Taken from my thread
"Magic As A"
Magic as an Escape
Magic, my escape boat out of this place we call reality. Having tough times? Parents fighting? Bad things are happening? I will usually run and go in front of my computer and make a couple of magic videos.
I use my magic as a diversion from everything that is going wrong around me. It makes my body flow with excitement and happiness even in the worst of times. Just standing there practicing my ACR will bring joy to me. I know magic may not seem like that to everyone, but it is my escape, my hapiness.
For example, my grandfather just passed away, I cried but I knew I just couldn't willow away in my sadness, I had to get up and get going. Where did I turn, magic. The night I found out he passed away, I made 2 magic videos. Even the simplest of things, in the hardest of times, brought joy to me, that day.
So I am just saying that if anything goes wrong, or if you just feel down one day, go to your room, pick up a deck of cards, and do some magic. It will bring a smile to your face everytime. It did for me!
Magic as History
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You can learn history from school, from history books, but you'll never find magic history in the encyclopedia, or world history. Ever since I started to do magic, I learned soooo much about history I never thought I would know.
When my mom bought me my first book with magic history, David Blaine Mysterious Stranger, I thought it would be a biography, but it tought me things I was amazed to lean about other magicians.
Most people, once again, I will say it, think it's a hobby, but I doubt any of those people thought that you could learn incredible fun, and valuable information from this so called "hobby".
Magic is an incredible learning source, not just for tricks, but about different magicians who changed the magic community, and influenced us in ways never imaginable.
Magic as a Story
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I'm assuming you are all saying... ANOTHER MAGIC AS A...... well.. yes.. another one. I have covered attractions and escapes. Well... you guessed it, my next one is STORY! Whenever I perform magic, I always, almost always try to tell a story along with the trick.
Incorporating stories with a routine or a trick makes it seem more realistic. It will also get the spectator more immersed with your trick.
Try telling a story about a magician a long time ago and what happend to him while performing this trick, or like how Brad tell the story about a guy looking at him over his shoulder and flipping the deck while he performed Triumph. Doing these kind of things will get the specator listening and intrigued, egging you on to see more.
I will usually talk about a Heckler or tough cookie bringing me down one night, it gets them thinking that I am not that good of a magician, but then you finish the trick leaving the spectator dumfounded and in awe.
Try something if you haven't told stories in you routines before. Before you tell the story look up at them, then after or during story, look up at them again and watch their faces, they will look different. They will be more immersed and invovled with it listening intently to find out what comes next.
Magic as a Profession
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Ok, well I'm back once again. I dunno, this is number what already? Well anyways. Here we go!
The next time you say I want to be a magician when I grow up and someone says, PFFT, yeah right, you can't get a job being a magician, stare them in the eye and spit on them. Not really! But just laugh and show them all different magicians who actually made a decent living doing what they love.
I know that I will do magic for the rest of my life, and maybe even make it my profession, either it being my own television show, doing events, huge shows, or having my own magic shop. If it will be any of those, I will be happy.
If any of you guys want to do magic for a living, don't let other people bring you down and tell you it's impossible to make a living on that. Just remember Houdini, Dai Vernon, Brad Christian, many people on Ellusionist with jobs as magicians, and other people who might run magic shops near your homes. Think of them and how they do magic as a living.
Magic as an Attraction
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Magic seems to be doing everything for me these days. It brings me hapiness in hard times, gives me good grades in English class (alright), and a new one... it brought me love.
It didn't just happen to me, I know many other people who experienced love at first sight using magic. Let me give you an explanation of Magic as an Attraction.
I went to a party at my friends house thinking it would be lame, little did I know it would bring me one of the loveliest days of my life. I performed some magic to a girl there who I've liked forever, but she hasn't really noticed me much. So I performed my magic. A couple of hours later she asked to speak to me privately in another room. I went with her wondering what this was all about... when we arrived at the room, she kissed me.
She said that when I did my magic, she saw a part of me she never knew. She said I acted different and she loved the way I acted.
What I am saying is that magic is just something to do as a hobby. But it can do much more. It can bring love, joy, happiness, friendship, fun, laughter. Magic shouldn't just be considered as a little thing to do on the side of time. But if you work hard enough, it may bring you what you've always wanted!
Magic as a Comedy
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Who hasn't seen comedy in magic? I mean, without a little comedy, magic would be as dull... as a dull.... knife? Yeah that's right. Here is Magic as a Comedy.
Just like magic as a story, if we don't incorporate a little comedy, people will just walk away because it's so boring. I put different types of comedy to either misdirect the specator, or to get him or her more intrigued.
There are many different styles of comedy, but I prefer randomness. You all may have already noticed, I can be pretty random from time to time. Maybe that might make you think I'm immature, but it is my favourite type of comedy.
It doesn't really matter which type of comedy you use, it just has to fit your routine perfectly. Because if you are doing a Levitation, don't say "So why did the chicken cross the road...." That wouldn't be very appropriate for the type of magic you are doing.
What I am saying with this is that, if you put some comedy in your routine, the spectator will leave with a great magic act in their memory, and a couple of laughs.
Magic as an Excercise
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Yep, I'm back and kickin it! Well here come Magic as an Excercise.
Magic it excercises your thumbs, makes them stronger and such. Nah. Not really, but what magic does excercise, is your brain. It makes you think, you can't just do magic without thinking, you always have to be in control of the situation, therefore, meaning, you have to think!
Let's say you are doing your ambitious card routine and the spectators and grabbing and touching, you have to think, control the situation. You have to practice how to stay in control and what to do.
Even if most of you think excercise is with body parts, WRONG!! Your mind has to be intact for the events coming up in the future.
If you can't think, you will mess up your whole routine, so you have to practice different exercises to control your spectators.
Magic as a... Way of Life.
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Yes, I'm back... even if you guys haven't really been replying. I will always add to this thread when I come up with ideas.
Magic, I can't go a day without picking up a deck of cards, coin or any gimmick I have lying around. It is just that magic is a part of me now, and it's stuck with me forever.
I wouldn't call magic an addiction to me, more of an... addiction? Hehe. Well, it's just that even when I don't have a deck of cards I will find something else to improvise or do magic with.
Magic is just too much a part of me for me to let it go. Sometimes I think to myself... Am I going crazy over magic... or am I addicted? It's the first one.
Magic is a part of all of us just like eating. We have to do it or else our "Powers" will be lost. Without our excessive practice, we would just be making stuff up on the spot. And I can say for all of us, that is not a good idea.
Mitchell