YOU Brought The Trick, Make It Your OWN!

[gOOfy]

Hey guys,

Well this is my first post on Theory 11 and most of you probrably recognize me from the Ellusionist Forums (Yay! I can say another companies name without getting deleted!) and I thought I would post a thread with a subject I feel very strongly about.

This is pretty much my entire philosophy on magic. Most people consider magic as a performance art, and as an artform you express your creativity publicly. Hell, creativity and originality defines art. As an art, you can create ANYTHING you want and you can do this especially in magic. The thing I hate the most with younger magicians today is that they want to be clones of the person they learned the effect they're performing from. Because in their head they're going, "Well if it works for him then it can work for me!". Well, that's a big no no.

Everyone is different and that's what makes us unique and that's what make our magic unique. When you act or perform exactly like someone eles then you take away that uniquness from your magic, which by the way your spectators can definately see through when your not being yourself and faking it, and when you take away that originality then all your magic is is a trick or prank your trying to pull on your spectators and makes your performance look crappy and fake.......which is bad.

I look at the instructions on how to do an effect "guidlines" on how to create the illusion. Not the definate, set-in-stone directs in which you have to perform it. No. Like I said, magic is a way to express yourself creatively, not to follow directions.

You dont HAVE to do everything the instruction manual says! If you dont feel confortable with the method, CHANGE IT! Mix it up a bit. You can make your magic look however you want it to look. Thats the beauty of magic! Make yourself different from the rest of the crowd. Be different. Unique. Magic is your sculpture and and you can shape and mold it into what ever you want. If an effect doesn't fit your performance style but you still like it, then MAKE IT fit your style. Make it your own. You bought the freakin thing, you can do what you want with it.

I can't tell you how many times I have seen copies of people performing the Invisible Palm by P:H using the EXACT same patter and presentation as Wayne Houchin. Or people doing the whole deep breathing routine that Criss Angel does. Come on guys. You don't have to sound like your hyperventalating to create a good mentalism effect.

Be original. Be unique. Be yourself.

"If you don't like it, change it. If you can't change it, change your additude."

Thanks for reading and post any oppinions you may have. Have a good one.

 

[Krash]

This is an excellent post. I agree with you 200% and more. This is something that I've been trying to work on for a while, and I think it's actually paying off. Not only does adding your own small touches here and there help in your ability to perform at ease, but it gives your work more of a face or soul of its own.

Keep it up.

Shane K.

 

[MitchellStafiej]

Hey guys,

Well this is my first post on Theory 11 and most of you probrably recognize me from the Ellusionist Forums (Yay! I can say another companies name without getting deleted!) and I thought I would post a thread with a subject I feel very strongly about.

This is pretty much my entire philosophy on magic. Most people consider magic as a performance art, and as an artform you express your creativity publicly. Hell, creativity and originality defines art. As an art, you can create ANYTHING you want and you can do this especially in magic. The thing I hate the most with younger magicians today is that they want to be clones of the person they learned the effect they're performing from. Because in their head they're going, "Well if it works for him then it can work for me!". Well, that's a big no no.

Everyone is different and that's what makes us unique and that's what make our magic unique. When you act or perform exactly like someone eles then you take away that uniquness from your magic, which by the way your spectators can definately see through when your not being yourself and faking it, and when you take away that originality then all your magic is is a trick or prank your trying to pull on your spectators and makes your performance look crappy and fake.......which is bad.

I look at the instructions on how to do an effect "guidlines" on how to create the illusion. Not the definate, set-in-stone directs in which you have to perform it. No. Like I said, magic is a way to express yourself creatively, not to follow directions.

You dont HAVE to do everything the instruction manual says! If you dont feel confortable with the method, CHANGE IT! Mix it up a bit. You can make your magic look however you want it to look. Thats the beauty of magic! Make yourself different from the rest of the crowd. Be different. Unique. Magic is your sculpture and and you can shape and mold it into what ever you want. If an effect doesn't fit your performance style but you still like it, then MAKE IT fit your style. Make it your own. You bought the freakin thing, you can do what you want with it.

I can't tell you how many times I have seen copies of people performing the Invisible Palm by P:H using the EXACT same patter and presentation as Wayne Houchin. Or people doing the whole deep breathing routine that Criss Angel does. Come on guys. You don't have to sound like your hyperventalating to create a good mentalism effect.

