Hello All. Please forgive the ramblings but this is something that I have been thinking about and I hope that writing it out may help me figure out exactly what I think about the subject. (side note: when I use the word magician I am refering to the entire community. Mentalist, bizzarist, slight of hand artist, etc.)

Lately I have been drawn away from "magic" books and into the world of philosophy and psychology and how they pertain to magic. I have been seeking sources from outside of the magic community to try and understand how and why the public sees magic the way they do. On the philosophy side I have run into things like "perception is reality." This leads me to conclude that "reality" is subjective and not objective. The way I see reality is different from the way that you see reality. Our reality is based on the experiences that each of us has had, and how we "perceived" these experiences. How does this pertain to our art? We are presenting an altered reality to what most people perceived prior to seeing a magician. In our audience's experiences in life, very few have met someone who can levitate. (However, most people have had dreams about flying. How many of us have had dreams of flying, or falling, to wake up and be bouncing of the bed like we were just dropped onto it?) Is it possible that we do not look deep enough at WHY someone would hire a magician as "entertainment?"

I think that this brings me to the psychology side of the post. I think that people hire a magician because we have the ability to bring their dreams and desires to the physical world. We are always saying that we must perform in such a way as to cause the audience to "suspend belief." I think it is deeper and easier than this. I believe that the audience has already suspended their belief, and it is our job to maintain that state of mind. People WANT to believe that magic is real. Some part of our mind believes that magic is real and the audience wants to allow that part to be free, even if it is just for an hour.

Why hire a magician as opposed to a band or a comedian? Because out of all the entertainment market only the magician has the ability to alter "reality." They can make dreams come to life. They can cause you to question your view of "reality." They can cause you to believe that you don't have everything in life figured out. The magician can give you the sense of wonder that you do not experience on a daily basis.

What does this mean to us as magicians? Our performances should be top notch. Not because we are worried that we may not be able to suspend belief, but because we may shatter someone's already suspended belief. When someone hires us, it is not to entertain them, it is to bring their dreams to the physical world. To help them escape from their "reality," and take them into a new "reality." We should strive for a performance that causes the audience to take their new reality with them. Often the question is asked, "would you rather the audience remember the magic, or remember you?" Why can we not have both? I would rather have an audience that remembers ME and THE MAGIC.

If perception is reality, then reality is subjective. If illusions are subject to the audience's perceptions, then illusions are subjective. Does this mean that reality and illusions are not as far seperated as we are lead to believe?

As a little extra food for thought, Freud defined illusions as "illusion is a belief which is above all motivated by the fulfilment of a desire." While he was talking about illusions created by our minds, is it not possible for magicians to use this same definition?

I hope that this makes sense to you. I welcome all opinions (for or against). As I said at the beginning, I am still mulling this over in my nugget and I would love some feedback

Josh

Welcome to deeper end of magic. I stopped looking for books on tricks a while back. It sounds like you're getting into the "real" part of magic. Tarbell actually had some good thoughts on this at the beginning of book 1, which Paul Harris later reworded to come up with the opening to his Art of Astonishment series. Now that you are not searching for tricks, I recommend you (re-)read either. Basically they both say that everything is magical at the start of life. As we grow we organize these things so they build our understanding of reality. Things that were once fascinating get labeled and explained, losing interest. Magicians give a return to that state of fascination. The 2 authors I mentioned explain it better than I. And I figured you probably have one of those books. If you don't I'll try to word it out better.

-Josh too

Hello Josh TOO

I am ashamed to say that my magic library is very small at this point and I don't have either of these books. Don't feel like you have to word it better I think I understand what they and you are saying. I can say however that Tarbell is next on the to buy list after Corinda.

Thanks for your response

Josh

If you think perception is reality, then you have bought the big lie.

read
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0122-02.htm

A safer statement would be "perception is taken for reality".
When Enron collapsed, the perception of it's employees changed, as did their perceived realities.

If the world is in fact round, perceptions of old did not reflect reality.

BTW If your looking for deep theory Tarbell is not the way to go. If you want to know the workings of 98.9% of the marketed effects available to apply theory to, you can't beat it.

Our personal reality is certainly perceived though a whole stack of filters: preconceptions, expectations, knowledge, beliefs, intoxications, emotions, our senses, etc. But that doesn't change the rock-solid stuff. For example, if you perceive that you can 'beat that train' when you really can't, you're going to get an unhealthy dose of rock-solid reality.

