Stage Magic Please...

[dark11kenshin]

Hi!I'm dRew:daRk... uhm i am a close-up magician.i want to try stage magic because i always get into situations that i have to do stage magic...so could anyone please help me get started...i don't have that much of a budget coz i'm still in college...oh, and i want to try stage magic that requires a volunteer to perform with...not them kind of volunteers that just inspect the materials...i want the volunteers to be part of the magic itself...anyone know such an effect?please help me get started..i plan to perform at my High School class reunion this september...so please help me...thanks so much

 

[LuseifHo]

Try stage mentalism/ comedy mentalism.
Works well for audiences.
Check out the work of John Archer (one of my favorite comedic mentalists)
Barely any actual mentalism skill required and it works wonders.

 

[D ICE R]

Before I give any advice are we talking actual stage magic or just stand up parlour. They are completly different things and whilst mentalism is a good suggestion if it is played off as a trick the effects are not very clever.

 

[Bizzaro]

Before I give any advice are we talking actual stage magic or just stand up parlour. They are completly different things and whilst mentalism is a good suggestion if it is played off as a trick the effects are not very clever.

Problem with mentalism being done by a younger individual is no one will take it seriously.

Stage magic can be tricky. More goes into it than just being able to do the right moves. You need to know how to move on stage, proper costuming and blocking, and even the right outfit. Look into some of the books on performance to help you.

 

[praetoritevong]

Problem with mentalism being done by a younger individual is no one will take it seriously.

Stage magic can be tricky. More goes into it than just being able to do the right moves. You need to know how to move on stage, proper costuming and blocking, and even the right outfit. Look into some of the books on performance to help you.

Generally true of mentalism but not always... Also depends on how young you're talking...

But good advice there.

Drew, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself and what magic you already perform? What sort of magic do you like, what do you currently perform, what works for you, how long you've been performing magic, etc. Also, the things that D ICE R asked you.

Stage magic can come in many different forms. Mentalism is a difficult but popular one, but it's certainly not the only choice.

 

[dark11kenshin]

hi!i'm back...ok here's a little getting to know dRew

Uhm, i'm andRew, i'm the second child in the family of three, and both my brothers perform magic, me and my older brother do close up whilst my younger brother does those cute little kid gimmicks for he is only 11 years old and his hands are too small for a deck...

i've been into magic for a little bit over 3 years and a cardist for around 8months already, i've formed a signature routine that i do in close up which my brother calls my nine phased ambitious, but it isnt an ambitious card routine , i love pixel and other rubber band tricks too...

recently, ive been self learning card manipulation until someone gifted me the manipulation 101 by dan sperry...

i've been somewhat known in my college for my magic stuff, and since last year, people have been volunteering me in school talent shows, which i declined since i haven't got anything for a stage performance, since then, i wanted to try out some stage illusions, problem is the masked magician dude who exposes stage illusions is quite known already as his show is frequently replayed in TV here...so i wanted to try something different in stage magic...i want to try something that i could use audience members to be a part of the illusions, (mainly the judges of contests or some big people, so that it could be a bit more convincing, if you catch my drift)...

in the three years of experience i have, i know that i still have more to learn, and i'm willing to know more, since i know ive been only focusing in card magic and there is a very big world to explore in magic...

uhm, i accept suggestions and help from anyone, even people who have just started coz i know every little tip if put together becomes a big difference thanks guys...

 

[Brad Henderson]

Problem with mentalism being done by a younger individual is no one will take it seriously.

Actually, if you choose to play it as legit, youth can work to your advantage.

Why can't a young person be psychic?

Seems to me the innocence of youth is a tremendous smoke screen to hide the pervasive guile

 

[bentley]

Problem with mentalism being done by a younger individual is no one will take it seriously.

Stage magic can be tricky. More goes into it than just being able to do the right moves. You need to know how to move on stage, proper costuming and blocking, and even the right outfit. Look into some of the books on performance to help you.

My thing is I see it as if you really had the ability to read minds or whatever then you can do it from when you were young to when you die. You wouldn't had just gotten the "power" when you are an adult.

 

[praetoritevong]

Ok, since this conversation is going down two paths...

Drew... Stage illusions are probably going to be too expensive to be a viable option. If I were you, I'd take what I already know, and see if I could adapt that to performing on stage.

For example, can you use jumbo cards for some of your tricks? Can you arrange for a camera perhaps to project a trick or two onto a big screen? Maybe throw in a mental card trick as well.

Since it sounds like you've mostly been studying card stuff, that's probably the best course of action. There will always be tricks as well that play just as easily to a big audience as a small - you just need to maintain visibility.

Regarding youth @ mentalism...

I recently had a discussion with Bob Cassidy on this very matter, actually... It depends. There was a topic on the Cafe along these lines as well. I think the basic general consensus was, it's probably easier to go with a psychic persona. You don't necessarily need as much knowledge to explain your persona, for example.

However, I'm personally reasonably young (I'm at Uni), and from my experience, being young does not preclude you from using a psychological persona either. Whilst I do not have nearly enough experience or knowledge to present myself as an expert in manipulating psychology and other such things, I do study psychology, have a genuine interest in it, and that's how I present my persona - as a student of psychology, exploring genuine psychological phenomena. I'm obviously biased, I might in fact be the worst mentalist in the world, but I think it works for me, and it's something certain people can pull off. In any case - it's definitely not a given that young people can't perform mentalism convincingly, or that young people can't use a psychological persona.

There are two other important factors that come to mind - age, and context. This works for me because I'm a uni student, and a psych major. Obviously, someone a bit younger wouldn't be able to pull off a student with requisite commitment. Also, I prefer to perform at intimate gatherings, and generally perform for friends, and through word of mouth; because of that, I obviously can't claim psychic powers to my friends, that would be ludicrous.