Be original. Be unique. Be yourself.

"If you don't like it, change it. If you can't change it, change your additude."

Thanks for reading and post any oppinions you may have. Have a good one.

If that's your ENTIRE philosophy on magic, well then you might need to re write it. Not very long, yes it's a few ideas, but not your ENTIRE philosophy.

Your ideas are quite good and I agree for the most part, but I feel that some of the magicians just starting out should use the performances and presentations of different magicians as guidelines. They should watch them perform and pick out every single detail that makes the magician connect with the spectator, because that's what it comes down to. If you can't connect with your spectator, whether it be on an emotional, comedic, playful, or serious level, then your performance will fail miserably.

You must make your spectator feel at ease, and the only way to do that is to be as comfortable as you can be when performing. And if that means using a bit of ideas from one magicians and a few from another, then so be it. Your main goal is to entertain your spectator and connect with them. And when starting off, you should do whatever you can to get on that level. Only when you do that should you start to find your own niche in performing.

As for changing the method of an effect, you have to realize that when buying a trick, so much time and work went into creating the effect. And if a beginner just changes the method to something completely unpractical and unnecessary then the method should be kept as is.

Sorry not much made sense there, college is annoying.

Mitchell

 

[gOOfy]

This is an excellent post. I agree with you 200% and more. This is something that I've been trying to work on for a while, and I think it's actually paying off. Not only does adding your own small touches here and there help in your ability to perform at ease, but it gives your work more of a face or soul of its own.

Keep it up.

Shane K.

Exactly. You don't want to focus on bing the next Blaine or Angel, you want to focus on being the next YOU and concentrate on being the best YOU can be to try to show the world that you can blow them outta the water.

 

[CoryOOreo]

You are completly right gOOfy.

Lately I have been trying hard to work on making my magic unique and entertaining. So far so good.

We all have to admit that we have all been there. It's just how we are.

 

[gOOfy]

If that's your ENTIRE philosophy on magic, well then you might need to re write it. Not very long, yes it's a few ideas, but not your ENTIRE philosophy.

Your ideas are quite good and I agree for the most part, but I feel that some of the magicians just starting out should use the performances and presentations of different magicians as guidelines. They should watch them perform and pick out every single detail that makes the magician connect with the spectator, because that's what it comes down to. If you can't connect with your spectator, whether it be on an emotional, comedic, playful, or serious level, then your performance will fail miserably.

You must make your spectator feel at ease, and the only way to do that is to be as comfortable as you can be when performing. And if that means using a bit of ideas from one magicians and a few from another, then so be it. Your main goal is to entertain your spectator and connect with them. And when starting off, you should do whatever you can to get on that level. Only when you do that should you start to find your own niche in performing.

As for changing the method of an effect, you have to realize that when buying a trick, so much time and work went into creating the effect. And if a beginner just changes the method to something completely unpractical and unnecessary then the method should be kept as is.

Sorry not much made sense there, college is annoying.

Mitchell

Haha, nah. Of course that's not my ENTIRE philosophy on magic, but it's a philosophy of magic that I feel very strongly about and is the foundation on how I try to bring something new to the table everytime I perform.

You or anyone DONT HAVE to follow what I say in this post. And like you said, these are just ideas. You can take em or leave em. Your choice. These are just guidlines to help people that want to make their magic a little more original or unique.

The post was made for people of all skill levels. You don't have to watch someone eles perform to figure out how you want to perform your magic. And most likely than not they probrably already have seen someone on TV that they like and want to perform like and decided they want to perform magic. Nowadays, that's usually what happens.

Of couse I don't want someone to change the method or effect into something un-practical, but if it is un-practical for them to perform the effect in the first place, you might as well try to change the method to see if you can get something good outta it.

And what if it is un-practical? Let them learn the hard way. Let them bomb a performance. And most magcians would agree that that is the best way to learn what to do and what not to do or perform or how to perform an effect. You never really know how an effect is going to turn out until you try in on an audience.

 

[MadNuke]

Wise words buddy, I definitely agree.

