good idea for a thread!
well, at the moment i cant claim i know much, because im still a noob, still in the practicing stages of magic, and thus haven't preformed, but i've been putting a lot of thought into this recently, and so thought i would share anyways.
i recently re-realised that my goal in life is to push people past their boundaries, make them think critically, and evaluate their belief systems. my best example of how i do that would be... well, ME! im a 6 foot 200lb black guy with dreadlocks, a whole bunch of piercings including a 3 inch tusk threw my nose, and a split tongue. my name is Ssnshyn (pronounced sunshine), and im a non-violent vegetarian, who doesnt smoke weed (contrary to popular belief). a super friendly, and once you know me VERY approachable. most people i meet will come up to me a day or 2 later, and, with embarrassment written all over their face, tell me about how afraid of me they were when they first met me.
i recently considered taking out my piercings as a lifestyle choice, to make my life easier when it come to preforming (juggling now, magic in the future), but then i realized NO. i dont WANT to be your everyday clean cut, presentable, funny magician (or juggler for that matter), i KNOW that people like me, and im going to work with that, because even if that makes my life a little harder than it has to be, and even tho it will be a little bit harder to gain a good rapport with certain audiences, they will leave with a lot more to think about.
not only will they be thinking HOW did he DO that, they might be thinking, wow, that guy was REALLY nice, i wonder why i was afraid of him, come to think of it, why am i afraid of that guy with the green mohawk that come into my work everyday, he never gave me any REAL reason to be afraid of him, maybe i will say hi next time.
and so, as im learning the routines and sleights im working on, im trying to think of ways to meld this train of thought into it. you know, "BAM, i just changed this 8 of clubs into YOUR singed card, the 2 of hearts, hahaha, well, ok, nvm, appearances arent everything you know, see, if actually let you FEEL this 2 of hearts..... you feel how cold that card is, thats because its NOT actually your card, red is a much WARMER colour than this, BAM, see, it was the 8 of clubs all along, you cant trust everything you see, always think about other possibilities. and NO, i didnt just switch cards, that would have been impossible, because as you can see, your signed card is STILL in the middle of the deck....is ACTUALLY in my pocket. (if not signed): is ACTUALLY in that NOT so empty card box you've been holding the whole time, ect, ect....
so yeah, my point is, dont just want to distract people, i want to give them the opportunity to think!
(i dont want my magic to be and action movie, i dont want it to be a comedy movie, i want it to be a documentary, like zeitgeist)
p.s. for those of you in the dark:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z9WVZddH9w
Magicians are actors no matter which way you slice it. They should know something about the craft of acting.
i've been thinking about his alot recently, (as well as dancing class's to help my juggling). do you have any advice on ways to go about getting general acting lessons OTHER than paying a bunch of money to go to an acting school or something.
i guess maybe just joining a local theatre troupe or something?
