"Being yourself" is overrated...

[baller08]

"Be yourself"...we hear that a lot.

I don't think anyone should be themselves because for most magicians the version of "themselves" is boring, nervous, and uninteresting.

When you go watch a movie, do you want the actor to "be himself" in every movie or would you rather see him play an interesting and different character?

And let's be honest here, a lot (not all) magicians have a stereotype of being nerdy, weird, introverted, and all around socially awkward. This stereotype is unfortunately not inaccurate. This is why magicians who are cool and have a great image appeal to such a wide audience and are financially successful, regardless of their skill level. But that is another topic.

Even the greatest illusionist of all, David Copperfield, started off fitting that stereotype. Don't believe me? Go back and watch his first 2 or 3 TV specials. It wasn't till his 4th year on TV did he go through a complete transformation of his personality, image, and waredrobe style. Only then did he become an international rock star because he appealed to a wider audience, especially women.


Truthfully...I really don't think "being yourself" is overrated. But I think the phrase should be changed to "be the best version of yourself" and that requires change and improvement....."change" is a scary thing to a lot of people. Usually those who need it most are the ones who rebel against it the hardest....kind of ironic.

In Wayne's lecture he talked about how he became a better version of himself when he started having more interest in his life other than magic. As his life experience grew, he had more material to draw from to fuel his magician persona.

I think all too often we use the phrase "be yourself" as an excuse to stay boring and uninteresting. And if you do that, not only are you not going to be a successful magician, you're not even going to be a very success person.

 

[toyrobot]

When you go watch a movie, do you want the actor to "be himself" in every movie

No, because I don't like Jack Nicholson movies.

Truthfully...I really don't think "being yourself" is overrated. But I think the phrase should be changed to "be the best version of yourself"

"Be you, but bigger?"

In Wayne's lecture he talked about how he became a better version of himself when he started having more interest in his life other than magic. As his life experience grew, he had more material to draw from to fuel his magician persona.

There's a lot of this missing from magic. People think their presentations and scripting have to have a consistently magical or sleight-of-hand theme. It's rare to hear people talk about technology, or culture, or their other hobbies when they perform. Doing that, even just a little, helps you shine more. It puts a face behind the dexterity.

Being yourself, you have to think cautiously about it. You don't want "just you" shining through, because most people aren't born performers and don't maintain the performing skill set in their lives 24 / 7: they have to turn it on when they're in the spotlight. You need something of a character, to add style and theater to your magic. But at the same time, showing off honest parts of your personality (I'd go so much as to say 50 / 50 or 60 / 40, erring towards your personality) can make you human again, and put you somewhere the audience can connect with. It's a delicate juggle: Invent someone new and possibly far away from the audience, while at the same time being someone old and close up to the audience.

 

[Squ!rrel]

I've found that being myself works best for me, as i'm not a professional magician I always perform in more casual situations for friends, random people I meet etc. I don't like to go straight into magic, I like to get to know them a bit first, if I then suddenly switched to a character as soon as I started doing magic it would seem very strange and would probably make my audience a bit uncomfortable and they would think i'm a bit weird. I'm generally quite comfortable with myself and wouldn't say I meet the stereotype at all so being myself is the best way to go.

For some people, telling them to be themselves probably won't be too productive especially if they're as boring in real life as they are on their Youtube videoes. However, I don't think that's a problem with the advice, it's a problem with their personality and the fact that they are a boring person.

They need to improve themselves and develop a personality rather than try and take somebody elses. The term 'be yourself' reminds be of a lot of dating advice that gets thrown around, however, it obviously doesn't work as the people looking for the advice are probably introverted, lacking confidence etc so telling them to be themselves won't help. Although, if they try and pretend to be somebody else that isn't going to work either, it just comes across as being really weird.

I'd say you are wrong to say 'be yourself' is bad advice, as it's the best you can have as long as you're an interesting person. E.g. There's no change at all between normal personality and performance personality in successful magicians such as Chris Kenner, Wayne Houchin etc They're interesting and entertaining people without the magic, being themselves works fine. However, you're completely right about a lot of magicians being boring people, the problem isn't in the advice, it's in the personality of the person and that's what needs to change if they're going to be successful, unfortunatley it's quite difficult to convince anybody to attempt to change.

 

[MagicShadow9]

Ya, a lot of "pros" say that. But they don't even know what that means themselves.

What i think is important is to have your own persona. You can be mysterious, comical, calm, etc. This doesn't necessarily need to match your own personality, it's just how you act on stage. For example, on stage, Kyle Eschin plays a mother's boy teenager who has no social life and no personality. Now i'm sure this isn't what he's really like, but it's his persona on stage.

 

[Zephil]

I understand the point you are trying to make. Of course one should have a stage presence of sorts. But this should be YOUR own persona, one that fits your natural personality. The statement "be yourself" is a warning not to imitate other magicians' personalities merely because you think that it is "what a magician should be". If you do so, then it will very likely be extremely odd and awquard. This is what the statement "be yourself" is trying to convey. Not: "be exactly as you are during your day to day life".

