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I'm currently trying to write a script for what I eventually want to perform. But I am having two main problems:

Firstly adding in new and original jokes, its incredibly tempting to steal jokes from other Mentalists, Magicians and Comedians, but it just seems dishonest somehow and unnatural. Any advice on how to add good patter to a stage effect?

Secondly creating a meaning behind the effects, in the sense that there's currantly no "reason" for showing them. The show has no "plot" to it if you see what I mean. I am perfectly capable of performing all the tricks (with the exception of the Q&A I am hoping to eventually do), and I can do them for close-up (atleast the ones which CAN be done for close-up), but for some reason it is so much harder to link one effect from one to another on stage.


Any advice guys?


Tom
xx

get the book scripting magic by pete mccabe, and the eugene burger dvd - exploring magical presentations...

i would say too - that trying to be funny, when you are naturally not (i dont know if you are) is a bad move...if you're not naturally like it, then dont force it...i think to be funny, to be dark, to be mysterious, whatever it is - some element of that has to be within you in the first place...

so if you can't come up with a joke, then maybe...dont include jokes...

i would say small steps too - you're very eager, but to do things steadily and gain your experience in studying theatre and so on instead right now may be your best move...but obviously, up to you...

I personally never script! it feels way to un-natural and i think it makes the spectator feel unconftable when used in closeup stuff.

My suggestion is try performing the trick without scripting, you will find that you will use the same phrases, and even come up with your own jokes and comments from nowhere!

then after a whilst, write your script. I sometimes notice myself saying everything word for word without realizing it!

Also, i think if you do this method of, erm, ''self working scripting'' you will find it fits your style and character alot more naturaly.

Thanks my opinion anyway lol

so really, you DO have a script, its just you work on it during your performance - rather than write it out and roadtest it...

Well, i dont start with a script, i will get the trick, practice it, take it out, and then from there i will start on it

I do the same thing to for close-up, but a stage/platform show will need more of a direction to go in. :s

Agreed! well, try running through the trick, with differant phrases or jokes and see what you like. Remember, the people you are showing the trick to would have probably never seen the magician you are using the joke from! The other magician would of probably taken the joke from another magician ect...

In terms of a reason for your effects, that depends largely on your performing personality and the internal logic behind you as a performer. However, seeing as I don't know those things about you, I'll offer some general advice:

You are a magician. You can do impossible things. What other reason do you need?

I'm not saying that ideas such as theme and context are not important, they are, but remember that your audience knows that you are a magician, and as a result expects you to do tricks. You don't really need to launch into a huge speech about how you are about to explore the realms of thamaturgical possibility and human perception. Unpopular as it is, you can just call a card trick a card trick.

The best advice I can give you, is what I successfully have always used.

Learn the effect first.
Then record yourself performing it with a video camera, with whatever presentation comes best to mind. It will probably be a lot of pausing and errming and arrring, but that's fine.

Watch the footage back. Now you have to see how it works. Does it fit? Where needs improving and explaining? Go through and write down your script from that, changing and adding where needs be.

Rinse and repeat.

The first thing that you need is a theme. Forget about the efects themselves for now and come up with an idea for the 'show'. Is it going to be a memory demonstation? An investigation into the psychic powers of your audience? Whatever it is that you're going to perform, you need to know that first. The tricks aren't at all important at this stage so forget about them. Once you know what you're doing it's not all that difficult to add in the effects that fit your presentation.

Pete McCabe's book Scripting Magic as recommended by Iain is a really good and useful book. I also highly recommend this to you.

It will explain the concept of scripting and provide a wealth of ideas if you don;t want to use what's already in there.

I think that mentalism type routines are difficult to merge with commedy and only a few manage to pull it off successfully so I would urge you to think about this. If you decide to go ahead you're making your job a whole lot harder in my opinion.

Good luck anyway.

I just want to add that I think of myself as a relatively serious performer, I do not clown around... but I do want to have a sense of humour. Humour gives light relief to your audience and makes you far more diverse and entertaining. Can any of us really imagine An Evening of Wonders, Something Wicked this way Comes, or The Magic of David Copperfield being half as good without the little jokes?

I can't; and that's what worries me.
Here is an example of how I perform smart-ass:


"In the early 1920's a youung girl by the name of Vera Nessingway claimed -as many people did at the time- to be genuinely psychic. She said, that she could tell what cards people were going to pick before they picked them, from a full deck of unmarked, shuffeled cards that could be shown to be all different.

I think I can do the same. I think I can tell you -in advance- what card Andy (the spectator) will pick. Andy, I want you to look through this deck of cards please, make sure they're not marked in anyway and that there all different yes? Good.

I think Andy will pick... this card..."

**I hold up a giant card showwing the King of Spades to the audience**

**We then perform smart-ass, with Andy cutting the deck and so on.**

"Andy, you've cut the cards twice and selected from any of the cards left.. they arn't numbered or marked, so theres no way (supposedly) that I can influence you to choose one... Andy, what is the name of your card."


"The King of Spades."

"... thank you so much Andy, a big hand for Andy everybody!"







What do you think? Too serious? :S

Tom
xx

Humour is very hard to get right. It can very easily go wrong and feel awkward, as if you're trying too hard

The best thing to do is to think about what your humour is in everyday conversation. Do you tell a lot of jokes? Do you have a dry sarcastic humour? Do you use lots of clever puns? Just build on that, use jokes you would normally use. Trying to shoehorn in jokes you wouldn't ordinarily tell wouldn't sound right

Also, don't forget that there's absolutely nothing wrong with a serious routine, for example Cris Angel doesn't tell any jokes yet enough people seem to enjoy his work

kolm wrote:Humour is very hard to get right. It can very easily go wrong and feel awkward, as if you're trying too hard

The best thing to do is to think about what your humour is in everyday conversation. Do you tell a lot of jokes? Do you have a dry sarcastic humour? Do you use lots of clever puns? Just build on that, use jokes you would normally use. Trying to shoehorn in jokes you wouldn't ordinarily tell wouldn't sound right

Also, don't forget that there's absolutely nothing wrong with a serious routine, for example Cris Angel doesn't tell any jokes yet enough people seem to enjoy his work

No they don't; they enjoy his camera tricks.

I think that it would have been worthwile defining humour at the start as most would tend to think of magic and humour as a John Archer type of performance.

Having a couple of one liner jokes in any performance is something that I don't see a problem with but that's only a small fraction of the performance as a whole and isn't then adding a meaning to the effect that you mentionned at the start.