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apendola New user 8 Posts |
I just performed for the first time today! I just brought the cups to study hall at school and did them for my friend that I knew woud never get the trick no matter how badly I did it. Needless to say everything went well but man, it was a lot different than practicing in front of my mirror. My hands were all shaky and I could barely load the lemons, I was very nervous. The girl was very impressed.
So what was the first time you guys performed? |
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walid ahumada Special user sinaloa, mexico 892 Posts |
I don't remember my first time, but I do remember one year ago my son performed his first show, he was 7 years old and he did every thing good but I was very nervous and my heart was going crazy.(of course he did the c&b)
“Magic becomes art when it has nothing to hide.” BEN OKRI quote
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DStachowiak Inner circle Baltimore, MD 2158 Posts |
Quote:
On 2007-01-12 18:51, apendola wrote: My first time doing the C&B was about 35 years ago, with a little plastic set of mini cups with those little pom-poms that come with them, and no real ending or final load, just the basic simplex routine that came with them, and I remember being delighted that I was able to actually fool someone with them. Since I had no real ending, I'm sure I probably went on too long, but I can still remember how "magical" I felt.
Woke up.
Fell out of bed. Dragged a comb across m' head. |
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Dave V Inner circle Las Vegas, NV 4824 Posts |
Scary! I started out with about three people. I knew I had the routine down, I just hadn't done it in front of people. My mind was so focused on what I should be doing and making sure I didn't drop something that I was totally oblivious to the crowd. I did at least remember to talk to a few people, asking questions about which cup they wanted the balls to appear under, that sort of thing.
If I had only looked over the crowd I probably would have scared myself stiff. There were about 20 or 30 people gathered and I really didn't even know it until it was all over. I guess I did okay, I really don't remember. They seemed to like it though.
No trees were killed in the making of this message, but a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
I can't recall my first performance with the cups and balls. It was far too long ago. But I can recall the first time I performed the chop cup for my family and friends. I was working at a pizza parlor and they had these salt and pepper shakers that were conical in shape. You can buy these at the grocery store. They were exactly the size of the inside of my leather chop cup. When I sat down at the table, I had copped a salt shaker and a pepper shaker from one of the other tables, and I went into the routine.
Those two final loads knocked them out. Before then, I had been afraid to do magic for people. This clinched it! I'm sure my abortive attempts when I was much younger were not nearly as successful as this one.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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Michael Baker Eternal Order Near a river in the Midwest 11172 Posts |
As with some of the others here, my first time is shrouded in a cloud of mystery not unlike the trick itself. It was with a set of plastic Adams' cups, and since the trick was one of the first I learned, I'm sure that says enough. I was probably 7,or 8, so I won't bash it.
Over the years, I have developed a few different routines on my own, along with learning some of the published ones, like Mendoza's and Tommy Wonder's. If current memory is any indication of how life was in those previous years, the first time out of the chute is always at least a tad rocky. It may go ok, but until I get the experience and timing that only many performances of a trick can offer, I still feel it is a work in progress. Seldom is the seasoned product the identical match to what was launched from the drawing board. There is a difference between what I might refer to as "fixed" routines and dynamically interactive ones. Fixed routines are often easier, as they are performed much like a stage manipulation routine. There are few, if any, variables. Interactive routines are peppered with unusual and sometimes unexpected things. I have always favored tricks that rely on loads and steals, so I'm sure the "guts factor", the "I can't believe I got away with it" feeling came from a variety of tricks, and not just plugging a baseball into a chop cup, although there is a certain satisfaction that you just did it 12" from someone's nose! ~michael
~michael baker
The Magic Company |
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drkptrs1975 Elite user North Eastern PA 452 Posts |
A few years ago.
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drkptrs1975 Elite user North Eastern PA 452 Posts |
Never do it with clear cups.
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Pete Biro 1933 - 2018 18558 Posts |
Wow... I think about 55 years ago I was doing magic and Senor Mardo hit town and worked at the shop I was working at. He taught me the cups and balls and I just started doing them almost right sway in front of customers (demonstrating magic in a shop is one of the greatest places to learn to perform) and was never nervous.
I will say, however, that MOST MAGICIANS don't realize how much a trick CHANGES once someone is watching you vs. practicing by yourself. The key to not being nervous is to really know the routine and be loose, and don't worry about it. Like with stage fright. An example. My dad was in show business full time in the 1920s, in big time vaudeville. When I started doing stage magic I was pretty up tight, tummy in knots, etc. and took Alk Seltzer before a show and never ate food ahead of a show... but still had the butterflies. So my dad made one statement that literally changed that. He said, "Why should you be nervous? I someone going to shoot you if you make a mistake? No."
