under the age of 16 and the group was set to take the stage at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sunday.
Michael Sager Wissner, 15, said he got involved in the magic show because of his grandfather, Wayne Wissner.
“He’s a really fun guy and this is just a special thing that we can do really for just him,” Michael said. “He was a magician for quite a long time and he really got us into magic.”
Wayne Wissner is also in the shows as he performs a trick known as the Mummy Case illusion where a kid pops out of a mummy case but it isn't clear how. He grew up in Manistee and is a retired professional magician who performed his first magic show at 7 years old.
It was the Mummy Case illusion that lured Michael into the world of magic shows when he saw his grandfather perform.
“It was just really cool to watch and he got us interested in doing shows so we do them for him and with him,” he said.
Michael and the other wizards have been performing since they were about five years old.
Aria Grossenbach, 13, has a different take on what draws her to the stage each year.
“I enjoy wowing people,” Aria said. “It’s fun to see their faces when you do magic and they’re amazed by what you do.”
She said many of the tricks involve audience members, giving kids in attendance a chance to get involved in the show.
“Kids are usually more amazed at times (than adults),” she said.
Michael noted that performing magic on stage is somewhat terrifying at first.
“But after you do the first show in front of an audience, it’s just like ‘oh, that’s not really bad.’ And then you just go along with it,” he explained.
The family has been practicing for the 2022 Manistee National Forest Festival show since May.
Recently, the crew has been practicing about four to five hours a day and then finally had rehearsal on Saturday morning ahead of the Sunday show.
The Sager Wissner branch of the family lives in Barry County and the Grossenbachs live in Illinois and coordinate their practices.
Anthony Sager Wissner, 12, said he enjoys the magic element, being on stage and also the improvisations and interactions with the audience.
He does tricks like changing a balloon into a guinea pig, or show how he can loop metal rings inside one another or make a moveable knot that appears to reattach cut clothesline making it magically whole again.
Anthony said he enjoys both the stage tricks that require more stage space and also the smaller stage appearances that require more conversing with an audience.
“Don’t be afraid to talk if it’s a small trick. Don’t be afraid to interact with the magicians,” he said adding that in some tricks, he is expecting feedback from the audience. “Laughter, sometimes telling what they think the trick is going to be, how it works.”
The youngest two performers in the group are Lennon Grossenbach, 12, and Oscar Grossenbach, 9.
“It’s fun to show what we can do in front of people,” Lennon said.
Lennon said that each member of the group tends to try a particular trick to see what works best for each member.
According to Lennon’s bio, he is a competitive gymnast, cross country runner and discus and long jumper on the field.
According to Oscar's bio, he spends a lot of time on ice as a competitive short track speed skater and a figure skater and he recently performed in the “Nutcracker on Ice,” “Cinderella on Ice” and at the “National Theater on Ice” championships last month.
Oscar is responsible for making a pop bottle disappear among other tricks.
Proceeds from the profits are being donated toward the Homeward Bound Animal Shelter of Manistee AND the Manistee Civic Players.
More information on the magic show is available on the Wayne Wissner, Magician page
