Forget it all in an instant (stooge)
Posted: Jul 25th, '11, 23:55
I've been having an interesting discussion with a couple of other magicians following an effect we saw which some of us thought may have involved an IS (it didn't btw) and we got to talking about the rights and wrongs of ISing and I thought I'd bring that discussion over to TM for you all.
There was division that was to be expected, either all for or all against ISing and there was myself and one other somewhat in the middle.
My position is this: If you IS someone the effect it has on them in the view of the rest of the audience should be magical, that they have acheived something impossible too. They can then return to their friends and experience a wonderful moment of their peers asking them how they did what they did.
Example: Sometimes within a Kurotsuke effect with two people eliminated I'll invite someone to see if they can do it too. With my arm comfortingly around their shoulders I'll say something to the effect of "Who else do you think has a white stone, have a look at them and you're just going to get this feeling and you'll know it's them..." and I'm sure you get the picture. They get it right (hopefully) and walk away to applause and the admiration of their friends. Everyone's a winner, my routine is nicely paced and less monotonous and there's a minor miracle worker within the audience.
However I am wholeheartedly opposed to someone being ISed just in order for you to acheive an effect, ergo look good. The effect that sparked this discussion was Col Mcleod's Bookless Test as shown on Fool Us this weekend. Now that effect does not use an IS though one of my friends had assumed (and insisted in fact) that it did.... but if it had then this would've been a prime example of what I consider a very poor use of an IS. Getting someone up on stage, tell them what to think and then say "Hey, I know/always knew what he was going to think". The IS walks away with no applause (he knows the applause is for you) and with a very bad taste in his mouth.
For me, if an effect, no matter how stunningly brilliant can only be achieved with an IS with the latter example then it has no place in my repetoire, I have no right whatsoever to make someone who's taken the time and money to see me perform to be made to feel like a pawn. That said, if the effect is that great and can be acheived with a regular stooge then yeah, full steam ahead
Discuss....