You’ve Got Talent: Characterizing the Presentation of Magic
(Chapters 1-3 of 15)
I. Introduction
When I started doing magic some odd 26 years ago I really sucked at it. Of course I was nearly three years old too. From the time I could walk to even late into my twenties I would buy a trick, take it home, learn it, master it, and present it. I never put any thought into the presentation or the theater aspect of magic until I became a member at the Magic Castle. In my three years I spent haunting those walls, I learned quite a bit about not only how to present magic effectively, but what about magic that is effective. In my eternal drive to be better than I was yesterday I took note of something unique; All of my favorite acts and performers had a certain character about them that drew me in.
When I would research magic performances online, I noticed that a lot of the videos that I didn’t like, that I watched on sites like Youtube, weren’t just because of the performers inability to execute his moves correctly or in a covert manner but more importantly, their presentation failed to draw me in! There just wasn’t anything special about them that separated them from the next link on the page.
That really got me thinking about my presentation. I knew it was important, and I was beginning to understand why having a character would be a very good idea. This only became more obvious when I took the turn to go down the sideshow path. It seemed every Carney that I met had a character and a unique name. So it dawned on me, if I want to push my magic to the next level, then I must become more memorable. While I certainly may not need to be overly dramatic on stage, I did need to have a character.
In this document I’ll discuss everything you’ll want to know about finding your character, why you would want to have a character, and even selecting stage names. So grab something to take notes on, a pen, and let’s get started!
II. Why Would You Want A Character?
You may be thinking to myself “Why would I need a character? What’s wrong with the way I present magic as is?” To answer your question, the way you present magic is already a character. When you take the stage to perform you transform yourself from your normal everyday self into an entertainer. You turn up the charisma dial a few notches, your moves become smoother, perhaps more exaggerated, and you gain that twinkle in your eye that helps lure people into the world you are presenting. You just may not realize it consciously. Characters are an essential part of any performance. They help provide a framework for the audience to hang their experiences on. A character can be just as powerful performance tool in your arsenal than any clip shift or pass.
When you perform as a character you are giving yourself a set of limits and standards. You become more focused on your presentation. Characters may or may not do things exactly how you would. I find that being forced to focus on the presentation helps me cut away the unnecessary parts of patter in my act and really deliver a more solid performance. Besides, it’s fun to pretend! Who didn’t play cops and robbers as a child? Well, in a way those were characters too!
One of the biggest advantages to developing a character, and possibly the strongest argument for it is the ability to speak of yourself in third person. When someone asks you about your act, it’s human nature to be modest. But if you were asked about David Blaine’s show, you’d spare no detail! You will find that speaking about your character or show in a third person makes it easier to discuss with potential clients just how awesome you are. Also, and this may just be a personal experience, but I’ve found that it’s easier to accept criticism when it’s about my character. It feels to me less of a personal attack.
Want a fresh start? Are you not happy with your current image, or how people view your act? Creating a character and a new image could just be the ticket to that reboot your act is in need of. Take the singer and song writer Madonna for an example. Just look at how many times she’s reinvented herself over the years, and then look at the amount of success she’s enjoyed from doing it!
Having a solid character concept for your show can also provide a much needed foundation to build your marketing plan on. Since you know how the character will behave and act, you can focus on creating exciting advertisements, compelling press releases, or mysterious curiosity invoking invitations to your next performance.
III. Understanding The Five Elements
When you are dealing with character development you are going to have to answer the five simple questions that make up five elements that define a character.
· Who are you?
· What do you do?
· How do you do it?
· Why do you do it & the audience care?
· Where does your character come from?
Once you are able to answer these simple questions then the chances are good you have a strong grasp on the character idea you want to present to your audiences. Let’s take a closer look into each of these.
Who are you? Indeed, who? This is more than just a name, although we’ll be discussing names later on. This is also an identity. Are you the top hat and tails performer that is the cliché image of a magician? Are you the T-shirt and jeans sporting “street” individual? Are you an emo/goth who is the unlikely performer caught on the spot? How about a card shark/ hustler/ Gambler/ Godfather type character? Or are you the showbiz, glitz and glamour Las Vegas hotshot? Like a kid in a candy store there are so many wonderful options to chose from, so take some time to carefully consider this.
What do you do? The kind of magic you perform will also be key in helping shape this important second step. Obviously, if you only do card magic, you’re not going to be developing a character prone to doing grand illusions. Think about this carefully. You can either build a character around your current skill sets and performance pieces, or you can run in the opposite direction and create something more organic and new. It’s up to you! I’m going to warn you now though, the kind of character you want to create, and the kind of magic that character performs may end up being two separate things. In short- be prepared to rebuild your act if needed! I learned that the hard way with my character Draven.
How do you do it? How you do y our magic? Do you perform it flashy or are you strait laced? Do you perform comedy, or do you perform serious pieces that are designed to invoke thought and contemplation? Are you human or are you something else? How you do it, sometimes can be just as important as why you do it.
Why do you do it? And to a lesser degree, Why should the audience care? This is a BIG question here, and one you need to have a full understanding of if you have any intentions to make your character read right and your act successful. WHY do you do your magic? What is your characters motivation? Why do you pull out a deck of cards, Why should I care about YOUR ambitious card trick when the guy at the other street corner is probably doing the same thing? Why are you interesting? Why should I pay money to see you perform? Why, why why? Meditate on this one folks, spend a week, or two. This question alone will help you in your marketing efforts to help sell your act, so it’s a important one to answer.
Where do you does your character come from? This really is the lesser of the five elements and probably will never come into play for the majority of your magician characters. However, sometimes it helps in the character creation process to take a step back and look at a characters history to get a better idea of what shaped the characters personal beliefs, behavior patterns, etc. Also if you are going to perform with an accent that isn’t naturally yours, it would help to do some research into the area where that accent comes from.
(To Be continued...)
