magician foolers
- Thread starter jjqidding
- Start date
Why? You seem to be just starting out in magic (at least that is my sense based on your posts). Trying to fool other magicians really is a waste of time and puts your focus on the wrong things.
It is a waste of time because 1) you probably won't fool a knowledgable magician with any off the shelf effect because they can come up with 10 ways to do the same effect; 2) if you do fool them, it is because they just don't know that effect; 3) if you do fool them, you will be tempted to teach them how you did it -- which isn't cool with published effects that they didn't purchase; and 4) once you fool them with one effect, you will keep seeking out other effects because you can't perform that same effect for the same magicians.
It puts the focus on the wrong things because you only care about the method and not the presentation. By focusing on the method, you assume there is an intrinsic level of interest in the props and the magic. That really isn't the case when you perform for real audiences. Real audiences want to be entertained, not fooled. If you perform your magic to try to fool your audience, the audience's reaction is to try to figure out what you did. That results in either the audience feeling like a fool (i.e. stupid) or the audience calling out the magician on how they did it. It is what Darwin Ortiz calls challenge magic in his book Strong Magic. The focus should be on making your magic interesting and entertaining because of you and how you present it. Good tricks don't make a good magician, a good magician makes good magic out of any tricks.
I have taken the most basic principle in Mark Wilson's Complete Course and turned it into my closing piece for a kids show. Any magician would recognize the method instantly when I tear off a corner of a card and hand it to a spectator to hold. Every kid and adult in the room is enchanted and amazed by the routine because of the scripting and presentation.
Don't fool me, entertain me.
It is a waste of time because 1) you probably won't fool a knowledgable magician with any off the shelf effect because they can come up with 10 ways to do the same effect; 2) if you do fool them, it is because they just don't know that effect; 3) if you do fool them, you will be tempted to teach them how you did it -- which isn't cool with published effects that they didn't purchase; and 4) once you fool them with one effect, you will keep seeking out other effects because you can't perform that same effect for the same magicians.
It puts the focus on the wrong things because you only care about the method and not the presentation. By focusing on the method, you assume there is an intrinsic level of interest in the props and the magic. That really isn't the case when you perform for real audiences. Real audiences want to be entertained, not fooled. If you perform your magic to try to fool your audience, the audience's reaction is to try to figure out what you did. That results in either the audience feeling like a fool (i.e. stupid) or the audience calling out the magician on how they did it. It is what Darwin Ortiz calls challenge magic in his book Strong Magic. The focus should be on making your magic interesting and entertaining because of you and how you present it. Good tricks don't make a good magician, a good magician makes good magic out of any tricks.
I have taken the most basic principle in Mark Wilson's Complete Course and turned it into my closing piece for a kids show. Any magician would recognize the method instantly when I tear off a corner of a card and hand it to a spectator to hold. Every kid and adult in the room is enchanted and amazed by the routine because of the scripting and presentation.
Don't fool me, entertain me.
Thanx for thw insights! So are there any tips on how i can perform like an entertainer more then because people are indeed always trying to figure out the trick instead of just enjoying it, i really would like to make an audience feel entertained and wondered at the same time (sorry for my bad english)
I would say that you first need to learn the trick inside and out. Get it down to the point where you can almost do it without thinking. The more comfortable you are in performing the trick the easier it is to manage your audience and build up your presentation.
When you perform well the chances of you fooling someone are much higher. You have your personality and pacing that will help you out. Aaron Fisher really illustrates this in this web series he put together: http://www.aaronfishermagic.com/how-to-do-easy-card-tricks-pt1/
I was "fooled" by a couple of these effects, even though they are very basic, it was Aaron's performance that was fooling.
As far as "Magician Foolers" go I am often surprised at what fools magicians. Most of the time it is very simple stuff. There is a lot in Royal Road that will fool many magicians when presented well.
When you perform well the chances of you fooling someone are much higher. You have your personality and pacing that will help you out. Aaron Fisher really illustrates this in this web series he put together: http://www.aaronfishermagic.com/how-to-do-easy-card-tricks-pt1/
I was "fooled" by a couple of these effects, even though they are very basic, it was Aaron's performance that was fooling.
As far as "Magician Foolers" go I am often surprised at what fools magicians. Most of the time it is very simple stuff. There is a lot in Royal Road that will fool many magicians when presented well.
Close up magic should be a conversation. Think about what makes a good conversaton. Generally, it is an interesting topic, interaction (one person shouldn't be talking all the time) and being with a likable person. For the interesting topic, make you magic about something other than what you are doing with the props. Interaction is asking questions, listening to answers and having the spectators do something. Being likable is about your character and the bottom line is that you won't be likable with magic if you aren't likeable without magic.
