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WooverM Loyal user 285 Posts |
Hey there Jheff and thank you for sharing your time with us, my hope is you will enjoy this at least as much as we do.
My question for you is split into three parts: 1. What do you consider to be the best advice you ever had the chance to get?(related to magic and specifically mentalism, and/or real life/work) 2. What do consider to be the best advice you ever gave someone?(same thing about the areas of life it relates to) You can, of course, judge it by whatever feels right to you(the response, the impact it had, or something else entirely) 3. If someone would tell you he thinks of turning into a mentalist full time and give up any other career path, knowing his presentational theme is strictly not-psychic, as in either a psychological illusionist or a perception artist, what do you think would be the best advice to give someone with that aspiration? Thank you in advance, and thank you for taking the time to read this through.
Woover
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Jheff V.I.P. 402 Posts |
This is a hard question as I've read quite a bit of advice and I'm not sure now which I'd consider to be the most important. However, I think the "less is more" advice is what helped me considerably the most. In other words, don't feel like you should do a long show when a shorter show will do just fine. Don't feel like you need to pack in a dozen effects into your show. I remember when I used to feel like I needed to give my clients a long show to get value for the fee they paid me. But when I did luncheons or holiday parties, after twenty minutes or so, most just wandered out of the show to get another drink or socialize. Sure, I could say that I wasn't very good at holding their attention, but I'm not so sure that was it. So, now, if I'm hired to do a show where I am NOT the main reason for going, such as a holiday party or extra entertainment for the main event, then I offer to do my club act (twenty minutes) and that's it. If they want more, then I'll offer to be at a table and do "intimate experiences" for an hour or so. Folks who want to see me will come to me. I won't approach them.
In real life/work, I suppose the advice that most affects me is one I learned from father and another student while in middle school (we called it Junior High back then). I don't even recall her name but before I test one day, I asked her if she was stressed about it. She said no and that she explained that she physically couldn't because she'd get ulcers. So she was always relaxed as she didn't, and couldn't, worry about anything. I thought that was great and have since learned to stay relaxed and not worry about things, because they will only lead to ulcers and aggravation. Also, my father had a favorite saying, "If you're up to your *** in alligators, it's hard to remember that your original objective was to drain the swamp." Same thing, but much more colorful. As to which advice I'd give, I sort of already answered that in another thread that asked about three pieces of advice. Of those three, the advice I'd give most would depend upon which level of experience you have, meaning a beginner would get a different piece of advice than a more experienced performer. I suppose if I had to pick one, though, it would be to work on being original and not using any presentation that you've seen others do before. - Jheff
Marketplace of the Mind PARIMENTAL, a 200 page exploration of a classic Martin Gardner principle, is now available!!
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WooverM Loyal user 285 Posts |
Wow, so much to digest.
Thank you for such an extensive and well thought out response, it already has helped me realise what kind of things I should get rid of and what kind of things I could well improve upon. This is a golden answer, thank you so much for sharing it with us, I can already tell that I'll come back to this thread more than once.
Woover
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Jheff V.I.P. 402 Posts |
You're welcome,
Jheff
Marketplace of the Mind PARIMENTAL, a 200 page exploration of a classic Martin Gardner principle, is now available!!
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