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Holiday till end of august and basic request
by Chris_Favoriten » Aug 13th, '07, 17:04
Dear MT,
again thanks for your interest in either welcoming me or just viewing my intro post!
I will be on holiday for the rest of August and will have no access to MT forum and what is more keep forgetting my password, too many in office...
Anyhow, I would be thankful to know if I can enter some topic to talk about? It would be about "Does Patter Matter?" and would draw from some magic literature and theory on magic. Am I at all at a stage to induce such a talk? Or do I have to first participate in other talks?
Well then have all a nice summer time and till then then,
yours sincerely
Chris
hopefully sunny weather in Italy and Styria!
again thanks for your interest in either welcoming me or just viewing my intro post!
I will be on holiday for the rest of August and will have no access to MT forum and what is more keep forgetting my password, too many in office...
Anyhow, I would be thankful to know if I can enter some topic to talk about? It would be about "Does Patter Matter?" and would draw from some magic literature and theory on magic. Am I at all at a stage to induce such a talk? Or do I have to first participate in other talks?
Well then have all a nice summer time and till then then,
yours sincerely
Chris
hopefully sunny weather in Italy and Styria!-
Chris_Favoriten - Junior Member
- Posts: 13
- Joined: Aug 1st, '07, 19:56
- Location: Favoriten Vienna Austria Europe
- kingkongkyle1
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Back from holiday and Does Patter Matter Text
by Chris_Favoriten » Sep 17th, '07, 11:34
Dear TM friends,
sorry for my dyslecial spelling at times...
I have written a littel text on patter business. Who is intereseted can read it.
Text is not edited and just a draft.
I would be grateful to comments on that.
kind regards
CC
Does Patter Matter?
To most talking magicians this will be answered in the affirmative. Most certainly the magic performance can be attired by improvised, free, and spontaneous patter and thus create an original, live, and one of a kind presentation.
But, as one might know, also improvisation needs maybe even more rehearsal and knowledge of possible jokes, puns, and witty, humorous idioms and sayings to go with the trick than a ‘preset’ written text.
Suggestions for patter, as it is often called in magic books, can be found with the detailed explanation and elucidation of routines or tricks in books and on explanatory sheets that are provided by dealers for single feats. Normally, those suggestions are striking, easy to remember, and most magicians who bought that trick will use it to show off their eloquence and wittiness that they have paid for. What happens then is simply that those who slavishly drill their tricks and patter provided will appear most of the time in the same light. The originality of such performances is low. Once you have seen one magician doing that standard you “know” them all and the performance might get tedious since one has heard that before.
According to Fitzkee (Trilogy) and Vernon (Book of Magic) one should go for an individual style of performance and thus also patter that fits one’s character, personality, and to a certain extent one’s role that one plays as a magician. As there are many magics (at least since Eugene Burger and Robert Neale, Magic and Meaning) and many styles to perform there are a multitude of phrases and puns, etc. out there to be used and make one’s own wit prominent and striking by being original and therewith also natural and sound to one’s thinking and character. We are all different and thus it is up to one’s own thinking and writing and rehearsing to polish the performance to a real original gem of magic.
What one hears cannot be evaded. Spectators can blink but hardly ever cover their ears (exception might be poor singers!). What one says baits the imagination and thus lures thoughts of the spectator, this is especially true for mental magicians. Fitzkee has written about ploys, ruses and much more how to lead the viewers to the effect and away from the method (secret) in his third book (on misdirection) of his trilogy. He has pointed out that magic art is a mental feat. (These are now “my” words he used different ones.)
Nelms has already argued in 1969 that a magic trick is not only a trick, the secret itself on which many novice magicians try to rely on and think that that is the most important thing of their presentation. It is not to Nelms. On the contrary, he thinks that the style of the performance, how one presents the trick, makes the whole act a feat. Thus taking a standardised trick and deconstruct it to the bone (or even marrow) and rebuilt it to one’s one individual handling and way of thinking and character transforms the trick to an original feat. The actual presentation of the trick is about 90% to Nelms, the method merely 10%. With that magic becomes art.
Similar to an actor a magician has to seek his original balance and poise regarding not only his body but his personality and the presentation of it as has the Australian F.M. Alexander (reciter, actor and therapist) found out in the early 20th century (or late 19th?). Know thyself and you will be convincing and natural. With this also know thy verse! In this sense Patter Does Matter!
References:
Burger, Eugene, and Robert E. Neale. Magic and Meaning: Hermetic Press, 1995.