When I perform, I approach my audience and introduce myself as WHO I AM. I'll be funny, interesting, I'll listen to them. I introduce myself AS A PERSONALITY first and foremost. Then, illusion can be introduced to the conversation. I'll ask if they've ever been to Vegas, or maybe I'll ask them to let me borrow a dollar; it depends entirely on the situation and introducing magic into a relationship [even a 60 second relationship] is a skill that takes time. Then, I will play the part of a magician. I am simply acting. Illusion is acting. I ACT the part of an individual who can perform miracles, or I'll ACT the part of someone who wants to share "something neat". I cannot stress this enough. What you see on TV and even on stage is generally not how to entertain people in real, paid situations.

I could go on and on, but to summarize.

.: Introduce yourself as a person
.: Bring magic into the relationship
.: Act the part of someone [anyone!] who will demonstrate an effect

Follow those tips, and you'll be sure to have a unique performance. From then on, it's all about making it entertaining.

 

[MadNuke]

PS: these are not words from an expert [unless you consider me to be one!], this is me attempting to share what I've learned to benefit those of you who are struggling to find a performance niche. I may share some essays in the future about this subject.

 

[MadNuke]

Unrelated: can I subscribe to a thread from Quick reply or not?

 

[gOOfy]

Wise words buddy, I definitely agree.

When I perform, I approach my audience and introduce myself as WHO I AM. I'll be funny, interesting, I'll listen to them. I introduce myself AS A PERSONALITY first and foremost. Then, illusion can be introduced to the conversation. I'll ask if they've ever been to Vegas, or maybe I'll ask them to let me borrow a dollar; it depends entirely on the situation and introducing magic into a relationship [even a 60 second relationship] is a skill that takes time. Then, I will play the part of a magician. I am simply acting. Illusion is acting. I ACT the part of an individual who can perform miracles, or I'll ACT the part of someone who wants to share "something neat". I cannot stress this enough. What you see on TV and even on stage is generally not how to entertain people in real, paid situations.

I could go on and on, but to summarize.

.: Introduce yourself as a person
.: Bring magic into the relationship
.: Act the part of someone [anyone!] who will demonstrate an effect

Follow those tips, and you'll be sure to have a unique performance. From then on, it's all about making it entertaining.

Like the infamous Robert Houdin once said, " A magician is an actor playing the part of a magician."

And hey, I'm not an expert either. Just voicing some ideas that all.

 

[Shodan]

I almost never handle an effect directly as the instructions say, and I'll think for months, years on how to present it to make it my own. I used to feel a bit bad about this (after all, who am I to go trying to "improve" on someone else's effect?), but I grew to realise that it is a necessary process to make the trick workable, for you, in the real world.

Incidentaly, one of the only tricks I have never messed with, and never will, is John Guastaferro's "Jazz Fusion" from vol.2 of his Brainstorm DVDs. I've changed up the presentation a bit but the handling is identical. In my opinion, this is one of the classiest card tricks to be released in recent years. Devious, economical in handling and truely stunning.

At the other end of the scale is the effect I learned, in my first few weeks, as the "biddle trick". This I have changed around so much that it is almost unrecognisable and is now an entirely different beast altogether - and a constant presence in my walkaround repertoire.

 

[MadNuke]

I almost never handle an effect directly as the instructions say, and I'll think for months, years on how to present it to make it my own. I used to feel a bit bad about this (after all, who am I to go trying to "improve" on someone else's effect?), but I grew to realise that it is a necessary process to make the trick workable, for you, in the real world.

Incidentaly, one of the only tricks I have never messed with, and never will, is John Guastaferro's "Jazz Fusion" from vol.2 of his Brainstorm DVDs. I've changed up the presentation a bit but the handling is identical. In my opinion, this is one of the classiest card tricks to be released in recent years. Devious, economical in handling and truly stunning.

At the other end of the scale is the effect I learned, in my first few weeks, as the "biddle trick". This I have changed around so much that it is almost unrecognisable and is now an entirely different beast altogether - and a constant presence in my walkaround repertoire.

I definitely agree on the time aspect; after a year of performing an effect, I would be amazed if it stayed the same!

And also, I ALSO have a biddle trick routine that is unrecognizable, I just performed it yesterday for a store manager. It involves an invisible palm to make their card vanish, I just kinda found that similarity funny.

