Hey everyone, I just posted a response to a somewhat similar thread on The Magic Cafe forums, so I thought I would go ahead and pop my 2 cents in here as well...
First of all, the AoA books are fantastic. Paul Harris is truely a unique, original and creative man. With that said, here is my post:
I have lived my life being a non-conformist. I always question why things are done the way they are. I spent my 4 years in the Marine Corps always looking for different ways for things to get done. I spent my time with my BS in Psychology questioning the great minds of the past, until I got the answers I desired. I always try to be the guy who is different from everyone else; who doesn't seek out the same answers as everyone else. The same applies for me and MY magic.
So in other words, I am always having creative juices flowing with everything in life. When I was in high school, I was offered an art scholarship to a well known art school. I turned it down because I was sick of drawing for everyone else. Which is why I feel I got into stand up comedy and improv.
A lot of originality comes from the minds of non-conformists. If you STRIVE to be different, than you will be different. Unfortunately, there are limitations with everything, and magic is no different. After all, there are only two different ways in which one can turn over two cards as one. And this is very important, because this is where YOU come into play. Finding your own personal character is the key.
We mention the "Magical YouTube Generation" and how bad of performers they are. So let us ask WHY they are bad and WHY there is no originality in their performance...
This one is easy. The age demographic here is primarily between the ages of 9-17. MOST of these bubbas just got their new DVD in the mail and think by just practicing one of the effects for at LEAST 30 minutes, they will be good enough to film it for the world to see. They haven't taken the time to actually LEARN how to perform. They haven't taken the time to STUDY up on magic. They have never been to a brick and mortar shop to get the advice they need from the working pros. They haven't studied up on how to act like a magician. But also, I have seen working pros who perform just as bad as those YouTube bubbas. They can just do way more sleights.
Magic is more than just moves. You are a salesman, and if the people do not like YOU and your characters, then they are not going to give two pieces of dog poo about how cool that card trick is.
I guess what I am saying is that I am a little tired of going into my local magic shop and seeing a group of peeps in the corner raving about how good someone's pass is, or whether or not someone has read Erdnase cover to cover. (Along with the 233,998 variations out there.) I do not care who says this, but my reading Erdnase will NOT make you or me a better magician. Just because someone can execute a Diagonal Palm Shift flawlessly, does NOT make them a better magician than you or me.
If a magician is an actor playing the part of a magician, then why are so many magicians NOT studying up on theatrics as well? How many move monkeys out there have actually paid to have acting lessons, or read books on acting? How many go to regular improv sessions to help develop unique characters/ideas/stories that could somehow relate to their magic? How many study up on psychology to learn HOW to get into someone's mind? To be honest, I have seen SO many bad magicians think they are at the top of the game, all because they can perform a one-handed faro shuffle and we can't. Why are they bad? Because they are only focused on just one side of magic/being a magician, and haven't taken the time to actually learn HOW to perform. And sure, there are exceptions to every rule...
Just because there is a magician out there who performs 4 shows a day, 3 days a week, does NOT mean they are a GREAT magician. He merely knows how to market himself and has studied THAT aspect (the business side) of magic more so than others. Chances are, there are 400 more guys/girls just like him/her, who dress the same, act the same and even perform the same routines as one another.
I am really not sure what I am talking about anymore, as I got off on some sort of venting tangent. But I will say this...if you want to be original, don't conform. Or rather, conform as little as possible. Do NOT settle for only one solution to a problem.
And here is a little exercise that I stick by all the time to help ME create new and fresh ideas: I photocopy a lot of the books I own in magic. I do this because I like to go through the various effects, and black out ANY of the patter. So all I am left with is a bunch of sleights followed by an end result. So analyzing the sleights I now have in front of me with an end result, I try to piece my own story together based upon just the moves. This might be crap and the end result might even be crappier, but at the end of the day, I feel good knowing that I have tried to at least be different.
Mike
), but I think that same thing has stuck with me in my theatre classes, just creating a character and going along with it.