In other words, I'm convenient and an easy target because of my monolithic ego.
Oh well. Beats the **** out of anonymity.
Need Some Advice
- Thread starter sfield001
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In other words, I'm convenient and an easy target because of my monolithic ego.
Oh well. Beats the **** out of anonymity.
I have not read all of your posts - so I cannot say. I tend to be selective about what threads I open, based entirely on personal interests.
I agree with you that Cedric's position was/is an indictment of all theater/film/art which can be replicated. It is always troublesome when people espouse their "artistic philosophies" without having any real background or understanding in either art or philosphy. Had an interesting discussion at the Castle with Wayne about this exact subject - specifically to one of his blog updates. His points were interesting, but they belied a lack of understanding of larger ideas in both music and art that he was trying to reconcile. While at one level it is wonderful to see people think about big ideas, it becomes dangerous when they offer their conclusions as authoritative - especially when they are based on incomplete information.
Also, if your central tenet in the poll was "the more interesting/well rounded you are as a person, the greater depth one may find in their art" then I would agree with that. But, as is often the case, I think you ended up stepping all over your point. (And it is a point made by many others, most notably by Eugene Burger in several of his writings.)
Those are two times that come to mind.
Brad
I agree with you that Cedric's position was/is an indictment of all theater/film/art which can be replicated. It is always troublesome when people espouse their "artistic philosophies" without having any real background or understanding in either art or philosphy. Had an interesting discussion at the Castle with Wayne about this exact subject - specifically to one of his blog updates. His points were interesting, but they belied a lack of understanding of larger ideas in both music and art that he was trying to reconcile. While at one level it is wonderful to see people think about big ideas, it becomes dangerous when they offer their conclusions as authoritative - especially when they are based on incomplete information.
Also, if your central tenet in the poll was "the more interesting/well rounded you are as a person, the greater depth one may find in their art" then I would agree with that. But, as is often the case, I think you ended up stepping all over your point. (And it is a point made by many others, most notably by Eugene Burger in several of his writings.)
Those are two times that come to mind.
Brad
OK, what does Eugene Burger recommend about the subject. I'd look up his writing's but a lot of his stuff is out of print.
Well, he recommends what I just iterated:
The more well rounded and interesting of a human being you are, the more chance you have of your magic being interesting to others. In the Experience of Magic, for example, he recommended his 10 favorite non-magic books. (This book is still in print.)
But, more to your question, I think Max Maven summed it up best when we wrote: "Tricks are about objects, magic is about life."
Brad Henderson
The more well rounded and interesting of a human being you are, the more chance you have of your magic being interesting to others. In the Experience of Magic, for example, he recommended his 10 favorite non-magic books. (This book is still in print.)
But, more to your question, I think Max Maven summed it up best when we wrote: "Tricks are about objects, magic is about life."
Brad Henderson
Eugene was actually one of my influences in my dedication to pursuing a wide range of studies. Other influences on me in that regard include Beat Takeshi the Japanese entertainment figure, Bruce Dickinson who is the lead singer of the metal band Iron Maiden, and actor Dolph Lundgren. All of those three are Renaissance men. Dolph for example is a chemistry genius who speaks 4 languages in addition to his mastery of martial arts. Beat is a filmmaker, comedian, painter, and talk show host. Bruce is a singer/songwriter, Olympic level fencer, licensed pilot, documentary filmmaker, and published novelist.
Now that we've found common ground on this point, I confess that the genesis of that thread was born in illness, irritability, broken air conditioning, and insomnia. I was in a miserable mood and that probably came across inadvertently. How would you have made the point I was struggling to get across?
Here's the best advice that I can give you. Buy a book called Beyond Secrets by Jay Sankey. It's on his website at sankeymagic.com. Even if you hate to read it is an amazing book. Also there are chapters in the book that specifically explain how to script your routine and put together a great act. The book is only $18.99. Jay Sankey has been a professional magician for over 30 years so he knows what he's talking about. So this is what I would suggest.
Here's the link:
http://www.sankeymagic.com/detail.aspx?ID=48050
Hope this helped!
Sked95
Here's the link:
http://www.sankeymagic.com/detail.aspx?ID=48050
Hope this helped!
Sked95
Well, if you want to be a mainly card guy, that;s what I do, then there are two basic types of routines to construct. (There are multiple subgroups but I am going to generalize.) These two types of routines, that I think of someone might have a different opinion, are a scripted routine and an improvised routine. I will break each one down just a little bit...
SCRIPTED ROUTINE...
