talkmagic.co.uk

As far as I can tell, there are three separate ways that people have their magic shows, regardless of style or genre.

Those that have a routine that they don't want to change, whatever, no way.

Those that have a routine, but will sometimes try something in place of an effect, just to try it out, maybe changing something every now and then.

Those that buy effects to try out and regularly change their shows' or at least parts of them.

I am not saying one is right and the others are wrong, as each of us is different. I tend to change items more, even if I am happy with them. Yes, I am still trying to work out and get the experience to see what works best, but I know I will always be likely to change. That's just how I am.
Some things I have bought have and will never make it to a show. On the plus side, I know that I will get enjoyment from the ones that do make it. Knowing that I will have written something new, rather than use the same basic script year after year.
It just got me wondering about peoples enjoyment of their own magic. I know that enjoyment comes from the audiences reactions, but what about the initial enjoyment? The enjoyment even before you start performing. Because of how I am, I find it hard to understand if people that perform a set routine for years can honestly ENJOY what they are doing, rather than reciting a routine. PLEASE NOTE, this ISN'T a dig, just an honest question.

The reason I got into magic seriously was because I was amazed by the effects.
Then the glory of performing got to me!

90% of those that do magic do so in a masturbatory manner i.e. for self-gratification and personal delight. This is not a bad thing directly, but far too often it is the very reason why some fail where others seem to move ahead... the one's who fail do so because they do their "show" for themselves vs. listening to what the audience as well as their peers are saying/doing.

Within this grouping you will find the guys & gals who go through effects as if they were water, shifting to whatever is "new" (be it new to the market or something they've recently discovered that they like) playing with it briefly and then moving on to the next conquest...
... I'm reminded of a lady that posted recently as to how he gets bored with magic once he knew how the effects worked... sadly, this is not all that uncommon. Similarly, we have those that simply get frustrated because they can't get the kind of reaction from an effect that they believe they should be getting e.g. the trick must suck (few every accepting responsibility to the fact that it may be they who suck, vs. the effect).

The Rule of Thumb as it were, is to find than small handful of bits that you like and which "fit" who you are as well as bits that you happen to do well, and stick to them for a while... a few years at least, so that you get the chance of building a reputation for being "that guy that does that thing..." You may moan about that idea and scream that it is not carved in stone but in truth, it is carved out a bit deeper into the mystic annals of magic than you might want to believe. More to the point, consistency is what agents/bookers are looking for when they sell an act; they want to know that you are going to deliver the same basic program they saw you do originally. This way they know both, the content and quality of your program and can more readily sell it to the folks that sign our pay checks.

Those that live by this "jack of all trades" chaos that's so popular in today's magic scene cannot hope to succeed. They'll most definitely get work... I know of many magicians that work as clowns, balloon artists, jugglers, or other things other than what they claim to be.

My buddy Rick Maue told me a story once about an agent who called him for a gig that paid decent corporate money (around $2,000.00)... he was looking for a Mind Reader and was told that Rick was the best in the region...
... Rick turned down the gig!

Why?

Because the agent just wanted some jerk that could fake his way through a Mind Reading act not Rick Maue... the agent had no clue as to who or what Rick was or what his show was like, he just needed a Monkey to Fit the Suit instead of a professional that specialized in a given field who had an established program.

What happens when this agent finds the idiot that will run out to the magic shop and do a crash course in how to be a fake mind reader, is he books crapola which in turn hurts the real pros in the region that know what they are doing.

This scenario can relate to escape work (do note how many fools have nearly been killed or who have died as the result of such stupidity), dove workers, etc. It is jokingly referred to as the Public Speaker's Syndrome in that so many professional speakers will read through a book or two on a given topic and present the material in a way that alludes to them knowing what they are talking about when in truth, they are not an expert or know the difference between mauve and maroon.

I'd have to say that the majority of what I will do in a bit, be it at the close-up table or on stage... when it comes to actual "Magic", most of it is stuff that I've been doing for over 30 years. Not because I can't do the other stuff or I don't have access to alternatives, but because I KNOW THAT MATERIAL... I know the timing, what to expect from the audience as well as what to do if I happen to screw up in the middle of things (which we ALL do). That's not saying I wouldn't toss in something new from time to time... you should! Experimentation is a necessity but it should always be framed by what we KNOW and what we know works; then, if the experiments work out, we can see how to fit them in as being a part of what we do for a while.

Here's another way to weigh things as well...
...let's say you are doing a Mentalism Q&A act as part of your show.

It is very easy to change methods or add methods to enhance what you are doing without the public or the agent knowing a thing. In other words, if you find a piece that appeals to you, look at your present routines and see how it fits in as an alternative to what you already do or how it could embellish your existing materials. This allows you to experiment on one hand while retaining consistency on the other.

