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Tom Fenton Inner circle Leeds, UK (but I'm Scottish) 1477 Posts |
As I was browsing today I thought about this. I have been studying magic for six years, through books, sites such as this and the occasional DVD, I think that I understand a lot of the theory etc and I "perform" for family and friends, getting good reactions but I have only performed in public once.
This was for a birthday party for a four year old. I performed a purse frame routine with the final production of a giant coin, mongolian pop knot and finished with a short chop cup routine. The reaction was polite applause. At the end I felt quite let down by the experience. I found myself thinking of things I could have done better, done differently or not done at all! Is this a normal thing? Has anyone else experienced this? This hasn't put me off, I would love to do it again, maybe not for children, but perhaps a short close up set for adults in an informal situation. Looking back on it, I now appreciate the advantages of performing experience more than I did before. So, although I have a wealth of theory which a beginner would not have, I have no real practical experience which makes me a beginner. Any advice/opinions would be appreciated.
"But there isn't a door"
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Jaz Inner circle NJ, U.S. 6111 Posts |
Since you've studied for 6 years and have performed I wouldn't consider you a beginner.
You've begun. As an entertainer performing for the public? Then yes, you are new and a beginner in this arena. Performing for people is where you really learn and eventually become honed. Many consider themselves students even after decades of doing magic. If a working closeup mage begins studying stage illusions then he is a beginner in this arena. |
eddieloughran Special user 942 Posts |
I go along with Jaz here; with the addition that you shouldn't worry about the childrens show. If you had done childrens tricks the reaction would have been different.
Perform as much as you can. It's the only way to learn really ! |
JamesTong Eternal Order Malaysia 11213 Posts |
We never stop learning and the more you learn you will find that there is so much more to learn. Even every performance we have done is also a learning process. The important thing is to enjoy that journey.
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munkywrench Loyal user Conway, SC 298 Posts |
"He who learns and learns and yet does not what he knows, is one who plows and plows yet never sows."
"An idiot repeats his mistakes. A smart man learns from his mistakes. But a genius learns from the mistakes of others." "Everyone has a talent. What is rare is the courage to follow that talent to the place where it leads." "It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop." "The men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed."
Family Biz. https://www.facebook.com/dreamweaverconway/
Disciple of the Close-Up Kinda Guy PH. Balloon Blast Video Show junkie. Supporter of http://www.myrtlebeachmagician.com/ Retired Demo Dude IBM #334 supporter |
Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
Figure out what your target audience is. Then build your performing show for that audience. I don't think that "kid show" tricks are necessarily the best tricks for kids. I think the four year olds were too young for a serious magic show, though. I used to set a lower age limit of six years.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
ViciousCycle Loyal user 210 Posts |
I used to try to perform for my tiny little nephews and found this exasperating. But now I perform for my nephews' parents instead and get much better reactions. Remember, magic appears to suspend the laws of reality, and one needs to appreciate what reality is before they'll recognize that the laws are being suspended. Since some people too quickly think of magic as something to entertain children with, they forget that there are children who are too young to enjoy magic.
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pghdude80 New user Pittsburgh 72 Posts |
Quote:
On 2007-05-13 18:30, ViciousCycle wrote: I have the same problem! My nephews have a difficult time appreciating anything beyond a simple vanish. Like you say, kids present a unique problem because they see things differently (in a way that most of us has forgotten). Sure, you can fool the heck out of a kid...but they don't know they've been fooled! Keep up the work though, and heed Jim's advice. You gotta scout your audience a bit, and build a show around them. |
Father Photius Grammar Host El Paso, TX (Formerly Amarillo) 17161 Posts |
Nothing wrong with critiqueing ur performance, I think all of us do that to some degree, how we improve over time. After over 50 years of doing magic I still consider myself a student of magic, not hardly a beginner, but far from what ever the other end of the scale is.
"Now here's the man with the 25 cent hands, that two bit magician..."
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
Anyone who thinks he knows everything there is to know about magic is not paying attention.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
DanielSkahen New user NY 64 Posts |
This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes about this topic: A man ceases to be a beginner in any given science and becomes a master in that science when he has learned that he is going to be a beginner all his life. – Robert G. Collingwood
- Dan Skahen
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pradell Special user Alaska 560 Posts |
Quote:
On 2007-05-13 18:30, ViciousCycle wrote: I performed a magic show recently for my 2 year old granddaughter on her birthday and she had a ball! I produced all of the characters that she loves, Pooh, her stuffed Kitty, toys, and, finally, the wizard and dragon puppets I gave to her as gifts which now hang from the puppet theatre in which her bed has been built! She says "Abracadabra!" and does her own tricks!! She understands magic on her level. If you don't love performing for kids, don't do it! They'll know whether you enjoy performing for them immediately, before your first trick is over! To perform for children one has to get on their level to some extent. Fooling an audience really is not what we need to do as magicians....entertaining them is! :magicrabbit: |
Tom Fenton Inner circle Leeds, UK (but I'm Scottish) 1477 Posts |
Thank you for all your comments. There are a couple of things that seem to be in them all, a)entertainment and b)learning.
a) I agree that you should always strive to be entertaining, "tricks" without entertainment become no more than puzzles. This can lead to the challenge syndrome that is the audience trying to work them out. There is nothing else to occupy them. The other thing about entertainment is that the audience actually want to be entertained, that's why they came along (in the most part). b)I think that magic is a continuous learning experience, not just learning new routines etc but learning why things work well and not so well, how you can construct routines to show effects in their best light and so on. There really is so much more to write on this subject but I want to try to be concise. Again, thanks for your comments they've really made me think about my magic, that's got to be a good thing.
"But there isn't a door"
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