Fitzkee, Dariel. Magic by Misdirection. 2 ed. 3 vols. Vol. 3, The Fitzkee Trilogy. Pomeroy, Ohio, USA: Lee Jacobs Production, 1987.
———. Showmanship for Magicians. 3 ed. 3 vols. Vol. 1, The Fitzkee Trilogy. Pomeroy, Ohio, USA: Lee Jacobs Production, 1988.
———. The Trick Brain. 2 ed. 3 vols. Vol. 2, The Fitzkee Trilogy. Pomeroy, Ohio, USA: Lee Jacobs Productions, 1999.
Nelms, Henning. Zauberei und Schauspielkunst. Translated by Christian Scherer. 2 ed. Thun, Schweiz, 2000.
sorry for my dyslecial spelling at times...
I have written a littel text on patter business. Who is intereseted can read it.
Text is not edited and just a draft.
I would be grateful to comments on that.
kind regards
CC
Does Patter Matter?
To most talking magicians this will be answered in the affirmative. Most certainly the magic performance can be attired by improvised, free, and spontaneous patter and thus create an original, live, and one of a kind presentation.
But, as one might know, also improvisation needs maybe even more rehearsal and knowledge of possible jokes, puns, and witty, humorous idioms and sayings to go with the trick than a ‘preset’ written text.
Suggestions for patter, as it is often called in magic books, can be found with the detailed explanation and elucidation of routines or tricks in books and on explanatory sheets that are provided by dealers for single feats. Normally, those suggestions are striking, easy to remember, and most magicians who bought that trick will use it to show off their eloquence and wittiness that they have paid for. What happens then is simply that those who slavishly drill their tricks and patter provided will appear most of the time in the same light. The originality of such performances is low. Once you have seen one magician doing that standard you “know” them all and the performance might get tedious since one has heard that before.
According to Fitzkee (Trilogy) and Vernon (Book of Magic) one should go for an individual style of performance and thus also patter that fits one’s character, personality, and to a certain extent one’s role that one plays as a magician. As there are many magics (at least since Eugene Burger and Robert Neale, Magic and Meaning) and many styles to perform there are a multitude of phrases and puns, etc. out there to be used and make one’s own wit prominent and striking by being original and therewith also natural and sound to one’s thinking and character. We are all different and thus it is up to one’s own thinking and writing and rehearsing to polish the performance to a real original gem of magic.
What one hears cannot be evaded. Spectators can blink but hardly ever cover their ears (exception might be poor singers!). What one says baits the imagination and thus lures thoughts of the spectator, this is especially true for mental magicians. Fitzkee has written about ploys, ruses and much more how to lead the viewers to the effect and away from the method (secret) in his third book (on misdirection) of his trilogy. He has pointed out that magic art is a mental feat. (These are now “my” words he used different ones.)
Nelms has already argued in 1969 that a magic trick is not only a trick, the secret itself on which many novice magicians try to rely on and think that that is the most important thing of their presentation. It is not to Nelms. On the contrary, he thinks that the style of the performance, how one presents the trick, makes the whole act a feat. Thus taking a standardised trick and deconstruct it to the bone (or even marrow) and rebuilt it to one’s one individual handling and way of thinking and character transforms the trick to an original feat. The actual presentation of the trick is about 90% to Nelms, the method merely 10%. With that magic becomes art.
Similar to an actor a magician has to seek his original balance and poise regarding not only his body but his personality and the presentation of it as has the Australian F.M. Alexander (reciter, actor and therapist) found out in the early 20th century (or late 19th?). Know thyself and you will be convincing and natural. With this also know thy verse! In this sense Patter Does Matter!
References:
Burger, Eugene, and Robert E. Neale. Magic and Meaning: Hermetic Press, 1995.
Fitzkee, Dariel. Magic by Misdirection. 2 ed. 3 vols. Vol. 3, The Fitzkee Trilogy. Pomeroy, Ohio, USA: Lee Jacobs Production, 1987.
———. Showmanship for Magicians. 3 ed. 3 vols. Vol. 1, The Fitzkee Trilogy. Pomeroy, Ohio, USA: Lee Jacobs Production, 1988.
———. The Trick Brain. 2 ed. 3 vols. Vol. 2, The Fitzkee Trilogy. Pomeroy, Ohio, USA: Lee Jacobs Productions, 1999.
Nelms, Henning. Zauberei und Schauspielkunst. Translated by Christian Scherer. 2 ed. Thun, Schweiz, 2000.
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Chris_Favoriten - Junior Member
- Posts: 13
- Joined: Aug 1st, '07, 19:56
- Location: Favoriten Vienna Austria Europe
21 posts
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