if you had real magic powers you would not be doing card or coin tricks. i am looking for an effect that looks and seems like real magic other than a bill change. its not that i dont like bill changes but it is the only effect that i know of that is something you would do for your benefit if you actually had powers
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real magic magic
- Thread starter JudahMagic
- Start date
This is a fascinating subject.
I think one question that has to be addressed is how you got your powers. Were you born with them? Have you studied under some spiritual guru? Have you discovered an ancient book of magick? Have you sold your soul to the devil? The answer needs to be consistent with your personality, and therefore the type of effect you'll perform, if it's going to be believeable. You don't necessarily need to explicitly state this back story as part of your presentation, but I think you need to know it, otherwise the presentation won't ring true.
Once you know what your "origin story" is, then you have to answer another question. Why are you performing at all? Especially table-hopping in a restaurant or on the street? If you had real powers, why haven't you used them to become a millionaire or, at the very least, got a high-class theatrical show where you could showcase these genuine abilities more effectively. There are answers to this question, but its probably better that you find them yourself.
When these two questions have been answered, you're on your way to creating a coherent character who may well have some sort of genuine ability. Then, you will naturally find a category of effects which appear to exemplify this ability. So, to give an example, here's a possible back story with the type of effects that might suit it:
Your grandmother was a witch. While she didn't initiate you into all the secrets of her craft, she gave you enough tantalising clues that, after years of trial and error, you found that it was possible to manipulate certain aspects of the world through a recognition of our unity with nature. You're still in the early stages of mastering these skills, though, so you've chosen this performing environment as a good way to allow you to practice without drawing undue attention to yourself. Effects that suit this back story could include vanishes, productions, transpositions and changes of natural objects (stones, sticks, leaves, etc.). Perhaps you have an affinity with certain metals, so you can bend coins by creating a connection with the copper in them and moving that independently from the other metals in the alloy. Possibly, a deck of tarot cards could be introduced, and some card effects could be performed that have a flavour of divination.
I hope that makes sense. I suppose my overall point is that it's not any specific effect that is going to create the impression of real magic, but your playing of a believable magician character.
I think one question that has to be addressed is how you got your powers. Were you born with them? Have you studied under some spiritual guru? Have you discovered an ancient book of magick? Have you sold your soul to the devil? The answer needs to be consistent with your personality, and therefore the type of effect you'll perform, if it's going to be believeable. You don't necessarily need to explicitly state this back story as part of your presentation, but I think you need to know it, otherwise the presentation won't ring true.
Once you know what your "origin story" is, then you have to answer another question. Why are you performing at all? Especially table-hopping in a restaurant or on the street? If you had real powers, why haven't you used them to become a millionaire or, at the very least, got a high-class theatrical show where you could showcase these genuine abilities more effectively. There are answers to this question, but its probably better that you find them yourself.
When these two questions have been answered, you're on your way to creating a coherent character who may well have some sort of genuine ability. Then, you will naturally find a category of effects which appear to exemplify this ability. So, to give an example, here's a possible back story with the type of effects that might suit it:
Your grandmother was a witch. While she didn't initiate you into all the secrets of her craft, she gave you enough tantalising clues that, after years of trial and error, you found that it was possible to manipulate certain aspects of the world through a recognition of our unity with nature. You're still in the early stages of mastering these skills, though, so you've chosen this performing environment as a good way to allow you to practice without drawing undue attention to yourself. Effects that suit this back story could include vanishes, productions, transpositions and changes of natural objects (stones, sticks, leaves, etc.). Perhaps you have an affinity with certain metals, so you can bend coins by creating a connection with the copper in them and moving that independently from the other metals in the alloy. Possibly, a deck of tarot cards could be introduced, and some card effects could be performed that have a flavour of divination.
I hope that makes sense. I suppose my overall point is that it's not any specific effect that is going to create the impression of real magic, but your playing of a believable magician character.
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Largely going to piggy back on TeeDee's points.