STAY TOONED... @ www.pete-biro.com
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Michael Baker Eternal Order Near a river in the Midwest 11172 Posts |
Pete,
Funny that you mention Senor Mardo. I just recently re-read his book on the cups and balls, and this month's Linking Ring shows him performing it! ~michael
~michael baker
The Magic Company |
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Ron Giesecke Special user Redding, Ca. 947 Posts |
Quote:
On 2007-01-12 18:51, apendola wrote: So are you trying to tell us you're all normal and stuff? |
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Ron Giesecke Special user Redding, Ca. 947 Posts |
Quote:
On 2007-01-13 17:07, Pete Biro wrote: That is the truth--in spades. -R |
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sethb Inner circle The Jersey Shore 2719 Posts |
Quote:
On 2007-01-13 17:07, Pete Biro wrote: MOST MAGICIANS don't realize how much a trick CHANGES once someone is watching you vs. practicing by yourself. Very, very true. Al Leech once said that when you practice, you are in complete control of everything -- props, timing, performance area, etc. But when you perform in front of people, you are adding an uncontrollable element. I agree that is the basic reason for the diffrence. Practice is good and necessary, but performance is what polishes a trick. Also, when you routine a trick, you are making certain assumptions about what will be funny or impressive, how long the trick should run, where the misdirection works, how good the finish is, etc. You won't know whether your assumptions have been good until your audience tells you. Finally, there is "Murphy's Law" -- "Whatever can possibly go wrong, will!" No matter how much you practice something and try to plan for various contingencies, there will always be something else to go wrong that you haven't forseen. In fact, you probably need to perform a trick a few dozen times in order to shake out MOST of the possible problems. But that's the challenge of it -- always trying to polish and improve your handing. SETH
"Watch the Professor!!" -- Al Flosso (1895-1976)
"The better you are, the closer they watch" -- Darwin Ortiz, STRONG MAGIC |
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Adam J New user 87 Posts |
When I was 10 or so I bought a set of those plastic cups (yellow red and blue!) that have the pom poms as balls, as someone else already mentioned.
I had no idea about routining, no idea about sleights or anything, really. I would just do the balls through the top of the cup and go 'Ta-da!'. I amazed a lot of people with it though! Adam |
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RevJohn Inner circle Oregon City Oregon, Oregon 2473 Posts |
I know that I performed Cups and Balls for a long time without the knowledge that you could (or should) have final loads.
I think I did it for the longest time with just the balls each penetrating the cups. So when I saw the cups performed by someone else, and there were larger loads at the end.... you know I love "thinking" I know how something is done, and then getting that "astonished" feeling anyway. RevJohn |
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plungerman Loyal user 287 Posts |
Bob Brown once told me that we practice our craft before the mirror but our art before an audience.
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WoodRat Loyal user California 233 Posts |
Ah yes, the plastic cups were red, blue and yellow, the pom poms were white. I had no wand. I performed for my mom and sister on the kitchen table and did the basic routine, first the penetrations, and then the gathering. No final loads, I wasn't aware that people did things like that. It went fine, though I was strictly right-handed at the time. Hmm, I wonder where those cups got off to...
Cheers!
Learn something new everyday.
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Magic_Steve Inner circle Maryland 1476 Posts |
My first performance was in a talent show in the fifth grade. I was up on stage, and back then I didn't know all that I do now. But man, I was shakin so bad. But surprisingly, it went great. I had that whole place wowed. I got 3rd place too. But, it was more or less a popularity contest, like all things are in school. So I'm not sure how proud I was of it...but it was a great learning experiance. I am also thinking of doing the talent show for my final year in highschool. Sounds childish, but I will probably do some card manipulation, and then wintertime in china.
Thanks! Steve |
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
Quote:
On 2007-01-15 13:22, plungerman wrote: That's interesting, coming from Bob.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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Wayne M New user Bucks 24 Posts |
My first time was actually using a combo set (1 cup is a chop cup). In practise I had it down, so I went to my local Club/Pub and performed for 6/7 of my friends. Technically it was terrible nothing went right but at the same time it was funny (like a Tommy Cooper performance) . My firneds were laughing so much that I got the attention of almost the entire pub just a couple of moves before loading the final's (Lemons, I know original). Everyone was in histericks (sp) but no-one was excpecting the final loads which killed everyone. I must admit its one of the best performances I've ever done.
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