Scriptwriting for Magicians

Discuss general aspects of Genii.
Leo Garet
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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Leo Garet » January 20th, 2023, 12:44 pm

Tarotist:
“Writing things out and learning it all by rote is a bloody awful way of going about things. It is tedious, boring and hard work for a start”.

Well, from where I’m idling about in the cheap seats, if it works it works and that’s all that matters. It does take some effort, I must admit. but so learning the mechanics of a trick in the first place --- before we start on the scrip/libretto/patter.

Reciting into a recorder and playing it back until it sticks can be a challenge. But it works for some.

How we learn things doesn’t matter. It’s the delivery that matters, which, by and large the majority here seems (to me at least) to be saying.

Back in the mists of time (November ‘22) at the start of this thread, Marty Jacobs said:

“I write complete scripts for my tricks, and I do memorise them. However, I don't recite the lines verbatim. Having the script in my head makes it easier to respond to participants and ad-lib during performances because I do not have to make up my patter on the spot. In addition, it allows me to maintain a "mind like water" approach to my performances”.

If if it works it works. Though I’m not sure what a “mind like water” is. Fluid? Whatever, the journey has been (and remains) interesting.

And in passing:
“Many magicians say:
‘I never write or learn patter, I just say whatever comes into my head.’
Unfortunately it often amounts to nothing.
Sid Lorraine, from A Session Of Tricks, Tips And Patter.

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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Tarotist » January 20th, 2023, 1:29 pm

When learning magic it is always wiser to do things the easy way rather than the hard way if the easy way is just as effective (or even more effective) than the hard way. The same goes for learning your patter. Especially when the easy way is not prone to the disadvantages of the hard way.

Dave Le Fevre
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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Dave Le Fevre » January 20th, 2023, 1:43 pm

Tarotist wrote:it is always wiser to do things the easy way rather than the hard way if the easy way is just as effective (or even more effective) than the hard way
I agree.

Though easier for one person may not be easier for another person.

And more effective for one person may not be more effective for another person.

And those points have been made, albeit phrased differently, by many people many times in this discussion.

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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Tarotist » January 20th, 2023, 2:01 pm

OK. I shall leave everyone to do it the wrong way if they find it easier to do so. I shall merely console myself that I am never wrong and that some of us are born to lead and some of us are born to follow.

Brad Henderson
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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Brad Henderson » January 20th, 2023, 10:03 pm

Mark is not completely wrong

The problem isn’t memorizing a script and delivering it, the problem is writing a script without deep understanding of a piece, memorizing it, and delivering it.

Often magicians write a script and try to shoe horn the trick into it. This feels wrong.

That’s not to say you can’t write a script that works well the first time, but this likely takes years of practice to be able to do this reliably (as well as a solid understanding of who one is as their ‘character’ and their style).
. And even then there comes a time where one has to test it, refine it, and allow it to grow through performance over time.

So mark is right but for the wrong reasons.

Case in point - people who memorize and deliver scripts that have been worked out by others over decades of real world testing often manage to do a passable job - to the degree that wearing a suit tailored to someone else is a passable fit.

But yeah, most attempts to write scripts for tricks and then memorizing them and then doing the trick with them are unlikely to produce a solid final product because these acts-elements are conceived separately and not as all part of the same process

When you develop your script through performance as Mark suggests, you avoid that

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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Tarotist » January 20th, 2023, 10:51 pm

I actually have a knack for coming up with suitable patter. When I first started doing magic I devised a very good system for doing so. I don't use it any more because the words and phrases are all now subconsciously embedded in my brain. Maybe that is why I find it easy to remember the prattle I come up with.

You have to have a good imagination to use this idea. I kept a notebook and filled it up with odd phrases and bits of nonsensical patter that I might be able to use in the future. My system was to look around and see things which triggered off my imagination. Oddly enough a bit like the way I do Tarot readings come to think of it. Paul Harris once said "everything is Tarot" and I bet nobody really knew what he was talking about but I did! Not time to go into it of course.

Anyway, I will do it now to give you some idea what I am talking about. I am looking around and see a lamp shining brightly in front of me. That makes me think of electricity. So I would write the word "electricity" in the notebook. I might as well write "bright light" too. Now let me see what else I can write. Oh, I am at a wooden desk so I would write the Arnold Furst thing down. "wouldn't be wooden if it wouldn't be wooden would it?" . I am now looking at a little timer on my desk. OK so here we go again. I would write the phrase "Time will tell". That makes me thing of a clock. OK, I now have a magic phrase "Hickory Dickory Dock!" That would go in the notebook. Of course a mouse ran up the clock. That reminds me of a mouse. I sell a magic mouse. I bet I could fit Hickory Dickory Dock into the patter if I wanted.

