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Starry Loyal user New York 219 Posts |
I know I'm riding a dead horse here, but to all of you guys who want to rename "Street Magic" to it's more inclusive definition: "busking.", busking refers to any activity which is performed in the street for money.
I started doing street magic way back before it was cool. I can't stand being told now I'm no longer a "street magician" and I now have to refer to myself as a "busker", just because a bunch of kids each with a deck of black cards tell me they've renamed it (no offense meant to buskers out there.) If you Google "street magic" you'll come upon my page usually somewhere in the top 10 out of the 26,000,000 pages. Right next to me is Wikipedia, "the peoples encyclopedia." Wikipedia describes it as "The first definition of street magic refers to a traditional form of magic performance - that of busking. In this, the magician draws an audience from passers by and performs an entire act for them. In exchange, the magician seeks remuneration either by having a receptacle for tips available throughout the act or by "passing the hat" at the end of the performance." Good enough for Google and Wiki, it's good enough for me.
Ace Starry - Author or THE MAGIC LIFE - A NOVEL PHILOSOPHY
http://www.starry.com/ |
Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
If your enlisting help, sign me up!
Danny Doyle
<BR>Semper Occultus <BR>In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act....George Orwell |
RicHeka Inner circle 3999 Posts |
God Bless you Starry. From what I can see you are the real deal.
I am not denigrating David Blaine, but we all know what he did was 'Made for TV Performance'. Unique in it's own way, but not reality. What the young Blaine/Angel emulator's are fantasizing about is definitely not Street Magic. I think the Wiki term 'Guerilla Magic' is definitely more accurate for these guy's...although I really don't see this workable in the real world. Hopefully the ones that are serious about the art of Magical Performance will realize this,and study,and concentrate on entertainment rather than how cool they think they are. Rich |
Michael Taggert Special user Fredericksburg Virginia 656 Posts |
No Pushing or shoving unless you have a twenty!
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MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
I....I'm wiping a tear from my eye.
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mrunge Inner circle Charleston, SC 3716 Posts |
Couldn't agree more Starry!
Mark. |
jclark Special user 510 Posts |
Same people in the same topic areas. LOL.
Glad to see you all. Frankly, I agree too despite what people may think. Best, JC |
Jamie D. Grant V.I.P. as seen in Ripley's Believe It or Not! Twice! 2413 Posts |
I'm afraid this needs to be moved to the Side Walk Shuffle section of the Café...
-jamie p.s. Just kidding!
TRICK OF THE YEAR: Industrial Revelation, BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Approach, The AIP Bottle, and my new book Scenic 52, can all be found over here: SendWonder.com
Kindness takes practice. My TEDx talk |
mrunge Inner circle Charleston, SC 3716 Posts |
Hah! Jamie, that's a great line.
Mark. |
Michael Taggert Special user Fredericksburg Virginia 656 Posts |
This is like the mens room in the bar we are all here as well LOL
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lunatik Inner circle 3225 Posts |
Just because a person isn't taking tips while performing magic on a street, does'nt mean he doesn't do street magic. truthfully, its the older folks set in their ways, not wanting change. sorry to say, but it's here to stay and is growing very rapidly. please stay in your restaurants and let the up and coming magicians redefine street magic. the term that older magicians use street magic pretty much by their definition does'nt exist today. Go to any major city and you don't see buskers really. You're more apt to see a crowd around a magician who is performing for free and entertaining the crowd! If the older generation does'nt learn to accept the fact that street magic has been re-defined, it doesn't matter. they'll soon be passing on and a new era will be defined by these trend setters.
"Don't let your Dreams become Fantasies"
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MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Actually no it isn't growing everywhere. Odd that every generation claims the older generation is going to go away and they, the brave lads, will save the day and bring a bright new tomorrow. Well, doesn't happen, you just age and the generation behind you claims you are going to go away and they will save the day and bring a new tomorrow and then they fade away and the generation behind them....
Let's make it clear, you have not changed the meaning of street magic, street magic continues to thrive and is part of the scene in many locations. You have mearly renamed strolling magic. Nothing your master Blaine did was new, nothing was his creation, he rides the same wave, as you do, of the generation you look forward to the death of. Oh well. A huge percentage of you 'street magicians' will be the guys who say "gee, I use to do magic" while the ones that moved on to learn the art of magic will be the ones saying "great, glad you liked the show". I'll tell you my issue, that is some person who knows a handful of tricks using the title 'magician' at all! The first level is they learn tricks, then they learn to do magic, then if they stick with it and grow they can then call themselves 'magicians' and have it mean something. Learning to do a double lift and an Elmsley doesn't make you a magician. So scurry to the streets, do your tricks, those few of you that make it that far, and have fun. |
Tony Iacoviello Eternal Order 13151 Posts |
Well, being a child of the 60's my ideal of a Street Magician is Jeff Sheridan. His performance was poetry of motion and true artistry; I prefer his art to the guerilla magic that I see performed by some today.
Back then street magic was street theater, and Jeff was the king! A musician, playing in a park would pick a spot, and play. He would not run up to a couple on the street and ask if they wanted to hear a song then start blowing his sax in their face. I agree that the guerilla approach does have its merits, but it also puts a lot of people off. MagicSanta draws a good parallel, strolling magic. The way many describe their variants of SM, it is strolling. But like traditional strolling and table hopping, the performer has to understand how to approach people and take "no" as an answer. Perhaps it is a different time, but as a person viewing magic, I prefer the idea of a concert and being drawn in, stopping and leaving when I wish, no contact unless I wish to make it. I find being approached by people I don't know and being asked if I want to see a "trick" an invasion of my privacy, and reminiscent of days gone by in a not so nice part of town. Tony |
lunatik Inner circle 3225 Posts |
I think both styles can be offensive to people on the street. Tony, just like all the older people said rap was just a fad and would soon go away, 20yrs later its still here. There's nothing wrong with re-defining anything imo. I agree that a person shouldn't learn 3 tricks and think they are a street magician. they should get a decent amount under their belt and really really work hard on the presentation side of it. I'd rather see a magician perform 8 plain jane tricks with audience captivating storylines than a magician who spent thousands of dollars on props and who's patter is dry as a bone.
"Don't let your Dreams become Fantasies"
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Tony Iacoviello Eternal Order 13151 Posts |
20 years? The first commercial rap song was released in 1959; it has been almost 50 years.
I agree with you about captivating stories, unfortunately, what I've seen on the guerilla magic front involves 0 presentation. Honestly, I don't see how someone like for instance Jeff Sheridan, stand off to the side doing his own thing, and not bothering or approaching anyone could be deemed offensive. I once had a teacher who was offended at the thought of people wearing tee shirts without a button down shirt over them, "tee shirts are under garments" she said. So I guess if he was wearing a tee shirt… Tony |
Starry Loyal user New York 219 Posts |
Quote:
On 2007-05-03 01:31, lunatik wrote: Oh ouch. "older folks?" Stay in your restaurants? What the heck does that mean? I do agree with this lunatik guy, I didn't say anything about doing it for money, making the difference. It is doing magic in the "street" vs. "the restaurant" that makes one a "street magician" and the other a "restaurant magician." We've called people who do magic on stage, "stage magicians" for centuries and more recently people who do magic up close, "close-up magicians", just as getting paid and making a living at it makes one "professional" vs. "amateur." So I guess I'd be called a "professional" magician.
Ace Starry - Author or THE MAGIC LIFE - A NOVEL PHILOSOPHY
http://www.starry.com/ |
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