About my Friend

[LuseifHo]

Hey guys,
I have a friend whos also into magic and what not, but he isn't actually a good one.
You can call him a magician, but hes more of a performer.
He does horrible sleights and usually messed up a lot, but hes a great entertainer. Everyone has a great time around him. He messed up a trick, but he makes everyone laugh while doing so. They laugh with him rather than at him. He tries to do a sleight. But he does it wrong. He says he has done so and turns it into a joke, which makes everyone happy.

I was wondering what you guys think of him.
He is on the border of exposure but majority of you guys who "know" magic say that the job of a magician is to entertain the audience. Is this actually acceptable in the world of magic?

 

[praetoritevong]

Penn & Teller make magic and entertainment and literally have crossed the border into exposure. And yet to accuse them of such and henceforth banish them from the magical fraternity would be absurd. I don't particularly like that he's horrible at sleights. On one level, I would say that he's cheapening the image of magic and disapprove on that basic; by comparison, Penn & Teller are more than skillful, and whilst they reveal magic, nonetheless create the experience of magic. What your friend does on the other hand... On another level, he achieves entertainment. In the world of magic, no, I would not say that it is acceptable. To be a Penn & Teller act is another thing, but one which requires skill. In the world of entertainment, however, sure, it entertains, so I'd say that I'd accept him in that sense.

 

[LuseifHo]

Penn & Teller make magic and entertainment and literally have crossed the border into exposure. And yet to accuse them of such and henceforth banish them from the magical fraternity would be absurd. I don't particularly like that he's horrible at sleights. On one level, I would say that he's cheapening the image of magic and disapprove on that basic; by comparison, Penn & Teller are more than skillful, and whilst they reveal magic, nonetheless create the experience of magic. What your friend does on the other hand... On another level, he achieves entertainment. In the world of magic, no, I would not say that it is acceptable. To be a Penn & Teller act is another thing, but one which requires skill. In the world of entertainment, however, sure, it entertains, so I'd say that I'd accept him in that sense.

indeed...
but the good thing is he doesnt really go into the advanced things. He keeps on the basics and just uses that. For example, he won't go looking for the Expert At the Card Table or the Art of Astonishment. He only uses material from Ninja or Born to Perform. So that is still okay with me I guess. And most audience have pretty bad memory, some of which I repeat the same trick every 3 months or so and they don't seem to recognize it. They probably wont remember what he did anyways, they'll just remember him.

 

[James Wise Magic]

Well how long has he been practicing magic?

I remember when I first started performing, I was HORRIBLE I messed up ALL the time, dropped cards and did simple simple effects that I still would mess up.

 

[LuseifHo]

half a year i guess

 

[The Tumbleweed]

I have a friend who's exactly the opposite, he does sleights perfectly, but he's simply awful at presentation.
Last time I saw him perform he did stigmata, and it took him 7 minutes before he even got to the wrist grabbing stage, he just won't shut up.
The worst part of it all is that the audience gets so damn bored that they start looking for methods instead of enjoying the magic, but I can't blame them for that.

As for your friend, if he's giving your audience a good time, and it's not upsetting you, I can't see why he shouldn't.
There are 2 possible scenarios here:
1. He'll get bored of not being able to do tricks well and quit
2. He'll practice more and get better

Either way you win, so just let him go, and wait to see what will happen

 

[r.zhang]

half a year i guess

I was utter sh*t the first year I was in this in terms of both presentation and sleights. I wouldn't worry about it too much, but you should make him practice some more; get some sessions where you can tell him where to improve and such.

 

[LuseifHo]

yea
but im afraid if i teach him, hell continue with the same attitude towards magic and just ruin it.

 

[Cliff|Bumgardner]

There are 3 types of people. Magicians - Practitioners of the art of magic who have taken the type to perfect both the physical and psychological aspects of sleight of hand and illusion.

Entertainers - People who use the art of magic as a tool to entertain.

People who put people into classes while using hyphens - Me


Aaaanyway, as I said, there are Magicians and there are Entertainers. Frequently people are able to be both a magician and an entertainer (IE, the great performers of the art). However, some people are fantastic magicians but horrible performers and others are great entertainers but horrible magicians. I really think that being both an entertainer and a magician requires a great deal of respect and love for the art form, which is a fleeting attribute these days.

What can be done about these people? Really, you can only be fair and honest with them. Tell them what you told us, that they can perform well but their sleight of hand is far below what it should be. Don't be confrontational, just try to help them. You cannot MAKE them respect the art, but you can try to show them how you and others love and respect it.

C