Finding footing and defining yourself as an entity is not an easy thing to do and too, the majority of us seem to reach well beyond where we are prepared to be. For an example, those that try to be dark & heavy when presenting Bizarre Magick or even Mentalism forget that history's greatest monsters thrived on levity. The things that lurk in the night aren't frightening, it's the thought of them that paves way to caution and hesitation -- the "Illusion" drawn within the mind of the beholder. When we have conditioned ourselves to BE our character then the public perception becomes a bit blurred, even amongst our fellows in the craft, simply because we are no longer "trying" to be that ???? just as we are no longer TRYING to execute the perfect back-palm or glide -- "Don't Try; DO!" as Yoda would say.
Sometimes this means that we need to toss that vision we have in the back of our mind as to what we are on stage, into the round file and reevaluate things. This has been exceptionally hard on me because I spent thirtyish years STANDING to do a show and most of the past twelve or so having to redefine my persona in order to work in a manner that is natural to my present circumstance; not easy! Try it for a week; learning how to simply communicate with folks in the same way you've done every day of your life. You will suddenly find yourself a bit lost because natural body language gestures you've unconsciously used for decades are no longer there for you and you are now having to learn new ways of making old things happen; this includes (for we thespian types) reinventing our entire image within our own mind and literally practicing the act of being that new "thing" -- until we can be that new identity "Naturally" we're pretty much screwed when it comes to making the technical skill-set work to our general advantage.
Sometimes this means that we need to toss that vision we have in the back of our mind as to what we are on stage, into the round file and reevaluate things. This has been exceptionally hard on me because I spent thirtyish years STANDING to do a show and most of the past twelve or so having to redefine my persona in order to work in a manner that is natural to my present circumstance; not easy! Try it for a week; learning how to simply communicate with folks in the same way you've done every day of your life. You will suddenly find yourself a bit lost because natural body language gestures you've unconsciously used for decades are no longer there for you and you are now having to learn new ways of making old things happen; this includes (for we thespian types) reinventing our entire image within our own mind and literally practicing the act of being that new "thing" -- until we can be that new identity "Naturally" we're pretty much screwed when it comes to making the technical skill-set work to our general advantage.