Simple - One Thing Happens

[RickEverhart]

I'm reading David Regal's Approaching Magic. On page 259 he shares some valuable information in regards to the power of magical effects where just one things happens.

Consider the plots the lay public becomes fascinated with. All can be simply expressed:
* The woman was cut in two...
* The Statue of Liberty disappeared...
* He told her the name she was thinking of...
* The light bulb floated over the audience...

In short, its everything we talk about on here about KEEP IT SIMPLE. Sure we have all seen and love multiphase card / coin routines with kicker ending and such, but to a lay person they remember the plots of effects that have easily grasped magical moments.

They remember and share with their colleagues at work the next day the effects that can easily be described.

David even goes on to share effects that had the most impact on him at an early age that he still remembers to this day.

-- seeing a coin penetrate a thin square of rubber
-- seeing a penny change into a dime on the back of his hand
-- a nut removing itself from a bolt
-- a silk vanishing from a clear glass tube

He says that he has no cherished memories of a magician doing "all sorts of things" with a deck of cards, or "a bunch of neat stuff" with coins.

David goes on to say, "I think we all should perform an effect or two where just one thing happens."

There is definitely a lot of truth to the information that Mr. Regal shares on this page. I remember even at the age of 18 being floored by the magician behind the counter at Conley's House of Magic as he vanished a silk in a Thumb tip not 3 feet in front of my face. I vividly remember that day which was now 17 years ago.

 

[Justin.Morris]

Excellent reminder Rick. It makes a great filter when selecting new magic to learn and spend the time practicing on.

 

[RickEverhart]

That's kind of what I was thinking as well. Why spend hours upon hours trying to master some 10 phase routine, with 5 card pinky pull downs, etc. Simple and direct is what audiences comprehend and remember the most in the long run any how.

 

[Craig Browning]

When I worked with the Kirkham show we did about 90 minutes of wonder featuring some of the most famous illusions in history (the actual props used by Kellar, Thurston, Blackstone, etc. ) and while the audience enjoyed the show there was one routine they talked about most; the Orange Bowls.

This is 19th century slight of hand stuff lads. . . two simple music stand tables with doillie coverings upon which sat a simple crystal bowl containing a clean and properly folded napkin.

Each bowl was dusted out, the doillie lifted to prove the table to be clean; both cloths and the bowl sat casually onto the table (Kirkham used clear Plexi for his tables rather than the orignal wood tables).

Once he'd completed this process with either bowl he'd simultaneously remove the napkins & doillies so as to reveal over 2 lbs of real oranges in either bowl. . . oranges that would be tossed out into the audience so as to prove they were real (for two reasons; a.) some folks thought there was a mechanical method; and b.) Abbott's magic sold a mechanical method that used latex fruit and gimmicked bowls.

An audience that just saw several of P.T. Sielbits' most famous inventions as well as the grandest of famed illusions in history found this simple, elegant routine to be more enchanting and impossible. THAT is the power of simplicity!

 

[RealityOne]

Last summer, I saw an illusion show that did 10 large illusions in 10 minutes. I asked the people I was with to remember the illusions he did... They couldn't (except the one with the "fake looking" helicopter).

Ask this question: what will the spectator remember?

 

[Toby]

Well then, let's make a list of close up effects that fit that criteria, shell we?
"Wow a magician:
-Torn a card/napkin/newspapers in half and put it back together (the only reason I say half instead of quarters is it's more simple to follow)
-Removed a signature from my signed card (yes, that's all)
-Made my card vanish and reappear in my wallet
-Knew the exact change in my pocket
-Made my $1 bill change into a $100 bill
-Took 2 rubber bands and made them pass through each other, in my hands!
-Poured a sugar packet into his hand, and the sugar was gone

Anyone else?

 

[Steerpike]

This is especially true of mentalism. There are only 4 types of effects, so you really need to keep it simple and direct while still making the process interesting and entertaining.

 

[Craig Browning]

Last summer, I saw an illusion show that did 10 large illusions in 10 minutes. I asked the people I was with to remember the illusions he did... They couldn't (except the one with the "fake looking" helicopter).

Ask this question: what will the spectator remember?

I detest that sort of bit for numerous reasons, the biggest one being how it boldly states "I come from big money" . . . just saw footage of some Asian kid doing a similar thing; over $100,000.00 worth of magic (by today's top builder retail standards) blown in a few short minutes. . . why?

I absolutely love big illusions BUT, they are just the eye candy that sparks public interest in seeing the show. The "Magic" is what happens in between the big featured bits, such as the piece I mentioned above or when Richiardi did his version of the Canary, Orange, Lemon & Egg or when Blackstone (both of them) did either the Floating Light or Dancing Hank routines.

Simple is always best when you seek to make an artistic statement. Spectacle has its role in what we do, but it is not the important part of the puzzle. . . then again, it's not supposed to be a "puzzle" at all, is it?