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SpecialEffectsWizard

The special effects wizard emerges from a trapdoor in the stage during a performance of Hélas, Je me suis Transfiguré Les Pieds

A special effects wizard was a wizard that provided the various effects that might be required in a wizarding play, as well as being responsible for the creation of magical props. These wizards generally popped up from somewhere off-stage, such as a trapdoor beneath the stage's floor, performed the required spell that had the desired effect, and then exited. An example of a play that required a special effects wizard was Hélas, Je me suis Transfiguré Les Pieds, in which one was needed to provide yellow smoke to accompany Crapaud's foot-transfiguration.[1]

Though these wizards were presumably supposed to stick with the spells the script said to cast, this was not always the case. In a particularly infamous performance of Hélas, Je me suis Transfiguré Les Pieds, the special effects wizard used the Fire-Making Spell instead of conjuring yellow smoke, hoping the effect would liven up what had been a dull performance thus far. However, this merely had the effect of burning down the theatre and ending the play early.[1]

Albus Dumbledore once served as a special effects wizard for an amateur production of The Fountain of Fair Fortune put on at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry by Herbert Beery. He was tasked with creating a functioning Fountain of Fair Fortune and a miniature grassy hill that would sink slowly into the stage as the actors attempted to scale it. Dumbledore believed that the props he created played their parts perfectly, though the play itself was a disaster for other reasons.[2]

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Wonderbook: Book of Spells
  2. The Tales of Beedle the Bard - Albus Dumbledore's notes on The Fountain of Fair Fortune
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