theory11 — Magic Tricks & the World's Finest Playing Cards

Definition of Disgrace to Magic?

MagicShadow9 said:
Wow that sucks man. What i would do in this case is if i'm ask to perform for a group of people and the heckling friend is within that group, i would simply say "Well i'd love to show you some magic, but ____ here will probably ruin it, and that's no fun is it? Maybe another time" and then walk away. That way, the people who really wanted to see magic will take care of the friend themselves. If that friend isn't in the group, then you can go perform for them.
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Actually he said one of his "friends"...
That makes a lot of difference.:D
 
i mean i started doing magic like that and ive been doing it for a few years now, but i appreciate the art. i still go on youtube but only to see performances, then from that i create my own stuff similar (if not the exact method) to it. also i do not own any dvds a few books tho
 
It appears as though we're in the midst of an Ellusionist magic-poser. But seriously go easy on him. I remember when I started magic I was in the exact same situation. Just try to give him friendly advice and help him get on the right path.
 
I think that sometimes we can take our secrets a bit too seriously. There are a lot of ways in which people can enjoy and appreciate magic, and for some people just knowing how something is done is enough for them. They aren't a disgrace to anything, they're just curious. People can't be condemned for having enough interest to want to understand something but not sufficient to make them want to practice every day. A lot of people tell jokes, sometimes well but often badly, without any pretensions to being a comedian. Are they a disgrace, because they haven't developed the tradecraft of a professional before they dared to attempt such a thing?

From my point of view, a magical performance shouldn't live or die depending on whether someone knows how certain moves and effects are achieved. If your character as a performer is based solely around the fact that you know something that the audience doesn't, then, as far as I can see, that's not much better than the pupils of YouTube. There is so much that marks out the serious magician from the guy who knows how a couple of tricks are done. The finesse, elegance, theatrical ability and technical skill of the adept should mark them out instantly from the dabbler. If the YouTubers are able to destroy your performances, maybe these performance weren't that strong in the first place.
 
MagicLemonBird said:
Anyway, what do you guys think is a disgrace to magic.
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TWO words: Criss Angel.

Youtube doesn't bother me as much as it did back in high school.
When I perform at parties or get-togethers, no body says, "Oh I saw that on Youtube."
Why? Because their older now.
They don't waste their time looking up tricks. They have their own life.

I performed a few tricks in this weathering class I have and this one guy asked if I learned these tricks off youtube.
I said, no you can't get this good learning from 12 year olds who think they know how to perform.
 
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