talkmagic.co.uk

I'm in the process of rehearsing a new performance which I will try out on the paying public for the first time on Nov2.
I am so bored!!! I have left things very late and today is the first time I have been going for a complete run through. Over and over again saying the same thing, doing the same moves. Influence, mind reading bla bla bla. I am so sick of the sound of my own voice (my girlfriend who just split up with me would agree with that) and of switching the same stupid billet time and time again.
I'm completely out of motivation and I know I have to keep doing this for the next ten days or I'll die a death of umming and ahhing. Someone give me some motivation please otherwise I'm just going to watch scrubs re-runs on TV for the next week.
Hell, what am I even doing on here? I have stupid scripts to learn.

I'm in no position to offer advice, but...

Get five people. Show them.

Mr_Grue wrote:I'm in no position to offer advice, but...

Get five people. Show them.

That starts next week, a couple of magicians and a theatre director get to pull my act to pieces until I cry.
Oh what fun it is being a professional magician, I wonder if McDonalds are hiring.

Yes, showbusiness is hugely glamourous when you're rehearsing for the nth time or putting up posters in the teeming rain for a charity magic show. With regard to motivation, I remember a very old equation that defines human motivation in one of two ways; either the pursuit of pleasure or the avoidance of pain. Your avoidance of a bad performance on the night ("pain") is probably driving your current endeavours. You need to incorporate, maybe, some reward ("pleasure")mechanism into your activities to re-attain equilibrium?

TI

DB has advice about this in Absolute Magic.

Every now and then I have to remind myself that it's called "work" and they pay you for it because nobody's going to do it for free.

An Eeyorish gritted-teeth philosophy, but it can sometimes get me through to the end of a job. Or at least to a point where I've done my minimum quota for the day.

If you 'have left things late' and are trying to cram the Act in that is why you are bored. No break. No relaxation.
If you have scripts then you must be well prepared so take a couple of days out NOW. Go away if you can.
For the Future, you need a rehearsal schedule which is worked out to enable you to have time in between rehearsals. Then you adhere, pretty strictly, to this schedule.

Marc Oberon use to rehearse 10 hours a day! which, when coaching his Act I told him was far too much.

The brain needs to 'cool down' to have a complete 'change of scene'.

I am glad you are using a 'theatre director' BUT avoid the 2 magicians!!
And I mean like the plague.
Otherwise you will get just the magic angle and WORSE:
You will meet the 'This is the way I do it' or 'I always do this ---'

NOTHING to do with How You work.

Also : NEVER mix girl friends with Magic. It is an obsessive Art, often, because we rehearse alone, a solitary Art. We love it, are passionate about it: Layfolk may enjoy it but that is where (with a very, very few exceptions) their tolerance of 'take a card', write this down etc ...ends!

DO YOU know your handlings, moves & sequences?
If so you can ( and I hate this but it may save your sanity) improvise the actual patter. JUST This Time.
The Director, if he is competent, will fix the rest.
However, for the future, do call him in well..and I mean well beforehand.

If the answer is 'Yes' to the 'DO YOU' question,then do go away for 2 days. Relax and AVOID all contact with Magic.

The Great Art of performing is to make it LOOK LIKE it is being done/spoken for the FIRST TIME.
It takes a while to absorb & accomplish this.

Allen Tipton