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Brad Burt Inner circle 2675 Posts |
LOL! Noooooo.... Prop magic. But, good solid stuff. 20th Century, change bag vanish, Hip Hops, Mouth coils, etc. Proff Nightmare was probably the most difficult routine, but they did the material offered very, very well. There is a lot to be said for working with folks who have a totally professional manner of attack on whatever performance they are doing. These young adults were hired literally as ACTORS who would PLAY the part of a PRO MAGICIAN. That's exactly how they worked at it and in many if not most cases they were as good a 'good' solid kids show performer.
I admit that they got in the back door, but it was fascinating to see the process work out. Sometimes funny. Best,
Brad Burt
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The Burnaby Kid Inner circle St. John's, Canada 3158 Posts |
I think Brad's right on. Sad to say (or not, depending on your point of view) a lot of wonderful and deceptive methodology, certainly more than a single show's worth, requires no skill, and whatever these kids could bring to the table in terms of theatrical presence would be a boon.
JACK, the Jolly Almanac of Card Knavery, a free card magic resource for beginners.
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Whit Haydn V.I.P. 5449 Posts |
I have very rarely seen an actor effectively portray a magician on stage or screen. They never seem to get the multi-leveled motivations of Our Magic, and usually come across as would be charlatans, or as people who believe in their own magic as real.
The Trickster behind the mask of the magician is always left out. A "magician" as he exists in modern culture, is a much more complex creature than he is usually imagined by the actor. I will say that it is probably easier to teach magic to a motivated actor than to teach acting to a magician. I was the chief magic consultant on the Norman Jewison movie Bogus with Whoopie Goldberg, Gerard Depardieu and Haley Joel Osment. I had to help Gerard, Haley, Denis Mercier and one other actor playing a birthday magician all do magic convincingly. The hardest part was to get the actors to realize the nature of magic, and to understand what they were actually trying to do as magicians. Their tendency was to "believe" in their magic, rather than to see magic as something they construct for the spectator. Most interesting was Gerard, who played an imaginary friend for seven year old Haley. This character did not play tricks, his magic was "real." His presentation had to be different than the others, and yet look like the magic show magic with which Haley's character would have been familiar. |
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Brad Burt Inner circle 2675 Posts |
Whit:
Excellent observation and I agree. I'm not saying they were great 'magicians' in the sense that we would wish them to be, but they were better than many 'bad' magicians I have seen. They at the very least wanted to DO a good job and cared about what they were presenting. But, you bring up a really great point. How many times have we watched even a great actor play a magician and go, "Why does that look wrong to me?" Frankly, I just couldn't figure it out as you did above. I knew that it was something 'internal'(?), but I didn't know what to call it. And, if I understand you, I have thought for a long time that people who have not done magic do not appreciate the 'trickster' inherent in what we do. ALL that I have ever done or theorized about personally has been in the service frankly of 'tricking' people. I don't deny it. I want to fool 'em and I want to generally 'fool' 'em BAD! But, I have always wanted to do it in a manner that they would enjoy. My models have always been Ron Wilson and Mike Rogers. I knew Ron only in passing. I knew and was friends with Mike for many years and they were both magicians I could watch and watch and watch and watch and never get tired of doing so. Great stuff. Best,
Brad Burt
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Pakar Ilusi Inner circle 5777 Posts |
Quote:
On 2011-08-21 11:10, stoneunhinged wrote: I'm lucky that I am an Actor and them Directors are friends of mine... In the midst of doing this with a Director friend for my new Mentalism Act... Find gentle and tactful directors though, (there are such people... ), it can be ego busting as heck...
"Dreams aren't a matter of Chance but a matter of Choice." -DC-
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George Ledo Magic Café Columnist SF Bay Area 3042 Posts |
Okay, let's start at square one...
"Director" is not a galaxy-regulated job description where you need to train for years at the Universal Director's Academy, and get certified, and have passed exams, and so forth. Anybody -- anybody -- can decide he or she is a director, and approach a local theater group, and direct a show, and have a credit to show for it, and get other jobs based on it. Good, bad, or awful, they are now a "director." I've been saying the same thing for years about set and lighting designers: same drill. Hiring a director to look at your show involves a lot of homework: who are they, what do they specialize in, what other shows have they directed, how were the reviews, what do their peers think of them, and many other questions. Is the prospective director a good personality match? Does he or she believe in what you do? Is he or she willing to listen? And so forth. If you want to invest in a director, don't take any shortcuts. Do your homework. You may not agree with everything he or she says, but there needs to be a level of trust and faith in each other. You both have to want the same thing. It's not about ego. It's about selling a show: the business part of show business.
That's our departed buddy Burt, aka The Great Burtini, doing his famous Cups and Mice routine
www.georgefledo.net Latest column: "Sorry about the photos in my posts here" |
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Pakar Ilusi Inner circle 5777 Posts |
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On 2011-08-23 00:20, George Ledo wrote: Agreed with most of it BUT... In Showbiz... It's all about egos floating around on and offstage .
"Dreams aren't a matter of Chance but a matter of Choice." -DC-
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George Ledo Magic Café Columnist SF Bay Area 3042 Posts |
"In Showbiz... It's all about egos floating around on and offstage ." -- Actually, it's really funny.
In professional show biz, there's been an ongoing battle for years and years between the producers (the business people who deal with the investors and accountants) and the talent. The talent thinks it's all about them and their art; the producers often couldn't care less about the art but are willing to put up with the talent if it'll bring in the money. The talent is just the product they're selling. There have been notable excptions: people who could do both art and business, but they are still in the minority. A read through the history of the movie industry is fascinating. So are a couple of chapters in "Maskelyne's Book of Magic" and a few of Jim Steinmayer's recent books on illusionists.
That's our departed buddy Burt, aka The Great Burtini, doing his famous Cups and Mice routine
www.georgefledo.net Latest column: "Sorry about the photos in my posts here" |
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BarryFernelius Inner circle Still learning, even though I've made 2537 Posts |
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On 2011-08-21 11:10, stoneunhinged wrote: I'll admit it; I've paid people to help me with my show. It's a strain on the ego, it's painful at times, and it forces you to think about the show and make the necessary changes. I've had to do a lot of work because I asked someone else to look at my show. In other words, this is, as Martha Stewart might say, a Good Thing.
"To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time."
-Leonard Bernstein |
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