talkmagic.co.uk

Just out of interest, when you perform, what is your character?

Is it:
pretty much as you are normally
darker
dead-pan
cheeky

or something altogether different? What do you magnify or minimise from within you? and in turn, how does that influence what you perform?

Me? (thanks for asking) well, i play it a little dark, not all the way through, more like a string of linked experiments and demonstrations that occasionally get slightly more disturbing as we go further on in our discussions...

i usually use the discussions as a nice way of going from one effect to another...plus its nice for rapport and seeing things from different perspectives anyway...

I have a dark and a light show, so i vary a bit. Lots of strange story telling for the dark effects, while my normal style for the general shows is the slightly cheeky chappie

interesting post, and it's making me think. i've never really thought about developing any kind of character for doing magic but now that i come to think about it i am somewhat different when I'm performing. while staying reasonably the same person i do become a lot more confident and will seek out that extra bit of attention; I'm much more willing to talk to random people, or to speak my mind in fact, just because I'm holding a deck of cards, and that give me extra confidence. i guess this might be that jugglers mentality coming into it a bit; we do, as a group, have a tendency to stand around playing with toys doing everything apart from actually shouting "hey, look at me, look at me!"
although, i'f I'm doing some form of mentalism tricks (i say tricks, i don't do mentalism effects, they're tricks) i do get a bit 'darker', and after the conclusion of a trick when someone is going "what? what? what?" i'll just stand there silently looking at them in a rather strange way
[this is all Rock Club Lawrence i think though]

this has really made me think, I'm going to pay more attentioon tonight when i get a deck of cards out, i hope i don't come across as being to arrogant.

I wrote this for the essay section and those of who can't access it may be interested! may give you something to talk about. It is from a book i am writing


I've just Gotta be me!

The first major mistake many beginners in magic make is trying to copy their favourite magician. They see the latest David Blaine or Criss Angel TV special and they want to be just like them.

Well forget all about that for a moment you have only just began in magic and you are not going to be able to perform all the fancy tricks you see on the television just yet. You should remember that these famous magicians have many years of experience, they have a very big budget and often have effects built for them.

You are not going to be David Blaine or Wayne Dobson. Why? Because there is only one of them. You are yourself and that is what makes you unique! I have a saying I always quote to beginners in magic:

"Being yourself is great and who knows, maybe one day people may want to be the next you"

All the great magicians have their own style, this sets them apart from other magicians. As a professional I know that the companies that book performers are always looking for something different. They don’t want people performing the same old magic and using the standard speech. They want a high-quality and original entertainer for their next event. This could be you with the right amount of dedication and practise.

From the moment you purchase you first effect you need to thinking about the style of presentation. Even if you are only performing for friends and family you still need to be entertaining. You need an identity, so lets consider this first.

My performing style is mainly very upbeat and friendly. People know they are going to get a slightly cheeky but respectful magician. I present my corporate close-up in a light-hearted way. People feel relaxed because I am relaxed. I never force someone to do something they do not want too. Also I would never makes jokes that I feel would offend people.

So how about you? What do you want? You may want to be a cheeky comedy magician, or how about a more laid-back serious style. You may want to be a traditional magician, friendly and not cheeky. You may want to be a mixture of the three. So I am going to set you an exercise. Here is what I want you to do. Forget about tricks for a minute and think about presentation. Get a piece of paper and write down some comments about magicians you have seen. Consider these points:

· What did you like about them (presentation)
· Were they funny or serious
· Was there anything you didn’t like about them?
· Did they say anything you would not say.

Now look at the list and see if their is anything you can use. Develop a style. You are probably saying "why bother now I have only just started". Well, the point I am making is that when you practise your first magic effects you should practise them in the style you would If you were performing. This gives you confidence when you do come to perform the effect for people that you do not know. Remember that performers like myself spent many years as a child learning magic and developing our own style. So when we came to perform our first shows we had the confidence in our effect and in our presentation. It is essential you are comfortable and confident with the style you adapt so please make sure you choose very wisely.

The other problem with being a carbon copy of someone is that it can be very expensive and a waste of money. You could go out now and purchase many effects that are used on the TV specials. The problem is that you are only just starting in magic. You do not yet have the technical ability and the performance skills to pull off some of these effects. Some require great experience in audience management and mis-direction.

Here is a good example, when I was in a friend’s magic shop. A young guy came in and was a beginner in magic. He produced a massive list of effects he just had to have. We looked at this list and could not believe what we saw! Some of the effects required extreme skill in sleight of hand etc. We were able to help him choose some better things for him. He walked away happy with some nice effects and saved money. My point is what if he had shopped online? He could have just ordered all this stuff and wasted his money. By the way, you may be asking why did he want all this stuff, simple. He saw it on television!

To illustrate different styles lets consider two of my magical heroes. Namely Paul Daniels and Wayne Dobson. On the surface they both seem quite similar, they both had successful magic series on television. However they are completely different. Paul Daniels is a very traditional magician, his approach is friendly, a little bit cheeky but not too much. Now Wayne Dobson can be very cheeky and suggestive when he likes, his style at the time of his TV show could be quite manic. He introduced a vent act into many of his routines, he would throw his voice and make the spectators seem like they were saying some suggestive things. Paul does not do that, so Wayne has developed a style that makes people remember him.

So as you can see, being yourself can have many advantages and copying other people can be very expensive. So the next time you see a TV special think on and please remember what I have said.

Back in the early 70's when genetic research was in its infancy, people were approached to give samples of their, or their children's DNA.

They were never told what it was for.

The late, great Tommy Cooper for one put himself for this in giving a DNA sample as did a certain Mrs Blaine donate that of her son.

I was the unfortunate result of the experiment that these two participants were unaware would take place.

I suppose this is why I always tend to get tricks wrong in spectacular and often embarrassing fashion, then make good and suddenly manage to right the wrongs of the previous 3 tricks in one swift move, remaining just as surprised as the audience.

"How did I do that? To be honest I have no idea whatsoever, it just happens sometimes. Just like that I guess...... Ur hur hur!"

I manage to surpress the Tommy side a little when performing mentalism but as you all knew the fella, if not personally, you will know that it isn't easy> A true feat in itself.

Who needs a persona when you're a walking talking genetic defect