talkmagic.co.uk

Now, this really gets my metaphorical goat...so i thought i'd babble about it here and see what you all think...

im pig-sick of labels, what they mean to us, what they mean to others and all the other silly little titles we give ourselves...

Mentalism/mental magic/magic...who does what? why? why you musnt mix them otherwise the world implodes...

Let's start from the beginning though - what are you? hopefully a human being (if not - all hail the new master race!) but after that - can you sum yourself up with a handy one size fits all label? and if you can, what is it and does it cover absolutely every fragment of you?

If so, well done smart@rse... but i personally don't think its possible...why? cos basically we have so many experiences in life, good, bad, horrific, fantastic and all the inbetweens that all that helps shape us for good and bad...then we have morals/views/choices and so on and on and on and...well you get the idea...

So, if we as people who make a study of magic understand how some sleights can bleed into others -for example, a card palm>coin palm>billet switch>are all kind of related as a base move...by that i mean a covert method of moving an object around under the guise of nothing much happening...

why are some of us so keen to segregate by label? what value does it serve? What does Mentalist actually mean for example to the general public? I've actually asked in general conversation - "' 'ere - any idea what a mentalist is?"

well, the response was not "Tony Corinda", it was met with ums, erms, ahhs...and a general agreement was concluded that it meant - "someone a bit mental or crazy in a fun sense..."

i also asked "what would you called what Derren Brown does?" again, it was basically agreed he does "magic and psychological manipulation"...

I do believe there is an inherent snobbery in all entertainment, be it comedy, literature, music and magic to name but four...usually amongst the "greats", who naturally tend to personalise any alternatives...

infact, "alternative" comedy was exactly that, a knee jerk to the established way of performing comedy...now, if you take morcombe and wise add a pinch of spike milligan, you get a form of vic & bob....

if you take django rheindhart and john lee hooker, add a splash of little richard you can get the beginnings of hendrix...

so taking an established way, and turning it on its head, adding your creativity to it can create something a little different, fresh..hopefully exciting...

you can learn a hell of a lot from the greats, but it can on occasion also stunt your growth...boxed in by the rules maintained by the true-ists...

so we come to magic again, lets look at Paramiricles by Ted Lesley, a great book - some describe him as a mentalist, others as performing mental magic; if you want to buy it - you go to the mentalist section on a magic site...so already, we have two different labels to contend with...

cards and mentalism is a no-no in somes books, but others (13 steps and Annemanns) have chapters devoted to it - again, some disagree, some shout at us for mixing the two, but then im left wondering "hmmm but i've learnt this stuff from their book?! Are they lying to us?!" if we learn from someone's book, we are learning it in good faith that its ok to mix them up...

and i for one am all for cross-pollenation, for hybrid activity, more mixing things together and seeing what happens...does that make it jazz-magic? hybridcadabraction? or an utter shambles?

and who desides it? who has the right to ultimately? Does it not make sense that if i study magic, that i would not branch off sooner or later and learn other esoteric methods? And more importantly, does that alter the public's perception of what they see?

I completely agree that to perform at all, you need a "why" you can do certain elements of it, that again, is a personal choice and ultimately dependant upon your character and actions...what suits one, wont suit another...

If you like a particular artist, do you only look at their paintings? or do you look at what was before them, and after...and the offshoots of their works too?

If you were to ask someone to concentrate on a series of pictures of atom structures, and they chose one - you place that card on your hand and "smash the atoms" with your other hand, only for the card to vanish and disintigrate into sponge balls that match what was on that chosen card...what would that be called? (other than a bad example)...

well, on one level its a psychological force of a card, a card sleight, and some sponge ball palming...that covers all 3 strands of magic, gathered together under the one banner...

When i perform (and no, i have no book or dvd out) i happily link all strands together...it lets me engage the tiny audiences i perform for, get discussions going,everyone shares their views and listens to others...then we move onto something else...

in my little act, there's card effects, there's tarot, there's mind reading, theres muscle reading, spirit writing and whatever else i think flows and fits together well...

i've had comments from "you really are an absolute freak..." to gasps, laughter, people feeling scared and perplexed...i've worked my hairy buttocks off in learning from all kinds of books and dvds, i've tried stuff out that ended up not being "me" so i've lost it, yet others that i thought i'd hate, ended up loving...

