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  1. T

    The Urban Shaman

    That's true and I have, in the past, implied to audiences that the inner sanctum of the Magic Circle is more esoteric and arcane than might actually be the case. However, I believe the benefits of a genuine initiatory mystery society are far greater than just using it to impress laypeople by...
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    The Urban Shaman

    I think this could be the key to the power of the Urban Shamanism approach. Audiences always ask expectantly, "Are you a member of the Magic Circle?", which they seem to imagine to be a highly secretive Masonic-type organisation. Laypeople, in general, want mystery, they want to believe that...
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    The Urban Shaman

    Over the last year or so, I've been systematically trying to find my "voice" as a writer/performer. It's only over the last few months that my studies and reflections have led me into an area that some might include under the banner of "urban shaman". I study quantum mechanics and Qabala...
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    Starting to perform

    Yes, you might well suggest that! I think that's a good call. I agree it's not the most elegant prose ever composed, but I felt as though it was sufficient to get my point across. I'll do my best to be less ambiguous in future. Maybe, in retrospect, I should have said, "a strong foundation of...
  5. T

    Starting to perform

    Christopher, I'm happy to accept everything you say as a valid alternative point of view. I apologise for irritating you. That wasn't my intent, I was just trying to share the fruits of my own personal and particular experience to help the OP. You seem knowledgeable and thoughtful, so I'm going...
  6. T

    Starting to perform

    I know, and deliberately so. My point was to dismiss the whole nebulous concept of social interaction as a science and recommend starting from the point of view of just talking to people in a friendly and relaxed way, which isn't too far from what you're suggesting. I tend to find that it's more...
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    Starting to perform

    What sort of contexts are you thinking about doing this? I mean, are you considering approaching strangers in the street, friends and acquaintances at school/work, or in a more formal environment where you might be looking to get money? I'm going to guess that you're talking about approaching...
  8. T

    Card Routine

    Don't let Skrillex et al's LFO-heavy, screechy mid-range take on dubstep prejudice you. Check out some tracks by Mala to subvert your opinion of the genre. Some of his work may have hit exactly the right engaging, intimate note for this performance!
  9. T

    Card Routine

    To be honest, I'm not really a fan of the whole approach of just showing disembodied hands performing a trick. Unless there's a particular theatrical justification for it (which I can't see in this case), I think it puts up a barrier between the performer and audience which makes it hard to feel...
  10. T

    Looking for different coins

    To be clear, that's the old, pre-decimalisation British penny. The modern one is tiny and would be disappointing if you ordered a consignment of them without checking the size first.
  11. T

    Blank Faces

    Some ideas: 1. Do a "blank fan" (reverse thumb fan in the left hand) with the blank card on the face to show the deck is all blank. Maybe follow up with a Hindu or overhand shuffle display as a quick convincer. Then execute the colour change of your choice and a normal fan to show the faces...
  12. T

    Which hand to hold the deck?

    The standard dealing position for a right-handed person is to hold the cards in the left hand, using the right to deal cards. So, right-handed magicians tend to hold the cards in the left hand dealing grip (or what you'll soon come to know as "Mechanics Grip"). You will find right-handed...
  13. T

    How long did your first decks last you?

    The first decks I bought for practising magic were standard Bicycle Rider Backs. I bought two decks of them, and I think they lasted me about six months to a year. They could probably have lasted me longer, but I got bitten by the card-acquiring bug and started buying loads of different decks...
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    Where to Learn Cups and Balls Routine

    The routine that's become the standard is Dai Vernon's from The Dai Vernon Book of Magic. It's got all the basic vanishes and loads plus bits like the "cup through cup" penetration and the wand spin.
  15. T

    Saturday Night Roundtable - Jason England

    1. Have you read Graham Adams' work on Erdnase and do you think he has much of interest to say on the subject? 2. Do you think that magicians sometimes do too much to hide their skill when, actually, audiences might be more interested if they appreciated the difficulty of some sleight-of-hand...
  16. T

    Card Control

    How about the good old injog shuffle? It's quick, simple and natural-looking and, if performed casually while talking to spectators and without drawing attention to it, very convincing. If you perform the sequence from Royal Road (shuffling three extra cards on top) you can even "prove" that you...
  17. T

    Is an extra card a gimmick

    You're very welcome! Glad I've got something to share. As I said, nowadays the word "gimmick" tends to be used as a catch-all title for any magical apparatus. If we go by traditional definitions, though, the "gimmick" in Misled is actually a "feke". If you don't think the distinction's...
  18. T

    Is an extra card a gimmick

    It depends how it's used. If you have a duplicate card which the audience sees and believes to be the matching card then some purists might argue it's actually a feke (yes "feke", not "fake"). A feke is a piece of magical apparatus that is seen by the audience but appears to be normal in some...
  19. T

    Magician need to know Flourishes?

    I deliberately chose two examples which showed differing aspects of the same phenomenon. They are both people who have provoked belief in their ability to work supernatural miracles. No it isn't. I have a belief system or religion so I can say that with some conviction. Sorry, just to clear...
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    Magician need to know Flourishes?

    My Pope argument is exactly the same as the Uri Geller argument. I could equally have used Jesus, Mohammed or (my personal favourite mystical figure because he sounds like a Transformer) Metatron as examples. These are all examples of people whose adherents strongly believe in their miraculous...
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