I hate to keep hyping this book, but if you haven't read it yet, it's a great introduction to how our senses work to create perception in the brain, and how they can be easily fooled. It's called 'Mind Hacks' and I find something on just about every page that has an application to magic.

Well to the original question of why hire a magician.

How much philisophy does it take to say "to be entertained"?

Isn't that the point? Why do we get so bogged down in the minutia of theory? I LOVE theory mind you. I can throw it back and forth and most of my magic theory comes from outside the magic community and library.

BUT why is this so tough>? To be entertained. BAM. Why make so much out of it?

If your asking why is it more entertaining than music or comedy, well then maybe it is a deeper question. Not much deeper, but some. It strikes people who like it and touches them in some way. Many have this reaction to music. THAT is what our magic should strive for. To touch the audience on some level. NOT to show how clever we are. At that point your doing magic for people, or more appropriatly with people, and not tricks TO people.

Bottom line is entertainment. that is why hire us.

Danny. If the bottom line is entertainment, the question is really "why hire a magician" instead of a comedian, singer, juggler, or ventriloquist.

What is it that the magician offers that is better and more valuable than the comedian, actor, or singer?

Why hire a magician for entertainment?

Hello Oldman

I would like to add my opinion to this post but before I do I would like to say that what you have said is quiet profound and I hope you are not offended by the fact that I am going to reply with such a trivial response.

I am going to relate this back to when I was a spectator before I began my journey in the world of magic and I have to agree with Danny here. I think as a someone who was thinking of hiring a magician my decision had little to do with making my dreams come true for a moment. To somewhat answer your own and to some degree Whit's question I am going to quote someone that I don't think anyone here is going to respect but the quote demonstrates what I am trying to say. It was written by Matt Greoning in his cartoon series Futurama.

Fry's Receptionist: "Mr. Fry your 2 o'clock magician is here, should I send him in?"
Fry: "Beleive it or not Ms. Jones I have better things to do today than laugh and clap my hands"

This is why I would hire a magician. Not because I think that I might find some hidden meaning in his show, because I want to have the opportunity to laugh and be shown something that I don't see everyday. If I wanted to see a band I would go to a pub, if I wanted to see a comedian I would go to a comedy club but a magician now there is something you don't see everyday and there is an opportunity to be challenged interlectually (is that how you spell it?) and ultimately there is an opportunity to be entertained in an unusual way.

Moyle

PS I hope I didn't just lose all creditability for quoting futurama lol

Whit like said it touches you on some level. THAT IS THE POINT.

Reach them. Now if a juggler is something they like, folk music, a mime or whatever touches them.

People hire what entertains them. If they like poetry reading, then what good is a magician going to do them? NONE.

I said:

"If I wanted to see a band I would go to a pub, if I wanted to see a comedian I would go to a comedy club"

Alright danny, I mis-read Whit's post so I guess I was just agreeing with you both then. Hooray for us

Moyle

There's reality, and then there's reality. Our Hindu friends (you know, the ones who came up with that snazzy shuffle) say "All is maya" or "All is illusion". That saying reflects the idea that each of us lives in our own individual reality. That's why I say there's reality and then there's reality. There is the reality that is perceived (the hanky disappeared), and then there is the reality that is (the hanky was transported via conveyor belt built into the magician's prosthetic arm to the nether regions). One's perception determines one's response. If the audience perceives that the hanky disappeared they may respond with applause, if they perceive that it was snatched through an artificial arm to the magi's nether regions then their response might be "Hey, it's up his <insert body part here>!" Even if the spectator got the modus operandi wrong, the effect was ruined for him because he was not convinced. That is the essence of belief - being convinced by the evidence offered. We magicians' job is to present the effect in such a way that the audience is forced to "suspend disbelief" and take the effect at face value - the hanky disappeared.

I'm not really here.
Jeff

All,

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my ramblings. As I said this is a thought in progress, so all of your responses are welcomed.

Bill, thanks for the link. After I got past the political side, I believe that what you are trying to say (along with my good friend Jeff) is that there is a rock solid, no questions asked, cannot be denied REALITY. Perception is NOT reality. Reality IS reality. It is our job as magicians to direct our audience away from the true reality and create a false reality for our them.

