talkmagic.co.uk

Ok, let's assume that the term "Magician" means "One who entertains using magic", and for sake of argument "Comedian" means "One who entertains using comedy" (obviously it's never as cut and dry as that, but go with it for a second).

I'd like to use three examples to illustrate a point.

Pete Firman - I saw Pete Firman's show Hokum in Edinburgh last year, and I've seen him do a bunch of stuff on tv, and I really like him as a magician. He doesn't do a great deal of stuff that blows me away, but he's very funny and a bit gross, and generally very entertaining. I would consider Pete to be someone who mainly entertains people using comedy, it just so happens he does this whilst performing magic. So, to be incredibly black and white about it, perhaps he is in fact a good Comedian who does magic.

Derren Brown - I'm sure almost everyone hear has seen his TV work\read his books\seen him live etc. Brown is intelligent, funny and engaging, but the really entertaining thing about him is that he does some absolutely mind-blowing effects. He does things that, to a layperson (and often to a magician) are totally magical. This makes him a great Magician, because the entertainment comes from the magic itself.

Penn & Teller - Every knows Penn & Teller, the vast majority of people like them, and most people at least have some grudging respect for them. Most of the things that Penn & Teller do are comedic. For an example, look at their skit about Why Magic Works. It's terribly well observed and very funny, it is in no way magical. This (along with a lot of their slightly gross material) is Penn & Teller acting as Comedians who do magic. However, you only have to look at some of their big stage effects (Bullet Catch, Coins to Goldfish, Shadows) to see they also do some really incredible magic, that absolutely knocks people off their feet. That is why I class them as great Magicians.

I guess in summary, I'm trying to say that I believe that just because you do magic, even if you do it professionally, doesn't necessarily make you a Magician.

My twopennyworth...

As far as I understand it, the word magician needs defining before we can identify what makes a good one.

We could be talking about a professional magician - one that works for a living performing magic. In this instance, to be a good magician, you need to be good at entertaining and perform routines that, generally, fool your audience in the manner you want them to be fooled. Now, whether these routines are technically difficult or not is another matter. I suspect a good 'professional' magician does not need to perform the most difficult effects. This doesn't make him a bad magician, though.

We could be talking about a magician that writes, creates and teaches magic. This type of magician is good if his effects are original and/or usable by performing magicians.

We could be talking about all the types of amateur magician that we all know and love (or hate). Some that perform and entertain friends - some that execute effects in front of a webcam for youtube. Some that quite happily build a collection of books, playing with a pack of cards at home while sitting on their sofa and not in the least bit interested in performing for anyone other than a mirror.

So is a magician the one who gets up on stage? The one who performs for his mates? The one who literally just studies magic as a past-time? Each one can be good, but all for different reasons.

Of course, I have forgotten those of us who can actually perform real magic...