talkmagic.co.uk

Now I know this is going to draw some attension (seeing how my Flourishes Vs. XMC turned out). Now the world of magic is a huge variety of different types of performaces with many subcatagorizes and variations. But at the root of magic is a master split which is then broken apart into deeper and deeper catagorizes. They are Street Magic and Stage Magic. These are the direct settings and tone of a performance. They are quite hard to fully describe but the point is in plane view.

Stage Magic, to start out with, is generally more professional and has a larger crowd of people, but this in no way means that it is always larger. The idea is that the performer is usually on a "stage" and has pre-arranged that he will perform at an appointed time in a speciffic place. The acts of magic are usually larger and deeper than stage magic. Common exaples are huge leviations, massive teleportations, large scale vanishes, ect. A perfect example of Stage Magic is David Copperfield's type of performace. He is almost always performing on a 'stage" in which has trainned time and time again with props, trap doors, wires, actresses, blazing music and special effects, and lighting. He has created a visually masterful performance. Now, you should remember that because it is small, it is not Stage Magic. A six year old with a child's magic kit performing in front of his friends and family could very well be a Stage performance. In this situation, the performer has preset (and told others) that he will be doin his show at an oppointed time in an appointed place. He doesn't even not a stage persay. Even being in front of the TV as people sit around him is the same thing. He has created a focal point for his audiance.

Now Stage Magic is the complete opposit of Stage Magic. In this case the crowds are usually much smaller, the surroundings much more basic, and the magic tricks brought down to a smaller scale (such as card tricks, cups and balls, cut and restored rope, ect.) A perfect example of this is David Blaines type of magic. In his specialls he is almost always a lone performer who goes around carrying a deck of cards, comes up to some random person, and says "Hey, do you want to see a trick?" The performance is wherever he goes. But not everything he does is Street Magic. Whenever he does his stunts such as standing on a pole for two days, he is now performing Stage Magic. He has prearanged and setup far before the date for his act. The people then come to him. The pole acts as his stage in this case. Now lets say someone goes out to a table of people and asks to do a trick. They love it so much and screem so that others join in to watch his little show. Eventually the whole restraunt is watching and he desides to stand on a stage to contiue his show. Even at this point, it is still Street Magic, because he didn't have it set before then that it would happen. Now if he says "I'll come back next tuesday at four o'clock to perform some more tricks," that next performance has now become Stage Magic. So in this case, the Street Magic was larger than some smaller sized Stage Magic performances.

Lets say Blavid Blaine was making a TV show of him performing all his tricks in front of a camera. This is considered Stage Magic because his is performing on his stage (that being in front of the camera) and the crowd is comming to him (that being the home viewers who decide to watch the show.

Now lets consider Chriss Angel. He drew a crowd to him and told them to surround him from all angles. He is the focal point thus making the place he's standing the stage. Then say he teleported to another location in the blink of an eye. Now if all this was impromptu or if he was carrying around a special gimmick, then this would acutally be Street Magic. Now is he had prearraged some complex mirror arrangement and had the local barber shop make a hidden wire system to help assist in his trick, then is would be Staged Magic. The impromptu factor is a huge key in determining what is Stage and what is Street.

Wow that was alot.

Hi Blade Master.

Can I suggest that you re-read and edit your post as some parts of it are very difficult to understand what you're trying to say.

Example:

Now Stage Magic is the complete opposit of Stage Magic

I think. from what I've read that you're confusing stage magic (as performed on a stage) with staged magic (that which is set up in advance).

A six year old with a child's magic kit performing in front of his friends and family could very well be a Stage performance. In this situation, the performer has preset (and told others) that he will be doin his show at an oppointed time in an appointed place.

Both stage and street magic can be impromptu and both can be staged (set up in advance). Take Blane's presentation of the restored soda tin. It looks impromptu but is obviously staged but it is undoubtedly street magic in the style that Blaine presents it, yet staged for the TV cameras in this example. I'd also say that in my opinion what Blaine presents when standing on a pole or inside a block of ice is far removed from street or stage magic.

Your example of a magician performing in a restaurant and it being street magic, and the performance then turning into stage magic if the magician agrees to repeat the performacne is flawed. I would say that the performance in neither street magic or stage magic but I don't know if you mean 'staged as in set up in advance. Agreeing to be somewhere at a set date and time to perform is not what is usually understood to be 'staged'. Most would perhaps call it work.

Take a look at another trick such as the vanishing coke bottle that is put into the paper bag which is then screwed up. This is a gimmick which has been successfully used in both stage and street magic yet neither perfromance is the same.

A trick can be impromptu, some are set up but look impromptu and some are staged using apparatus or a stooge, and yes, there's a heck of a lot that fall somewhere in between. To illustrate, even a card trick can fall into most if not all of these categories.

However, the trick being performaced can be a stage presentation, it can be a street presentation and it could be a restaurant presentation. It's how the magician that is presenting the trick, presents it that is what perhaps sets the style.

I agree with day8962.

I do want to say this though. I do consider Criss Angel a street magician, but only in the sense that he performs on the street. I think he uses to many "stage" concepts.

Anyone who has bought his levitation DVD (or just knows how it works) and seen the DEMO video of this would agree. And be equally dissatisfied.

i think street magic is when you go up to a stranger and perform magic, doesnt matter if there was any preperation. stage magic is when people sit down and go watch you knowing that they will watch some type of magic.

