Opinions
Opinions by Mike Rogers
Several
years ago I wrote and published a small nine
page manuscript called Opinions, A Lecture
On the Art of Magic. The thing sold for
a mere three bucks and did absolutely nothing
to speed up my intended early retirement. I
keep very few records, but this manuscript sold
so poorly that I can safely say that less then
200 copies made the rounds. Through it all the
thing established a rather cult like following
and much of the material has been quoted in
various magic journals. Peter Duffie and Paul
Gertner both found it to be great fodder for
their writings.
The small
missive contained some varied opinions regarding
my views on the presentation of magic. I also
included various guidelines by which I regulate
my approach to magic as an art, craft, and business.
I'll revisit some of those notions in this column.
Let's
begin with some ideas to help make a magical
performance more magical, and a magical performer
more successful.
Have
a backup for every effect you do. That is, if
you use a certain prop, and if that prop is
important to your act, have an extra. I believe
in Murphy's Law. If it can go wrong it will.
Any prop can be lost, stolen, or broken. Thus,
I always have an extra. Here's a story to point
up this notion. I once was the night manager
in a NATO Officers Club in Italy. It was an
elegant club and we had two full time house
bands. One of the band leaders told me that
we could hire a part time band for less money
and still retain the high quality of music.
However, he went on to explain that should something
go wrong with the part time band, such as equipment
failure, they'd be out of business for the evening.
He said, "When something goes wrong with us
you'll never know it." It's an excellent point.
When something goes wrong in a magic act the
client should never know it.
In keeping
with the above it's equally important to have
an" out for every effect you do. It's no fun
having to stand in front of an audience with
egg on your face. Hence, when selecting effects
one of the first things I ask myself is, "What's
the OUT?"
It's
all right to lie when doing magic. We are in
a business where lying is accepted. Everything
we do is a lie. We don't do real magic; we lie
about it. When we tell the lie well our magic
will look real. For those wishing to challenge
me on this point, please tell me the last time
you saw someone actually drive four coins through
a table. (incidentally, can you name another
profession where lying is accepted?) (Answer
at the end of the column.)
- In addition to
being good liars we can also be honest when
developing a patter line. Many times the
most sensible patter line is simply and
honestly telling them what you are doing.
Rather than creating a "cock and bull" story
it might be better to tell them just what
they are to see, or think they will see.
Just tell them what you have, what you will
do, and then do it.
-
-
Keep
the effect simple. That doesn't mean using
simple methods, it means the overall effect
in the eyes of the viewer should be simple.
He should be able to walk away saying what
he saw. Long drawn out contrived effects
only confuse the spectators. However, in
simplifying the effects don't pay the price
of losing the magic Many times magicians
will work to simplify an effect to a point
where it no longer looks magical. It takes
some thought.
-
Regardless
of what we have been lead to believe it's
all right to do four ace effects. We magicians
tend to think there are too many four ace
tricks, and that may well be true. However,
laymen like them. Aces make sense. They
are easy to see, easy to remember, and there
is a mystique about four aces. Ask any card
player. A good four ace effect is always
welcome in a card sequence. Don't muddle
it though; at times just cutting to the
aces is all that's needed.
If you
have a choice between using a sleight or a subtlety
use the sleight. The subtlety probably won't
fly the second time, yet a good sleight
can be used again and again. I'm not against
subtleties, but many magicians rely on them
too much.
If a
gimmick will do the job better than a sleight
use the gimmick. There's nothing wrong with
gimmicks if they are handled well. Sadly, many
magicians handle gimmicks poorly. They often
handle them as if they were fine pieces of jewelry,
which many may actually be. However, if a gaff
is handled that way the viewer will spot its
use. Watch many magicians with a shell coin.
They will handle it so carefully that a spectator
watching from across the room can spot its use.
I'm not saying to abuse gimmicks, but they must
be handled as if they didn't exist. An example
of an excellent gimmick is the cigarette pull.
A cigarette can not be made to vanish in a more
magical way. (How many readers here are old
enough to remember a cigarette pull?)
Study
timing and apply it to every effect you do.
Learn to work on the off beat. Don't do a sleight
when the heat is on. A good sleight won't cover
bad timing, but good timing can cover a poorly
executed sleight.
Do kid
shows, or at least work for kids when you can.
Kids have a keen eye and the accept nothing
they can't see. If you want to really test a
routine, one you consider among your best, do
it for a group of teen-age kids. They'll let
you know in a hurry just how good your
handling is.
- Learn to work
without using a close up mat or pad. Close
up mats are wonderful, but there are too
many times in the real world where there's
no chance to use them. I'm speaking of cocktail
parties where everyone is standing or milling
about with no tables available. Moreover,
the host may be dragging you from person
to person saying to do such and such effect.
As with
close up mats learn to work without having to
carry a briefcase. There are just too many times
when a briefcase only gets in the way. Hence,
learn to work from the pockets and you'll be
money ahead.
Develop
an act that isn't critical on angles. Angles
will kill you in the real world. When working
social functions you can't politely move people
about and position them just so they won't see
how an effect is done. The guests at a function
are going to be on all sides and they want to
position themselves.
- Avoid having
to use special tables. Many close up men
enjoy having special tables made, and they
are indeed wonderful when the conditions
allow for their use. However, if you can
do without such a device your magic life
will be easier, and so will the life of
the person throwing the party. Don't try
and be a Del Ray clone. It isn't possible.
Avoid
using corny one liners and silly asides. They
do little for your act and they are viewed by
most as being rather tacky. Also, most one liners
have been heard many times.
As with
the one liners avoid silly sight gags. It takes
little or no skill to use them and this is recognized
by those watching, Let's leave the sight gags
for the buffoon at the local lodge party wearing
a lamp shade for a hat.
Do not
allow the effect to become anticlimactic. Try
and have only one ending to an effect and let
it be known that you have reached that ending.
I'm not in favor of what we like to call "kickers"
in magic.
Don't
try and do every trick in the world. It can't
be done. Lock in on the best material you can
to fill ten to twenty minutes and stick with
it. I strongly favor the old concept of doing
ten effects perfectly rather than fifty effects
poorly.
- Don't be a copycat.
No one can copy another and do it well.
It's quickly spotted as being phony. Stick
with your own personality and don't lift
material. Probably the most lifted line
in magic right now is the, "One, Two, Three
its me" line when doing the substitution
trunk. Also, how about the Ritual Fire
Dance for backup music? It's been used
and used and used ........
-
-
Avoid
using fire of any type. The fire codes for
most public buildings restrict the use of
fire or open flames of any type. Yes, magicians
are getting away with it, but that's only
because the client doesn't know in advance
that the fire is going to be used. I'm talking
about torches, dove pans, flash paper, and
so on. Simply openly burning an envelope
within a building is probably against the
fire codes of most cities. Besides, even
though the fire may look magical, many people
are terrified from it, and rightly so.
(OK, besides
magicians who else is expected to lie? A Novelist.)
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