- A curtain was then drawn between the
pillars and the whole stage slowly turned.
Clever lighting and other effects meant
the audience couldn’t see or feel that
they were moving.
3. Once the stage
was in just the right
position, the curtains
were lifted. The
statue appeared to
have vanished... but
it was simply hidden
behind a pillar!
79
NO WAY! WHERE DID IT GO?
MAKING THE GROUND SHAKE
It’s easy to tell when you’re standing on a moving
stage because you can feel a rumbling under your
feet. To disguise this, Copperfield played loud music
through large speakers. This made the floor rumble,
which covered up the movement of the turning
stage. By tricking their senses, the illusionist fooled
spectators into believing the stunt was real.
HOW THE ILLUSION UNFOLDED
- The spectators sat on a special
stage where they could see the
statue between two pillars.
US_078-079_Disappearing_Statue_of_liberty.indd 79 12/09/2018 15:50