Quick-change is a performance style where a performer (often, a magician) changes quickly, usually within seconds, from one costume into another.

Notable quick-change artists

Arturo Brachetti

When Italian actor and performer

Arturo Brachetti Arturo Brachetti (; born 13 October 1957) is an Italian List of quick-change acts, quick-change artist considered the best quick change performer in the world. In the Guinness Book of Records, he is described as the quickest and most prolific q ...

started his career in

Paradis Latin The Paradis Latin is a theater at number 28, rue du Cardinal Lemoine, in the Latin Quarter of Paris, in the fifth arrondissement, near Notre-Dame, the Panthéon, and the Tour d'Argent restaurant. The closest métro stations are Cardinal Lemoi ...

, Paris (1979) he was the only quick-change performer in the world since the legendary

Leopoldo Fregoli Leopoldo Fregoli (; 2 July 1867 – 26 November 1936) was an Italian actor. Quick-change Artist Fregoli was thought to be the greatest, most versatile quick-change artist of his day. He was famous for his extraordinary ability in impersonatio ...

(1867-1937). ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

'' lists him as the fastest and most prolific in the world. His last one-man show has been seen by more than two million people worldwide. The changing of his tailcoat from black to white live and close to public was a method invented by him and is considered his artistic signature. His wardrobe consists of more than 350 costumes but evolves show by show. His performances often involve a series of characters, played consecutively one after the other, or in spoken sketches in which he plays all the roles interacting with each other. In 2000, he was awarded the

Molière Award The Les Molière is the national theatre award of France and it recognises achievement of French theatre each year. The awards are considered the highest honour for productions and performances. Presided and decided by the ''Association profess ...

, the highest accolade in French theatre, for "The Man with 1000 Faces", where he performs 80 different characters in a two-hour show. The show sold out in Paris for several months in Theatre Marigny, Theatre Mogador, Casino de Paris, from April 2000 to January 2005. Brachetti has created and performed about 25 acts for television and 10 plays, produced by the National Theatre of Italy. The festival "Juste Pour Rire" (the yearly " Just for Laughs" comedy festival every July in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

) launched his career in North America. In the Opera field, he created a personal version of

L'Histoire du soldat ', or ''Tale of the Soldier'' (as it was first published), is an hour-long 1918 theatrical work to be "read, played and danced ''()''" by three actors, one or more dancers, and a septet of instruments. Its music is by Igor Stravinsky, its libret ...

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...

, "Peter and the Wolf" by

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

and "Allegro, un po' troppo" with the Symphonic Orchestra of Rai Radio Televisione Italiana. In 2009, he was nominated for the

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...

in London for the show "Change" at the Garrick Theatre. He returned to Paris in 2009 at the Folies Bergere with his new show about Cinema. In 2011, the French Ministry of Culture presented him with the honorary title of

Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

Knight of Arts and Letters. In 2003,

Jeffery Deaver Jeffery Deaver (born May 6, 1950) is an American mystery and crime writer. He has a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a J.D. degree from Fordham University and originally started working as a journalist. He lat ...

named Brachetti in his bestseller '' The Vanished Man''. In 2013 and 2014, he was a judge in the French TV show ''The Best broadcas''t by

TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...

. An animated statue of Brachetti, changing costumes every 20 seconds, is displayed at Musée Grevin, the wax museum of Paris and Montreal. In September 2013, the French newspaper ''

Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...

'' dedicated him an interview in the first page. In 2014, Italy he received the title of Commander in June 2014 by Italian President

Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano (; 29 June 1925 – 22 September 2023) was an Italian politician who served as President of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first to be re-elected to the office. In office for 8 years and 244 days, he was the longest-serving pre ...

. On September 2, 2019, Arturo Brachetti was awarded The David Devant Award for Services to International Magic by The Magic Circle, presented to Arturo at their annual awards ceremony held at their Headquarters in Central London. In February 2020, Arturo headlined at the Blackpool Magic Convention with a performance of his show Solo at the Winter Gardens Opera House.

David and Dania

David and Dania were a popular Quick Change Duo that shot to fame on the first season of

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is an American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distributed by) and ...

making it to the semi-finals. David Maas and Dania Kaseeva married in 1996. The act was most well-known to basketball enthusiasts where they performed in all 30 NBA venues, the All-Star Game, and 15 W.N.B.A. arenas. At least 76 institutions hosted them for halftime performances; they also performed at Big Ten basketball tournaments and at the N.C.A.A. Final Four. David Maas died of COVID-19 on November 22, 2020.

