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pbg739 Veteran user San Jose, Ca 340 Posts |
When any neophyte joins our art, they are given the 5-10 rules every magician must follow. Don't reveal, and the other 4-9 (depending on the source) with some derivation on practice all you can. I've come across some new rules that should be followed.
-Don't run if you aren't being chased. I've heard this a lot, and continue to see people doing it. Short of saying, "Look these are regular cards in a regular box in my regular pants pocket." Overkill? Probably, if the audience doesn't have reason to suspect you, they won't. -Don't spend all your money on gimmicks. It's self explanatory I know, but just get the books. These are just a few ideas. I was going to post this in the new to magic forum, but I was curious to see what other magicians felt might be "new rules". Post up your 2 cents! Pete |
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KerryJK Special user Northampton UK 621 Posts |
The only set one for me is to respect your audience. Failure to do so is the one thing I cannot forgive in a performance. If an audience gets the idea you hold them in contempt, it'll come right back at you every time, and serve you right too.
So many magicians gear their act towards the mythical creature known as "the layman" that it becomes too easy to patronize and vanish up your own backside. Assume everyone in the audience is intelligent (even though much of what we do relies on exploiting the chinks in their mental armor) and never forget how you thought when you were a fan before you got to know the secrets from inside. Audience management and audience condescension are not the same things at all. |
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Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27297 Posts |
How's this for a rule?
A layman is a person who doesn't know the names of the moves/gimmicks even when they sense you using them?? Another few rule offerings: It is just a cute trick for you to amuse yourself until you find out what doing it says about you and how it affects others. It is still just a cute trick until you can stand behind what it says about you and want to bring that to others. When they say, 'How did you do that?' they might mean, 'Why did you do that?'. It falls upon you to notice the difference. The selected and signed card is not a hostage by proxy. It is not nice to tease people about giving them something.
...to all the coins I've dropped here
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KerryJK Special user Northampton UK 621 Posts |
Quote:
How's this for a rule; Who cares what the moves are called? If they've been spotted, they've been spotted, and many of the references I read to the "layman" are of a convenient dunderhead too stupid to notice even the most brazen sleight. What you've described I might call a "fan", someone who is fascinated by magic and watches as much as possible, but who for whatever reason has not made any serious moves to become a magician themselves. I spent at least fifteen years in this role. Some magicians do seem unable to grasp that people other than themselves are able to love magic for different reasons and do a fine job of alienating the very people they should be embracing as one of the finest sections of their audience base. |
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pbg739 Veteran user San Jose, Ca 340 Posts |
Granted there are varying degrees of magic. Where is the line between audience and magician? We'll save that topic for another day. Truly, some people are exposed to more magic than others. This does not mean patronize the audience either.
This brings up another point. The magician foolers vs. regular effects. Yes some tricks can fool the magicians, but I believe this goes back to why run if you are not being chased? If you are doing an effect for your fellow magi, then sure, do a gamblers cop, side steal, palm off and classic pass. But if you have a non-magician based audience, do your riffle force and move on. Pete |
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Reis O'Brien Inner circle Seattle, WA 2467 Posts |
Quote:
On 2004-03-13 05:47, pbg739 wrote: Ok, my 2 cents. I agree with the original post. I've been seeing this train of advice popping up more and more, and good advice it is. However, I also don't feel these should be total blanket rules. Sometimes, I like to run when I'm not being chased to put the specs onto false suspicions. Get them following the red herring and then nail them out of nowhere! I use this a lot when I want the specs to feel that I messed up somewhere only to turn around when they least expect it and WHAM! Also, yes, don't spend all your money on gimmicks. But spend some of it on gimmicks. Why? Because gimmicks can be fun, clever and a good source for other ideas. I horded gimmicks like there was no tomorrow when I first started and 80% of what I purchased now sits collecting dust in the bottom drawer. But the ideas I got from some of them are priceless. Then there's the other 20% of gimmicks that I still use to this day because they are just killers! Anyway, there's my thoughts. |
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Peter Marucci Inner circle 5389 Posts |
"Don't believe your own hype."
You may call yourself "The world's greatest" and that's okay, just so long as you don't start believing it! |
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
I wouldn't really call these new rules. The one about "Don't run if you aren't being chased" appeared in Al Baker's Magical Ways and Means over 60 years ago. And the others have appeared that far back as well.
Vernon avoided gimmicks wherever possible, but was not averse to ringing one in when it made an effect cleaner. It's a matter of taste and discretion. Even T. Nelson Downs used gimmicks for those tricks where it was absolutely necessary that it work every time. While he was perfectly capable of performing the coin star without gimmicks, he had a special gimmicked set of coins he used on stage for his shows. I discussed this at length with Bobby Bernard when he taught me the coin star back in 1990.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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pbg739 Veteran user San Jose, Ca 340 Posts |
Please allow me to refocus what I meant. Certainly there are gimmicks that help (shells, shorts cards, etc). What I mean is, that a friend of mine is getting into magic and is gung ho on spending all of his money on Svengalli, Invisible, and Stripper decks. With 50 dollars on decks, and having to switch one out for every new trick, I was hoping he could learn some not gimmicked stuff as well.