I'm also going to restate something I say a lot. It comes down to presentation. While in this case it's not as solid a rule as in many others, what one person presents as a trick, another may be able to present a real display of magic. But there's nothing out there that can't be ruined by a crap performance. You have to understand character (As TeeDee explained quite well), you have to understand the idea of internal consistency and internal logic, and you have to perform in such a way that promotes those ideas.
If you do a bunch of sleight of hand tricks, presented as such, then try to do a mind reading trick, it will not come across as magical unless you're really good at shifting gears like that. People watching you do coin and card tricks are going to remember that you were doing sleight of hand when you try to tell them you can also read minds.
So on top of everything TeeDee said - Learn to act as well.
I'm also going to restate something I say a lot. It comes down to presentation. While in this case it's not as solid a rule as in many others, what one person presents as a trick, another may be able to present a real display of magic. But there's nothing out there that can't be ruined by a crap performance. You have to understand character (As TeeDee explained quite well), you have to understand the idea of internal consistency and internal logic, and you have to perform in such a way that promotes those ideas.
If you do a bunch of sleight of hand tricks, presented as such, then try to do a mind reading trick, it will not come across as magical unless you're really good at shifting gears like that. People watching you do coin and card tricks are going to remember that you were doing sleight of hand when you try to tell them you can also read minds.
So on top of everything TeeDee said - Learn to act as well.
Ok. . . TeeDee is correct but I do have a small issue with something Christopher was pushing. . . very small, in that context is everything!
FIRST . . . the back story is vital in that it establishes a large part of the How & Why of things. I encourage people to invest time into researching their actual family lineage in that it is rare to not find some interesting characters and connections when you go back just 3-5 generations. This is precisely how I found out about my own ties to two of the strangest people in American lore; Edgar Allen Poe and film director Tod Browning (Frankenstein & Freaks). But then there are closer relations that have lent to me other ties to the surreal, spiritual and forbidden, all of which are one small part of my back-story. There's likewise the many things I've been directly involved with over the course of my life, I have after all, written for numerous Pagan & New Age magazines and I do participate in related events as a Reader, Teacher and Storyteller. In other words, my personal resume and life path mirror my claim as the family stuff embellishes the ALLUSION of things by association and assumption.
SECOND, to add to that back story, research the area in which you live and find out about regional legends & lore that you can tap into, such as living at or near a particular burial ground, in a noted haunted home, etc. My home town was unofficially founded by Free Masons, many of whom were secretly part of a single family that, in the day, were believed to be witches. . . a family legacy that is still very much alive (I went to school with one of them and she very much lived up to being a hereditary witch). Again, these are accent pieces to play with and let slip here and there or even include in a more extended bio page.
MIXING MAGIC & MENTALISM is something I decry and scream about with great frequency and yet, I'm on the forefront of a movement within magic that takes this practice in a new(ish) direction, allowing for a very limited blend of the two in the form of Urban~Shamanism -- literally a modern-day mystic but this is much more than simple trickery; it is a mantel you wear and live 24/7 and an image that is slowly created. The down side being that it is not a "commercial" format HINT: Read the New Testament or about how Lord Buddha and see how these main characters traveled from town to town teaching through parable and likewise executing the miraculous. You will find similar parallels in the life of the Bard; not those of thespian fame but the original Bards that were an aspect of Druidic Clergy; they would use music, puppets and other entertainments as a vehicle by which to teach wisdom & morality tales as well as certain covert conveyances -- they were "Edutainers" to coin a phrase. Spiritual guides that were known for presenting simple modes of the miraculous; especially manipulation of the elements and controlling of people's thoughts and actions.
Mentalism is where we find the psychological formula for making this kind of persona, work. But understand, we're taking things well beyond typical mentalism.
If this sounds l like your calling then understand that ego cannot be a part of it; if you want to gloat over your ability to do things and how cool certain types of effects make you look, then the Urban~Shaman's path probably isn't for you. If you see yourself in the role of being a present day Shaman -- a student, teacher & healer -- then I would invite you to join the minority -- a growing minority -- that seeks to reprise the ways of magic(k), as it was long prior to Jean-Eugene Robert Houdin and others. Just remember, this is not a path that panders to the ego, nor is it a commercial vehicle. If you can accept those two factors, then you won't have too much trouble fitting into said "tradition".
