talkmagic.co.uk

Hi everyone,
Just in case anyone wants to know I'll post a little about myself - everyone else has and it's a nice way of getting to know people that are on the forums either now or who will be in the future.
I'm a 32 year old guy from Leicester and have had a few different stages with my interest in magic. Like most, I started as a kid and had a fascination of (looking back on it) being able to do the impossible. The obligatory Paul Daniels magic kit came into play one Xmas and I was hooked! I can say this only because I can look back and see what my possibilities were at that time but I managed to lose interest as things were so difficult for a youngster such as myself - getting parents to write cheques so that I could have a catalogue of available stuff then trying to persuade them that it was worth paying for what I wanted etc.
I was never a computer person until about 8 years ago when I took the plunge and bought a PC. Suddenly with the internet, everything that was behind closed doors was unlocked and it was like being in the biggest and best library in the world. I used the net to find out a lot of things about my other interests (music, theatre, comedy) but it was only late in the day that I realised it's possibility of overcoming some of the frustrations that I'd felt with my enthusiasm for magic as a kid. This just happened to be at the time I started watching Derren Brown. The two things happening at the same time - realising the possibility of the net and realising that DVB was using magic a hell of a lot more than he was letting on but seeing how that fooled people including me by having it dressed in a way that I had never come across before.
I've been studying for about 2 years and my main focus is on mentalism and mental magic. I've never been a big fan of 'perfectly ordinary' boxes that are lacquered and decorated to the hilt in a way that no 'ordinary' box would be. I also have never understood the connection between magic and dancing, scantily clad assistants and waving your hands in front of your face in a really overly dramatic manner. I suppose that is why mentalism is my main focus - it's still something that might just be possible and so it still holds some captivation. As I say, Derren Brown renewed my long lost interest in something I'd long since given up on purely by seeing how he had a new take on things and realising the impact of what he was doing. I bought several DVD's of highly recommended performers (thank you internet!) and was disappointed in most. It was with some trepidation that I bought a Richard Osterlind DVD and was completely blown away with what he did. For me he is superb and is still one of the only people that when I get something of theirs, I resent going to the explanations! With the Osterlind stuff, you get the secrets but you also get the biggest hidden secret of all which is every aspect of a perfectly polished presentation. I have the utmost respect for Mr Osterlind and have got tickets to the 2009 Blackpool convention to be able to see him perform.
For those of you still with me (!) I had an experience recently that has made me want to move from academic study to actually perform. Me and my other half were down in London for a weekend and happened to go to CellarDoor on the Sunday where Dr John was performing table to table. I remembered the name Dr John as I saw his name on some forums and he was from Leicester so we ended up getting chatting. I thought that would make us people to avoid saying that we had an interest in magic from the performance side but he kept coming back to us and trying stuff that he said he wouldn't normally otherwise do. It was so odd to see things that you knew about and had thought 'that could never work in a real environment' played out in front of you and even when you knew you still bought into. Seeing magic performed live so well made me realise the power that certain magic can bring to people. My other half is a magician’s worst nightmare but even they were sitting in silence and are still talking about that Sunday to this day! Seeing and talking to Dr John when he shared his knowledge with us so freely and experiencing live magic has opened me up to not being so academic and trying to start performing once I have a grasp of what concept I need in order to get the kind of reaction I felt down in London. It's scary but it's what I need to do!
For everyone that's made it to the end, thank you and I offer my apologies! I have lurked here for quite long enough and want to start contributing to a great forum.
Ian

Hi Ian,

Welcome to TM , Great intro by the way!

Hi and welcome to TM

FRK

Greetings!

Hi and welcome to TM

Great into by the way and nice to see a few more members from the Midlands joining in

Hiya and welcome to TM