Those who responded to the thread asking about doing magic as a job, thanks! It really helped a lot and I'm sure it also provided tangible ideas on how to do something related to magic as a full-time job (or keep on passionately with magic even if it's not a job) for many others on the forum, in addition to me.
However, I've been looking for more tangible advice in general, and here is another question which is supremely interesting to me, I believe can improve the art of magic a thousandfold and also...bothers me a bit.
We are all human beings and as humans we have more than one talent or one passion or just simply, more than one thing we're good at.
How do you include your other passions (vastly different from magic sometimes) in your performances?
Examples would be appreciated
For example, adding background music to a magic video doesn't seem like justice done to one's passion of music, so if somebody (and I'm sure everybody) here is passionate about music, how do you incorporate it in magic? Or any other passion? Just the patter? Or is there anything more I'm missing?
Here's the part however which bothers me:- A certain person (I'm unfortunately not sure if I remember correctly who he was, and I won't risk a wrong guess, lol) mentioned in Magic In Mind that if we believe that magic in itself isn't inherently entertaining, we're wrong. If we think music, or comedy or dramatic effects and the physical attraction of showgirls (don't kill me, I'm paraphrasing, okay?) are needed to make magic stronger, we'd do better becoming a musician, a comedian or a stripper (lol). Apparently only that which makes magic itself stronger should remain, rest should go out.
Thus the problem~°~°~
What if the things I'm incorporating are not necessarily making the magic stronger, as if magic is the boss of all passions for a magician BUT it's a symbiotic relationship? What if the magic makes the music (or photo or video or advertisement for an app, or poem or background recitation or WHATEVER) stronger *as well as* the magic too becoming stronger due to the extra art form included in the performance?
Which indicates directly that sometimes the magic would be compromised to give the other art its spotlight, or the other art would be compromised to make the magic stronger, in a given performance.
Am I then selling out as a magician? Could I then say that "I'm just an artist who happens to perform magic'' and lose the right to call myself a full-blown magician?
Lastly (thirdly, if you're following ;-) ) a more minor concern. Eugene Burger in an earlier essay told readers to assume that magic itself isn't inherently interesting.
*NOW WHAT????*
PS:- Too many questions for a single thread but these had been going around in my head for a while now. I'd appreciate replies! Thanks
However, I've been looking for more tangible advice in general, and here is another question which is supremely interesting to me, I believe can improve the art of magic a thousandfold and also...bothers me a bit.
We are all human beings and as humans we have more than one talent or one passion or just simply, more than one thing we're good at.
How do you include your other passions (vastly different from magic sometimes) in your performances?
Examples would be appreciated
For example, adding background music to a magic video doesn't seem like justice done to one's passion of music, so if somebody (and I'm sure everybody) here is passionate about music, how do you incorporate it in magic? Or any other passion? Just the patter? Or is there anything more I'm missing?
Here's the part however which bothers me:- A certain person (I'm unfortunately not sure if I remember correctly who he was, and I won't risk a wrong guess, lol) mentioned in Magic In Mind that if we believe that magic in itself isn't inherently entertaining, we're wrong. If we think music, or comedy or dramatic effects and the physical attraction of showgirls (don't kill me, I'm paraphrasing, okay?) are needed to make magic stronger, we'd do better becoming a musician, a comedian or a stripper (lol). Apparently only that which makes magic itself stronger should remain, rest should go out.
Thus the problem~°~°~
What if the things I'm incorporating are not necessarily making the magic stronger, as if magic is the boss of all passions for a magician BUT it's a symbiotic relationship? What if the magic makes the music (or photo or video or advertisement for an app, or poem or background recitation or WHATEVER) stronger *as well as* the magic too becoming stronger due to the extra art form included in the performance?
Which indicates directly that sometimes the magic would be compromised to give the other art its spotlight, or the other art would be compromised to make the magic stronger, in a given performance.
Am I then selling out as a magician? Could I then say that "I'm just an artist who happens to perform magic'' and lose the right to call myself a full-blown magician?
Lastly (thirdly, if you're following ;-) ) a more minor concern. Eugene Burger in an earlier essay told readers to assume that magic itself isn't inherently interesting.
*NOW WHAT????*
PS:- Too many questions for a single thread but these had been going around in my head for a while now. I'd appreciate replies! Thanks