Keelan Leyser and Charlotte Marie

A real-life couple who own an on-line magic shop, Keelan Leyser and Charlotte Marie also perform a magic specialty act that is primarily a mix of dance and quick-change. They have performed in over 45 countries. In an appearance on '' Penn & Teller: Fool Us'', they performed 9 changes between them in a period of four minutes, with the majority of time spent dancing to various musical bits related to each costume change. Leyser has a background in magic, while Marie has a background in dance. In 2015, Leyser trained up

Matthew Wolfenden Matthew Wolfenden (born 5 May 1980) is an English actor and screenwriter, known for his role as David Metcalfe in the British soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Early and personal life Wolfenden was born in Norwood Green, West Yorkshire. He was educa ...

and

Natalie Anderson Natalie Jane Anderson (born 24 October 1981) is an English actress, singer and television presenter. She is known for her roles as Stella Davenport in the medical drama ''The Royal'' from 2005 to 2008 and Alicia Metcalfe in the ITV soap oper ...

from the TV show ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...

'' to perform his act with him and his new dance partner Shereen on the ITV show called ''Get Your Act Together'' which was presented by Stephen Mulhurn. Leyser is known to now incorporate technology themed magic into his show.

Sos and Victoria Petrosyan

German - Armenian/Russian duo Sos and Victoria Petrosyan "The New Generation of Quick-Change Artists" are four times ''

'' holders in High Speed Costume Change Illusion: 2007 - 16 costumes in 2 minutes in Germany. 2008 - 11 costumes in 1 minute in China. 2008 - 12 costumes in 1 minute in Italy and in 2011 they have done another Guinness World Record - 13 costumes in 1 minute. They began in 1991 in Moscow. Magic Circle of Germany decided to present Sos & Victoria as the Best Magic Act in 2007. Duo Petrosyan Awarded - The Best Magician of the Year and International World Merlin Award in USA for the fastest quick change act in the world. They are the only magicians in the world who have gained this Oscar twice. In Los Angeles they got a World Magic Award for the Best Cabaret Duo 2008. In 2010, Sos and Victoria Petrosyan gained a ''Guinness World Records'' on the French TV Show "Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde" in Paris - 19 costumes. Sos is a trick producer and author of magic books and articles about the art of quick change. Sos and Victoria have been awarded by the Magic Circle in Germany the "Best Writer of the Year 2010" for the books: "Women's Dress Transformation" Part 2 and "Men's Suit Transformation" Part 1. All the tricks and transformation costumes used in their performances have been developed by Sos. In 2011, they got to the semi-final of the German TV Show "Das Supertalents". In 2012 they performed in Beijing "China International "Great Wall" Magic Carnival" where 20 magicians, FISM winners, presented their dazzling performances in a theater for thousands of people, in a magical battle for three days. Sos & Victoria Petrosyan received the only one Gold Medal for Stage Competition. There was also 2 Silver and 3 Bronze Medals.

Soul Mystique

Soul Mystique is an Australian duo of entertainers who became known in world variety theater for their performances combining professional

dancesport Dancesport is competitive ballroom dancing, as contrasted to social or exhibition dancing. In the case of Para dancesport, at least one of the dancers is in a wheelchair. Dancesport events are sanctioned and regulated by dancesport organizat ...

with a high speed quick change act. This duo is most famous for their two times appearance on the television show ''

Australia's Got Talent ''Australia's Got Talent'' is an Australian reality television talent show. The show is based on the '' Got Talent'' series format that originated in the United Kingdom with Simon Cowell. The first six seasons aired on the Seven Network, from ...

'' in 2007 (

series 1 The IBM Series/1 is a 16-bit minicomputer, introduced in 1976, that in many respects competed with other minicomputers of the time, such as the PDP-11 from Digital Equipment Corporation and similar offerings from Data General and HP. The Seri ...

) and 2012 (

series 6 Series 6 or Season 6 may refer to: *Series 6 exam In the United States, the investment company products/variable life contracts representative exam, is commonly referred to as the Series 6 exam. Individuals passing this multiple choice exam are l ...

) – both times with great success as Grand Finalists, and placing 2nd runner up in

. In 2008, Soul Mystique was placed among 10 of the world's best magicians by Fox Bio Channel – and was invited by Las Vegas veterans and legends of Magic,

Siegfried and Roy Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

, as the closing act for the historic event 'A Tribute to Siegfried & Roy at

The London Palladium ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

', where

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen B ...

and members of the Royal Family were in attendance. In 2011, Soul Mystique was listed as the choice of entertainment for high society by ''

Asia Tatler ''Tatler'' (stylised in all caps) is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. It focuses on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper and upper-middle cla ...