Anyway, tons of little words and phrases would go in the book. Here is another example --I once saw Johnny Paul do the cups and balls on television. He used a phrase "one two, goes right through". If I still kept the notebook that would go in too. Instead nowadays I just remember it and have found loads of places where I can use it and I don't just mean cups and balls!

Sometimes my own natural humour would come out in a trick and I would remember the advice by Hugard and Braue where they said one should make a note of these impromptu remarks and keep them in mind for the future. I prefer my words and phrases to be a little nonsensical and whimsical because it suits my style and I know laymen are amused by it.

Then when I wanted to learn a new trick once I had mastered the technical aspect I would consult the notebook with all the silly phrases.
There would ALWAYS be some word or phrase which fitted the new trick in some way.

My patter is my strong point and the Gods have given me an interesting voice which helps me immensely in my work. Alas the Gods haven't give me much else so I have to work with what I've got. The patter is 75% of a magicians effectiveness. If it is dull and lifeless then the performance will be dull and lifeless. If it is amusing and whimsical the audience will be spellbound. It is NOT the trick which makes a performer stand out. That is only a very small part of the equation. It is what you SAY! Your tongue is FAR more important than your fingers. As I keep saying I am all for good patter (or if you wish to use that pretentious word "scripting). Anyway, I have just given away an invaluable method of coming up with the right things to say. You are getting it for free. And yet I believe it is worth a lot of money. It has been for me anyway.

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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Tarotist » January 20th, 2023, 11:00 pm

Here is another little example. When I was about 8 years old I was listening to some radio comedy. Someone asked someone else, "what are you doing?" The other person said, "I am catching genoomps!" The response was "What are genoomps?" The amusing reply was "I don't know. I haven't caught one yet!"

I remembered that for decades after decades. If I still had the notebook that would have gone into it. However, I don't need the notebook any more because I now use that patter when I do a ball in the hand routine.

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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Tarotist » January 20th, 2023, 11:28 pm

Let me give one more example of how remembering and visualising things that go on around you can help you with your patter. There is a pitch product I haven't seen for years and I have no idea if it is still being worked. The nylon stockings. Part of the demonstration was that a punter would hold on to one end of the stocking and the grafter would hold the other. The stocking would be held tight between the two of them. A nail file would be run up the stocking which would not be damaged. I vaguely remember that it would cut some newspaper inside the stocking to shreds but would leave the stocking undamaged. This was the patter that was used, "Hold tight, don't let go, can you feel this . yes or no! If you listen carefully you will hear this stocking screaming out for mercy!"

So what do I say when I do the sponge ball trick? "Hold tight, don't let go! Can you feel them, yes or no? If you squeeze those sponges you can hear them screaming out for mercy!" Sometimes I add "A bit like the audience actually"

So THAT is how you come up with patter. Pay attention to what is going on around you. Listen to what people say and help yourself to it if you think it suits you.

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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Dave Le Fevre » January 21st, 2023, 4:36 am

I do like your screaming for mercy line. I say something along those lines, but I may have to "borrow" your line.

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Marty Jacobs
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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Marty Jacobs » January 21st, 2023, 6:56 am

Tarotist wrote:Yes Marty. But with all due respect your opinion doesn't count! You are not a LAYMAN! I can bloody well assure you that LAYMEN prefer that style! FAR, FAR prefer it! They are ENTERTAINED by it! The opposite style is colourless and it is just like you are showing puzzles to be solved. You really have no idea of the excitement I can cause among laymen when I perform in this style! You would have to witness it to experience it!

True, I'm no longer a layman. I've been struck by the magician's curse and can never enjoy magic through the untarnished eyes of the uninitiated! However, I remember experiencing magic before I took it up as a hobby. I was always more impressed by performers who worked slowly and didn't repeatedly hit me over the head with a barrage of jokes and magical effects. Maybe this style is more popular with the general public, but at least a sizable portion of people do not enjoy this style of magic. On multiple occasions, I've heard audience members express this dislike out loud during a performance. And slow, considered magic with a strong script doesn't have to be colourless. A good performer can add colour to a routine regardless of the delivery style they choose.

