What happens when a mad scientist steps onto the Penn & Teller: Fool Us stage with a magic trick? For Dyno Staats, the answer begins with a laboratory, a little theatrical chaos, and one very important ingredient: science.
Staats appeared on the season four episode “Does This Trick Ring a Bell?” alongside magicians Aiden Sinclair, Axel Adler, and David Parr. Hosted by Alyson Hannigan, the episode originally aired August 10, 2017.
Staats introduces himself as a mad scientist and steampunk magician. The look is part of the act, but it also gives the performance a clear point of view. He explains that steampunk draws on the Victorian era, when science was still new enough to seem almost magical. He says he approaches his magic much like an experiment: try an idea, see what happens, work out why it failed, and keep refining it.
That idea carries into his presentation for Penn and Teller. Rather than asking the audience to believe in magic, Staats tells them to believe in science. He builds the routine around a dollar bill and presents the effect as an experiment, with the visual style and humor of his character woven into the action.
A strong character can make a magic trick feel like a complete world. Staats’s steampunk costume, custom-looking equipment, and mad-scientist language all support the same premise. The audience isn’t just watching a mystery unfold; they’re watching a scientist attempt something that might go spectacularly wrong.
Penn and Teller ultimately figured out the method, so Staats didn’t earn the Fool Us trophy. Still, the performance is a fun example of how a magician can use character and storytelling to make a familiar object feel like part of an entirely new experience.
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