What is your power?

[Josh Burch]

In conversation with Paul Draper (One of the worlds leading mentalists) he often asks me about my power as a magician. He means to say that we as magicians as we select material should perform with a cohesive super power.

It would be weird if Batman could suddenly breath under water or if Spiderman could turn invisible all of a sudden.

The best magicians out there all have a cohesive character that lends well to a single power. I have my own ideas but what do you think the "Powers" of these and other famous magicians are?

-Ricky Jay
-Derren Brown
-David Copperfield
-Lance Burton
-Criss Angel
-David Blaine
-Matt Franco
-Penn and Teller
-Stephen Brundage
-Kieth Barry

What is your super power as a performer? How do you apply that power?

 

[Josh Burch]

My super power on stage is that I am a persuasive person who gets lucky a lot. I'm persuasive because I understand language and the way the brain and body process and react to language. I wish I had real super powers so I have learned various stupid human tricks that make me look like a I might have actual super powers.

It's a work in progress but I am really trying to cut my repertoire down to only include magic that demonstrates one of those attributes of my power.

 

[RealityOne]

My power is imagination. Take a walk with me and I'll give you a tour of my imagination. Let me share stories with you, let me tell you what I'lve learned to be true. But be careful, the normal rules of reality don't apply.

 

[obrienmagic]

I second the imagination plot! The things I am about to show you are impossible.... at least without your help! Invoke the powers of your imagination and let your mind free. You will be surprised of the miracles you witness before your very eyes!

 

[Elok]

Criss Angel has no power.

 

[Josh Burch]

Criss Angel has no power.

Haha!

I know you're joking but I think that there is a good portion of the population that think of him as having made some kind of legitimate Devil powers. The types of magic that he performs being invulnerability, levitation and mental magic help that out.

I'm curious about Lance Burton or David Copperfield. What are their powers? Their shows seem cohesive and there's never a time where I have been thrown off because of a piece they chose.

 

[CWhite]

Criss Angel has no power.

Tell that to his bank account.....smh

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Copperfield and Burton as basically god characters. They can do anything. Which, to me, seems to be a consistent thing with stage illusionists in general and is also why I don't find stage illusions to be very entertaining.

My power is basically spiritual science, and psychological influence. Someone who has taken a critical, modern look at ancient stories of apparently paranormal events and explored them to figure out the underlying mechanics of it. On top of that, due to a keenly developed understanding of how people think, I can influence them in seemingly impossible ways.

 

[notsoltd]

I like this thread, it's quite interesting. Defining a character is something that I've been thinking a lot about lately and I don't think I've quite figured it out. It's helpful to look at it in this light and see others responses. I'm going to give this some thought and come back.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Shameless self promotion. The link in my signature is to my book on character creation and development.

 

[notsoltd]

Shameless self promotion. The link in my signature is to my book on character creation and development.

I actually own and have read it (I'm going to give it a reread since it's been a while). I recently read Peter Turner's Character Building and Storytelling eBook and Ollie Mealing's issue of CHAT that talked about character. I've also read most of Maximum Entertainment and it seems that I'm still always stuck in this predicament of what to do (or who I am).

I generally perform close up card and money magic. I used to do a lot more with 'organic objects' and still do if I'm out and about and not planning to perform. I do a blend of really visual magic, and thought provoking mental magic. I've been told I'm a natural charmer and funny and that I have a great stage presence (I haven't performed much on stage so that's what I've been focusing on). The last (stand up) show I did was alongside several comedians about 4 months ago. I wasn't too happy with my performance and was surprised to receive complements up and down from the audience and comedians alike. They loved that it seemed like a stand up comedy set with some crazy magic in there. The staple of the act was a book test and pegasus page - the page appeared in the tip jar all the way across the establishment on the bar and people still talk about it!