When I use the term scripted I am not saying that you should follow a set script in your speach, but moreso follow your patter. Each trick you perform should have its own story, or speach to acompany the trick. These tricks should flow right into eachother smoothly and cleanly. That means that the tricks should have a nice transition as well as the patter. However, small jokes and comedy phrases can be improvised in.
For example if someone says: "Whoah! How'd you do that?"
I might reply: "Can you keep a secret? Well, so can I."
These small lines can be delivered at the spur of the moment but you patter and tricks should generaslly flow with each other and the patter should remain the same for that particular effect. I would like to get back to the point I made that tricks should flow smoothly into eachother. What do I mean? Well, how did you start out performing a silk dissapearance as your first trick, then performing SICK as your second effect. It seems like a drastic transition that makes little sense. I often hve tricks that flow together in my scrpited routines. One routine goes like this.
Force a king and "read their minds"
produce the other three kings
Go into David Stone's Traveler
Then into David Stones Ghost
And end with Dr. daileys last trick
The breakdown would gradually lead to the closer. Watch: A force a king. I use thatking and the others for traveler. I end up with Aces. Then go into ghost and force them like a two. use the four twos to do Daileys trick.
They flow together nicely with patter that I have worked out.
IMPROVISED ROUTINE
Now, when perfoming for kids at school, people in the office, or your friends or family, an improvised routine might be a bit more fun than the scripted one. But obviously, do NOT improvise your tricks if you are performing at a childrens party. But let's say you are at lunch (I was in this situation last week.) and someone approaches you and says let's see a trick. Next thing you know there are about 30 people around you. Well, you don't have your routine ready, just a pack oif cards. Time to change your pater and make different effects work together at all costs. so at lunch this is what I did:
Forced an ace and read their mind.
Had them replace the card.
They cut the deck, and they cut to their card.
I have them reach out and touch a card, it's theirs.
I then had them sign the card.
Went into an ACR
Used the bent card at the end.
Went nto "Here Then There"
Then Davids Ghost for a closer. (Because it's a deck dissapearance.)
Most of the patter was based on the preset patter but the lines I used to transition into other tricks were made up on the spot. However, when done right, this can be just as effective as a scripted routine. It's is all about the basics. so learn your tricks, learn your patter, and practice!!! Then develop your routines.
Dylan P.
SCRIPTED ROUTINE...
When I use the term scripted I am not saying that you should follow a set script in your speach, but moreso follow your patter. Each trick you perform should have its own story, or speach to acompany the trick. These tricks should flow right into eachother smoothly and cleanly. That means that the tricks should have a nice transition as well as the patter. However, small jokes and comedy phrases can be improvised in.
For example if someone says: "Whoah! How'd you do that?"
I might reply: "Can you keep a secret? Well, so can I."
These small lines can be delivered at the spur of the moment but you patter and tricks should generaslly flow with each other and the patter should remain the same for that particular effect. I would like to get back to the point I made that tricks should flow smoothly into eachother. What do I mean? Well, how did you start out performing a silk dissapearance as your first trick, then performing SICK as your second effect. It seems like a drastic transition that makes little sense. I often hve tricks that flow together in my scrpited routines. One routine goes like this.
Force a king and "read their minds"
produce the other three kings
Go into David Stone's Traveler
Then into David Stones Ghost
And end with Dr. daileys last trick
The breakdown would gradually lead to the closer. Watch: A force a king. I use thatking and the others for traveler. I end up with Aces. Then go into ghost and force them like a two. use the four twos to do Daileys trick.
They flow together nicely with patter that I have worked out.
IMPROVISED ROUTINE
Now, when perfoming for kids at school, people in the office, or your friends or family, an improvised routine might be a bit more fun than the scripted one. But obviously, do NOT improvise your tricks if you are performing at a childrens party. But let's say you are at lunch (I was in this situation last week.) and someone approaches you and says let's see a trick. Next thing you know there are about 30 people around you. Well, you don't have your routine ready, just a pack oif cards. Time to change your pater and make different effects work together at all costs. so at lunch this is what I did:
Forced an ace and read their mind.
Had them replace the card.
They cut the deck, and they cut to their card.
I have them reach out and touch a card, it's theirs.
I then had them sign the card.
Went into an ACR
Used the bent card at the end.
Went nto "Here Then There"
Then Davids Ghost for a closer. (Because it's a deck dissapearance.)
Most of the patter was based on the preset patter but the lines I used to transition into other tricks were made up on the spot. However, when done right, this can be just as effective as a scripted routine. It's is all about the basics. so learn your tricks, learn your patter, and practice!!! Then develop your routines.
Dylan P.