talkmagic.co.uk

Chris wrote:

Stand out from who? Other magicians? chances are there are not going to be other magi at the venue. Most people have not seen magic performed, even more have not seen it done live and close up. And even more have not seen magic performed live, close up and well done

Stand out as being a bit different entertainer, and dont fufill the image they have In their head of a magicians with cards balls and rope...try and give them something theyre not expecting....be "that" guy...I pride myself on the fact that when I perform people say

"oooh didnt know magic like that existed, thought it was all cards ,sponge balls and rope...like the guys weve seen before, but that was wicked"

*I wasnt having a dig at people who use those as I understand they are classics.

Remember too, that magicians don't win over audiences with their sponge balls, cards, coins, ropes or any other prop for that matter. They wow audiences with their persona and performance skills.

Lots of magicians do the cups and balls. When I first started looking at the effect, I overdid the video research, became fed up with seeing the same old routines (and, more often than not, hearing the same old patter) time and time again. I thought I'd never be excited by another performance of the Cups and Balls ever. Then I saw Tommy Wonder's version and had to scrape my jaw off the floor.

I have a sponge ball routine that uses no new moves and no special gimmicks. It's simple as can be, wouldn't fool a single magician, but it's 100% me. It fits my persona down to the ground. It's absurd and daft and stupid and fun. And audiences love it. At trade shows, wedding fayres and suchlike, it's one of the routines that can get me booked on the spot.

I'm not trying to be clever. In fact, I spend most of my time devising routines that meet quite the opposite goal. I'm trying to have fun. If that means I'm using sponges or a deck of cards or a chop cup or whatever else you'd dismiss as hackneyed and passe, so be it.

Nobody else is me.

I have enjoyed the reflections in this thread.

I was reading over some notes I had made on a Eugene Burger DVD and found a comment which I paraphrase here. Don't worry about the routine flowing together - it is _you_ that links the tricks together, not the routine.

I'm sure Eugene wouldn't mean make no attempt to make things flow well, but it is a well-made point that it is our consistency and personal performance style which will join things together. Rather than performing 6 different tricks in the styles of the 6 different magicians we saw perform them first...

It depends 100% on personal style and preference.
For example I would use cards but others would avoid it like the plauge. I can understand that mentality- I cringe when I see the hideous patronising patter of dull 'comercial' card routines with cheap gags aplenty. That is the image we are striving.. against but I don't think that we can't get past the connotations of a deck of cards and transform them into mysterious, philosophical and mathematical items of interest and bewilderment, closley related to the world of the occult and divination.
But anyway, I think you should just think of your favourite effects to perform and what could be adapted to be instantly reseting or what already is.

You could actually do a Bill switch but instead of just making it a higher note, have it turn into a different currency and do it when somebody says "Can you make my wife disappear?" you simply respond with "Sure, where would like me to send her?" then turn the note into some other form of currency and back again. That way the effect and routine seems more organic and catches them off guard, not to mention looks different than anybody else.

I think read that Eric Mead kind of talked about that. There is also the fact that you could do a few other things. Sponges and cards seems to work the best though because they portable and a lot of things take of no table space.

The other thing to think about is that it's often not WHAT you do, but HOW you do it. Though I would suggest something like Aaron Fishers Search and Destroy and maybe his other effect where the card and entire deck reverse itself.