When the news came in that I was officially chosen as one of the 16 Semi-finalists in Sweden’s Talang 2022, I was over the moon that the judges wanted to see more of Nikola Arkane’s magic. That meant I had to get to work on building an act that would stand a chance of taking me through to the Finals.
This task was easier said than done.
Creating an act from scratch in less than a month is mentally and physically hard work. I had many late nights learning to work with props I’d never worked with before. I had to problem solve, kill some darlings, really learn how to think about how I think. And, learn to move and hold my body differently all in the hope to weave a seamless magical image and performance. I don’t think I’ve swore as much before as I have in the last two weeks and that is saying something, being Irish.
But now after going through this process I am incredibly proud of how far I’ve come. I stuck with it no matter how many times I wanted to just give up.
This is how I reacted when I got the news that I had been accepted for the Semi-finals.
Last Friday, 4th March 2022 I performed my act live in front of a studio audience of 500 and roughly 1 million viewers across Sweden – and beyond. I did it and even though I did not make it through to the finals this year, I am officially a Semi-finalist and a winner.
The act I’ve created will not end with this competition. It will continue to blossom and grow as I am as a person and performer.
Thank you to everyone who supported me. To my talented magic friends Håkan Berg and Johan Ståhl for encouraging me to go on the show in the first place. To Tomas Andersson a.k.a Tim Star for your time and building the beautiful props I got to work with. To Tom Stone for being my magic consultant, director, therapist and coach guiding me through this emotional journey and its execution. Finally to my friends and family back home and around the world and to the people of Sweden who got behind this little women from Ireland – Thank you!