Messing up

Sep 2, 2007
1,186
16
42
London
Probably the most famous messed up trick is David Williamson getting caught out by the kid on TV, which we've all seen. To refresh your memory, though, it's here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R78x7LmUk9w

Did this mean the end of David's career? No. Did this even mean anyone thought any less of him? No.

I think the key points to take from this are that he realised he'd been caught and didn't try to cover it up. He just accepted the situation and made a joke of it. I suppose it's similar to making a mistake in any area of life. If you trip over in the street, you look silly and people will laugh. That's a given. If you try and quickly jump up and pretend it didn't happen you just look more ridiculous. If you join in with the laughter, you look like a humble guy who is confident enough in themselves to sometimes look vulnerable.

In the context of doing a magic trick, if you've failed so badly that it's obvious, just laugh at yourself, say, "Oh well, that didn't work!" or something of that nature, then move on with something else. If you don't treat it as a major issue, no-one else will either. On the other hand, sometimes a failure isn't obvious. If you've got enough of a repertoire of sleights and effects, maybe there's a way to turn your failure into a success (e.g., if you've revealed the wrong card, maybe you could colour change it and make it look like that was the plan all along). If you can't see a clear path to success, though, you're better off just cutting your losses and moving on rather than stumbling your way through some convoluted process.

For reference, here's the Masked Magician kindly demonstrating how not to do it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v0wgEZoW2c
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Aug 9, 2013
35
0
How have I not seen that masked magician video until now! lol


I remember filming some street magic for YouTube a few years back and screwing up a card trick. The spectator did not notice, so I ended up turning the effect into a one card monte. The reaction the lady gave was probably one of the best reactions I've ever received. As TeeDee stated above, if the failure isn't obvious then you may have the opportunity to recover from it by switching effects. Otherwise, it's best to just laugh it off, accept it and move on :)
 
Nov 5, 2013
4
1
It's a great question. As you get more and more comfortable with the material you perform you will mess up. It just happens. You might even start performing material that isn't 100% going to work. Like something where a spectator deals cards and stops anywhere. If they don't stop where you want them to, the trick is ruined...

Or is it?

If you mess up, there are two possibilities. You can be really prepared and use the mess up as an introduction to another trick, and address it later. Or, you can admit you messed up, "That ladies and gentlemen is called screwing up..." and continue on. The faster you move past it the better.

On occasion, if I mess up a trick, perhaps I lose control of a card and end up producing the wrong card, I will leave that wrong card face down on the table and say we will get back to it.

The longer I leave it out, the more interested people seem to be in it. At some point I will switch it for a selection and reveal that it was on the table the whole time but the choice of what to do really depends on how comfortable you are and how messed up the trick becomes.

Most audiences just want to see what happens next, they don't realize there is a good and bad or right and wrong outcome. Many of my mess ups have been called "all part of the show."

So, what can YOU do?
1.) Learn to cull a single card from a hand to hand spread
2.) Get comfortable with a top change or second deal
3.) Learn to top palm a card.
4.) Revisit 1-3

That should get you through most painful experiences.
Oh, one other thought, always keep a second deck of cards around. If it's a trick that is very involved and perhaps half the deck meets the floor. Taking the time to pick them will be a nightmare. Just pick up the other half of the deck toss it aside or on the floor and crack that new deck open. I try to reserve this for big screw ups. Fortunately they don't happen very often.
 

Deechristopher

theory11 moderator
Moderator
So, what can YOU do?
1.) Learn to cull a single card from a hand to hand spread
2.) Get comfortable with a top change or second deal
3.) Learn to top palm a card.
4.) Revisit 1-3

This is great advice, these are all super useful moves!

Sometimes when you mess something up, or someone spots something that they're not supposed to, it's OK to admit defeat and move onto your next miracle. It shows humanity and can bring you closer to your audience, it'll also double the strength of your next effect!

If you find that people are often working against you, perhaps you need to look at the way your performing - Maybe things look more like cool puzzles to your audience rather than real magic. Feel free to post any videos you have, I'm sure the guys can give you a lot of great advice based on what they see! :)
 
Dec 18, 2007
1,610
14
64
Northampton, MA - USA
I can't think of a single performer (of any sort) that's not botched their lines or an effect. Harry Blackstone has had the thread break when doing the Floating Light Bulb while others have had lousy technicians not following their cues and the result was flashing the wire form for the Asrah. . . the list is infinite!

In some fields of magic -- namely, Mentalism -- a miss can actually prove a thing of benefit. For the most part however a fouled effect can prove emotionally devastating. I did a set at the Magic Castle one evening in which every single effect in the 15 minute spot, FAILED!

The girl didn't get into her hide position when we introduced the Shadow Box and so when I opened to show the empty cabinet, she was already there. . . the Zig Zag started folding up because my tech didn't lock it for performance. . . the dove was dead. . . the spine to my Asrah was broken . . . it was hell!

The set following this catastrophe however, went smooth as silk as did all the successive presentations. . . and we'll not get into the issues one faces when working with animals; kids and animals are unpredictable and can cause you to develop ulcers.

I believe it was Billy McComb that did a lectured entitled "What If the String Breaks?" in which he explores the issue of failure and having OUTS. . . rehearsing for failure as it were and in the case of larger scaled shows, training your crew to think on their feet so that issues can be corrected during a performance. In short, doing Magic Tricks don't make you a "Magician", it's learning how to overcome "issues" during your performance, obfuscating the fact that something went array.

I'm all thumbs when it comes to working with IT and for this reason I have redundant hook-ups and alternative methods at the wait, should I have a mishap -- failure on one hook-up and so I can rely on the other, etc. It's not the easiest thing to do but it's how I learned to deal with one of my shortcomings and create a limited number of fail-safes. The moral of the story being, if you know that you have a weakness in a given area with a specific technique, plan for failure and create OUTS; Banachek mentions this in the opening of his Psychological Subtleties book (1) and for some unknown reason about 75% of the people that graze through the books seem to ignore his warning about how to use said method in order to protect yourself from likely failure. Then again, a lot of Mentalism, especially the newer material that is leaning heavily on the art of suggestion and hypnosis, comes with a known 15-25% failure rate, especially when you're first learning it.

Bottom line is, accidents, incidents, and general muck-ups happen; animals poop at the most inopportune moments, mirrors streak and lend a tattle tale (they likewise reflect spot lights). . . and the list goes on -- the show MUST go on, so as they say. . .

RULE ONE: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff
RULE TWO: When in Doubt, Refer to Rule #1

That's how it works
 
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