One other thing I feel I should say (please no one take this offensively as it's just a thought) - On one hand, I like the idea of thinking about who you are in terms of your super power and at the same time I don't. I like to present a lot of things as "you did it, not me" or "I don't know how it works" or "look at this, I had no idea this was possible" as if I'm actually experiencing the magic with them. In other words, I am nobody. I'm just the same as them. A person. I don't have special powers. And we all know magic isn't real so why would I try to convince you it is? I can be funny and crack jokes, it doesn't matter because this crazy s*** will still happen and you won't believe it... I didn't either!

Anyway, I might have more to add and would love to keep discussing this - I think this is just the discussion I've been needing in fact. For now, though, I must return to work! Whoooooooo!

 

[Josh Burch]

Copperfield and Burton as basically god characters. They can do anything.

I disagree but I expected as much, discussion was my point in asking the question.

I think that their powers are very different. In my view, Copperfield is usually a normal guy. His power is the ability to create a magical vignette, scene or magical play where for that small period of time physics don't apply. I believe that the trick lives and dies on the relevance of the content of that magical vignette. David Copperfield's "powers" don't seem to continue from trick to trick and they cease to exist when the lights go off. That's my interpretation.

Lance is different. In my view his powers are no different than the powers of a 10 year old kid with a magic set. During his shows he refers to magic and magicians like their tricks can be learned, and that he learned them as a child in Kentucky. In my view Lance's power is that he is a regular guy that has worked harder than anyone else. Lance is like Lebron James. What he does is the same as a little leaguer he just does it better than anyone else in the world.

 

[Dean Magic]

I disagree but I expected as much, discussion was my point in asking the question.

I think that their powers are very different. In my view, Copperfield is usually a normal guy. His power is the ability to create a magical vignette, scene or magical play where for that small period of time physics don't apply. I believe that the trick lives and dies on the relevance of the content of that magical vignette. David Copperfield's "powers" don't seem to continue from trick to trick and they cease to exist when the lights go off. That's my interpretation.

Lance is different. In my view his powers are no different than the powers of a 10 year old kid with a magic set. During his shows he refers to magic and magicians like their tricks can be learned, and that he learned them as a child in Kentucky. In my view Lance's power is that he is a regular guy that has worked harder than anyone else. Lance is like Lebron James. What he does is the same as a little leaguer he just does it better than anyone else in the world.

I agree with you on David Copperfield's "power." I consider him like a character in a movie. Each trick he is playing a sleightly (sorry about the pun) different character that has various different abilities. The audience is aware that what they're seeing is impossible in real life, but like a movie, they accept the fact that this character can do those things. If you ever meet an actor in real life, you wouldn't expect them to be able to do the things they did in the movie right in front of you and I think a similar thing can be said about David Copperfield. Once he's off stage, he goes back to being a regular guy that just so happens to own an island.

 

[Josh Burch]

I agree with you on David Copperfield's "power." I consider him like a character in a movie. Each trick he is playing a sleightly (sorry about the pun) different character that has various different abilities. The audience is aware that what they're seeing is impossible in real life, but like a movie, they accept the fact that this character can do those things. If you ever meet an actor in real life, you wouldn't expect them to be able to do the things they did in the movie right in front of you and I think a similar thing can be said about David Copperfield. Once he's off stage, he goes back to being a regular guy that just so happens to own an island.

I guess it's strange to say that his power leaves when he leaves the stage. To give a counter example I think most people would think that Derren Brown would still be able to read you or demonstrate a psychological phenomenon if you met him in the street. I think that some people legitimately think that Criss Angel participates in satanic rituals and meditations. At the very least I think that off the stage it wouldn't be strange to see him on a dirt bike or sky diving.

These personas and powers leave the stage with the performer. With Copperfield he gets pretty silly with his eggs over head or cut and restored rope. He gets creepy during voyeur and idealistic with flying. I think the actor part is a great catch. His powers are his ability to create those impossible moments in a mini theatrical production.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

I actually own and have read it (I'm going to give it a reread since it's been a while). I recently read Peter Turner's Character Building and Storytelling eBook and Ollie Mealing's issue of CHAT that talked about character. I've also read most of Maximum Entertainment and it seems that I'm still always stuck in this predicament of what to do (or who I am).