As a Side Note; you might want to look at two of my free pdfs
MENTALISM RESOURCE BOOK
http://www.lulu.com/us/en/shop/p-cr...ion-resource-list/ebook/product-15574606.html
ABOUT BIZARRE MAGICK
http://www.lulu.com/us/en/shop/p-craig-browning/about-bizarre-magick/ebook/product-17796655.html
FIRST . . . the back story is vital in that it establishes a large part of the How & Why of things. I encourage people to invest time into researching their actual family lineage in that it is rare to not find some interesting characters and connections when you go back just 3-5 generations. This is precisely how I found out about my own ties to two of the strangest people in American lore; Edgar Allen Poe and film director Tod Browning (Frankenstein & Freaks). But then there are closer relations that have lent to me other ties to the surreal, spiritual and forbidden, all of which are one small part of my back-story. There's likewise the many things I've been directly involved with over the course of my life, I have after all, written for numerous Pagan & New Age magazines and I do participate in related events as a Reader, Teacher and Storyteller. In other words, my personal resume and life path mirror my claim as the family stuff embellishes the ALLUSION of things by association and assumption.
SECOND, to add to that back story, research the area in which you live and find out about regional legends & lore that you can tap into, such as living at or near a particular burial ground, in a noted haunted home, etc. My home town was unofficially founded by Free Masons, many of whom were secretly part of a single family that, in the day, were believed to be witches. . . a family legacy that is still very much alive (I went to school with one of them and she very much lived up to being a hereditary witch). Again, these are accent pieces to play with and let slip here and there or even include in a more extended bio page.
MIXING MAGIC & MENTALISM is something I decry and scream about with great frequency and yet, I'm on the forefront of a movement within magic that takes this practice in a new(ish) direction, allowing for a very limited blend of the two in the form of Urban~Shamanism -- literally a modern-day mystic but this is much more than simple trickery; it is a mantel you wear and live 24/7 and an image that is slowly created. The down side being that it is not a "commercial" format HINT: Read the New Testament or about how Lord Buddha and see how these main characters traveled from town to town teaching through parable and likewise executing the miraculous. You will find similar parallels in the life of the Bard; not those of thespian fame but the original Bards that were an aspect of Druidic Clergy; they would use music, puppets and other entertainments as a vehicle by which to teach wisdom & morality tales as well as certain covert conveyances -- they were "Edutainers" to coin a phrase. Spiritual guides that were known for presenting simple modes of the miraculous; especially manipulation of the elements and controlling of people's thoughts and actions.
Mentalism is where we find the psychological formula for making this kind of persona, work. But understand, we're taking things well beyond typical mentalism.
If this sounds l like your calling then understand that ego cannot be a part of it; if you want to gloat over your ability to do things and how cool certain types of effects make you look, then the Urban~Shaman's path probably isn't for you. If you see yourself in the role of being a present day Shaman -- a student, teacher & healer -- then I would invite you to join the minority -- a growing minority -- that seeks to reprise the ways of magic(k), as it was long prior to Jean-Eugene Robert Houdin and others. Just remember, this is not a path that panders to the ego, nor is it a commercial vehicle. If you can accept those two factors, then you won't have too much trouble fitting into said "tradition".
As a Side Note; you might want to look at two of my free pdfs
MENTALISM RESOURCE BOOK
http://www.lulu.com/us/en/shop/p-cr...ion-resource-list/ebook/product-15574606.html
ABOUT BIZARRE MAGICK
http://www.lulu.com/us/en/shop/p-craig-browning/about-bizarre-magick/ebook/product-17796655.html
To clarify, I'm saying that on top of what TeeDee was saying, presentation is incredibly important.
As in, on top of creating a full, believable character you have to be able to present well and that requires one to understand the limitations that their character is going to impose on them. Since TeeDee had already touched on that, I didn't feel the need to repeat it.
As in, on top of creating a full, believable character you have to be able to present well and that requires one to understand the limitations that their character is going to impose on them. Since TeeDee had already touched on that, I didn't feel the need to repeat it.