I'm not writing this to change anyone's mind, or to start arguments, because ultimately, there's very few "definates" in this world, there's only interpretations and versions of the world....that's what makes it fun...so if you agree, fine, if you absolutely hate what i've written...fine too!

why limit yourself to other people's version of magic? listen and take on board the parts you do, experiment with those you dont....

i think its a difficult road to travel, and in some respects magic can have all the same fervor as religion, and look how dangerous that can be...

to believe blindly in something, without examination can cause stagnation, fear of others being different and scared of progressing...that's my greatest fear at least

so in summing up, what labels are truly worth having? and what limitations does that place upon you? and does that make it still worth having?

Much food for thought....there are some who would say the only label we should wear is 'Entertainer'. How we actually achieve that entertainment is a matter of personal choice, skill, experience and inclination.

Labelling is a distinct problem relevant to evry genre of entertainment and then some!!

As a DJ I used to get sick of the constant pigeon holing of types of music. I started playing trance but that same music as it evolved became Hard Trance. Then some bright spark decided it was called NRG and these days the same thing is being referred to as Freeform.

Labels are for dimwits. People who haven't really got a clue. As a DJ I consider myself as a HARD DANCE DJ because I play music that fits my style. And in magic although I hop skip and jump across genres I consider myself amagcian/entertainer because at the end of the day what I present are MAGIC effects (mentalism included) in a hopefully ENTERTAINING way!!

Too many people want to categorise and re-categorise and tbh I think of them as geeks. In our profession we know what a mentalist is compared to an illusionist but to the layman it is all magic in one way or another.

Purists will want labels but the addition of so many labels to one art form or one form of entertainment only serves to confuse a layperson. "Do I book the conjurer or the illusionist?" - does it really matter? they're both the same!! They both entertain with a mysticism and magical quality that presents something which should not be possible as quite clearly being possible!

labels are needed to a certain degree but too many people overuse these lables and create confusion when they apply different labels to what is essentially identical forms of entertainment!

Though I'm certain Abraxus had others to inspire his rant I will concede to the implication... I am after all, one of the bigger drum beaters when it comes to the idea of "segregation" or, if we were to be more accurate as to what I stress -- SPECIALIZATION. In other words, if you are going to be a magician, then do magic... good ole bunnies in hats, card trick based styled magic. You can toss in some bits of Mental Magic into what you do... not a problem! But don't waste your time, energy and money going out and buying a $300.00 Booktest for your $50.00 magic show. It don't make sense and for what you are doing and the market you cater to, there are better deals that are just as great that "fit" what you do.

Today's "newbies" (and a few oldies) think they must have a solid manip act, a close-up act, an escape act, a geek show, a kids show, a mentalism set and on top of all that two or three Jackass inspired routines a vent dummy and solid 15 minute juggling act.

NEWS FLASH! You can't do it all!

FACT #1: Agents and Talent Buyers Want to See YOUR ACT... they want a packaged product that they know. They don't want surprises, they don't want to see Hippity Hop Bunnies set beside PK Balloon Sculpting, etc. If you look at who gets the work, it's the guys & gals with a set and packaged routine that barely changes year after year after year. Consistency along with a minor degree of variety (that works with your character) is what they want e.g. if you want to work, you play by the rules vs. self-will-gone riot and the 21st century mantra of "I'll do as I please, screw tradition!"

If that's your motto, go for it! You won't get a lot of work and you'll be seen as a loose cannon until you learn to conform.

FACT #2: Magic as per the traditional mode of presentation, is philosophically and psychologically contrary to how and what Mentalism is when presented properly. I have found (as have many other old salts) that most of the people the whine about the argument over not mixing the two are magicians that want their cake and eat it too; individuals that are too selfish and undisciplined to understand the contrast and secondly, to freak'n lazy to apply themselves in the act of learning how to present mentalism in proper context and mode. In short, they only want to view Mentalism/Psychic Entertainment as being an extension to Magic and thus, see it all as being nothing other than "tricks" which they present in the same corn-ball manner they would sponge balls or a pick-pocket act.

As I've said before, this is not saying you can't do both, only that you will be working up-hill and against yourself if and when you offer both.

Oh! In case some of you think I'm being elitist in that statement... I still do some magic and even my shut-eye clients know of my involvement in professional magic. What I'm saying is based on both, my personal experience and that shared with me by other peers that have dealt with the same or similar correlation.

