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bluejay17! Regular user DC 120 Posts |
I live overseas in a country with no experienced magicians (Zambia), how do I find a mentor?
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funsway Inner circle old things in new ways - new things in old ways 9982 Posts |
My first reaction is to question "no experienced magicians" in any country, but accept you may mean "near you."
But then I recall my anthropology studies, especially on mysticism and divination. Your land has a rich heritage of magic practice much put down and possibly misdefined by Christian based colonization. Performance magic may be proscribed or unpopular. So, in a search for a mentor you should be clear on several issues, including my possible ignorance. 1) why are you interested in becoming a proficient performing magician? 2) who is your intended audience? What are their expectations of a magician? 3) what types of effects/themes should be avoided in performance? 4) what "real magic" are you pretending at? A mentor is not a teacher of tricks or an instructor of astonishment techniques, but a guide to refining your ability and skills toward audience engagement. Make a list of effects you have mastered, books studied and live performance experience. It may be possible to find a mentor Online, using Skype or focused communication. The more you have "under control" the greater the chance of finding an effective mentor. Search the Café' archives on themes of interest and read the mentoring advice already available. Above all, be clear on your expectations and willingness to "do the work" required by a mentoring relationship. You can write me off-list with any specific concerns and I may be able to help eversway@yahoo.com I only mentor live students (face-to-face) , but may be able to direct you to someone suitable.
"the more one pretends at magic, the more awe and wonder will be found in real life." Arnold Furst
eBooks at https://www.lybrary.com/ken-muller-m-579928.html questions at ken@eversway.com |
Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts |
YUP!
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10587 Posts |
I've been reading your posts in several forums here. How old are you? Tell us a bit about yourself.
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jimgerrish Inner circle East Orange, NJ 3209 Posts |
You already have a mentor that those of us born before 1970 never had- it's the World Wide Web on the Internet. My mentors were other kids my own age who had become interested in magic and who mentored one another as we grew and developed our skills. Eventually we formed magic clubs and friendships that continued on beyond childhood. Now that the Internet is here, so are all of my old friends and we continue to make new friends and mentors in increasing numbers. So can you.
Jim Gerrish
magicnook@yahoo.com https://www.magicnook.com Home of The Wizards' Journals: https://magicnook.com/wizardsTOC.htm |
TomB Veteran user Michigan, USA 330 Posts |
What type of magic do you want to learn? For cardistry, there are a lot of DVDs.
I am not sure about IBM if they are in your country or not. Having a magical society would help. I can tell you though, as far as characters go, if you went full witch doctor, you could take the world by storm. We do not have a famous witch doctor that everyone thinks of. Even if your country isn't known for that, the world is ignorant. We just think Africa has witch doctors. Killing chickens to heal would make some run away though. You do not want the animal rights people around. But you can drink fake blood made with corn syrup if you wanted. In all honesty, being millions of miles away, I do not know how to find magicians. Maybe place a classified ad posting what you are looking for. Do you have a any places where magicians perform? You can always talk to someone who performed that you admired. You have the internet. You can learn a lot on YouTube. What have you tried? How good are you? What are your expectations? |
Jonmaddgician New user Perth, Western Australia 72 Posts |
On one hand, I can't imagine a better mentor than this forum.
On the other hand, too many cooks, too much advice, can be like finding a needle in a haystack! Following on from a few of the replies here already, if you're stuck on certain effects or presentation ideas or sleights, you could probably upload a video & post a link for constructive feedback. If you just wanna talk about concepts and psychology & performance tips & everything else, there's probably more threads on this forum than questions you could probably have. Nothing beats face to face interactions when it comes to performing and discussing magic though, so the next best option is probably to "recruit" a fellow magic enthusiast. When performing, you might come across someone with a genuine keen interest. Show them something simple & keep in touch, & if they come back to you with signs of improvement & potential, share more. Sometimes just having a magic buddy to jam with is just as valuable as a magic "mentor" per se. |
funsway Inner circle old things in new ways - new things in old ways 9982 Posts |
I can agree with Jim that clubs and WWW can me a mentor of sorts, but reading that what is desired here is individual development coaching in a unique social environment.
To repeat, training of methods and teaching of tricks is not mentoring. Watching YouTube performances is not mentoring. Finding a person of shared interests on line and communicating via Skype might be. Many here might help, but we have so little knowledge of you to work with. Even posting a specific effect as jonmad suggest might help, but we need more info on you and the social setting. It appears that you are not native to this country or culture. What is your objective in performing magic?
"the more one pretends at magic, the more awe and wonder will be found in real life." Arnold Furst
eBooks at https://www.lybrary.com/ken-muller-m-579928.html questions at ken@eversway.com |
bluejay17! Regular user DC 120 Posts |
Quote:
On Aug 11, 2019, TomB wrote: Didn't David Blaine do that? |
WitchDocChris Inner circle York, PA 2614 Posts |
No. Witch Doctors don't do card tricks.
Christopher
Witch Doctor Psycho Seance book: https://tinyurl.com/y873bbr4 Boffo eBook: https://tinyurl.com/387sxkcd |
bluejay17! Regular user DC 120 Posts |
The illusion where the head was cut off of a chicken and then put back on. Also, I've read extensively on witchcraft, and most of the things that were done are not magic tricks, but herbal medicine and entheogen usage.
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bluejay17! Regular user DC 120 Posts |
Quote:
On Aug 14, 2019, WitchDocChris wrote: I should've asked the actual witchdoctor here. |
WitchDocChris Inner circle York, PA 2614 Posts |
Quote:
On Aug 14, 2019, bluejay17! wrote: Current 'witchcraft' is by and large herbalism and related practices, as well as being in tune with nature. Really depends on where/what you're studying, though. However, if you study the history of illusion-magic you'll find the origins in religious ceremonies/temples. The Greeks and Romans mainly, but Egyptians as well.
Christopher
Witch Doctor Psycho Seance book: https://tinyurl.com/y873bbr4 Boffo eBook: https://tinyurl.com/387sxkcd |
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