An Unlikely Gift

 

 

 

 

Another tale from the world of “Gift Magic”. A few weeks ago I had a run in with a troubled student at my school. He’s not one of my students. (Obviously, since all my students know that “Stonewick’s ligit”). He was tossing stones at me while we were all outside during a fire drill. I called him out on it and he became hostile. So I walked right up into his face like a DI and let him have it. Eventually he backed down, the “All Clear” bell rang and we went our separate ways. I know, I know: a real wizard would have demonstrated humor and compassion and never let it escalate into a shouting match but, I guess I was just having one of those days. I also have hall duty during lunch right where he hangs out with his friends and I got tired of feeling disjointed so I asked him…”How you doing today Wesley?” To which he replied…”Same crap, different day”. I acknowledged understanding and asked him if anyone ever told him that “These are the best days of your life”? he said “Yes” and I told him “Don’t believe it for a second! Just wait. It gets so much better after you get out of here” He was kind of surprised by that. I then went into Lawrence Hass’ “Simple Gift”. When he made the large gemstone appear in my hand I gave it to him as a reminder of the brighter future that waits for him down the road. My peace offering. My words of encouragement for a lost teen. I hope it sticks. I’ll be there for him if he needs me. Stay tuned…

UPWARD SPIRALING

Much has been written about Daryl Fitzkee’s pivotal work known as “The Fitzkee Trilogy”; And for good reason. The trilogy consists of “The Trick Brain”, “Magic by Misdirection” and “Showmanship for Magicians”. Any magician of value is well acquainted with this masterpiece of magical wisdom. 

I recently read “Showmanship for Magicians” for the third time. I took many notes and spent a great deal of time in honest reflection of my own discipline in the art. Parenthetically, I got into this habit after reading Eugene Burger’s “Experience of Magic”. In it, Burger challenges the reader to deeply understand the various concepts and not simply decode the text and keep moving.  

For example, more than once I have read Fizkee’s thoughts on such things as build, pointing, characterization, harmony, unity and so on. In the past I have read these words, nodded in agreement and kept moving toward the end of the book. But since absorbing Burger’s attitude toward such things, On this third reading of Fitzkee’s work I made sure I was paying attention, understanding everything Fitzkee was telling me, asking myself whether or not I was using any of these techniques  and imagining how these concepts might be incorporated into my own structuring and scripting.

By the time I was finished with the book I had a pile of notes and a ton of inspiration. I targeted a void in my repertoire for  fitzkeeification.  I almost always have a piece of gift magic at the ready in the event that someone asks about, shows interest in, or just plain needs some magic. But what would I do if someone put a deck of cards into my hands and said…”Dance monkey boy!” Yes, I know more than a few card tricks. But I don't want to just perform a hand full of disassiciated card tricks. I want something more. Something polished, smooth and unified. There are several criteria that will whittle down the number of available effects from my repertoire. First; no set up, gaffs or gimmicks. No big deal there. Still a comfortable number of effects to choose from. But of those effects, how many do I have scripted? Now the question becomes…Of all the scripted effects in my repertoire that fit the above constraints are there three that I can put together in a building and unifying way? A complete set as it were; with a clear beginning, middle and end.

So I got to work. What would be the unifying theme? How would I frame each piece to compliment and support the structure of that theme? How would I create “build”? Which audience “appeals” would I target? How would I incorporate “pointing” and so on.  Eventually, a scripted, impromptu three-piece card set with borrowed cards began to emerge. A card set using a unifying theme and appealing to the audience’s most powerful interests…themselves.

Last week (after much practice and rehearsal) I gave that set a test flight for 5 different audiences. The result was more than I expected. The audience members were in rapt and happy attention. The structure and scripting were tight enough to keep things moving but loose enough to allow that back and forth play between audience and performer. The theme, frames and scripts were all mine so that gave it personal performance viscosity. That is, it had a smooth, easy and natural flow. In the end, it was enthusiastically received and a joy to perform.

I highly recommend this exercise to anyone like myself who intends to make magic a primary source of income in the foreseeable future. I have learned a great deal from Daryl Fitzkee and the application of his elements of showmanship. I have taken his words of wisdom from 1943 and put them into action in a real and practical way. I have learned so much from this self-assigned project. It gives me another small pop above that long plateau trek.  But to my way of thinking, that small rise is a major achievement. It brings me even closer to my ultimate goal. Besides, I love creating small things and building  upward…

SIMPLE GIFTS

 

 

 
 Recently I've been doing a lot of gift magic. Gift magic is a remarkable thing. It can be performed as one piece in a larger performance or as a stand alone effect. But it is so much more than just leaving someone with a souvenir. There is great power in Gift Magic. Gentle power, but power all the same. It builds confidence, it brings us back to the basics and it exalts the art.

