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owen.daniel Inner circle England 1048 Posts |
Hi,
I was just wondering whether any of you would have any suggestions for a comedy patter for the Magic Square. I am hoping to build it into my routine (some of you who have read my previous threads might realize that I have been pondering over this for a while. I have finally settled on the 4X4 after … pointed out that there are a lot more ways to add up to the chosen number), but as my routine is a comedy one, I would like to keep it comedy. Any ideas are most welcome. Owen |
landmark Inner circle within a triangle 5194 Posts |
"When it comes to math I'm a real dunce. I got sent to my headmaster for not doing my homework. He made me do all these sums . . . I was so nervous I kept answering 34, no matter what problem he showed me . . .They used the cane in those days and every time I said 34 I got caned; I couldn't help myself I was so nervous. But then his lovely secretary said, 'such a smart boy, every problem right' . . . And by God, maybe I was!"
It's just off the top of my head, but you get the idea. Jack Shalom
Click here to get Gerald Deutsch's Perverse Magic: The First Sixteen Years
All proceeds to Open Heart Magic charity. |
magicgeorge Inner circle Belfast 4299 Posts |
It's pretty hard to make math funny. Mind you, our math teacher wore a corduroy jacket with leather elbow patches. That amused me.
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MarkFarrar Veteran user U.S.A. 376 Posts |
I am not at liberty to reveal details, but if you ever get the chance to see John Archer do his Magic Square routine, then you will be inspired!
Mark S. Farrar
Email: [email]MarkFarrar@TheMagicCircle.co.uk[/email] Web: www.MagicSquaresBook.com, www.RandMPublishing.com, www.TheDailyGoalMachine.com, www.ParvoBuster.com |
Kevinh5 Regular user 108 Posts |
Yes, John is funny at everything he does. But I don't like the method. It feels like cheating.
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10587 Posts |
If you9 feel guilty about the method you can still do a similar comedy presentation ala Archer, just use your own choice of preferred methods.
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Sealegs Inner circle The UK, Portsmouth 2596 Posts |
John's one of my favourite performers and is a genuinely very funny and very creative guy.
His DVD's are great because they contain both methodological variations to effects that make the magic stronger and make them run more smoothly and additionally he usually includes presentational aspects which are even more valuable than the methodology aspects of his DVDs. It's this that make them such a great buy. His work on the magic square in his DVD is very valuable as it tackles and deals with the uneven look many popular squares end up with. This helps hide any incongruities and as a consequence makes the magic aspect stronger. But this was one of the few items on the DVD in question where he doesn't give a unique presentational angle to the effect he's doing. John certainly has an engaging and entertaining presentation of the magic square. I'm not suggesting otherwise, but that's because John is entertaining and engaging whatever he's doing. It's just that for this item his presentation doesn't have any particular unique comedic angle or approach. So doing the magic square a la Archer as Mindpro mentions would mean having to become, as John would say, a fat Northern bloke... and I'd add that as well as being a fat Northern bloke you would also have to become or imbue yourself with an alluring charm and a natural charisma. That's a personality... not a way of doing trick. I think this is where many fall down with the magic square. Once you've past the fascination of the mechanics of the trick and move on to thinking about showing it to people in the context of a show you ought to ask yourself,how can I make this work for me? How can I make it something that adds to, reflects and enhances what and who I am? (or who you are on stage) If you put your personality, style and onstage persona first and work out how, or even if, the magic square can reinforce that then you have the starting point for trying to find a potentially good presentation. Harry Loryane does this by using it as a way of showing off the metal abilities he has been demonstrating throughout his show. Marc Paul does it as by way of a mental warming up exercise to wean the audience into an understanding of what the mind, his mind in particular, is capable of. So for a comedy handling and presentation you first need to look to see what kind of performer you are. Sarcastic? Snobbish? Manic? Confused? A victim of your surroundings? Out of your depth? Bombastic? Belligerent? Depending on who you are will give you a starting point to work out how to create a comedic handling. To illustrate this point think about an appropriate comedy approach for the following two imaginary acts; - "Slasher" the convicted punk mindreader who'll carves your brain to pieces and spit out the goo - and, - Billy the Aspergers boy who thinks the things he does are ordinary- Hopefully it it will be obvious that these two extremes would probably need different approaches to what they do to be effective as entertaining acts. Many magicians are a blank canvass... and they look for the tricks or the 'comedy routine' to define them rather than using the tricks and the routines to illustrate who they are and what they are about. The bad news is it doesn't work that way. As such the opening posters's request for comedy patter suggestions are vague and directionless request. Suze Orman the financial expert has a mantra that goes; people first, then money, then things. Magicians ought to adopt their own mantra; Who (you are on stage) first, then How (will this effect help enhance me), then What (effects fit and will help achieve this)
Neal Austin
"The golden rule is that there are no golden rules." G.B. Shaw |
Kevinh5 Regular user 108 Posts |
Very well put, Neal!
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