Danny, since you were the first to give this response, then I will answer to you. I agree that we are hired for entertainment. I guess my question is HOW can we be the most entertaining? What do we need to understand about ourselves, the audience, the effects, and our presentation to be as entertaining as possible? Why can two magicians present the same effect and one be entertaining and one be boring? I know that I will get the response, PRESENTATION. I got it. But what about the presentation is superior? What does magician A understand that magician B does not? That is my quest.

I feel that to truly do my best as a magician, I must understand all sides of my art. (As Jeff can attest to, I tend to delve very deeply untill I am satisfied with what I have found) I will probably go through quite a few different theories before I am satisfied that I have the answers I am looking for. This post was simply a starting point for me.

Thank you all for giving me alternate paths to explore along my journey, and I welcome more.

Josh

I will say this and then prepare for the slings and arrows.

Many magicians hide behind theory as a reason for doing very poor work. Then they quote the theory behind it to justify doing things they like and people don't. In this case theory can be detrimental.

It really is not as difficult as some of the armchair philisophers make it seem. You know when people are entertained. Simply watch some DVD of your show. Pretty simple when done with an honest eye toward critical thought.

Many like to get bogged down in theory because they can't accept the fact that perhaps it is actually them or their line of thought that is the problem. Again making theory a serious detriment to the process.

Is theory necessary? Heck yes it is in a huge way! No doubt about it. But to get so caught up in it that we forget the end result is supposed to be an entertained client, then what good is it doing us? Learning proper theory is not really like a destination, it is more of a journey. As you are going along you are learning it. You need a certian amount to start the journey yes, but to try to find it all in one place, is just not possible.

Sometimes I think the biggest detriment to magic theory and its application is magicians themselvs.

Or it's the magicians interpretation of the theory that is the downfall. I like the idea of it as a journey, and I like even better that there is no destination, because there is not.

Since entertainment is in the eye of the beholder, the theory has to follow that confine. What may or may not be acceptable entertainment is based solely on your audience and the point in time at which you perform for them. Since some of them find the show Jack@ss entertaining, and some find Oprah entertaining, and others are entertained by listening to NPR, you have multiple classifications of what defines entertainment for these people, and somehow you have to bring them under your umbrella the best that you can.

I'm going to pick up on a couple of thoughts that were already mentioned and go from there...

First, the question of "why hire a magician" is way too broad in and of itself. Why would who hire a magician? The old Ed Sullivan Show or Hollywood Palace? Joe Schmoe who's throwing a birthday party for his five-year-old? The local Kiwanis Club for a walk-around during breakfast? The Magic Castle? A hotel in Vegas?

Our audience is our customer. We need to understand our audience -- each and every audience -- and what they want. An audience at the Magic Castle wants something different than Johhny and Susie at the birthday party. An audience in Vegas wants something different than an audience at the Kiwanis Club breakfast.

Some people want to be entertained, period. Some want to be hit with the latest theories of how magic should be presented and what it really is. Period. And there are lots of in-betweens.

But when push comes to shove, one customer's money is just as green as the next customer's. As long as we are honestly doing the best job we can while in front of an audience, and giving them more than they expect, we are serving the customers.

Why hire a magician? Ask each individual customer. It might just be enlightening.

Now that we have the phrase that always triggers a kneejerk response from me out of the way, I'll explain why my clients hire me. I have a proven record for entertaining the kind of audience they feel they are. I don't make them uncomfortable, I make them happy. I don't make great demands on their intellect. I give them a chance to respond, and I show them things they have either never seen before or that they have seen me do and would like to see me do again.

I know this, because they send me letters that tell me so.

I'm accommodating. And most of all, I make them have fun, whether they really want to or not.

I'm a non-threatening bringer of joy, laughter and mystery.

Bill,
I think you are hitting the nail right between the eyes!

Question: Have you ever done like two shows back to back for two different audiences and gotten a tremendous positive response from one and a mediocre response from the other? What's the difference?

Jeff

When I first started out, this kind of thing happened occasionally. It was usually the result of my misreading the audience or not being properly prepared. Sometimes it happened at the Renaissance festival.

The more you work the further apart these occasions are. I'm not saying that the answer is to be a full-time pro. That's not it at all. It's just that you have to make sure that everything is ready to go before you step out in front of them, no matter what kind of venue you are working in.

Do they hire a magician or do they hire Bill Palmer or Whit Haydn?

Maybe the above two can weigh in on this.


Jack Shalom