The problem is that most effects are taught so that you narrate the adventures of the props in your hands. I'm going to take this deck and have you pick a card. Now you will put the card back in the deck. I'm going to shuffle the deck. It's what I call say-do-see patter. You say what you are going to do, do it and tell the audience to see what happened. I'll be honest, most non-magicians are not interested in the adventures of a deck of cards or a couple of coins. Heck, I'm a magician and I'm not interested in hearing someone go on about what they are doing with their deck.
So, pick an effect you perform. I can give you what my script would be for that effect and you can see what I'm talking about.
Great advice here. I think it was Eric Mead who joked if you want a trick to fool Magicians, perform an effect from a book. lol
Haunted Deck (off the top of my head) - Have you ever been to a seance? [listen to response and comment on it]. I've always wanted to see a Victorian seance -- maybe see the Davenport Brothers performing in a London parlor. From what I understand, they would summon ghosts who would do things such as ring bells and levitate tables. Do you believe in ghosts? [listen to response and comment on it]. I do. Well, actually I would like to believe in ghosts but I've never actually seen one. If I was to meet a ghost, I think it would be cool to meet a famous person from history, not the town drunk from some rinky dink hamlet. Being a magician, I'd love to meet the ghost of a famous magician. One of my favorite magicians is Harry Blackstone. I'd love to talk to him but I'd also love to have him perform magic for me. Do you think we could summon the spirt of Harry Blackstone? [listen and respond]. Well, I've read that there are certain magic words you use to summon a dead magician. Do you know what they are? [listen and respond]. Actually, they are "pick a card." [NOTE - I'm going on a while talking before I even introduce the prop]. I understand that dead magicians only come back for a good reason, so I want you to return the card to the deck. Maybe a randomly selected card hopelessly lost in the deck would be a good reason for a magician to come back. What do you think would happen next if I really could summon the spirit of Harry Blackstone. [listen - chances are they will say that he would find the lost card]. How about this, you close your eyes and try to summon the spirit of Harry Blackstone and we will see what happens. Better yet, why don't I close my eyes and you can tell me what happens. [NOTE - this puts the spectator in the position of seeing the magic and you not seeing it]. [Close eyes]. I summon the ghost of Harry Blackstone. Come, complete this card trick. Come, have one more chance to amaze the living. [Open eyes] What happened? [Spectator explains deck cut and card came out]. No, seriously, did you find your own card? [Chances are they might say it was a ghost - if not, ask] If you didn't, was it a ghost? Well, we've been over this. I can't belive in ghosts since I've never seen one and I just can't take your word for it.
Triumph (again, off the top of my head) - The other day, I was performing this trick for a spectator. I had her select a card. [Have the current spectator do what happens in your story as you say it.] She told me that she didn't like card tricks. I had her look at the card and put it back into the deck. She told me she especially didn't like card trick that I did. I told my wife [or mom if you aren't married] that wasn't a very nice think to say. But I couldn't leave it at that. As I was shuffling, I had to ask, "why don't you like my card tricks?" She said that I either screwed them up or they weren't magical. I asked her if she thought that I'd screw this one up or if it wouldn't be magical. She said, "Both, especially because you just shuffled the cards together upside down. I asked her if she would be impressed if the trick worked. She just laughed. I snapped my fingers and told her that all the mixed up card had magically turned face down in the deck, except for her selected card. She said, "that would be a good one" and walked away. That would be a good one, wouldn't it? After she had left, I spread out the cards... and I realized that she would never believe me.
Triumph (again, off the top of my head) - The other day, I was performing this trick for a spectator. I had her select a card. [Have the current spectator do what happens in your story as you say it.] She told me that she didn't like card tricks. I had her look at the card and put it back into the deck. She told me she especially didn't like card trick that I did. I told my wife [or mom if you aren't married] that wasn't a very nice think to say. But I couldn't leave it at that. As I was shuffling, I had to ask, "why don't you like my card tricks?" She said that I either screwed them up or they weren't magical. I asked her if she thought that I'd screw this one up or if it wouldn't be magical. She said, "Both, especially because you just shuffled the cards together upside down. I asked her if she would be impressed if the trick worked. She just laughed. I snapped my fingers and told her that all the mixed up card had magically turned face down in the deck, except for her selected card. She said, "that would be a good one" and walked away. That would be a good one, wouldn't it? After she had left, I spread out the cards... and I realized that she would never believe me.
To be entertaining rather than flashy or knowledgeable, is something that is learned more the more experience you have performing magic. However a good way to start is doing effects that have very simple methods (Key card is a great example), or effects in which it seems the spectator is doing the magic (Out of This World), the more interaction the better.