Mark Waddington wrote:Im sorry, but im struggling to grasp the idea of planning something impromptu... Surely by its very nature it is unplanned???
Ok, I’m going to try to tie your question/concern Mark, in with what Klangster has echoed and hopefully make sense of it all.
As suggested in the illustration, when a group of musicians come together in a club and just to a sit-down-jam session most everyone in the group is aware of the other’s skill level and knowledge base e.g. they can work off of one another and create a wonderful and unique experience in a way that seems impossible due to the perceived randomness around things.
When it comes to Magic/Mentalism the scenario is quite similar, one must have a working and PROVEN knowledge (vs. theories) as to what can and should be done when called upon and you basically have nothing on hand… or you are quite limited in what you do have.
The MacGyver side to this – being resourceful and creating gimmicks on the spot with what’s available – is one small aspect to this knowledge-base; it is and isn’t a necessary ingredient to your predicament. It is a part of your knowledge-base (hopefully) that can be exploited, allowing you to go further under these circumstances than those that aren’t familiar with such tactics or rehearsed in how to make things happen (sadly, there are more of these than not).
I’ve watched Karoll Fox and Bev Bergeron jump into acts – routines they’ve done together and with others, at the drop of a hat (literally). Somehow they tip the other as to what direction things are heading and it just flows. It’s a scenario that is identical to the Musician scenario but with magic… and other variety art based bits by other artists like , Mel Brooks and other notables… legends of the trade because they know their trade this well and how to work off of most anyone that know the shtick. This is, at least in my experience, what “Show Biz” is all about… at least, when you are looking at it from the “artist”/performer’s point of view; those that sought to “Master” their craft.
On the other side, a magic buff that KNOWS the craft and most especially the basics thereof (slight of hand in particular) wouldn’t necessarily “need” to take the MacGyver measures, they would simply go with what came to mind first that was expedient, clean and fun… Bill Malone used to be a Master of this kind of thing, but it’s been close to 30 years since I’ve been with Bill and such challenges put out (it was quite common happenstance at the local White Castles after a night at the club – Bit O’Magic).
What you’ve implied Mark would suggest that the person asked to do something don’t even have primary knowledge of the craft or a sense of organized understanding, which would negate the circumstance altogether; if you were in that position of not knowing, no one would ask you to do a trick and prove you’re a magician/mentalist. So we must assume the poor sap being imposed on has at least a rudimentary knowledge of things from which he/she can learn and thus, create something that resembles an effort to deliver… I say it this way because I’m fully aware of who one’s mind can go blank when such requests are put forth… been there and done that far too many times. But that is one of the reasons we need to challenge ourselves almost constantly. Unfortunately the whole Internet way of learning and doing magic has robbed us of knowing those old Bas*tards you could find in the old brick & mortar shops that would crack your knuckles and bust your chops until you actually started LEARNING what magic was and how to actually be a “magician”… but that’s another story altogether…
When it comes to the ALLUSION of Improvisation, it’s really up to us to have a current repertoire that we’ve practiced and KNOW based on what we know we will most likely be faced with during the course of our day… or when attending a special function in a participant mode vs. as a performer.
“pant, pant, pant” I hope that didn’t get folks more confused
(lot's of splain'n to do)
