theory11 — Magic Tricks & the World's Finest Playing Cards
Dan Sperry on America's Got Talent
- Thread starter Jacob
- Start date
On the one hand, what people decide to do is their own responsibility. Dan Sperry shouldn't have to worry about people copying him poorly, because he's not telling them to. He has his own very unique character and I don't think anyone else could pull off his material quite like he does. If someone does try, and fails miserably, then they must deal with the consequences of their lack of foresight and originality.
Of course, on the other hand, I have to deal with the image those idiots give to magicians, so I'm a little torn on the idea. For the most part, though, I think a performer shouldn't worry about other people copying him. Otherwise said performer will be censuring his creative freedom, and I'm against that whole heartedly.
Of course, on the other hand, I have to deal with the image those idiots give to magicians, so I'm a little torn on the idea. For the most part, though, I think a performer shouldn't worry about other people copying him. Otherwise said performer will be censuring his creative freedom, and I'm against that whole heartedly.
Very true. Good point.
That really wasn't the meat and potatoes of my point though. Dan arguably did an excellent job on the show. He showcased his originality and talent and, as JB pointed out, maintained everyone's interest in what he had to offer. It was a solid performance, and he deserves to move forward in the show/competition. But I guess the only thing that irks me is his use of one of the judges to foster a bigger response than what may've actually been warranted. To me, those ethics walk a fine line...
Although Howie Mandel was a good sport, it's actually kind of hard to tell if he even legitimately enjoyed the performance. Perhaps I'm reading too much into the clip (forgive me, I'm a psychology minor), but it appears as though he kind of resents being made an example of... Granted, he has the charisma and professionalism to laugh it off, but think about what Dan did to him...
For an (obviously extreme) alternative example, suppose I knew someone had a weak heart in my audience and I knew I could gain some solid publicity if I could cause a scene by inducing a heart attack in this person by scaring him during the act. If I knew the person would ultimately be okay and laugh off the entire experience, would it be okay for me to go ahead and scare him? It's a ridiculous, laughable example, but I think it shows the issue I'm arguing.
EVERY magic book talks about respecting your spectators and not taking advantage of them. Dan probably didn't cross that line, but I think he flirted with it... That's all.
RS.
That was fantastic! Great presentation. I liked that he brought it down, it kept it very captivating. Loved the music choice. Sharron's reaction to Howie was hilarious. The poor guy has a genuine phobia tho.
I think it speaks to his skill that he flirted with it without crossing it. Forgive me, but I don't really think indulging your example will be productive. It's basically reductio ad absurdum. I agree with you that it's a good idea to respect your audience, but ultimately it's the individual performer's decision whether or not to push that line. Dan Sperry wants to disturb people. That's his character. He's trying to avoid all typical stereotypes of magicians by being disturbing, morbid and off the wall. Honestly, I wasn't hugely a fan of him before but this performance was excellent to me.
I think he played it well. He may or may not have known about Mandell's OCD. I had no idea about that. Sperry lives in Vegas, so I have no idea if he knew that Mandell had that particular disorder. However, the fact of the matter is that Mandell freaked out, Sharon was laughing so much she couldn't reply to anything, and he stood there silently smiling. It looked like he did it on purpose, no matter whether he did it on purpose or not. He's good enough to act like he did, because it was getting the reaction he was after.
Once again Dan rises to the top and proves his credibility and talent. Outstanding job Dan. Rooting for you man!
I think we as a community should help push Dan through by voting for him after his next performance. He has some stiff competition, especially since people seem to love children who can sing. We are a pretty large community and if we each voted the maximum 10 times, I am sure we could help him achieve his dream.
I would vote but I think its only for the states! Or else I would be doing it 10 times on 3 different phones.
I'm not sure what all Dan has up his sleeves...ha ha...but he will have to come with something even stronger for the next round. Good luck Dan! I'm sure you have quite an arsenal to pull from but choose wisely.
I have but one thing to point out here... HE'S STILL A CRISS ANGEL WANNABE!
... maybe a cross between Alice Cooper & Criss but he's NOT "original" when it comes to the stuff being done in today's market.
I loved his dove piece, that was quite cool and he milks the SAW routine well... (he didn't throw the floss at Mandel btw, he tried to simply toss it onto the consol by Sharon but it "stuck" to his fingers a bit) I didn't care for the first part of the Life-Saver bit... something about watching a cow chew cud is disturbing to me and "tasteless" to most of the world (hence the term CHEW WITH YOUR MOUTH CLOSED)
We can hope that he grows up a bit, chooses to be "Original" and not another clone of some middle-aged goth child and that (if he reatins this image) he modles himself more off of Alice Cooper or for that matter Riff Raff
