Magicians on the internet have been conditioned to believe that there is only one proper reaction to a magic performance - screaming, illiterate, homeless people shouting expletives and running away.
The truth is, this is one of the weakest reactions one could strive for as it is purely visceral. We could elicit the same response by threatening them with a knife or farting loudly (and noxiously) in the direction.
Real magic performances do not occur like the fantasies we are fed on magic demos and TV street specials. Real magicians don't get to burn through hours of tape to find the one idiot without social awareness.
So, a truly stunned audience doesn't "read" on the web.
Take for example Zach's performance on Master's of Illusion. The girl he worked for was stunned. You can see it in her face. But so many here thought he failed.
He didn't.
They simply have no idea how real people respond to magic in real performing conditions - life is but a "single take" opportunity.
So, a real performance in front of real people will be met with shouts of "boring" or "why didn't he do something badazz like 'flow.'"
What these critics can't see is the captivation of the audience, the depth of the moment of astonishment, or the connection created between the performer and his guests.
Shame.
Brad Henderson
