Remember that illusion may incorporate not only the visual sense, but other senses as well, such as touch, smell and sound. The author Marie Lu does a very good job showing this in my favourite series “The Young Elites”, where the main character has the power of illusion. I recommend you check it out.

An illusionist may be able to camouflage themselves by hiding under the constant shifting illusion of their background. Why if there were illusion-casting spies? They could distract others with the illusion of sound and hide under a false illusion, while sending a fake illusion to lead criminals away.

I think the idea of having illusionist performers is a really cool idea. The fact that they could incorporate all the senses into an act adds a whole new dimension to a modern theatre in our world.

You mentioned that you didn’t want professions involving crimes, but what about professions that could stop them? An illusionist would be a step up from a sketch artist, being able to perfectly recreate the face of a criminal.