 

[y2john]

Some interesting thoughts in this thread, and one's which for the most part I agree with.
Remember it's not necessarily the workings of the effect you need to change (though making it your own and putting your own spin on things is something I like to do), presentation is a huge factor in how an effect comes across to the spectators and it's this that we should all put ourselves into.
I never put on an act when performing, I just be myself, and this makes for a much better connection with those im performing for aswell as in how I feel.

Anyway some good tips from you all.

 

[clllllust]

Very nice thread and very inspiring post. But, when I perform I always have to judge my audience. If they want something big and flashy with lots of patter and acting stuff then yeah I'm good enough I go for it. If you read them and they just seem to want something still big and flashy but done quickly then do it, it's about being able to read other people. Without common sense and basic judgement in a performers routine, no magician would be as good as he/she is can be.

-RA69

 

[MoonlightKnight]

I totally agree. I understand people using the same moves because they are just building blocks to tricks, but when you use the same patter to execute moves over and over again, it makes you look like... a walking talking copy. And isn't that exactly why we have Theory 11? To get rid of the ordinary? We have to take it up a notch and really show that we aren't ordinary! We can take something like a Ambitious Card Routine and make it our own, it doesn't have to follow the guidelines of someone elses. I think, that when a routine of yours is filled with words that you put together and strung up, that's when the routine really becomes yours.

 

[GusEds]

This is something that should be read by most members, over and over.

Hey RDC!

G

 

[RDChopper]

This is something that should be read by most members, over and over.

Hey RDC!

G

...............................


This is the most EPIC bump that I have seen in my life....

 

[Flyspazz]

...............................


This is the most EPIC bump that I have seen in my life....

Agreed.
Wayne was just talking about this on a daily update.
Not cool to bump though. People can search. I miss KRASH

 

[GusEds]

I felt it needed to be bumped, exactly because of that attitude

People are lazy, and people won't search for this. Better be read than forgotten, a lá Fahrenheit 451.

It's an important message which should be brought up from time to time to remind us all.

G

 

[Cedric Taylor]

Hey guys,

Well this is my first post on Theory 11 and most of you probrably recognize me from the Ellusionist Forums (Yay! I can say another companies name without getting deleted!) and I thought I would post a thread with a subject I feel very strongly about.

This is pretty much my entire philosophy on magic. Most people consider magic as a performance art, and as an artform you express your creativity publicly. Hell, creativity and originality defines art. As an art, you can create ANYTHING you want and you can do this especially in magic. The thing I hate the most with younger magicians today is that they want to be clones of the person they learned the effect they're performing from. Because in their head they're going, "Well if it works for him then it can work for me!". Well, that's a big no no.

Everyone is different and that's what makes us unique and that's what make our magic unique. When you act or perform exactly like someone eles then you take away that uniquness from your magic, which by the way your spectators can definately see through when your not being yourself and faking it, and when you take away that originality then all your magic is is a trick or prank your trying to pull on your spectators and makes your performance look crappy and fake.......which is bad.

I look at the instructions on how to do an effect "guidlines" on how to create the illusion. Not the definate, set-in-stone directs in which you have to perform it. No. Like I said, magic is a way to express yourself creatively, not to follow directions.

You dont HAVE to do everything the instruction manual says! If you dont feel confortable with the method, CHANGE IT! Mix it up a bit. You can make your magic look however you want it to look. Thats the beauty of magic! Make yourself different from the rest of the crowd. Be different. Unique. Magic is your sculpture and and you can shape and mold it into what ever you want. If an effect doesn't fit your performance style but you still like it, then MAKE IT fit your style. Make it your own. You bought the freakin thing, you can do what you want with it.

I can't tell you how many times I have seen copies of people performing the Invisible Palm by P:H using the EXACT same patter and presentation as Wayne Houchin. Or people doing the whole deep breathing routine that Criss Angel does. Come on guys. You don't have to sound like your hyperventalating to create a good mentalism effect.

Be original. Be unique. Be yourself.

"If you don't like it, change it. If you can't change it, change your additude."

Thanks for reading and post any oppinions you may have. Have a good one.

did u just steal my brain without me knowing it....i agree 100 percent...