Help with a magic short film

Hey everyone!

I’m working on a short film about magic, and I wanted to reach out and see if any of you could give me a hand.

The premise is that two magicians are auditioning for a gig at a magic shop, so the audition process itself would be a bit out of the ordinary.

The general idea is that it starts with a simple effect, but then the other guy has to one-up him, and then it keeps escalating, until one of them vanishes the other, and when the guy walks back in through the door, he vanishes both the other magician and the interviewer.

I’m not really struggling with the tricks—if anyone thinks of a specific routine that would look great, feel free to suggest it—but I’m more looking for help with the conflict or some obstacles they might face.

I wanted to ask you guys about things that might happen to a magician during an audition. For instance, the idea is that the two magicians already know each other, so there’s a bit of existing rivalry, but during this audition, that rivalry is pushed to the extreme. Does that make sense?

If anyone has experience with auditions or similar situations, I’d love to hear any ideas or obstacles that could help me round out the short; I feel like it’s missing that final polish.

Anyway, thanks in advance! No pressure, I know it’s a bit of an abstract concept.

Have a great summer!