I generally perform close up card and money magic. I used to do a lot more with 'organic objects' and still do if I'm out and about and not planning to perform. I do a blend of really visual magic, and thought provoking mental magic. I've been told I'm a natural charmer and funny and that I have a great stage presence (I haven't performed much on stage so that's what I've been focusing on). The last (stand up) show I did was alongside several comedians about 4 months ago. I wasn't too happy with my performance and was surprised to receive complements up and down from the audience and comedians alike. They loved that it seemed like a stand up comedy set with some crazy magic in there. The staple of the act was a book test and pegasus page - the page appeared in the tip jar all the way across the establishment on the bar and people still talk about it!

One other thing I feel I should say (please no one take this offensively as it's just a thought) - On one hand, I like the idea of thinking about who you are in terms of your super power and at the same time I don't. I like to present a lot of things as "you did it, not me" or "I don't know how it works" or "look at this, I had no idea this was possible" as if I'm actually experiencing the magic with them. In other words, I am nobody. I'm just the same as them. A person. I don't have special powers. And we all know magic isn't real so why would I try to convince you it is? I can be funny and crack jokes, it doesn't matter because this crazy s*** will still happen and you won't believe it... I didn't either!

Anyway, I might have more to add and would love to keep discussing this - I think this is just the discussion I've been needing in fact. For now, though, I must return to work! Whoooooooo!

If the magic happens around you, then your power is acting as a lens or reagent to cause that to happen. Obviously this stuff doesn't happen when you're not around, so you must be part of it happening. Something about you makes crazy stuff happen around you. What is it?

"We all know magic isn't real" - I hate that phrase. Yes it is. It's just not what people think it is. Magic isn't making something float. It's giving people a moment to truly wonder if something actually can float in mid air. Don't sell yourself short.

I see what you mean about Copperfield, Josh Burch. I don't really have much else to say because I'm honestly not a big fan of Copperfield or Burton. I don't dislike them, I'm just not into grand illusion.

I do think the character stays with you when you leave the stage. This is particularly true when you do mentalism, seance, or bizarre magic (Or all three, as I do). Because those things are generally played as real, people will believe you can do something like what was done on stage at any time. Which is why I almost always learn an impromptu version of most of my routines, which can be done AAA.

 

[Josh Burch]

I see what you mean about Copperfield, Josh Burch. I don't really have much else to say because I'm honestly not a big fan of Copperfield or Burton. I don't dislike them, I'm just not into grand illusion.

I do think the character stays with you when you leave the stage. This is particularly true when you do mentalism, seance, or bizarre magic (Or all three, as I do). Because those things are generally played as real, people will believe you can do something like what was done on stage at any time. Which is why I almost always learn an impromptu version of most of my routines, which can be done AAA.

Fair enough. I like that you point out the difference between power and character. It's a distinction that takes a second to come to.

 

[Elok]

I think that some people legitimately think that Criss Angel participates in satanic rituals and meditations.

He does.

 

[TylerScottIllusionist]

He does.

Nah Criss Angel's power is to convince a young female "magician" to leave her husband who basically made her everything she is today for himself. Better yet, it was the wife of his rival.

Murray may steal jokes, but Criss steals wives.

 

[notsoltd]

"We all know magic isn't real" - I hate that phrase. Yes it is. It's just not what people think it is. Magic isn't making something float. It's giving people a moment to truly wonder if something actually can float in mid air. Don't sell yourself short.

Damnit, now I'm questioning everything. I've never thought about it like this but I'm glad I am now...

 

[CWhite]

Nah Criss Angel's power is to convince a young female "magician" to leave her husband who basically made her everything she is today for himself. Better yet, it was the wife of his rival.

Murray may steal jokes, but Criss steals wives.

Proof?