Wasn't street magic invented specifically for TV programmes. Who really goes up to strangers to perform magic - what is the motivation? Don't you either perform magic on stage, strolling in a bar or restaurant, busking, corporate, trade, parties, or for friends and colleagues.

All ideas welcome here. You could think of this topic as in Skateboarding (I'm not sure how common it is in Europe). Skateboarding is general is split into two different modes - Street Skating and Vert Skating. Their both just people rolling around on four wheels, but Street style is very distint form its counterpart as it is much flater. Street skaters basically skate in public streets and avenues, while Vert skaters ride in parks specificly built with half pipes, fun boxes, and rails (its more arial).

So I'm sure everyone has their own oppions on this thought.

I'm sure Catherine Tate has an opinion about this discussion...

I know I sure as hell don't.

Sorry, but did you actually just take the time and effort to tell us you don't have an opinion.

Yes I did. Now, I'm not sure which is more ridiculous - me posting to say I don't have an opinion on this thread, or you questioning the existence of something that clearly exists!

copyright wrote:Wasn't street magic invented specifically for TV programmes. Who really goes up to strangers to perform magic - what is the motivation? Don't you either perform magic on stage, strolling in a bar or restaurant, busking, corporate, trade, parties, or for friends and colleagues.

Hmmm...

Let's have a little recap:

STREET MAGIC
A 'coined term' used to describe a performance which is performed to unsuspecting and impulsive audience. The effects or illusions performed are often impromptu, and there is little room for camera trickery or stooges.

Street magic is generally done as a form of 'busking', i.e. the magician draws a crowd, performs, and then waits for monetary donation.

Anyone who thinks Blaine invented Street Magic... I am sorry to tell you that Santa doesn't exist either... Street magic has been around for well over 3000 years.

There's a rich history surrounding it, Scots "Discoverie of Witchcraft" clearly chronicles buskers performing street magic in the 16th century, and around the middle ages there are many pictoral depictions of Street Magic.

Blaine didn't pioneer the art at all. If anything, he copied Jeff Sheridan, an American street performer from the 1960s (who's most famous magic invention is a watch prediction! Take That, Blaine!). Sheridan also taught Jeff McBride a few tricks in Card Manipulation.

See any parallels between Blaine and Sheridan? Yes? Good. Because guess who was one of Sheridan's pupils... David Blaine.

So, Street Magic is an old art. And it was in existence way Mr Blaine first bit into a quarter.

STAGE MAGIC
Considered to be a live show, whereby the audience books in advance to see the magician, and the magician performs in a more controlled environment, usually with spectacular illusion and props.

The effects are rehearsed, and because the audience is seated in a pre-defined area, effects which are more angle-specific can be used.

The paying audience will see a rehearsed show, usually part of a long running tour.

An example of a stage magician? David Copperfield, Lance Burton...

PARLOUR MAGIC
A kind of cross between stage and street magic, in my opinion. A magician performs to a small group of people in close proximity. This can include either impromptu or set-piece effects, and because it is in a controlled environment, the magician may have access to 'props'.

An example would be Tabary.

STROLLING MAGICIANS
In a similar way that a street magician carries his props around on his person, a strolling magician (or table-hopper) has his entire act stuffed in his pockets.

A street magician will wait until a crowd gathers, or until he finds a 'victim', whereas a strolling magician will be employed at a restaurant, wedding, party etc. to move from table to table of seated guests and entertain them.

The strolling magician will generally have a small, compact and well rehearsed set of effects, and a good one will perform a slightly different set of routines at each table (just in case the same people see them twice! Guests can table hop too, you know!)

This is my own personal favourite kind of magic to perform, although, it's my least favourite kind of magic to be a spectator to.

IT'S A KIND OF MAGIC
There are lots of 'genres', but hopefully this makes some form of sense!

Zack wrote:Yes I did. Now, I'm not sure which is more ridiculous - me posting to say I don't have an opinion on this thread, or you questioning the existence of something that clearly exists!

I wasn't questioning the existance of the post, simply the reasoning behind it. I think the accepted convention for dealing with threads you have no opinion on is to hit the back button.

If your intention is to notify the forum everytime you don't have an opinion then, I'm sure Catherine Tate has an opinion about this ...

But am I bovered though?

Rob

Seige's post is a solid, concise recapping of magic, Blade Master.

To say that magic is divided into two categories -- stage magic and what is called street magic -- is a bit like saying cars are divided into two categories -- apples and oranges; it's an interesting stand, but it makes no sense.

Actually, what Blade Master defines as street magic is either stage magic performed on the street, or unpaid busking. In either case, it only exists in its present form for television (Blaine, Angel, and a few others).

A better split might be between stage magic and closeup; or big-box illusions and mentalism; or magic at a distance and in the spectator's hands; or any one of a hundred other divisions.

But not street magic, at least, not in this sense.
Repeat after me:
There is NO such thing as street magic in this sense, unless you have your own TV show (or, unless you can live without eating!).

unless you have your own TV show (or, unless you can live without eating!).

Hmmmm, sounds vaguely familiar but I just can't quite recall the name.......

SirRawlins wrote:But am I bovered though?

Rob

Point taken. I am now writing out 100 times,

I shall resist the temptation .....