Well, just a few thoughts for you to mull over.

nice post Craig,

I think alot depends on someones experience. For me, what I enjoy has changed alot over the few years I've been doing magic. When I started I loved learning new things, finding out the basics of how things worked and learning those basics. I wanted to learn a little bit of everything.

Then I found a few areas of magic that I enjoyed the most and my enjoyment came from learning more about those certain areas, putting together a couple of routines and working on those routines, growing and developing them.

Recently I think I've found myself, I know who I am and the sort of magic that I perform best. I'm spend my time learning effects that I think will improve my routines and don't really worry too much about anything else.

I'm not sure if it's the same for everyone but those 3 ways people have their shows that Darrel mentions seem to me to be different stages that people go through. I used to be one of 'those that buy effects to try out and regularly change their shows' or at least parts of them' but now I think I'm one of 'those that have a routine, but will sometimes try something in place of an effect, just to try it out, maybe changing something every now and then'.

As time goes on and my routines delvop I can see myself being the other type that performs the same routine over and over. Kind of like an actor who plays that same, well loved role for years you're getting the enjoyment out of performing and seeing people get enjoyment out of something that you've spend time and effort perfecting and finally it's where you want it to be.

Most people of an artistic nature are not very good at their own quality control. Having performed in music, comedy and magic, performances and the audience reponse gives you a guidline as to what entertains people the most.
Somethimes you fnd that the difficult to do effects which you are proud you have mastered receive a far lesser response than some of the simple self-working ones.

Where magic is concerned I try to have a set of the strongest effects from an audiences perspective. Luckily I have friends who enjoy my magic and often ask me to show them something new. I use them as guinea pigs and note what effects get the best response. Sometimes I ask them wha effects I have performed they have liked most. If they mention something you have shown them months ago then you know that it is a memorable one.
Entertaining yourself is one thing, and self-indulgence is fine if you are doing something for fun but that impresses a layman is often far different from that which impresses a magician. When I;m being paid to perform I want to make sure the person has felt they have got their moneys worth, that I am memorable and they will recommend me to other people and most of all, that they have been entertained.

I think that your perspective on magic changes as your experience grows, particularly when you start performing for real audiences.

When I started out I was probably like Craig has stated, enjoyment from learning and from performing to ones self. Now, the main enjoyment that I get from my magic is when I'm performing for others and I do sometimes get a little bored with magic so put things down for a week or two if I'm not working.

I agree with Freddie in that I now look more at what I am going to perform from the perspective of the audience rather than what I like to do and whilst I may change certain effects, there are a few that I just don't meddle with as they are dead certs to go down well.

Magic, I can honestlu say has such a big role on my life, that without it i am not sure how i would cope.
If you look at examples such as Paul Daniels, he enjoys his magic, but he really can't function without it. If you saw him on Celebrity Wifeswap (yes, i am that sad) he just couldn't cope without showing somebody.

I love magic, but it really has taken over my life, which is quite...irritating.

I have started to build my routines in blocks.
It's mainly down to the old. If you are a pro you do the same 20 tricks to 1000's of different people. If you are an amature you have to do 1000's of different ticks to the same 20 people.
When starting out you need a lot of tricks and it's a good thing as you can get a good grounding in many aspects of magic because needs must.
Refinement means that most of these tricks will be lost as you move on, but you do still take a little bit of each trick with you.
I now get bookings from groups of people I do not know/have not seen me before but I still don't have the luxury of one show to take around as I need the bookings from audience members to grow still.
To do this I have divised a few 15 to 20 minute sets of tricks. So I can build a one hour show from three or four blocks that I know how to deliver well and I know work. If I get another booking I may change all the blocks, or keep one or two of the blocks of the first show in the new show. At the moment I have 7 blocks which can be jumbled about. I now have many different shows for the same audience.
Within a block I may try to change one trick. But because I know that block well I can guage the reaction to that part of the show to see how it differed.

I hope the above made sence. Mostly I guess it helps give me confidence on stage as if I have a bad block it feels like starting anew when I go into the next one. My mind pauses for a moment and moves on refreshed for the next phase.

Norm Neilson, First name that popped into my head. His act is what? 8 minutes long? Has been the same act for ever and really very highly paid, incredibly in demand, Been around the world and back. Has performed on TV more times that I can remember including the Tonight Show. Can't really argue with that kind of success. Any of those large Vegas shows and the cruiship guys and gals, are very successful and always the same stuff. Lance Burton to name another. Now you may say these are 'old school' and that is fine go find anybody with better track records.