'' magazine. This duo was also two times 'Australian Entertainer of the Year' Finalist in 2011 and 2012 by Australian Event Awards. Soul Mystique is a partnership formed in 1996, between two former Latin-American dancesport champions, Gavin Skinner and Lydia Lim. This duo produces every aspect of their shows from costuming, props, to music arrangements. Soul Mystique is a registered trademark since 2009.

Lex Schoppi and Alina

Lex Schoppi is a trick producer and author of magic books and articles about the art of quick change. He has been Author of the Year for his quick change books and several times Artist of the Year in Germany. His stage partner Alina is a Latin dancer. They work with long dresses and overcoats. Alina is the only woman in the world to master the split second costume change whilst still bound (the world fastest escape illusion). They appeared in the

Eurovision Magic Circus Show The ''Magic Circus Show'' was an entertainment show organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS), which aired in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Children aged between seven and fourteen representing ...

with three winners from Heidi Klum's "Germanys Topmodels". He has an own tailor workshop for his magic and works for artists and stars. He created the opening ceremony of German Music Award Echo.

Lee Alex

Lee Alex is a British born illusionist based in Istanbul, Turkey. He is winner of the Merlin Award "Illusionist of the Year 2009" presented by the International Magicians' Society. Known throughout the magic world for his "Colour Change Waistcoat", "Snow Leopard Vest" and "Happy Birthday Waistcoat". Lee Alex is the co-author and translator of the German book "Quick Change" by Lex Schoppi and the sole author of the book "Time for a Change?".

Vizage

Vizage appeared in the 2008 semifinals of ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global '' Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...

'' where they performed a quick-change act with singing. They did, however, get three buzzers.

Luca Lombardo

Luca Lombardo is an Italian magician, actor and quick change artist. Deep admirer of Arturo Brachetti, he is the author of the play "Poubelle" which is based entirely on changes of clothes. He is also the author of the book "Confessions of a Quick Change Artist".

Léa Kyle

Léa Kyle is a French quick-change performer. She appeared on the seventh season of '' Penn & Teller: Fool Us'' in which she fooled judges

Penn & Teller Penn & Teller, Penn Jillette and Teller, are American magicians, entertainers, and scientific skeptics who have performed together since 1975. They are noted for their ongoing act that combines elements of comedy with magic. The duo has bee ...

. Kyle received a golden buzzer from

Heidi Klum Heidi Klum (; born 1 June 1973) is a German and American model, television personality, producer, and businesswoman. She appeared on the cover of the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' in 1998 and was the first German model to become a Vict ...

season 16 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and polar ...

of ''

''.

Solange Kardinaly

Solange Kardinaly is a Portuguese quick-change performer and magician who, with her partner Arkadio, holds the

Guinness world record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for most costume changes in a single minute, with 25. On

season 19 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and polar ...

of ''

'', she received unanimous acclaim from the judges for a performance to

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

's "

Material Girl "Material Girl" is a song recorded by American pop singer Madonna for her second studio album, '' Like a Virgin'' (1984). It was released on January 23, 1985, by the Sire label as the second single from ''Like a Virgin''. It also appears sligh ...

" which went viral. She also appeared on three other ''

Got Talent ''Got Talent'' is a British talent show TV format conceived and owned by Simon Cowell's Syco Entertainment. It has spawned spin-offs in over 60 countries, in what is now referred to as the 'Got Talent' format, similar to that described by Frema ...

'' series ( Czechia & Slovakia,

Ellada Eheis Talento ''Ellada Eheis Talento'' ( ) is a Greek reality television series and is part of the Got Talent multinational franchise. It premiered in Greece for the first time on 23 March 2007 and ended after 4 seasons on 25 June 2012 on the ANT1. On 1 Octob ...

, and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

) as well as '' Penn & Teller: Fool Us.''

Castor Watt

Castor Watt Castor most commonly refers to: *Castor (star), a star in the Gemini constellation *Castor, one of the Dioscuri/Gemini twins Castor and Pollux in Greco-Roman mythology Castor or CASTOR may also refer to: Science and technology *Castor (rocket s ...

(1858-1932) was an internationally known quick-change artist from Germany. His special feature was his performance without any aids. The spectacular „quick change“ of his costumes happened on an open stage, right in front of the audience.

References

{{Authority control

Quick change ''Quick Change'' is a 1990 American crime comedy film directed by Howard Franklin and Bill Murray (in their directorial debuts) and written by Franklin. Based on the novel of the same name by Jay Cronley, the film stars Murray, Geena Davis ...

Magic tricks