Magicians are known to be the worst audience members; so poor in fact, that I saw on a performance video of EXTRA CREDIT by Josh Jay, the older audience didn’t seem to enjoy his humour, and someone commented under the vid:
o0zaid0o
Hate those spectators.. He is too young for them... he must get better reactions with younger people
TrickyNick79
Pretty sure it's a group of magicians. The WORST audience you can imagine.
I agree...magicians are horrible as an audience
I have witnessed, both second hand and personally, a magician dismissing a very strong and fooling effect, roll their eyes at presentation that kills audiences, and just give the magician a hard time in general. What is it about us that we don’t want to enjoy being fooled/entertained by magic? What makes us hate participating in the experience in the same craft we do? Most gourmet Chefs enjoy their own and other Chefs’ cooking, actors enjoy other actors, and musicians other musicians music!?
Sure, I have experienced magicians applaud, out of more than kindness, for what I would consider a common and straight forward routine, although usually done well. I wonder if it is because the performer is a “known” magician, so I figure those watching want it to be good...because they did pay (and/or travel a distance) to see “named” magician, so they would applaud if the magician performed the hot rod...actually, I have seen Tyler Wilson get away with this, but that is another story.
One thing I noticed, Magicians want to be performed for, rather than having an interactive magic experience...and sadly, good close up magic is not a spectator sport, it is better and more organic when the audience is engaged...not a passive watchers that happen to know a few of the secrets behind the scenes.
I find the best magicians can see and enjoy the magic the way the audience see it. Often I will get excited over something, and another magician will say, “Did that fool you”? Truthfully, I will answer, usually no, but can you imagine the impact that will have on someone not in the know? Then my friend shrugs. It is seldom I am fooled by effects after 10 years, and personally, I welcome the experience – however, I always watch magic like I watch a movie, I willingly stop thinking about the “behind the scenes”. I don’t care about the methods, I want to see it the way my audience will experience it. If I do this, I can allow myself to experience magic they way I will want my audiences to experience my magic.
For a second, imagine watching a movie, and focusing on the camera angles, sound quality, and editing...when you should be enjoying the plot and the experience. I find magicians do this while watching our craft...and it really sells their own learning experience short.
So who cares?
Well, it is not something that needs to change or magic will suck...however, I think as magicians, we should make a stronger effort to put ourselves in our audience’s shoes. This will allow us to give stronger feedback to our fellow magicians, and possibly enjoy magic outside of performing it. Lastly, it will allow us to see an effect from the outside, and critique, as best we can, what we do, and see, in an unbiased manner.
I will end on this, if you are the type that just sees method...then how can you be angry at your audiences when you perform, and that is all they want to see?
Thanks for reading – keep thinking.
o0zaid0o
Hate those spectators.. He is too young for them... he must get better reactions with younger people
TrickyNick79
Pretty sure it's a group of magicians. The WORST audience you can imagine.
I agree...magicians are horrible as an audience
I have witnessed, both second hand and personally, a magician dismissing a very strong and fooling effect, roll their eyes at presentation that kills audiences, and just give the magician a hard time in general. What is it about us that we don’t want to enjoy being fooled/entertained by magic? What makes us hate participating in the experience in the same craft we do? Most gourmet Chefs enjoy their own and other Chefs’ cooking, actors enjoy other actors, and musicians other musicians music!?
Sure, I have experienced magicians applaud, out of more than kindness, for what I would consider a common and straight forward routine, although usually done well. I wonder if it is because the performer is a “known” magician, so I figure those watching want it to be good...because they did pay (and/or travel a distance) to see “named” magician, so they would applaud if the magician performed the hot rod...actually, I have seen Tyler Wilson get away with this, but that is another story.
One thing I noticed, Magicians want to be performed for, rather than having an interactive magic experience...and sadly, good close up magic is not a spectator sport, it is better and more organic when the audience is engaged...not a passive watchers that happen to know a few of the secrets behind the scenes.
I find the best magicians can see and enjoy the magic the way the audience see it. Often I will get excited over something, and another magician will say, “Did that fool you”? Truthfully, I will answer, usually no, but can you imagine the impact that will have on someone not in the know? Then my friend shrugs. It is seldom I am fooled by effects after 10 years, and personally, I welcome the experience – however, I always watch magic like I watch a movie, I willingly stop thinking about the “behind the scenes”. I don’t care about the methods, I want to see it the way my audience will experience it. If I do this, I can allow myself to experience magic they way I will want my audiences to experience my magic.
For a second, imagine watching a movie, and focusing on the camera angles, sound quality, and editing...when you should be enjoying the plot and the experience. I find magicians do this while watching our craft...and it really sells their own learning experience short.
So who cares?
Well, it is not something that needs to change or magic will suck...however, I think as magicians, we should make a stronger effort to put ourselves in our audience’s shoes. This will allow us to give stronger feedback to our fellow magicians, and possibly enjoy magic outside of performing it. Lastly, it will allow us to see an effect from the outside, and critique, as best we can, what we do, and see, in an unbiased manner.
I will end on this, if you are the type that just sees method...then how can you be angry at your audiences when you perform, and that is all they want to see?
Thanks for reading – keep thinking.