FACT #3: When you specialize in a given field, even if it's just for a couple of years, YOU get the reputation of being an "expert" in that area. For those that have the need to feed their ego, this is the ticket! For over 20 years now I've done a program that deals with the theme of Natural Human Intuition and as such I am known throughout the U.S. as an expert on that subject. It doesn't mean the act hasn't changed, it has to some degree and, thanks to the insights and encouragement of people like Richard Webster and Kenton Knepper, I've seen how to take that very same topic and open up new venues by creating related acts, lectures, talks, workshops, etc.

EVERYONE HERE CAN DO THE SAME IF THEY LEARN TO SPECIALIZE -- Learn to focus and devote your energy into being the best at one thing before moving into the next thing.

It's not being a segregationalist, it's just being practical and reminding all of you of a common truth that's been known to successful people for at least hundreds if not thousands of years; keep it simple, uncluttered and direct! Add and expand ONLY after the first thing is solid and in place, supporting itself (so to speak).

I hate labels, but they do exist for a reason and they do serve a purpose. Yes, they can be abused and they can cause conflicts or issues of debate but they also have important advantages.

A good friend of mine was called up a few months ago by a local agent looking for a "Mentalist". The agent's "line" was, "I hear you're the the guy to go to in this area when it comes to this kind of stuff..."

My friend listened to the pitch... an offer for a quick $1,500.00 or so, then turned it down.

Why?

Because the agent was just looking for a mentalist... someone that could fit the bill -- a generic act (Label #1) he didn't call to hire my friend specifically (label #2 a.k.a. the named brand).

Agents, etc. call me because they are looking for ME, not someone that does something, but ME in particular -- I am what they want, not someone else that does something similar for a third of what I charge. But then, this is another reason why I happen to like labels and how they tend to seperate the wheat from the chaff e.g. as you mull these contrasting points over, you may want to consider which it is you wish to be labeled as... the valuable grain or the filler (chaff)?

i knew i should of put a disclaimer at the start!

it wasn't aimed at anyone, it was in fact from websites, books that are sold as mentalism, but contain card work...

we that want to learn, buy these books from the mentalism section, in good faith that what we are buying is classed as mentalism, yet then we get contadictory adivce that it's not...

so who do we believe (if anyone?)? and inversely, if the pro's are selling the books to us "beginners", is it maybe their duty (for the specialisation of the art) to keep their books free of anything that might sully the purity of each specific section of the art?

i do truly believe you can perform complete oddities and strangeness with cards if framed correctly....that can go alongside mind-reading and work very well as a step into different territory...

look at Kenton's latest little batch of releases - the Split Decision effect...superb...its a card effect underneath it all, but the whole delivery and reasoning is something else...

i do find it strange though Craig that whenever you mention magicians, you always, always, always mention those damn bunnies! like that's all they can do!

Anyway, there's always more than one point of view, wheat/chaff/be the seperator itself?!

Im all for keeping it simple, but a single train of thought can pass through several "places" on it's journey...

then again, perhaps people book you, as there is only one you - so perhaps you offer things in a different way than a "generic" mentalist would...

and that's also part of my point, would you rather have a hundred generic mentalists, or 75 mentalists and 25 alternatives that are more "themselves"? open question that, not specifically aimed at Craig...

Combining card magic with mentalism, bizarre work, and "straight" tarot, palm & ouija has given me a niche that I would never have had if I'd stuck to pure magic, or pure readings.

We do keep discussing this point here, and I actually think that everyone here agrees. As long as you have a strong grounding in the skills you are using and don't mix genres inapproriately, then if it works for you - go for it.

It certainly works for me.

Contrary to what others have said, I do not think that specialising in a certain area will bring in more work. I have found quite the opposite. I've got work in the past because I'm the magician that "can do the palm as well". Other more traditional magicians will have missed out on work because of their specialisation, I guarantee you.

My readings are always the most popular part of the evening anyway. Shows how much joanne public knows about labels. Or cares.

Don't get what I've said wrong guys... my gripe stems from those that need a 12 page fold out just to handle all the titles they claim on their business cards. I've been arguing for months with an old chum of mine that's been a kiddie mage and clown for 30 years and now he own 12 bits of Mental Magic and a copy of Corinda so he wants to put "Balloon Artist & Mentalists" on his card... PLEASE PASS ME A BARF BUCKET!

Though I'll go to the grave arguing that doing 20 minutes of card tricks ain't mentalism I have and do use the ocassional playing card bit in my shows (where possible, without the use of a physical deck). But I don't understand why so many think they have to channel Todd Robins, Ricky Jay, and Criss Angel all in a single set with a hint of Kreskin tossed in for the sake of proving you're in on the current trend.