Mr. Palmer, I was never claiming to have originated these rules. I am sure they have been around for a while, and your post confirmed my thoughts. But for many, this advice is never preached as much as Practice, practice, practice. Never reveal a secret. Etc. Hope this clarifies. Pete |
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Stuart Hooper Special user Mithrandir 759 Posts |
If we're talking about "new" rules here, well I think Mr. Townsend hits some things that aren't often mentioned. To paraphrase some things:
It's just a cute trick until you figure out what it means to you. It just a cute trick until you can back that meaning up, and convey it to an audience. :stout: |
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Michael Kamen Inner circle Oakland, CA 1315 Posts |
Bingo Jonathan! Great couple of comments.
Michael Kamen
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Curtis Kam V.I.P. same as you, plus 3 and enough to make 3498 Posts |
The problem with, "Don't run when you're not being chased," is that it has to be balanced against the other Al Bakerism, "Most magicians stop thinking too soon."
Sadly, it's only once you have enough experience to know when you're being chased, or when a routine is "ready," that you stop needing this sort of rule, and start preaching it to others. I am concerned that this rule, with nothing more, promotes laziness in much the same way that the sentiment "I don't fool them, I entertain them" does. As Pit Hartling has pointed out, if you're running while not being chased, sometimes the exercise is good for you. As for additional rules, I can only add something my mother always said, that has been very helpful in guiding my selection of stage magic: "It's all fun until something catches fire."
Is THAT a PALMS OF STEEL 5 Banner I see? YARRRRGH! Please visit The Magic Bakery
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vinsmagic Eternal Order sleeping with the fishes... 10957 Posts |
Rules are made to be broken, from time to time.
My only rule is try and help, if asked. vinny |
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
Quote:
On 2004-03-13 15:28, pbg739 wrote: I didn't think you meant that you had originated the idea. I thought you meant that it had not been stressed enough. And I don't disagree with you at all in any way. Regarding gimmicks: sometimes necessity is the mother of learning as well as invention. Let me give you an example. I have a friend who had been doing magic several nights a week for one of the local pizza parlor chains for about 2 years. Even at that stage of the game, he still did not have enough confidence in his skills to wean himself away from his briefcase full of fox lake cards. I swear, the man had EVERY deck of gaffed cards that came out of Haines that you could possibly imagine. And every time he did a trick, it was with a different deck of cards. Finally, one night, when he was in Nashville, some thief did him the biggest favor he could have. He broke into the fellow's car and stole the briefcase with all the gaffed cards in it. He was broken hearted (the magician, not the thief). There must have been (1975 prices) $300 worth of gaffed cards in that case. He said, "What am I going to do?" I said, "Have you ever thought about learning how to do sleight of hand?" "I can't do sleight of hand, it's too hard." "Have you ever tried?" "No, it's just too hard." "Can you do a paddle move?" "Sure, anyone can do a paddle move." "That's sleight of hand." He got the idea. Within about six months, he was doing some pretty good stuff. And within a year he was very good. By that time, he had finally learned when to do sleight of hand and when to ring in a gaff. And he only carried a few decks of cards with him any longer. Granted, many of us spend so much time proving that we didn't do something, that we don't do anything. That leads to bad magic. So does bad scripting. Magic isn't easy to do well. It takes thinking, practice and direction.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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Alan Wheeler Inner circle Posting since 2002 with 2038 Posts |
Maybe the better title for this topic is, "The Expanded Rules of Magic." The basic rules listed in Mark Wilson's book are 1) Never reveal the secret, 2) Never repeat a trick for the same audience, and 3) Always practice before you perform. What are some of the other basic rules? I think "Greater Magic" has some interesting ones, if I remember correctly.
Some of the best "expanded rules" have come to me from folks here at the Magic Café. For example, a few years ago, Peter Marucci recommended getting the handling of an effect down so well that it could be done in your sleep, so that the audience and presentation could be focused on. This advice, to me, is more specific, useful, and motivating than the common rule of, "Practice, practice, practice..." Harry Murphy also gave some advice that I treasure: he said to always group effects into short sets of two or three so that you are always doing little "acts" and not just an isolated routine. This idea has helped me immensely in performing, because it has trained me to think in the bigger picture of transition and unity among effects. Alan Wheeler
The views and comments expressed on this post may be mere speculation and are not necessarily the opinions, values, or beliefs of Alan Wheeler.
A BLENDED PATH Christian Reflections on Tarot Word Crimes Technology and Faith........Bad Religion |
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Eric Woods Regular user Kansas City 115 Posts |
Don't use magician's terminology!!
Statements like, "Good you went for the force card" are best avoided. The layman doesn't need to know about such devices. |
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Payne Inner circle Seattle 4571 Posts |
There are no rules for the performance of magic.
There are only guidelines.
"America's Foremost Satirical Magician" -- Jeff McBride.
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
Eric brings up a good point here. That is the use of magicians' jargon for the layman.
For example, "silk." For most English-speaking people, "silk" is an adjective. If you say, "Here I have a red silk," the audience will be waiting for the next word, "A red silk WHAT?" And, for Pete's sake (not Marucci, BTW, he prefers to be called "Peter") don't call a floating ball a Zombie, unless you are going to do some patter that refers to Zombies. Bad patter is really damaging to presentation.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27297 Posts |
Latest new rule:
Magicians are more interested in celebrating their current beliefs than in seeking applicable principles.
...to all the coins I've dropped here
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
I don't know if I believe that.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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