Be Natural. What did Vernon mean?

RealityOne

RealityOne

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Nov 1, 2009
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Welcome to the forums, Mahdi. That is a great article.

My sense of what is natural from a technical standpoint includes the elimination of tension in movement (Aaron Fisher’s influence there), making sleights look like the action you are using as cover (Ascanio and Giobbi) and using the right sleight, principle or gimmick (Giobbi’s and Steinmeyer’s influence). From a presentational standpoint there needs to be an internal logic to the effect in that what you do as a magician makes sense in the context of the effect (which you address) and the effect needs to be clear and understandable so that the audience can explain it in a sentence. Finally, the effect and presentation needs to fit the performer’s character.
 
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Josh Burch

Josh Burch

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Aug 11, 2011
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Good stuff. There are many magicians who toot the horn of naturalness and actually perform in an incredibly suspicious way. The magician who comes to mind at the beginning of the article is John Carney. I think he is an outstanding magician for sure and far more knowledgeable about magic than myself. That said, there's a lot that he does that strikes me as being completely unnatural, and he is perhaps the for most missionary of Vernon's natural attitude. I like that you delve into the idea of a false naturalness.

In my own magic I look for motivation. My own influence would be the writings of Darwin Ortiz (in his magic I feel like he too sometimes falls into the trap that Carney falls into). All of my movements should be apparent and self explanatory by the viewer. The reason for any movement should be clear before hand or immediately clear afterward. Perhaps it's a love of theater and writing but motivation strikes me as very important.
 
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Gabriel Z.

Gabriel Z.

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I think that when you breathe it is natural because you have been doing it all your life. So in order to make your magic look natural, you should get it to the point where it is similar to something that you have been doing for a very long time. I noticed for instance that in my card magic there are things I can do very well, well, poorly. My Up The Ladder sequence is a strength of mine because I have been doing it for 5 years consistently. Another 5 years I would have been doing it for 10 years. I guess at this point naturalness should be broken down into simple maths effort + time spent = how natural something looks in your hands. I liked this line in your article "It is necessary to study and practice in order to achieve this unnatural naturalness."

P.S. Up The Ladder is NOT the only thing I do all day(I would be much smoother if that were the case) I have a set routine where most days I get up and do up the ladder for about an hour on average. Then I go to the store with my mother. Do some more card handling , then engage in other activities. Simulating a normal persons regimen. After being diagnosed with Schizophrenia back in 2008 the object is to seek mental wellness.


And this was recorded today. about 1.5 months away from 5 years of recording my Up The Ladder Cuts.

 
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