Acts change get refind that is just part of the deal, part of growing. And sometimes you need to change. Performing at trade shows. It is great if you use the items that are being sold by your employer. But the effect usually doesn't change much, just some of the props.

I do the same few effects for others. for myself I go through quite a bit of material that quickly get tossed but every now and then a nuance or an actual few nuances may make it into my performance repetoir.

Craig,
First of all, I know you weretalking in general, but will answer some of your points from my own personal views.
when I read the first line of your post, i thought, " here we go again!" Reading through the rest, it makes interesting reading and good points.
When I change things, it is more a case that I have finally written a script that fits my style and I am happy with. I have lots of props that I haven't used in shows, but I find that inspiration comes, rather than is forced. My post can seem like I am doing it for my own benifit, rather than the audience, but if I come up with something I feel entertains the audience better, I will try it. The enjoyment I get before the show is basically scripting. If I can end up with something I feel is good for the performance, I have that feel good factor BEFORE I perform it.
I have now got some routines that I feel will be in most, if not all shows and yes, I would like to be known as " the guy who does that thing" as you put it.
I am lucky that I am honest with myself when something doesn'ty get the reaction I felt it would. There shouldn't be anything that can't be made to be entertaining, lets face it, an elastic band in an office drawer isn't entertaining, but in the hands of the right person, it is. I don't find it hard to admit that it is ME, not the prop at fault.
The jack of all trades is something which we will never fully agree on. I do balloon modelling as that adds to the show. I am a childrens entertainer rather than a magician and so include things that aren't just magic.

Lady of Mystery wrote


I'm not sure if it's the same for everyone but those 3 ways people have their shows that Darrel mentions seem to me to be different stages that people go through. I used to be one of 'those that buy effects to try out and regularly change their shows' or at least parts of them' but now I think I'm one of 'those that have a routine, but will sometimes try something in place of an effect, just to try it out, maybe changing something every now and then'.



This seems to sum most peoples experiences up. As stated, I am still experimenting, though I always expect to change at times. I can see me being in the above section after a while.
I have seen some people say that they wont change anything because they know it so well etc. I understand that it is about audience reaction but it doesn't feel right to ME.

Lord Freddie and Dat8962,

Agree with most of what you say and feel I have gone through this earlier in this post.
To clarify to Lord Freddie though, I made sure I put "enjoy" rather than "entertain" in the title. I don't do it to entertain myself, but want to make sure that I enjoy what I am doing. I think this is more of taking the show as a whole and the audience reaction, rather than seperate routines.

I have seen on forums that people do tend to take breaks away from magic, because, as Dat says, they have become bored with it sometimes.
Is there a common factor in most of these cases I wonder?

I enjoy performing - full stop. Whether it's my comedy cabaret with songs or straight magic. If something you have done has made someone's life a bit brighter then you are giving a good service.
Even effects I have performed countless times, I still enjoy doing them as I know what's coming up and can concentrate on the performance side and enjoy their reaction.

ooops, forgot to answer the posts question

Yes I love performing my magic, I now love finding that tiny movement, wording that turns the trick into something so much more. Or is it because I have started from such a low bar that this is possible anyway...

I laugh at my own jokes so may not be my best critic

The tricks I perform the most I still love watching others do. Sometimes I still think 'Gosh how did he do that' when of course I know because I perform it myself

I currently like creating awe in people while leaving them with knowledge about what type of person I am. That said, I'm still in the phase of learning new magic concepts and picking out ones I like and learning more. The current routines that I do vary in age. I've been using most of my current Jermay stuff for about a year. A year is pretty long considering I've been into magic for about 2. RGM, For Andruzzi, and Burst Bubble are effects that I use regularly. Psychokinetic Silverware was a major workhorse routine now for about 6 months. I'm working on a lot of new concepts such as muscle reading, scripting, applying association, etc. recently.

Overall, being an amateur in high school still, magic seems fresh and enjoyable.

As somebody who has only started really getting into magic just a couple months ago, I realize I have yet to posses the experience of performing full routines and going through the process of blending dozens of tricks together into a a show. But I have found such enjoyment in watching myself find ways to do even the smallest tricks better and better; my favorite moments are those where I watch myself in the mirror and wonder, "How did I do that?!"

And, as others have already commented, it's hard not to enjoy magic when you receive positive reactions from an audience. I have recently gotten requests from bunches of kids at my school to do small tricks for them, and such encounters cause me to go racing back to my books at home to learn more and more.

Magic has become an obsession for me - and I get by each day either bettering something I can already do or learning something new. I don't know how happy I would be with magic if I only performed the same tricks repetitiously; the greatest enjoyment I get is in attempting the things I haven't already and expanding my limits.