Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to contradict anyone here, just getting a bit of clarity and to take the discussion out of the Review thread of another book.
Mark Lewis recommended the book Showmanship and Presentation by Edward Maurice. So I looked it up and it was written in 1946.
Now, I'd like to ask if presentation technique is as timeless as some of the sleights and mentalism principles we know and love? Is that which was relevant then still relevant now? May I take this opportunity to remind you I'm not being accusative. I'm naive in context and am trying to learn more about presentation at an entertainer level, rather than magical one.
I am very interested in learning about theory and presentation and am presently reading Strong Magic (which is wonderful) and have already read Our Magic. I do own a copy of Magic and Showmanship, but have not dipped into it yet. I've also got The Secrets of Alkazar, and that's ace! There is that bit in Expert Card Technique too. Oh, and Absolute Magic and Magic in Theory.
I have also been recommended:
Win the Crowd by Steve Cohen
Exploring Magical Presentations by Eugene Burger (DVD)
Scripting Magic by Pete McCabe
The Principles of Magic by Richard Osterlind
Mastering the Art of Magic by Eugene Burger
Magic and Meaning by Eugene Burger
The Books of Wonder
The Magic of Michael Ammar
Beyond Secrets by Jay Sankey
True and False: Heresy and Common Sense for the Actor by David Mamet
And so now, once again, I am faced with a whopping list of books and don't know where to turn.
I was speaking to seige about mentalism the other day and he was saying how one book might be good for stage and another might be good for table, etc. I think the same applies here, but in other senses too.
Personally, I've got at least four good sections on misdirection and an all you can eat buffet on enhancing presentation, especially with Strong Magic. What I'm looking for are books that address such questions as:
I get stage fright, even if there's not a stage. It's nothing to do with practice, and I can't SWISH it away. How to I learn to quell or channel that adrenaline so my wedding ring doesn't cut the circulation off to my finger and my hands don't clam up so much that I glue myself to the cards.
I'm interested in building routines, but not only the linkage of tricks but adding more to it. Are there general principals in keeping groups, large and small, entertained?
I'm interested in understanding the different presentation techniques associated with table work, walking work, group, stage and screen. Also about repeat audiences and one offs. That would be from both a magic routine and entertainer perspective.
I'm a brilliant technical magician, but I'm actually a bit of a nerd, and would like to improve my look and feel. Are there some general principals for making myself more of an entertaining character?
(the last one's no actually true, on either count
)
And so I ask, which of the above books, or others you may know, apply to the above questions and others which are not particularly "theory of magic" or "making magic more magical"?
Why am I asking? Well, it's because I'm really quite sick of buying expensive books of which 5% is actually useful because the rest is all covered in other books I already own. If I hear one more time that "you don't present the same trick twice unless you have two methods" or that "the spectator looks where you're looking", I'll go up the wall.
I'm trying to take the collective book (and other media) knowledge here and turn it into some form of categorised, progressive and non-wasteful learning tree so that if someone does have a question about presentation, they can more easily find the book which addresses their questions. For instance, I was recommended Banacheck PSI for mentalism, but nobody mentioned whether or not it was good for stage or not (I know the answer now).
As an exercise, think of all the books you've ever bought and try to think to yourself "if I knew about of these books in advance, I'd have bought only these ones in this order". But no, please don't post your fave list of early card books in this thread. Oh, and no going off topic and no ranting and arguing. OK?