talkmagic.co.uk

Lawrence wrote:Did anyone watch Britain's Got Talent winners Diversity on the Royal Variety? They came on stage IN HOODIES!!!! Hoodies!!! In front of the Queen!!!
How the hell dare they where street clothes on such a prestigious event! Boo them, I say, Boo them.

I don't know who Diversity are, and life is too short to google. But I am sure they were probably all wearing the same hoodie. It was a look, not just their street clothes.

If you play a character on stage who would dress like that, then it is your costume, and you have thought about it. My problem is with people who think it is okay to walk onto a stage in front of 200 paying guests in their street clothes, with no thought about their appearance. As professionals we look at every aspect of our performance, and scruffy only works if you are deliberately going for scruffy.

Let me take a wild guess here.... you're a Catholic?

TonyB wrote:If you play a character on stage who would dress like that, then it is your costume, and you have thought about it. My problem is with people who think it is okay to walk onto a stage in front of 200 paying guests in their street clothes, with no thought about their appearance. As professionals we look at every aspect of our performance, and scruffy only works if you are deliberately going for scruffy.

Yes, I'd walk on to the stage in front of 200 paying guests in my street clothes if I'd thought it through and decided I wanted to look precisely like Someone In Street Clothes (and undoubtedly I'd spend some time compiling the specific set of street clothes I wanted to wear). I do agree it's an opportunity missed though when people consider all aspects of a performance but miss one out, be that patter, or sound or costume.

If you're on stage in front of people then you've become a character (whether you like it or not, you're not Bob to people who never met you, you're The Magician What We Saw), and so what you are wearing becomes that character's costume. If you're accidentally making your street clothes a costume or deliberately doing so - those are different things.

Ultimately, people can wear what they like but I think it's better art if they do so consciously.

I think the people that amble on stage in shoddy jeans and some dog-eared t-shirt are quite frankly showing their audience no respect. There are some people on this thread who need to take some tips from Liberace.

I agree with Freddie and TonyB and Mark Lewis. I have always worn evening wear at magic shows as I think if a magician is able to do magic then why can't they wear clean shoes, comb their hair, iron a shirt?
If a magician is able to cut and restore banknotes/playing cards/pieces of rope or newspaper then why are they walking around in a pair of trousers with rips in the knees?
If they can be bothered to do magic to put some playing cards in order then why is their shirt hanging down not tucked in?
If they can turn blank pieces of paper into money or pluck coins from the air then why are they dressed like a complete bum?
It makes me less convinced that they are magic in my opinion.

However I remember doing a magic show in my best evening wear and sparkly jewellery and being complained about by one magician wearing a scruffy unironed teeshirt and jeans and told off by another who was wearing a ghastly playing card waistcoat because they said my frock was too low cut. You can't win with these folk.

The rule of thumb has always been always look like you have somewhere better to go. In other words, dress one step above your audience. They are paying to see you so have some respect.

Unless, as stated you are in character.

If you are a professional, then act like one.

Most magicians, fashion wise, are a walking disaster. It's as if they have given up their ability to dress themself in exchange for the other-worldly power of locating your card. When you see them with playing card ties and 'wacky' waistcoats, it doesn't take a genius to work out why the public have such a negative view of magicians. I did a gig once working alongside a magician wearing a sparkly oversized hat with pictures of playing cards on it. The rest of his clothes looked like he'd slept in them for six weeks. The 'wacky' hat was his concession to dressing up and adding a bit of a 'pizazz'. I almost felt like giving up that night as I'd rather be associated with baby-eating cannibals than someone like this.

I agree Freddie, i once worked with one who had a playing card jacket made! Just the look of it made me want to hide up my own *rse!

Lawrence wrote:Let me take a wild guess here.... you're a Catholic?

No, I am not. I am an atheist. Always have been. But my parents were catholic. I am curious - what does that have to do with the discussion?

I don't think people's religion has any relevance to the current discussion at all. The subject being discussed was magicians who have a tatty appearance on stage, their religion is neither relevant nor an issue for this thread. Asking people's religion seems to be just an attempt to raise irrelevant divisions in my opinion.

TonyB wrote:what does that have to do with the discussion?

Nothing - as far as this thread is concerned . We're all aware that as soon as matters of faith and personal beliefs enter a TM discussion it all goes pear shaped so let's stick with magic related topics and posts please.

Amen to that!

Mandrake wrote:

TonyB wrote:what does that have to do with the discussion?

Nothing - as far as this thread is concerned . We're all aware that as soon as matters of faith and personal beliefs enter a TM discussion it all goes pear shaped so let's stick with magic related topics and posts please.

While I respect your opinion and can see your point of view, I choose to not agree with you

I've got a gig at an outdoor music festival next month; now... should I go fully tuxedoed up, or go farmerxcore? I may take pictures of my outfits and let a TM poll decide.

Again, it's a matter of personal choice. An outdoor Festival probably isn't the place for tux etc but, there again, think of the surprise value of dressing to the nines!

(What the heck is dressing to the nines anyway, why not eights or tens?)

Lord Freddie wrote:Amen to that!