On Aug 1, 2016, Pop Haydn wrote:

Quote:

On Mar 9, 2016, griffindance wrote:

Acts of the caliber of Pop Haydn are the minimum level to expect of a performer.

On Aug 1, 2016, Pop Haydn wrote:

Quote:

On Mar 9, 2016, griffindance wrote:

Acts of the caliber of Pop Haydn are the minimum level to expect of a performer.

Really? I'm glad after 50 years I've made it to the minimum level...

I maintain that one should create the character and backstory around the magic effects that appeal most to you. Change the character as needed to support the magic. Magic is not a special effect or mere transitional device. Magic does not support your character, your character supports the magic. If you are doing magic and not theater, the magic has to come first. Theater and story are only there to support strong magic. They are not central as in normal theater.

This isn't a rule. It is just a viewpoint. In my work, the magic is always central, and the character, costume, and backstory can be changed to suit whatever magic I want to perform. That is largely how my character was created--I kept changing the character and story to accommodate the effects I wanted to present. He was originally just a gambler. I kept adding to his story as I kept introducing effects I wanted to do. Why would a gambler do the Linking Rings? Why would a Western gambler wear a turban and read crystal balls? Why would a gambler have a teleportation device and a Tesla Coil?

Finally, magic is not about "telling" a story. It is about enacting a story that involves the audience as characters in the story. The story is what happens to them in the show--what they witnessed at the event. The audience members are all witnesses to the events in the story, and some are actual participants. It is like the magician is the lead actor and the audience and volunteers are co-actors, following his lead. The "story" is the story of the experience--what they will say they saw afterwards.

On Mar 3, 2016, griffindance wrote:

There are the magicians out there (some I suspect are regular visitors to this page!)who can engage the audience at a deeper level than "some magician who did this trick that was really cool..." but most of our work is in 5min (one trick- one story) 15mins(2/3 tricks - 2/3 stories) or 20-30mins (3/5 tricks...) slots. What I want to see is appreciation of the magical arts that allows for the development of longer, full evening shows that arent basic revue style series' of un-connected presentations, but are complete journeys unto themselves. I want to be able to speak to non-magicians and hear them talk about seeing the productions of different named magicians, not as it usually is today, having seen "some magician who did this trick..."

A good storyteller becomes the coyote. For conceptual proof of this think about the connection between these stories "Die Hard," "Moonlighting," "Death Becomes Her," "The Sixth Sense," "Unbreakable"... Now you know the connection think about how one storyteller transcends all of these stories.