So although you are technically right (opinion)... I believe you are taking the statement far too literally. Having a performance... attitude and behavior I think would be the best words to describe it... does not mean that you arent yourself. I think that the statement could be translated as: "its YOUR magic; YOU perform it. If I wanted to see Ricky Jay I would go see the man himself."

edit: another translation might be: "do not force how you behave. How you present should be natural to you. (not to be confused with the saying "come natural to you", I mean that it you should be comfortable doing it [exluding nerves, they are un-controllable])

its late, i hope this post is coherant enough to be at least somewhat understandable

 

[toyrobot]

if I then suddenly switched to a character as soon as I started doing magic it would seem very strange and would probably make my audience a bit uncomfortable and they would think i'm a bit weird.

Mind you, character is a broad thing. When Wayne performs Control or Thread on their respective DVDs, he's playing a character - a guy who's adventurous, likes to take risks, and throws caution to the wind; he knows a thing or two about cons and scams and some psychology. His being able to control his own pulse shows careless risk with his own body for the sake of curiosity (he plays a character of "someone who just has that kind of mastery over the body") and with Thread, his presentation used was that he could never back down from a dare, and developed that by accident. Granted, he probably switches up presentation and what have you, but that's not the point.

And Derren Brown, he plays a well-learned and mischievous mind control expert, and it's implied who knows how the human mind functions in an out. He has an almost supernatural gravity to him.

The point is, they're still in character, just not to the extreme most people think you have to be when someone says to develop a character.

 

[James Smith]

Yes, this is very true.

 

[spencer peterson]

The term means to not have a fake personality, you want to exagerate being yourself a tad.

 

[Mr Zsasz]

Here's an extract of an essay from Mike Close's Workers series. Just some food for thought. This is from Workers 5.

The Second Great Lie of Magic is:

Be the Life of The Party!

The implication of this lie is that regardless of how socially inept you are, how mediocre your interpersonal skills, how offensive your personal habits, and how boring your personality is, merely learning a few tricks will transform you into someone that people will find interesting. Not only could nothing be further from the truth, but it is this one lie (and the legions of would-be magicians it has spawned) that has done the art of magic irreparable harm. Anyone who tells you differently is naïve, stupid, or is on an infomercial trying to sell you a video magic course.

People are interested in people. Audiences are especially interested in learning more about the personal lives of those who perform for them (the proliferation of scandal rags at the supermarket should convince you of that). An audience will be much more satisfied if, at the end of a performance,
they feel as if they have gotten to know the performer.

Here’s the bottom line: If you are not particularly interesting to be around when you are not performing, then you won’t be particularly interesting to watch when you do perform.

 

[visualartist]

brother,this is about life and people in general,not just magic.
Im pretty sure your talking about the young performers we see in the performance videos.They are always nervous,dont know what to say,are boring and blah blah.
This is teenagers and kids in general.Those are the years when they are figuring out who they are,what they like,what they believe and so forth.
It doesnt have much to do with "being yourself" because they are still in the process of figuring that out.Whether they are into magic or not.

 

[baller08]

Being yourself, you have to think cautiously about it. You don't want "just you" shining through, because most people aren't born performers and don't maintain the performing skill set in their lives 24 / 7: they have to turn it on when they're in the spotlight. You need something of a character, to add style and theater to your magic.

That was very well put.

They need to improve themselves and develop a personality rather than try and take somebody elses. The term 'be yourself' reminds be of a lot of dating advice that gets thrown around, however, it obviously doesn't work as the people looking for the advice are probably introverted, lacking confidence etc so telling them to be themselves won't help. Although, if they try and pretend to be somebody else that isn't going to work either, it just comes across as being really weird.

A great example...that's the best correlation. And you're right about it not being necessary bad advice...but it becomes an excuse. Like in dating, it's ok to "be yourself" if your natural self is attractive to women. But when it isn't, you have to learn how to interact with women and understand what they find attractive....or all the one off tricks and gimmicks won't get that girl in bed or in a relationship.

The statement "be yourself" is a warning not to imitate other magicians' personalities merely because you think that it is "what a magician should be".

That is the intent of the statement, but I think many people use that as a crutch or an excuse not to change or be better.

 

[baller08]

brother,this is about life and people in general,not just magic.
Im pretty sure your talking about the young performers we see in the performance videos.They are always nervous,dont know what to say,are boring and blah blah.
This is teenagers and kids in general.Those are the years when they are figuring out who they are,what they like,what they believe and so forth.
It doesnt have much to do with "being yourself" because they are still in the process of figuring that out.Whether they are into magic or not.

I didn't have any specific demographics in mind; I think people who are older are guilty of it too. In fact, I think when people get older they are MORE guilty of it because they are less flexible and become more rigid. So "be yourself" is worn as a shield of denial or a badge of honor...as if not changing is such a grand statement.

If you think about anyone who is successful, like you said be it magic or life...you'll find that they may hold true to their core standards, but they constantly are changing and improving. They never stay stagnant, especially when something isn't working.

 

[Bruno19]

Yeahh I kinda agree, bee yourself unless you are an idiot...

