I was hanging out with some friends at a bar one night, and was showing them some material I had been working on. We were all having a great time, until this guy walked up to the table and started to insult me and my magic, saying he was a magician and literally challenged me to a magic dual then and there! I was a little unsure what to expect, but the guy proceeds to take out a pack of cards and started into a rather long card routine. To make a long story short, we went back and forth with effects, gathering more spectators as the night wore on. Lucky for me one of my old assistants was at the bar that night too and was watching. I picked her out as if she was a random person and had her perform a balducci levitation, making it to seem as though I levitated her. That pretty much ended the battle.
That got me thinking though. What would a more staged battle be like? One just for the fun of it? I started thinking about it more after seeing The Prestige. What if two magicians came across as rivals. Get the media invovled. Have several "magic battles" planned at seemingly random places....at the end of this rivalry, the magi could join forces and combine thier magic for one hell of a finale illusion.
I like the idea of taking the theatrical aspect out into the open, playing it up like a real life drama. Sorta like what Andy Kaufman used to do....maybe not quite as lewd as he was, but you get the idea. What do you guys think?

That guy must had have a difficult childhood . . .

Who me? Or the guy that challenged me in the bar?

I have worked venues with another magicians where we did "tag team" ala WWW. event..

Hands were "taged" as the new magi went in.

I love the idea of staging it as if it wasn't planned...

Then at the end one could do i.e. a 2 handed 2 person bit...

The possibilities are endless...

A play described in one of the magic magazines(years ago) the antagonist of the magician was actually making loads....

Thanks for the memory and oh oh the posibilities...


Harris

the challenger of course

If I were to do it, I'd try to do it the way Craig Browning described a little collaboration between Tim Moore and Lance Burton. They'd pretend to be two magicians competing, although one was the young upstart hogging for attention, but the other was the seasoned veteran who would reluctantly pull out the trick that would floor everybody and shame the younger magician. Ultimately the contrast between the two made for an intriguing show for onlookers.

Who got to play which? According to Craig, they took turns from bar to bar.

It's true the possibilities are endless with this. I really like the idea of using "body magic" (i.e. Andrew Maynes Gutbuster) as almost impromptu battles. Maybe use newspapers to "communicate" between each other, which will clue the public in on where to be and when. I thought it would be especially cool if after the rival has gone on for a while (say the summer season) at the end, the two finally combine forces (maybe against a third new contender) to perform a super huge illusion.
That would be really fun!

Oh yeah, that guy was definately a trip. It was kinda funny cause when the effect of the trick would happen, he'd come out with some rediculous pose that was (I think) supposed to que applause.....

I had something similar happen to me at a private party I was working. This obnoxious drunken fool dug his own grave because instead of studying magic, he knew a few tricks and there is a huge difference between the two. He would start to perform a trick loudly and obnoxiously after I had performed one ( he even went to his car to get his deck of cards ) I never perform card stuff exept a few tarot routines and readings so even at a glance you could tell the difference between the reactions I got and those he got... Naturally he got burned after pulling the wrong card out of his mouth, ala double card lift when asked to pick a card, wot a loser...
for him it was a battle to impress his lady friends for me it was a challenge to make him look like a fool which wasn't hard because he was drunk anyway...

Personally in my opinion, I don't think having a magic duel solves anything. It's basically just showing who has the bigger ego..


Clearly that magician has no respect for anyone but himself and that's a major problem. One of the major rules to being a magician is respect your fellow magician.

By having a magic duel with him, it makes you no better then he is. If he was truly a jerk, thank the audience and leave. Most times the audience will be on your side, he will be the only one looking like an idiot. he wont like it when the tables have turned on him, most likely he will shut up and leave.

That's just my own two cents.

Cheers
Francis McAllister

Ah, but knowing a few tricks and being a magician are two entirely seperate things!

For what it is worth - I never argue with customers when I am on a gig, leave alone starting a magician "battle".

But we are all different . . .

I just wanted to thank the players on this forum for giving me a great idea.... I know it is just a tad off topic but check it out... I assure you that you won't be dissapointed as it kind of fits... http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......31&0

I like it! That's pretty cool!