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wwhokie1 Special user 512 Posts |
Mistakes stand out more to us than to the audience, who may have no idea what they saw. If possible, keep going like it didn't happen. Sometimes that is not possible. Back when it was common to have live TV or live Radio, mistakes would happen. Listen to some old Abbott and Costello radio shows, or watch old Colgate Comedy hour TV episodes, or Carol Burnett TV show. Some of the funniest and most entertaining segments are when things go wrong. Figure out how they make the entertainment even better when things go wrong.
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writeall Special user Midland, Michigan 930 Posts |
"&%#%*** !!"
And then I kill any witnesses. |
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funsway Inner circle old things in new ways - new things in old ways 9982 Posts |
Many long years ago I was one act of a long show and sitting out front to watching the other performers after I was finished.
My friend Eddy started his 20 minute routine with a foulard production of a bouquet of flowers. As he waved the large scarf about to show it unprepared he noticed a dog in the wings. It charged out at the waving cloths. Fearing that the dog would grab the foulard Eddy snatch it up and way -- the dog flying out into the audience area! There was stunned silence as the dog did a tuck and roll, then ran barking down the isle and out the rear. Then thunderous applause from a standing and gesturing crowd. Eddy just bowed and walked off stage, knowing he could never top that production. Fortunately, the next act was some jugglers who came on immediately.
"the more one pretends at magic, the more awe and wonder will be found in real life." Arnold Furst
eBooks at https://www.lybrary.com/ken-muller-m-579928.html questions at ken@eversway.com |
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tommy Eternal Order Devil's Island 16544 Posts |
I used to worry about it up until I listened to Lennart Green who said he doesn’t do prestige.
If there is a single truth about Magic, it is that nothing on earth so efficiently evades it.
Tommy |
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Al Schneider V.I.P. A corn field in WI surrounded by 1080 Posts |
I attempt to win the battle before the war starts. I adopt a style of performing in which the audience is part of the show. That is, I am not performing for them. I am sharing something they might like. I am inviting them behind the curtain. I am not causing it to happen but it happens and I am watching it with them.
All this is to avoid the adversarial nature of performing magic. Then, when I mess up it is not like they caught something. Often, any mess up appears as part of the experience. Then I am up front when I do mess up. But I use a non committal statement, “Oops, that wasn’t supposed to happen.” Then, use body language to indicate something does not matter. Don’t get rattled, be calm, and clean up and keep moving. I dropped the extra coin, “Where did that come from?” I apparently slipped the coin into my pocket, and continued on with the trick. It does require quick thinking. However, during practice, you probably found those weak spots. Talk as if they are on your side. Part of a routine I do is to have a turtle back coin set in the open on the table. Normally, no one questions it. One day, a gentleman asked if he could look at the coin. I said, “If you turn the coin over you will see how the trick woks.” He said, “Oh!” That was the end of it. I have noticed an odd thing. When performing with great accuracy, the performance can be so good, people may believe what is happening is normal physical behavior. Then, it is not magic but a demonstration of interesting physical phenomena. Then it is not a magic show. It is a demonstration of quirks of the universe. I play the role of a physics professor.
Magic Al. Say it fast and it is magical.
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tommy Eternal Order Devil's Island 16544 Posts |
The essential difference between a charlatan and a legit magician lies not in the magic but in the nature of the dressing with which the magic is dressed; the charlatan dresses his magic with fact whereas legit magician dresses his magic with fiction. The charlatan cannot afford to make mistakes because it exposes not only his magic but also himself to be a fake. The legit magician need not worry about that exposure as he is only an actor and not pretending to do real, or do real magic like the charlatan.
If there is a single truth about Magic, it is that nothing on earth so efficiently evades it.
Tommy |
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funsway Inner circle old things in new ways - new things in old ways 9982 Posts |
Ah yes, tommy -- but the separation of fact from fiction is not so clear.
The American political scene certainly demonstrates that voters make decision based on heuristic fallacy over reason, care little about the truth of claims, and prefer actors, clowns and "image jugglers" over accuracy, congruency and integrity. The claims of what each will do in office is magic in being impossible accept by illusion. Against such a backdrop a performer pretends at the impossible to produce a response of ,"So that is what real magic looks like." It is the intent to be taken seriously that makes one a charlatan and not the feeble mental soup of the public. No wonder so many marketers toss the term magic about so flippantly. The false claims are not a "mistake" but deliberate -- for an audience more interested in being entertained than with facts or truth.
"the more one pretends at magic, the more awe and wonder will be found in real life." Arnold Furst
eBooks at https://www.lybrary.com/ken-muller-m-579928.html questions at ken@eversway.com |
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tommy Eternal Order Devil's Island 16544 Posts |
Our nonsense is of the kind that results from the very natural confusions and errors that children might fall into but Americans are not all children but only half childish. Adults know our nonsense when they see it.
If there is a single truth about Magic, it is that nothing on earth so efficiently evades it.
Tommy |
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wwhokie1 Special user 512 Posts |
Al Schneider wrote: "All this is to avoid the adversarial nature of performing magic. Then, when I mess up it is not like they caught something. Often, any mess up appears as part of the experience. "
That is a great point. We should not be performing magic in a way that creates an "us vs them" atmosphere. And if we do create that environment, then we should expect the audience to try to "beat us". |
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C.J. Inner circle There's a lotta rambling in my 2366 Posts |
When something goes wrong, I like to say, "See? This one is a 9. You've done something VERY special."
Connor Jacobs - The Thought Sculptor
Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur Be fondly remembered. |
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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
"It's part of the act." The comedy line helps the audience relate to the mistake. Sometimes the audience wonder if you made the mistake on purpose so you can use the comedy line. Sometimes the audience thinks you are just as much professional because you can think of the comedy line at a fast pace.
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