hey guys i wrote a paper on magic, and i interviewed morgician for it theres a few jokes for you guy's benefits, that my teacher won't get haha! (its only a rough draft)
Alakazam! Or maybe, Abracadabra! Or backwards, Arbadacarba! Those are all magic words, and guess who uses those, magicians! Oh yeah, and I’m going to be one, because I already enjoy performing magic for friends and family. If I do it professionally, it’s unlike any other career out there, because you get to name your own hours, and be paid to do something most call a hobby.
“I don’t really have a ‘Typical Day’” (Bondett). Magicians, practice, and perform, performing, is generally the same, but practice, never is. “[Some days] I focus on just one sleight” (Bondett). A sleight, the definition of sleight is: “deceitful craftiness” (Webster). There are so many sleights in magic, from cards, to coins, that they cannot possibly be listed in one location. Sleights are the core of magic; they are what make the crazy stuff happen, without it being noticed. “Other times scripts” (Bondett). This is the performance side of magic; this is what blast magic from “trick”, to “magic”. Scripts are what magicians say when doing the magic, and just like sleights, they take work. “Other days new magic to keep my mind sharp” (Bondett). Learning new magic is a way to keep up with the times, a way to stay connected, and a way to always remember how to learn. Think about it, there are tricks out there that use iPods, and 30 years down the road, we may not have iPods anymore, and that trick would be obsolete, and if the magician, only practices that trick, and only does that trick, he’ll forget how to learn, and when nobody carries iPods around anymore, he’ll be out of a job. So learning new magic is just as important as practicing old magic. “And on the good days, I get to share all that in a show” (Bondett). The show, the piece de resistance, the thing that all that work goes into, all the practice on all the sleights, all the scripting, all of that hard relentless work, gets rewarded in the show. The show is where the work is showcased, in a “behind the scenes” type form; nobody can see the work, that’s why the work was done.
“No formal education requirements for becoming a magician. People generally do not take college or high school courses to learn magic, although courses in acting and public speaking can help a magician become more effective”(“Magicians” 632). Yeah that’s right, I could drop out of high school right now and make 15 bucks an hour at some restaurant and live off that. But, I won’t (you can breathe easy Ms. Woo). A big part of magic, is presentation, some magicians (myself included) think that magic without presentation, isn’t magic at all, but just tricks. Ever heard the quote “knowledge is power”? That applies to magic, big time “The more education you have, the more interesting you can be when presenting magic” (Bondett). I do a trick right now on a day to day basis where I talk about chaos theory, and how you can only get so much chaos until you get order, but I don’t really know much about chaos theory, but, I can sell it to people who don’t know anything either. Someday though, I may come across some rocket scientist who knows everything about chaos theory and I end up looking stupid. So it would probably be a good idea for me to take a low level college course in the basics of chaos theory, or something like that. Another thing about magic, it is a business, a business of selling my services to the client, I’ve heard it called “the big B and the Small S …. it takes a lot of business to get a little bit of show” (Campbell). Which makes perfect sense if you think about it, and that why my friend Morgan Bondett said, “Business- it would help me to understand the business side of business” (Bondett). There are no formal requirements, but education is strongly recommended. “Go the distance- whatever that means for you” (Bondett). I’ll leave this paragraph with that, not knowing what the distance is for me, but that my friends, is another story, for another time. But as for now, in high school, “in High School – TAKE DRAMA – I never did, and I think that limited me…In Post Secondary School[,] I would say [,] anything that you love” (Bondett). Mr. Bondett recommends drama.
“Personal skills [:] Artistic [,] Mechanical/manipulative” (“Magicians” 633). “I would say to be good at magic, you need to listen, but other skills are better for the role. Ability to think of your [feet] is a critical thinker/problem solver, public speaking, a good speaker that is entertaining to listen to” (Bondett). Personality traits that a magician needs, like the encyclopedia of jobs said, magicians need to be artistic, because, magic is an art. Magic is also a public speaking job, magicians talk to people, if they didn’t magic would, quite frankly, suck. Therefore, public speaking, and having a good control of the English language are important as well, a magician wouldn’t sit there and stutter through how the coin in his hand grew wings and flew from his hand to the spectators, he’d just sound bad, and possibly get laughed right out of the joint. Problem solving, say that I’m doing my “order from chaos” trick, and the king and the queen are backwards when I finish, how do I save this performance? It’s a problem, and it needs solved, I would most likely say something like, “the king may be head of the suit, but we all know who’s really in charge” but, that’s never happened before, because, I practice! That’s why problem solving is important for magicians, and it would happen spur of the moment, there is no way to prepare for that, so the ability to think on ones feet comes in handy as well.