The ''be yourself'' thing lose the meaning.

I think the great problem that create that stereotipe of the loser under a top hat, is the fact that the oldschool realy ****ed up, so in order to get far away from them we need to act as normal people, and in the proces they created that horrible catch frase, no one likes loud guys in red capes...
...with the excepition of superman...(i still think he is kinda gay)

Sorry for my bad inglish im a brazilian

 

[praetoritevong]

"Be yourself"...we hear that a lot.

I don't think anyone should be themselves because for most magicians the version of "themselves" is boring, nervous, and uninteresting.

When you go watch a movie, do you want the actor to "be himself" in every movie or would you rather see him play an interesting and different character?

Some interesting thoughts. You may not know this, but generally, a lot of work goes behind the scenes into the interesting and different characters you see in a movie. The majority of which, are based on the actor's real personality. If they had nothing to base it by, they wouldn't be interesting. Even if you take method acting - they live the character and in turn, what you see on the movie is true to themselves. This is speaking in a generalisation of course, but it comes from an actor.

I also find it difficult to believe that the majority of magicians are boring, nervous and uninteresting. Does that mean I should assume you are the same when I watch you?

And let's be honest here, a lot (not all) magicians have a stereotype of being nerdy, weird, introverted, and all around socially awkward. This stereotype is unfortunately not inaccurate. This is why magicians who are cool and have a great image appeal to such a wide audience and are financially successful, regardless of their skill level. But that is another topic.

Even the greatest illusionist of all, David Copperfield, started off fitting that stereotype. Don't believe me? Go back and watch his first 2 or 3 TV specials. It wasn't till his 4th year on TV did he go through a complete transformation of his personality, image, and waredrobe style. Only then did he become an international rock star because he appealed to a wider audience, especially women.

Truthfully...I really don't think "being yourself" is overrated. But I think the phrase should be changed to "be the best version of yourself" and that requires change and improvement....."change" is a scary thing to a lot of people. Usually those who need it most are the ones who rebel against it the hardest....kind of ironic.[/quote]

I get what you're saying, now at least. Still, isn't the latter, simply a subset of the former? So if I understand correctly, what you're now saying is, emphasise that which is attractive to other people. If that's what you're saying, I'd agree.

In Wayne's lecture he talked about how he became a better version of himself when he started having more interest in his life other than magic. As his life experience grew, he had more material to draw from to fuel his magician persona.

I think all too often we use the phrase "be yourself" as an excuse to stay boring and uninteresting. And if you do that, not only are you not going to be a successful magician, you're not even going to be a very success person.

The biggest problem I feel with people being themselves is not because magicians are fundamentally boring and uninteresting (though sometimes they are), but simply because they don't know what it actually means. Who are you? How do you some up yourself? And how do you show yourself?

 

[Morgan B]

No man can climb out beyond the limitations of his own character. ~John Morley

 

[RDChopper]

I am only going to say this...

It would be kinda sad trying to have succes by being someone else or trying to neglect what you are

 

[William Draven]

"Be yourself"...
When you go watch a movie, do you want the actor to "be himself" in every movie or would you rather see him play an interesting and different character?

I have to seriously wonder just how many actors you've worked with, or for that matter even known. Every actor must bring their character out from somewhere. They usually have to attach a personal experience to the scene they are attempting to portray to get the emotional level right, and you'll see that notion reflected when you watch any interview with them.

It may seem overly simplistic and almost Zen, but it's still true. You need to be yourself, even if you are portraying a character. Some element of the core of your being is still there and will be used as a skeleton in which you will hang the rest of the act upon.

In most cases performance characters are just ramped up versions of the individuals personality. I think of it like a volume control on an amp. Most people are around a 4 or 5 setting, their performance characters are around a 9 or 10. It's still the same character, person, personality just taken to a new level.

Just my two cents.

 

[JDENredden]

Wow, I never thought of it that way. Its just like the internet, you can be who ever you want. Its the same when you go up to a stranger, you can be who ever you want to be.

JDEN

 

[nexusmagic]

is the fact that the oldschool realy ****ed up, so in order to get far away from them we need to act as normal people, and in the proces they created that horrible catch frase, no one likes loud guys in red capes...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XAFmeuIx7c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38nbBGKbyeI

The only loser in a a top hat magician that I know was the one in "the Magic Show" with Doug Henning
seen at the end of this clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwrsIGPfMoQ

Now to add to the oldschool thing.
I do not think Cardini, Slydini, The Professor, Ed marlo, Fred Kaps, Robert Houdin, Alexander, and many more F-ed up. The only reason they dressed with class was because that was the norm for gentlemen back then. But there is a generation gap now, but to say that oldschool magicians f-ed up is not true at all.

 

[Saint]

Man, you have to be yourself (meaning retain your personality) don't be you one second and all of a sudden start acting like Dirty Harry it will throw your spectators off... Be you with a little flair, a little pzazz. Just look at magicians like Copperfield, Houchin, hell even Houdini... They have theatrics's but they retain their original personality.