Injured (and Annoyed)

Jan 26, 2017
2,173
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Virginia
So for over a year now, I have had a busted up knee that I hurt multiple times (playing soccer, doing some stupid stuff in a pile of rocks, racing and slipping down stairs :D, and other just straight up dumb stuff, followed by pushing through the injury). Turns out I shifted my knee cap over a bit, and did some nasty stuff to the tendons and muscles. I have been receiving therapy & treatment for it, but it really hasn't gotten better over the year.

It has severely limited how much I was able to perform. I couldn't stand or walk for too long, so I never did end up doing stuff on the street over the summer.

Recently, it got really bad. They decided to put me on crutches to isolate my knee and let it heal. I've been on them for the last 2 weeks, and I'll be on them for a month or more. I am really annoyed because (apart from being a 16 year old pretty much limited to his house) I was really beginning to start performing again in school, but I honestly am having trouble performing. Too much stuff to carry around, really awkward for me to start performing, limited to just table work as I can't really stand up and ditch stuff in my pocket, etc. have all been problems for me. Even after I get off crutches, my knee will still be healing, so I can't really do stand up magic for a while.

The biggest problem though is that I can't stand and perform. I was really looking forward to performing regularly for 9 months or so now, and it keeps getting pushed back because of this. So I'm just kind of confused as to what I should do. Should I change up what I do, or should I stop performing altogether until I get better, or what?

Have any of you been in similar situations, and if so what did you do?

P.S. I've been just trying to soak up all things magic over the summer with books and practice and through the community, but I'm just getting annoyed that I can't get back in and perform.
 
Dec 31, 2015
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Honestly, in a way the injury might actually be a very constructive thing for you (bad as it sounds to say that, but I do see the plus side in everything). In a situation where I could no longer perform standing up, I would simply alter how I did things to conform. If I were to continue performing, I would try to modify my routines to use the least amount of items possible (a deck of cards or two, a sharpie, and a few other odds and ends that could easily be pocketable, portable, and quick to move about), and in the ideal situation focus on magic that involves only zero to two items (specifically for magic) of my own, and the rest would be pulled from what the spectator has on them.

Also, considering that it's easiest to perform sitting down, if you're interested in mentalism, I'd recommend upgrading the focus on that especially. Another side of things is that sitting down, you're more likely to have a smaller audience which leave much more room to try out new/modified effects before taking them to the bigger groups. And if all else fails, I know I'd be obsessing over practicing and learning all that I could when I was confined to a space. Another thing well worth looking into would probably be self working magic that the spectator can have total control over (and still not know how it was done). That way the magic happens out of your hands and makes it easier on you as well.

In the end though, health is everything, and I would not do anything to put yourself at further risk for the injury to become a bigger complication later. My final thoughts are really just to take this as a creative challenge and a long practice stretch.
 

RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
@Maaz Hasan, there is so much material you can perform sitting down. Focus on learning and performing that material.

My second suggestion is to use this time to design a show. It could be a kids show, a busking show or even a stage or parlor show. The selecting effects, scripting and developing presentation are all good skills to practice. Even designing sets to perform for walk around is a good use of your time. If you intend to perform professionally (occasionally, part-time or full-time), you will need to have performance ready material.

My third suggestion is to get a good book (that shouldn't surprise you). I'd recommend the Art of Astonishment series if you don't have it and want to focus on close-up; Darwin Ortiz's Strong Magic if you want to do a deep dive into theory; Jim Steinmeyer's Conjuring if you want to develop a parlor show; Max Maven's Prism if you want some mental magic; and The Aretology of Vanni Bossi if you want a beautifully written and truly magical book.
 
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