Ignis
To a point, I agree with what you are saying but, you also reveal one of the greatest misconceptions about what Bizarre is and isn't. The idea that you can simply replace playing cards with tarot makes what you do "Bizarre"
simply isn't true. Same applies to those that think they can place blood onto a playing card and believe that to be bizarre or even those that tell a ghostly tale around a standard card effect... none of this is Bizarre, it's magician's masturbation.
Being "Bizarre" is akin to being "Goth", it's an attitude and a part of one's nature. Just because you have a Hot Topic's wardrobe does not make you a GOTH (far from it).
The bizarrist is, in many ways, a storyteller that employs magic more along the lines of it being a "special effect" to the telling of a tale; the real "magick" as it were, comes from their ability to enchant an audience as an orator far more than it leans on the mechanics and staging of a "trick". Too, the bizarrist exploits much of the psychology that belongs to the Mentalists; eliciting an investment of belief vs. the magician's agreement with his audience for the suspension thereof.
Bizarre Magick likewise has a series of sub-division (for lack of a better term) that range from those who are more tongue-n-cheek with their marose sense of humor (Gene Poinc and Ed Solomon for example) to those who are far more shamanic and enigmatic (David Blaine). You have the guys that lean closer to the Macabre and tales of Jack the Ripper or Lizzie Borden as well as those who take on the mantel of either the Spiritualist or Occultist e.g. there is no one single definition to what all Bizarre Magick is, except for possibly one -- THEATER!
Bizarre Magick is a very difficult field to become involved in due to the fact that it compounds for us, the role of being an actor.
The typical mage can go out and simply do a series of tricks and if choreographed logically, have what many would accept to be "a show". The Bizarrist however must think on much more broad terms and impose upon his/her self the obligations of character known to all true thespians. This is not the same thing as we find in traditional magic and it requires discipline as well as the willingness to be molded into that which you envision. A look at what this gent accomplishes without a single "trick" lends testimony to these things
http://www.joshuakane.com/pages/performances.html# and believe me when I say, what Joshua delivers really is MAGICK!
Many do attempt to try this path and fail miserably. It is not a path intended for all and only a select few accomplish the image and personae that is Bizarre. You will know them on sight and it has little to do with how they are dressed or if they are performing minor miracles; it is instead, their demeanor, the quiet confidence, and a sense of presence that simply says "This is a magickle being".
I know of very few out of the very many, some of whom are noted names in this side of the industry, that can fit into such shoes for most will not willingly go where they must in order to become all that they can be. Most are only interested in the "tricks" rather than learning the "tricks of the trade" and how to pull, from deep within their own being, those qualities and elements that are demanded of a genuine actor that's dedicated to a most unique role.