Dr. Lawrence Hass has written extensively about the many venues of magical performance. Hass describes one branch of close-up magic as “Greeting Magic”. Greeting Magic is a single effect performed when meeting someone for the first time or when someone we know asks for a “trick” or when we sense that someone needs a little magic.

One of the great things about Greeting Magic is we are not locked in to a performance. (And neither is the audience). If things don’t go well, it’s over before anyone has time to reject anyone else. Although this is an extremely rare occurrence, it’s still a comfort to know one can easily walk away if things fall to pieces. That being the case, Greeting Magic is a sure fire way to get over the Heebe Jeebies of performing magic. The checkout girl at the market, the child who bumped his head and needs a happy distraction or the couple we are chatting with while waiting for a table in a restaurant. These are all prime targets for our Skinnerian designs. The fact that the recipient is given a charged gift and is grateful, mystified and delighted goes a long way in building confidence.

This kind of Greeting/Gift Magic has done more for me personally than just build confidence. It continually brings me back to the basics. Once and a while I discover I am overwhelming myself with too many complicated routines and knuckle-busting manipulations. Focusing on the (usually) simple and straight forward presentations of Gift Magic allows me to gauge how effectively I am interacting with the audience. Am I looking them in the eye? Are the expressions on their faces telling me anything? Am I directing their attention efficiently, and so on.

In my view, none of us are any one particular archetype in magic. While we may lean toward the Trickster, Oracle, Sorcerer or Sage, I feel we are more likely to find ourselves cycling through each one of these archetypes. And with each incarnation we gain knowledge and wisdom. Think of an upward spiral. So each time I find myself working on Gift Magic, I am doing so at a higher level of awareness than in previous iterations. I always seem to be hanging for dear life to that wild learning curve and I will not have it any other way!

Finally, It is important for anyone claiming to be a magician to have something at the ready for the inevitable. “I’m not prepared” is not a very magical response when someone shows interest in what we do.

I also believe Gift Magic elevates the art. The cliché image in people's minds of the magician as a fast talking “now you see it, now you don’t” wise guy is still alive and well. Performance magic is still often all about the performer. It seems to me art that works is successful because it is not about the artist, but rather, how his or her creation resonates with the audience. Gift magic is powerful harmonic resonance. It’s like Gandalf riding into town, dazzling the village with his wonders, granting a simple wish and vanishing before anyone has a chance to spoil the moment by over thinking it. The harried waitress, the bruised child or that nice lady in line, now have a fetish object that will be focus of tellings and recounts for ages to come. Their otherwise ordinary trinket becomes charged with mojo because the possessor helped bring it into being. It means something. It is a reminder of their wishes and deepest desires. And in that, like Gandalf, we become the stuff of legend.

For more information on Gift Magic please see “Gift Magic” (performances that leave people with a souvenir) edited by Dr. Lawrence Hass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEW BEGINNINGS

       January is all about new beginnings. So I am inspired to reboot this blog which has not been posted in for a little over 2 years. This is not about resolutions. I never was a resolution maker. I've never really been much of a "Happy New Year" guy either. I've always felt that the New Year is whenever you want it to be.

I am however, interested in growth. The old postings were helpful in tracking my progress from hack toward a more favorable status. I am very happy to report that although the progress has been slow, I have covered much ground and improved in many elements of magical performance. Still many miles to go.


I am grateful for my friends and teachers in the art. I have been the recipient of heaps of kindness and generosity. I hope to expand on this in future postings. The first few of which will be an attempt to recap some of the challenges ans successes since the previous incarnation of Le Prestigitorium.  


The purpose here is less of an attempt to communicate concepts, theories and ideas to others and more of a tool of self-reflection and discovery. If for some odd reason you are reading this blog and would like to contribute thoughts and ideas of your own, that would be awesome.