Advantages and disadvantages, pros and cons, ups and downs, rights and wrongs, everything has them, and magic is no different. I like to hear bad news first so how about we start with disadvantages. “I don’t do it full time anymore, as the hours are hard for a guy that wants family or even to be married – if your wife works a 9 to 5, and comes home[,]you are usually walking out the door as you are busy BECAUSE others are off – late night is show time, and weekends”(Bondett). There it is the main flaw that I found, in my research, that is. Enough depressing stuff, magic is supposed to be fun and entertaining, onward to advantages! “This is one of the draws of magic [;] you can never get bored of it, if you are always working on improving” (Bondett). This quote goes back to my first paragraph, with all the different aspects of magic, you can do something different every day. That’s why Morgan Bondett never has a typical day, because he could practice sleights, or work on scripts, etc. “It is AMAZING to think that you are a lifetime memory for the people you entertain and amaze [,] and believe me, you are. I run into people that I haven’t seen in 10 years, and they still recall the moments with me like they were yesterday” (Bondett). That is amazing, it really is, I hope to get to that level someday, and maybe I already am who knows. “Anyhow, I sort of turned a once a week restaurant gig into a lucrative career. It just sort of happened, word spread and I got more calls [,] over time I created structure to the business and things took off” (Bondett). That’s cool to me, what he’s saying is that anybody can do it, and the way he talks, I could make enough money off of a once a week restaurant gig to pay for insurance on my truck, or to take a girl out to dinner, that sort of thing, which is just great!
Alright so in pre-conclusion, I do believe I could make this my lifetime career, because, in a way, I already do, I just don’t get paid. As I continue to think about this though, that one disadvantage that I found, creeps into my head, and troubles me. So, I might make magic a side career to something else. “My personal opinion is that if you make your life so magic is not the meal, but part of the meal [,] at least it will always be on the plate. However, if you make it the meal, you may get sick of eating it [,] and then you have no backup plan. I hope that analogy makes sense” (Bondett). I think that makes perfect sense. I have yet to decide what the veggies will be in my meal of life, but I hope magic is always the meat and potatoes.
Alakazam! Or maybe, Abracadabra! Or backwards, Arbadacarba! Those are all magic words, and guess who uses those, magicians! Oh yeah, and I’m going to be one, because I already enjoy performing magic for friends and family. If I do it professionally, it’s unlike any other career out there, because you get to name your own hours, and be paid to do something most call a hobby.
“I don’t really have a ‘Typical Day’” (Bondett). Magicians, practice, and perform, performing, is generally the same, but practice, never is. “[Some days] I focus on just one sleight” (Bondett). A sleight, the definition of sleight is: “deceitful craftiness” (Webster). There are so many sleights in magic, from cards, to coins, that they cannot possibly be listed in one location. Sleights are the core of magic; they are what make the crazy stuff happen, without it being noticed. “Other times scripts” (Bondett). This is the performance side of magic; this is what blast magic from “trick”, to “magic”. Scripts are what magicians say when doing the magic, and just like sleights, they take work. “Other days new magic to keep my mind sharp” (Bondett). Learning new magic is a way to keep up with the times, a way to stay connected, and a way to always remember how to learn. Think about it, there are tricks out there that use iPods, and 30 years down the road, we may not have iPods anymore, and that trick would be obsolete, and if the magician, only practices that trick, and only does that trick, he’ll forget how to learn, and when nobody carries iPods around anymore, he’ll be out of a job. So learning new magic is just as important as practicing old magic. “And on the good days, I get to share all that in a show” (Bondett). The show, the piece de resistance, the thing that all that work goes into, all the practice on all the sleights, all the scripting, all of that hard relentless work, gets rewarded in the show. The show is where the work is showcased, in a “behind the scenes” type form; nobody can see the work, that’s why the work was done.
