Name: Dave Buck
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Vitals:
Dave shares the same views on biographies as Dan. [sigh]
Dave Buck's Official Site
Q&A:
Q: What is theory11 to you? Why is this site different?
A: theory11 is a community of magicians so passionate about their art that a revolution in magic becomes definite. theory11 is a place I can explore new ideas and share my art with a community of dedicated individuals. It is my goal to inspire new ideas, to spark the kid in all of us and let the imagination flow.
Q: What got you into magic?
A: As a kid, I always wanted to do whatever I wanted and tried very hard to always get my way. When I first witnessed magic, it was a realization that if this became my profession, I really could do whatever I wanted.
Q: How long have you been performing?
A: If you consider showing people tricks "performing", then I’ve been performing since I learned my very first trick when I was eleven years old. However, I in no way consider myself a professional magician, as I believe a good performer understands people and a
great performer can manipulate them – these are things I’m still figuring out.
If you’re new to magic but great with people, you’re already ahead of the game. It only takes a few basic sleights to become the greatest magician in the world, so my advice would be practice, perfect, perform, perform, perform.
Q: Who is your favorite performer to watch?
A: Mac King. He’s one of the only magicians I can still watch today and feel like a kid again.
Q: Do you have a favorite effect?
A: Steve Freeman’s
Time Machine. It’s simple, direct, and highly visual. These are three aspects that Dan and I use as a foundation when developing most of our tricks.
Q: Tell us about the first time/effect you performed.
A: I can’t remember the first time, but I can remember in junior high when Dan and I would start by showing a few tricks to our friends and by the end of recess we’d have what seemed like the entire school leaning over one another trying to see what all the excitement was about. Magic is the one craft were you can walk into a room as nobody and have nothing and walk out with everything.
Q: What do you see as wrong with the industry today?
A: I think all magicians have a selfish mentality as our art is built upon secrets. When those secrets become available, especially to the public, we feel cheated. This was especially the case several years ago when FOX aired the masked magician specials. However, I believe those specials did more for magic than most magicians on TV have. They certainly sparked a lot of talk and interest in magic, but they also made magic more accessible to the public, which is important for advancing any art.
theory11 aims to up this a notch by providing great effects by some of the most creative minds in magic. We will not only teach you the method, but also explain theory, and misdirection and give full history of the effect so that you may continue your study and truly make any effect we offer a reputation maker.
Q: What advice would you give to those that are just starting in magic?
A: Find a genre of magic that really interests you, one you know you can spend thousands of hours with, because that’s what it’s going to take. Don’t overwhelm yourself with too much, start small and perfect a few tricks to get you started. Use these tricks over and over until you begin to fill comfortable performing them for people without even thinking about it. Magic doesn’t exist through the reflection in the mirror; it exists through the reactions of real people. Go out and perform, experiment and have fun.
