talkmagic.co.uk

Has any magician or mentalist here taken their magic one step further into the weird and wonderful realm of the bizarre? It is a strange path to tread, not for the faint of heart and definately not for the foolhardy. In an instant it turns magic into magick, and brings a closer connection to the performer (call him a mage, wizzard or conjeror) to his audience.

What I am talking about here, for those who do not know is the darker side of the arts, it is the realm of the strange and often bordering on occultic arts of old.

Imagine yourself seated at a table, an old oak table clothed in black velvet. Two black candlesticks provide the only means of light source, a stange glow eminating from within. At the head of the table sits the mage, a wry smile upon his face and begins to tell a tale of old, a tale that will haunt you for the rest of your life.

To me, this is the style or genre of magic that creates a connection between me and my spectators.

Does anyone else here practice bizarre magick?

I think Craig Browning is a guy to talk to on the subject.

Personally, I think most people would just come off as being pretentious if they tried such an approach. Personally, I like the idea of it- taking a few steps back in time from Robert-Houdin, but I can't see myself doing such things. My personality doesn't fit casting spells and using ancient tools. It comes down to personal tastes and style, really.

I like talking with people while doing magic. With a discussion (guided by myself) going, the magic can have content (my points of views and feelings about things), have rapport, and make the other person want to be fooled enough that they enjoy the magic as mystery.

All that said, I am working on a PK Touches script that uses a voodoo doll and has every action (even having the spec's eyes closed) justified.

I've taken some steps down this route, although I haven't particularly gone for the full-on occultist stance. As sleightlymagic said, there's a real risk of appearing pretentious.

In fact, a fair few people on this forum saw my first public performance of bizarre magick!

As well as Craig, themagicwand is knowledgeable about this sort of performance.

i used to...i had an old chinese chest full of oddities...people could select one, and i would tell the story behind each object...

if you research a little around the victorian era - it was quite trendy to have a cabinet of curiosities full of alledged ancient and odd items...

http://thecabinetofcuriosities.co.uk/

I love this genre of magic(k?) but perform it rarely, reason being that it doesn't suit my style and it would be very difficult for me to pull it off in a convincing manner in front of my usual audience. There are a number of effects from Black Hart which I really like the look of; their stuff looks to me like it is generally of high quality and would really help in creating the right atmosphere. I have read a number of very favourable reviews for Black Hart products, posted by our own Stephen. I know I will summon up the courage one day to try out a bizarre effect; like mentalism, however, I think this genre of magic is difficult to perform well and to make it look and sound convincing without coming across as pretentious, is definitely a skill.

On second thoughts, perhaps I'd be doing everyone a favour (myself included) if I just avoided it.

It does boil town to personality, presentation and of course knowledge or you will end up looking pretentious as sleightlycrazy quite rightly pointed out. Bizarre magick is not for everyone, in fact it is overlooked or ignored by most people, which is one of the reasons I love it so dearly.

That is a great site abraxus, I am always on the lookout for curiosities wherever I roam. Bric-a-brack stalls, car boot sales, antique shops, flea markets. There is always something that looks like it has some strange history, and sometimes can seem haunted.

i've just ordered the bullet with your name on it...you get three!

poor shots...

anyway - you dont have to go all out creepy, my back story was i bought the chest at a boot fair from an old creepy guy - full of "junk", and i found as i unwrapped each item, the paper they were wrapped in had a story written on it...

and i go from there...you dont need the pentagram/black jumper/eye patch and insence burning in the air...as long as you treat it seriously and do it by candlelight you cant really go wrong...

I'm sure i'll be told that I'm wrong soon though!

abraxus wrote:I'm sure i'll be told that I'm wrong soon though!

Far from it, well you wont hear it from me

You may want to spend some time here (http://www.dragonskull.co.uk/main_map.htm) and checking out the links available therein if you believe the Bizarre route is for you. Also look up the Inner Circle of Bizarre Magick (ICBM) and the Shadow Network (though it's lost some of its Pizazz since Gene Poinc's passing)

There are different types of Bizarre presentation and sadly, most come off looking like KRAP... far too many wannabe thespians who have little to no formal training when it comes to theater, the art of speaking and more particularly the science of storytelling. Where many a mentalist of old were seen as dull and boring, there remains a plethora of so-called Bizarrists fitting said label now days; far too many neat toys and too little discipline.

The three primary schools of thought when it comes to this category would be as follows;

The Jester this is the guy that knows what he's doing is corny and even goofy; the late Gene Poinc was a master of this field as was Charles Cameron, yet either could shift gears quite readily and put chills up and down your spine... I'll get to that area shortly first we need to consider...

The Thespian/Orator (a.k.a. Storyteller) Probably one of the best known and most celebrated personalities in this field is Germany's Borodin followed closely by the amazing Ed Solomon (a.k.a. DeNomolos). Either could weave a tale in a most marvelous manner, sucking you deeper and deeper into their dark venture, using the "magic" as a mode of punctuation more than anything else.

The Realist... this is the last major category of the Bizarre world and though it is the area most envision, it is probably the most difficult area in which to work. It requires an unwavering ability to present any and all things are real and runs exceptionally close to charlatanism (though it never crosses said lines). It should be noted that the majority of Realists incorporate a touch of the Jester element for the sake of breaking tension within their programs; a subtle reminder that "it's all just for fun".

Very few people have what it takes to take on the Realist mode even people like Max Maven and the late T.A. Waters who project a near demonesque persona around themselves at times, are far more prone to present things with tongue firmly planted in cheek than not.

So now you have some things to contemplate... have fun!