“No formal education requirements for becoming a magician. People generally do not take college or high school courses to learn magic, although courses in acting and public speaking can help a magician become more effective”(“Magicians” 632). Yeah that’s right, I could drop out of high school right now and make 15 bucks an hour at some restaurant and live off that. But, I won’t (you can breathe easy Ms. Woo). A big part of magic, is presentation, some magicians (myself included) think that magic without presentation, isn’t magic at all, but just tricks. Ever heard the quote “knowledge is power”? That applies to magic, big time “The more education you have, the more interesting you can be when presenting magic” (Bondett). I do a trick right now on a day to day basis where I talk about chaos theory, and how you can only get so much chaos until you get order, but I don’t really know much about chaos theory, but, I can sell it to people who don’t know anything either. Someday though, I may come across some rocket scientist who knows everything about chaos theory and I end up looking stupid. So it would probably be a good idea for me to take a low level college course in the basics of chaos theory, or something like that. Another thing about magic, it is a business, a business of selling my services to the client, I’ve heard it called “the big B and the Small S …. it takes a lot of business to get a little bit of show” (Campbell). Which makes perfect sense if you think about it, and that why my friend Morgan Bondett said, “Business- it would help me to understand the business side of business” (Bondett). There are no formal requirements, but education is strongly recommended. “Go the distance- whatever that means for you” (Bondett). I’ll leave this paragraph with that, not knowing what the distance is for me, but that my friends, is another story, for another time. But as for now, in high school, “in High School – TAKE DRAMA – I never did, and I think that limited me…In Post Secondary School[,] I would say [,] anything that you love” (Bondett). Mr. Bondett recommends drama.
“Personal skills [:] Artistic [,] Mechanical/manipulative” (“Magicians” 633). “I would say to be good at magic, you need to listen, but other skills are better for the role. Ability to think of your [feet] is a critical thinker/problem solver, public speaking, a good speaker that is entertaining to listen to” (Bondett). Personality traits that a magician needs, like the encyclopedia of jobs said, magicians need to be artistic, because, magic is an art. Magic is also a public speaking job, magicians talk to people, if they didn’t magic would, quite frankly, suck. Therefore, public speaking, and having a good control of the English language are important as well, a magician wouldn’t sit there and stutter through how the coin in his hand grew wings and flew from his hand to the spectators, he’d just sound bad, and possibly get laughed right out of the joint. Problem solving, say that I’m doing my “order from chaos” trick, and the king and the queen are backwards when I finish, how do I save this performance? It’s a problem, and it needs solved, I would most likely say something like, “the king may be head of the suit, but we all know who’s really in charge” but, that’s never happened before, because, I practice! That’s why problem solving is important for magicians, and it would happen spur of the moment, there is no way to prepare for that, so the ability to think on ones feet comes in handy as well.
Advantages and disadvantages, pros and cons, ups and downs, rights and wrongs, everything has them, and magic is no different. I like to hear bad news first so how about we start with disadvantages. “I don’t do it full time anymore, as the hours are hard for a guy that wants family or even to be married – if your wife works a 9 to 5, and comes home[,]you are usually walking out the door as you are busy BECAUSE others are off – late night is show time, and weekends”(Bondett). There it is the main flaw that I found, in my research, that is. Enough depressing stuff, magic is supposed to be fun and entertaining, onward to advantages! “This is one of the draws of magic [;] you can never get bored of it, if you are always working on improving” (Bondett). This quote goes back to my first paragraph, with all the different aspects of magic, you can do something different every day. That’s why Morgan Bondett never has a typical day, because he could practice sleights, or work on scripts, etc. “It is AMAZING to think that you are a lifetime memory for the people you entertain and amaze [,] and believe me, you are. I run into people that I haven’t seen in 10 years, and they still recall the moments with me like they were yesterday” (Bondett). That is amazing, it really is, I hope to get to that level someday, and maybe I already am who knows. “Anyhow, I sort of turned a once a week restaurant gig into a lucrative career. It just sort of happened, word spread and I got more calls [,] over time I created structure to the business and things took off” (Bondett). That’s cool to me, what he’s saying is that anybody can do it, and the way he talks, I could make enough money off of a once a week restaurant gig to pay for insurance on my truck, or to take a girl out to dinner, that sort of thing, which is just great!
Alright so in pre-conclusion, I do believe I could make this my lifetime career, because, in a way, I already do, I just don’t get paid. As I continue to think about this though, that one disadvantage that I found, creeps into my head, and troubles me. So, I might make magic a side career to something else. “My personal opinion is that if you make your life so magic is not the meal, but part of the meal [,] at least it will always be on the plate. However, if you make it the meal, you may get sick of eating it [,] and then you have no backup plan. I hope that analogy makes sense” (Bondett). I think that makes perfect sense. I have yet to decide what the veggies will be in my meal of life, but I hope magic is always the meat and potatoes.
