talkmagic.co.uk

I often see people talking about what fits with their style.
As ive yet to define mine (taking a while to play with everything first)
Can i ask .......

Whats your style and why did you choose this one or how does it fit who you are?

Hope this isnt too personal, which if it is i guess dont answer this post lol.

F x

I think the main thing is to not try to force your style, let in develop on it's own. Lots of people try to be like certain magicians and that really isn't the best way to go.

Learn a range of magic and find out what it is that you enjoy performing.

My style is just a bit of an over the top version of me, I like to be fun and friendly. Magic I perform is always something that's good fun to perform and watch, sponge balls (they've got to be pink), multiplying bunnies, anything that can get an audience involved and enjoying themselves. I also love putting together stage routines, mixed together some music and dance in with the magic.

Basically I think that when you're putting together your character, take all the biggest parts of your personality and make them bigger. For me, I'm quite friendly and a very 'girly' person. So I take those aspects and act them up.

Good point Lady.
My style is exactly the same. OK, so maybe without all the girlyness (or is it???) but it is just an over exagerated version of myself. I have to admit that performances can be a bit ecclectic: "psychological magic", mentalism, mini-illusions and card tricks often find themselves a place in my act, but I try to string them all together in a half-logical progesssion!

The main point for me is that the audience enjoy themselves and have fun, and maybe gasp a bit. It just so happened that by exaggerating my already unsual personality, I could achieve just that.

Hope this helps.

My style is (again, and probably with most) a slight exaggeration on myself. I am a chatty, yet slightly eccentric type of lad, so i play on that. Most aspects of my magic involve cons or gambling demos of some sort, or failing that, a gambling patter, so I play that role. As I've posted somewhere else, here, a favourite opening line of mine is, "Hi I'm James, and I'm going to show you that age is of no object at the card table"., which basically defines me. I can be chatty, and you're best friend at one time, but in a second, I'm completely serious and quite eccentric. An example would be a performance today. After a nice quick opening effect, ( a short ACR I think), I was chatting away, when I heard someone say "Find the aces". I ignored whoever it was completely, and carried on mixing the cards. However, after about 10 seconds or so, I fell silent, then proceeded to do a very quick "shotgun" reveal of the aces in dead silence. (If I say so myself) the reaction I got was a peach!!.

However, I sometimes play on the eccentricity side slightly, as I am 'obviously' able to read tells and the like being a gambler. I play on this quite a lot with a certain "tell-reading" effect using a classic force.

So yeah, I developed my style over many performances and lots of theory work (ie. writing down what I see in myself and what I was looking for in a style). To be concise then, my style is that of a con. Your best friend, nice and chatty, which covers the quick sleight of hand and an eccentric ability to read a person "just like that". Like any good con, lots of what I (and what all cons) do, just cannot be explained.

Hope this helps

I never looked for a style. I just performed, started off behind the counter in the magic shop. I found I'm best off very laid back, I just go with the flow (of course I direct that flow in a particular direction) but once going I'm in for the ride just like my audience. Then I saw Albert Goshman. I loved his style and while I'm nowhere near the master he is/was and nor will I be I tend to lean toward his easy going laid back ways.

Then I heard Jeff McBride once suggest at a lecture to pay attention to the music you listen too and that will indicate the style you should lean towards. I listen to a variety of music styles but for the most part it is the 'story tellers' Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen. Of course I also listen to Rob Zombie so go figure.

Style is all about being yourself, being natural and not trying to be something or someone that you're not.

If you're naturally excentric then this will work with your magic as will being humerous. The more that you get out and perform then the more your own style will develop.

My style, campish comedy I guess...

Like others, my style is a characateur of my personality, I play on my goofy side, making it seem as though I've mesed up and its all gone wrong, I find that really makes the final 'revelation' more interesting.

But, I might develop an actual character, I think that would be alot easier to work with in the long run.

Just brainstorm and go with what you like, serious/funny/psychic/random drunk who doesnt know whats happening....

Thanks for so many different responses.
Still not much the wiser in terms of myself though lol.

I am quite a quiet person, more a thinker type i guess. Im very dry and sarcastic in my humour. I love maths and logic problems, as these tend to be black and white.

As for music, well ive studies it for years so love very different styles, but generally very dark type music (not goth) but has an edge to it, slightly off beat in sound.

My favourite image in magic is one i saw when much younger where someone did a levitation trick with an orb to shakesperes sisters "stay" breathtaking to watch and soley set to music with no words.

Not sure if this is helping, hindering or scaring you all away lol.

F x

i pretty much perform exactly like lomster...

just me, but i can do wierd(er) things than normal...keeping it simple..

FairieSnuff wrote:My favourite image in magic is one i saw when much younger where someone did a levitation trick with an orb to shakesperes sisters "stay" breathtaking to watch and soley set to music with no words

I always associated Shakespeare's Sister with that black and white image, dark, artistic in a modern balletic way but not afraid to be self mocking. Sounds like that's what you'd feel happiest with. So no need for lots of patter, sort out some stylish smooth music and see what magic effects you feel would go well with it. I saw a cabaret show by a Las Vegas magish a few years ago and he assured us all that, as he started out as a rock band drummer, that's where he starts his magic. Music first then works a routine to it which choreographs and includes the basic magic. Almost any big stage illusion can be fitted to this sort of thinking. Routines with ropes and silks seem to be ideal for quiet but occasionally humorous presentation.

Never tried anything with ropes or silks for that fact, but will look into some literature. Many thanks for your comment mandrake, yes it does (for now) sit quite well in my fluttery tummy. Its something i feel i could acomplish and be reasonablly good at with practice of course.

Are there many effects generally that can/could be done with minimal ie non-verbal patter?

Im imagining that some effects could be adapted.
Guess it will develop over time and practice and patience.

Actually most magic can be done with out patter. You just have to adapt to it. There is the Deaf Magicians Association.

You don't choose you're style, the style chooses you, sounds a bit silly doesn't it. But seriously don't force a style, just be yourself. Everyone has their own unique personality, that's what makes us different, and that personality is what reflects in your magic. Different people have different personalities, therefore they have different styles. I myself try and add as much comedy I can to my magic, because not everyone likes magic, but everyone loves comedy and everyone loves to laugh, but if you're a serious individual, then comedic magic isn't for you, like I said it all depends on your personality.

Mine is being weird and being fun with a mentalist side to it. I"ll make comments that'll make people go "What"?! and I don't even force that out and that's my natural misdirection.