I was just wondering to myself - Is it alright to be an all around magician?
When I say all around, I don't literally mean someone that does everything from stage magic to cardistry, and everything in between. Take for instance myself. I have interest in cards, have always performed with them but they aren't my favorite. Magic with ordinary objects is my absolute favorite, with coin magic being my second favorite. I also love to perform sponge balls. For a good while, I have had an off/on interest in cardistry and here lately I have found minor interest in mental magic (not full blown mentalism, just mental magic to add into my regular magic).
So, my questions to you - is it alright to be an all around (or very widely diverse) magician? Is it hard to be this sort of magician?
Thanks,
Robby
Robby, what you have described in your post sounds more like the typical Bar Mage than anything. You might want to take a look at the work & career of Tom Mullica and for that matter Harry Anderson, both of whom were very much like you in how they saw things. Too, there is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary when it comes to a traditional magician that does a decent close-up bit along with a "stand-up" act (for clubs) and eventually, an actual stage act/show that features a handful of larger effects and that ambiguous young assistant (or two). It's even normal for such folks to have at least one major escape (aside from an Sub Trunk or Assistant's Revenge type bit... something that seems more "legit" for lack of a better term) and probably a bit of Mental Magic akin to Larry Becker's Casino Royale, Don Wayne's Dream Vision, etc. (just stay away from pieces developed as straight Mentalism such as the whole "I can bend anything" gambit so many are enthralled by and Book Tests for that matter... work with material THAT
LOOKS LIKE A MAGIC TRICK and you'll be doing Mental Magic vs. meshing things together and blurring the lines... there's more to it than that but I'm trying to be brief).
THE PROBLEM (as I've hinted at in the above) is one novices want to literally do "it all"... they want to build a stage show (that typically costs at least $100,000.00 + for a basic show before you get into transportation, up-keep, insurance and all those other "hidden" costs + personnel headaches) and too, they want the kiddie birthday show, an escape act, mental act, close-up act, manipulation act, etc. In other words they won't have a clue how to do ANY OF IT
WELL but a heck of a lot of it "mediocre". This is one reason why the VETERANS that have been around for more than a decade working consistently (150--200+ major gigs a year vs. maybe, one a month for the typical
dreamer) tell those that ask for their guidance, to keep things SIMPLE and learn how to focus and become exceptional in one area before moving on.
CLARIFICATION HERE... This does not mean that you play at something for a couple of weeks and think you have it down pat but rather, invest in the material, techniques and TIME that will allow you to "perfect" each aspect of that particular sequence (a.k.a. single piece done in your routine/act). Major Award Winning Acts like Ger Copper, Richard Ross, Shimada, Lance Burton, etc. ALL invested years doing the same exact material over and over again (in some cases, before they'd even risk doing it in public) before considering even National competitions let alone FISM or, in the case of certain "legends" of Las Vegas, before they'd hit the stage with a piece (you ought to hear what Marvin Roy (Mr. Electric), Peter Pit and for that matter Sigfried & Roy went through before adding a piece to their show... LEARN FROM THE WINNERS!) Magic is overly saturated by huge (and typically bruised) egos that want to find short-cuts vs. paying the piper. But if you honestly LEARN each bit that goes into your repertoire before showing it to anyone; that is when you will actually become a "Magician" vs. some clown that does magic tricks (you have no idea how many times I heard these same words "preached" to me when I was in my teens & twenties by my various teachers as well as major players like Al Goshman who told me how he was forced into learning the very same lesson before he started gaining any kind of recognition).
With close to 40-years (more or less) under my belt I only have two key specialties when it comes to the sort of consistent work I've done in magic; Grand Illusion and Mentalism (with moderate sprinklings of escape/stunt work and a big heaping cup-full of the Bizarre). Granted, I've done a bit of table magic here and there as well as busking, but rarely for more than a season every now and then when "rent was due" or I physically couldn't do the bigger dates. Such situations are a matter of "need" vs. "personal focus"; even now, with roughly 20 or so years vested into Mentalism type work, I still have a deep passion for the big props and am still called upon by various folk to aid them in developing an effect, staging a routine, etc. But, it's not my area of focus now days and my understanding of some of the new technology that's come along, is grossly lacking
Just One More Point... I mention the idea of "Learn the Effect" and it goes much deeper than just playing with a prop out of the package or a routine you found in a book. Rather, you want to become intimate with the material you do and not just for sake of trivia, but so you are "armed" with knowledge of the effect's evolution and alternative methods for accomplishing either the same thing or something very close to it.
Why would you want to have that sort of knowledge?
Because you WILL be asked (challenged) to repeat a bit or else you will be met-up by a drunk jerk that wants to catch you up. By knowing how to do a bit without a particular gaff or advantage, you are able to address such situations and over time, you will find that you become more creative and able to cultivate your own piece (s) out of that foundation concept. This is what allows magic to grow and it's likewise what allows those that hold to such a philosophy, to gain reputation as an "expert" early on... just look at guys like Ken Dyne (Kennedy), Looch, Luke Jermay... I've known most all of them since their mid-teens before folks were paying attention to them (often mocking them) but look at where they are at today... all because some old curmudgeon kicked them in the rubber parts and challenged them to challenge themselves in becoming more than some clown that did tricks or thrived off theory.
Every effect I do or have done since the mid-1960s as part of a paying gig, was always researched; it's something my father drilled into me when it came to anything I had an interest in -- anything! It's how he, a man with a 6th grade education, became the supervisor over college educated engineers that hadn't a clue... got his commercial pilots and sea going skipper's license and much more. Given his shortcomings, this is one rule (gift) the old guy instilled that "took" and that I actually cherish simply because it has allowed me to go further than I'd probably ever had gone. But let me give you one quick example as to what this kind of commitment means -- the Asrah Levitation.
This is one of my favorite or all favorite effects in all of magic and over the years I've worked with just about every possible configuration to it that exists and then some... well over a dozen completely different gimmicks, techniques, hook-ups & controls tied to a single effect concept. The result was my being able to perform this wonderful piece in an open field, living room or grand stage and I could make it do far more than raise up & down and make the girl vanish... if I wished... Same can be said with the Sawing which I've likewise had a very long love affair and ultimately owned at least a half-dozen or more versions for the very same reasons I had all the different Asrah gimmicks... BUT (and this is important), you must be working very steadily and at good money, to afford such assets. I don't know of many major names of the grand illusion world that are doing or would do the same as I did but my
pack-rat nature is a bit more chronic than theirs
I hope I've not confused you, frustrated you or confounded you with all these bits of insight. The key things I want you to leave with are;
* Yes, it's ok to be versatile but be wise in how you do it
* FOCUS on what you do so you can sustain a single image that will take you to the type of markets and career destiny you're envisioning (and stick with it for at least 3-5 years)
* LEARN YOUR MATERIAL! You don't have to warehouse it all, but you do need to have a sense of resource that will aid you as both, performer and in the role of evolving "expert" when it comes to the effects you perform and things on which you speak.
NOTE TO STAFF... can't get the bullet point feature to work right; shows in preview but not when posting.