Here we go,,,

First Fruits

Although I’ve been performing magic from one degree or another for 30 years, I never wrote scripts for my repertoire until this past fall. Since last Spring I have put my study of the art into high gear and hungrily consumed essential books by authors such as Maskelyne and Devant, Fitzkee, Nelms, Ortiz, Weber, Neale and Hass. There is the risk of shutting down due to information overload but I just can’t get enough of this stuff. It was certainly a no-brainer that if I wanted to take my art to the next level script writing was the unavoidable next step. There are so many variables to rein in it boggles the mind: Character, meaning, theme, timing, misdirection (both physical and mental), motivation, dramatic structure, logic, contradiction and dilemma. Just to name a few. I was aware of some of the important details, but most others would have never occurred to me. Always a beginner I suppose.

If last year was about revitalizing, learning and performing old favorites and standard classics, this year is about building more powerful presentations from last year’s accomplishments. The results have thus far been fruitful. To name just a few: A three-phase routine I worked out based on “The Last Trick of Dr. Daley”, “Card to Pocket”, an old effect with a handkerchief I learned as a 12 year old, “Red Hot Mama”, “Gypsy Thread” “Three-Ball Transposition”, “Expansion of Texture”, “Winged Silver” and more. All scripted and motivated to mesh with my performing persona and style. As a result there is a common theme that runs through all these pieces. One advantage is the most obvious. The effects are stronger and seem more like real magic rather than amusing and clever puzzles. Another advantage of script writing is since they all conform to my vision and style, they all fit together. That makes the construction of a strong series of themed effects much easier.


At this point I have about 40 effects in my repertoire. (That’s 30 years worth and they’re not all “A” material). About 13 of them are formally scripted, so far. It’s time-consuming and requires all my effort and focus, but it’s not drudgery. It is a joyful labor of gratitude as Dr. Larry Hass might put it.

Here’s one that flopped. The Sympathetic Pendulum. It appears in Henning Nelms’ outstanding and essential book “Magic and Showmanship”. Unconvinced it was a great piece of magic, but still curious how it might play, I decided to see what I could do with it. I must have spent 2 weeks scripting the effect for this experiment. I used a small quartz hatchet head and historical information about local ancient tribes and medicine men. I performed it before five different audiences. The response was polite and mildly amused smiles. Not the reaction I was working for. The piece is intriguing but just too slow. I would be curious to know of anyone else’s experience with this illusion. It was still a good exercise in script writing. At least I now had practical experience of the importance of a brisk pace.

One the other hand there is my treatment of “Card on Ceiling”. I have been performing this effect for years but the response was never what I thought it should be for such an impossible demonstration. I had just finished reading Robert Neale’s “Magic Matters” and although I’m still scratching my head over that book, it did put my mind in a different place. So I worked up a handling of “Card on Ceiling” that was a little dark. I was apprehensive about presenting it. I feared it would be melodramatic at best and hackney at worse. But I spent so much time with it I had to know how it would play. The response took me totally by surprise. Each audience was collectively astounded and very emotionally involved. Silent and astonished gasps followed by giddy release and enthusiastic applause. Ahhhh, now that there’s the stuff ain’t it. It is now probably the most powerful effect I perform.


The results speak for themselves. The experts are correct to suggest, cajole, persuade or threaten with a stick those of us who aspire to the rank of artist into taking script writing as seriously as one takes a double lift. So if anyone feels these silly blog posts are few and far between, the reason is obvious. I’m busy scripting.

Unveiled Arcana

The Dan Harlan / Jeff McBride shows and lectures last summer were, to say the very least, pivotal moments in my growth in the art. (See the two previous posts). There are two other elements that are making a powerful impact on my progress as I continue along the road toward artistry. One category is books and other is a mix of various resources such as magazine columns, websites and blogs.


I can’t help but wonder how things would have turned out if I had read some of these books as a teenager or young man. As is the case with most magicians, I caught the passion for magic as an eight year old child. In my early life I developed an adequate level of technical skill. I was able to make a few dollars here and there doing the odd birthday party, banquet or strolling work. I was even fortunate enough to have taken a few lessons from the late, great Jim Cellini. (Thanks Dad)! But I never developed into an artist. I lacked the discipline and courage necessary for that. That’s why I never read the essential books on the real secrets of magic. As a result I was a posterboy for poor showmanship. And even if all the best resources had fallen into my lap, I guess it’s safe to say it wouldn’t have done me any good anyway. I just wasn’t ready. As cliche as it is to say, it is nonetheless true..."Better late than never".


On the topic of books, the ones I have been reading and re-reading since last spring (in no particular order) are...

