Magnificent Mountebank Magicians

I had the pleasure of seeing the MMM in a performance as a child. It was truly spectacular then, and while I do doubt the experience would live up to the memory, it is a fond one. Something I intended to repeat for my own child, but by the time he was old enough to appreciate it, Gorathia  had put a ban on traveling entertainers as potential sources of insurrection. Alas.
They travel using the common forms of transport available: trains, airships, the occasional portal, etc. They have little need of massive amounts of equipment, as most of the items needed for their tricks are common household consumables, easily purchased at their destination. The rest of it is literal magic and the skills honed as performers.

The Performances

According to most transplants, the shows the MMM put on are not unlike a magician's show on Earth, in that a spectacular scenario is set up, a kind of story put down, and then put forth with equal parts trickery and acting. Ours, however, are more impressive thanks to elemental magic and light spells.
There are perhaps a dozen separate troupes of MMM who travel the world, going from place to place, each putting on some variety of the same show. All of them act under the auspices of a central troupe composed of the most experienced members. This troupe is usually employed formally by a country to perform solely for the court of whatever leader is in power at the time.

The Magicians

The members of MMM do, in fact, have to be practicing magic users of some degree. Most are not typically powerful, as those with a great deal of power typically go into more heroic or villainous lines of work, but power is not really needed for these shows as much as skill. It takes a lot of concentration to turn light into butterflies that will play music, after all.
Each troupe will typically consist of a dozen members. About a third of the group will be experienced performers, a third will be apprentices and journeymen learning the craft and assisting with the sets, and a third will be accountants and managers and agents. Whatever that last group may call themselves, they are the ones setting up performances, ensuring payment, keeping the performers in line and happy, and so on and so forth.

Our tricks might be fake, but the magic is real!

Type

Entertainment, Troupe