• “Our Magic” by Maskelyne and Devant
• “The Fitzkee Trilogy” by Dariel
Fitzkee. (“Showmanship for Magicians”,
“Magic by Misdirection” and “The Trick
Brain”)
• “Magic and Showmanship” by Henning Nelms
• “Strong Magic” by Darwin Ortiz
• “Maximum Entertainment” by Ken Weber
• “Magic Matters” by Robert Neale
• “Gift Magic” Edited by Larry Hass



I will refrain from attempting to review these books. I am neither qualified nor articulate enough to do them justice. But I can say that from a personal point of view, reading these books was like being lifted from a dark and tangled forest of disconnected ideas and incomplete thoughts. Suddenly a pattern became visible. These books provide a road map to artistry for anyone willing to apply the disciplines and exercises offered.


All these books are dog-eared and highlighted. I have been applying the advice, techniques and exercises to the effects in my repertoire. The authors of most of these books warn that putting their respective suggestions into practice is not easy. That is an understatement to be sure! The hatching of unique ideas and treatments, the script writing, the tailoring of effects to custom fit one's own style and idiom; the breaking of old
habits and learning new ones are just some of the building work involved. But the key word here is “Building”. For me, personally speaking, this is NO hobby. It is an investment. It is a passionate respect for the art. I have been cranking every micro joule of energy into this effort, but it is NOT drudgery. It's a blast. It is a pure joy. I can’t get enough of this stuff. I now actually feel like I know what I’m doing and why I’m doing it!


Since putting these tomes of wisdom to use I am getting stronger reactions from my newly re-engineered effects than ever before. I can feel the acceleration of my progress. If I keep this up for another year or so I’m confident I will close the 20-year non-magical time gap between my old life and this one. And the best part is, I now know where I am going and how to get there.

McPIPHANY

In the last posting I reported on the Dan Harlan show and lecture. As wonderful and meaningful as that was it was only the biginning. Because later that day was the incredible Jeff McBride. I have seen him on video, read about him in magazines and studied his work on DVD. But none of this prepared me for the outstanding evening of magic I was about to be treated to. Jeff McBride’s show was magnificent! Every movement was graceful. Every magical moment led to the next. Everything was seamlessly interconnected like an ascenting spiral staircase. I have heard the term “Breaking down the walls” before, but never have I seen it done so beautifully. Jeff is able to personally connect with the audience in a way that is almost scary. Everyone in that auditorium felt as though Jeff was performing just for them out of friendship.

I have seen many “Miser’s Dream” routines over the years. But Jeff McBride’s handling of it was by far the most entertaining I have ever seen. His interaction with an assistant pulled from the audience was a thing of beauty. Everyone felt they were extremely fortunate to have been present for that particular performance. And although we were, the real magic is that Jeff makes all his audiences feel this way. Amazingly the performance did not end in a crescendo of dazzling light, sound and color. (Although there was plenty of this during the show). But instead it ended in a profound calm. Like climbing a mountain and finally at the end being dumbstruck by the vista. Or being launched into space and just when you think “What’s next?” finding oneself floating weightless over the curve of the Earth in silent astonishment. What more would there be to say? It was extraordinary and satisfying. Genius.

Once the show was over it was time for the lecture.

Jeff McBride is much more than a master magician. He is also an outstanding teacher and communicator. The effects he demonstrated and taught were practical and effective. Any magician's repertoire would benefit from these illusions. Stagecraft, platform or close up, there was something there for everyone. Jeff shared two very special effects. Both of these are geared toward the daily interaction with friends, family, service people and total strangers. One of them involves a rainbow streamer and a small silk rose. Powerful stuff, gift magic.

Jeff taught multiple card productions, dancing cane moves and surprising productions. But in my opinion, the most powerful information fell into the category of "theory". Jeff McBride offered sound advice on a multitude topics such as "nerves", sweats, connecting with the audience and pushing one self to be the magician one aspires to be.

For many years I suffered from a common affliction to amateur magicians. The quest for that ONE trick that will put me where I "ought" to be. Well, that trick does not exist. Or "If I just practice in the mirror enough or perform enough I will be as good as so and so". I realized how flawed my thinking was. I understood what I really needed was serious study in the theory of the art. I was now well on my way toward becoming a better magician once I realized I already knew enough effects. It was now time to dive head first into "Deep Magic". That is, how to transform a good trick into a meaningful and powerful presentation that people emotionally respond to and remember for years.

The elusive missing piece was now in my hands. It is a coin. Stamped on one side is..."FOCUS" on the other side, "THEORY"