As much as I like and admire Paul Daniels, he was a polarising figure in the UK largely because of his performance style. It can become irritating. By the mid-1990s, the general appetite for this way of performing had reduced. I find the same thing can happen with "zany magicians" who use a lot of humour in the acts, such as Jay Sankey, David Williamson, and even recognised masters like Juan Tamaritz. I have great respect and reverence for Juan, but, in truth, I don't enjoy most of his performances because of his chosen persona.

Marty

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Marty Jacobs
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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Marty Jacobs » January 21st, 2023, 7:15 am

Tarotist wrote:So what do I say when I do the sponge ball trick? "Hold tight, don't let go! Can you feel them, yes or no? If you squeeze those sponges you can hear them screaming out for mercy!" Sometimes I add "A bit like the audience actually"

That's a great example of a well-scripted line. I think the only area where we really disagree significantly is that I do think memorising a script, as most actors would, is an effective way to improve your performance. I don't have the luxury of performing a trick so often that I can evolve the script through repeated performances, so this approach has served me well over the years. I know, from painful experience, what happens when I perform a trick without a solid script! If this involves me doing it the hard way, then so be it!

Leo Garet wrote:If if it works it works. Though I’m not sure what a “mind like water” is. Fluid? Whatever, the journey has been (and remains) interesting.

Oh, the "mind like water" is a mental technique from the world of martial arts. You develop a stillness of mind, free of clutter and "unclosed loops" so that you can be "in the moment" and react appropriately to your surroundings. If you're making up most of your patter as you perform, it is impossible to achieve a mind-like-water state. The idea was popularised in the west by Bruce Lee.

Marty

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AJM
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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby AJM » January 21st, 2023, 8:13 am

See the book ‘Be Water, My Friend’ by Shannon Lee (2020), daughter of the aforementioned Bruce.

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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Tarotist » January 21st, 2023, 10:34 am

Marty Jacobs wrote:As much as I like and admire Paul Daniels, he was a polarising figure in the UK largely because of his performance style. It can become irritating. By the mid-1990s, the general appetite for this way of performing had reduced. I find the same thing can happen with "zany magicians" who use a lot of humour in the acts, such as Jay Sankey, David Williamson, and even recognised masters like Juan Tamaritz. I have great respect and reverence for Juan, but, in truth, I don't enjoy most of his performances because of his chosen persona.

Marty


Marty will no doubt be surprised that I actually agree with him on this. I also find the people he mentions a little too animated for my taste. You can be funny without being "zany".

As a pitchman I have to make things as funny as possible for three reasons. 1. So that I can keep sane. 2. It stops the crowd walking away. 3. It helps the sales. Oddly enough only in North America for some odd reason. If you are funny grafting in the UK strangely enough it encourages them NOT to buy! They will take advantage of the free show whereas over here they will buy BECAUSE of the entertainment provided. In Ireland they throw money at you whatever you do so that is the ideal situation.

However, when I am performing close up magic in a non pitch situation I cut down dramatically on the one liners and concentrate more on the magic although there is still a reasonable amount of humour. On stage if you are doing a talking act then I think the more you can make them laugh the better. And in a kid show it is absolutely VITAL! As the old saying goes "Funny is Money".

Incidentally I posted a link earlier in this thread to David Nixon performing on television. Unscripted (he had to be on TV because it eats up material so quickly) not funny but light hearted and genial. A master of television and I think preferable to Paul Daniels in that particular medium (although Paul was better on stage I think). I am surprised that not a single person has commented on that video. Maybe they didn't see it.

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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Tarotist » January 21st, 2023, 10:51 pm

Dave Le Fevre wrote:I do like your screaming for mercy line. I say something along those lines, but I may have to "borrow" your line.


You can actually see me doing it in action here somewhere. The magic is better than the camera work! Notice I do not say "if you squeeze those balls you can hear them screaming out for mercy" I deliberately use the word "sponges" instead of "balls" otherwise there is a vulgar connotation to the patter. I utterly detest vulgarity of the slightest kind when performing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3-OHSFV5S4

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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby MagicbyAlfred » January 22nd, 2023, 9:17 am

I awoke at an ungodly hour today and just happened to pick up my cherished copy of Scarne on Card Tricks (Crown Publishing, Inc. 1950), and I re-read Scarne's preface, which he entitled, "A New Era in Card Tricks." It is chock-filled with advice on learning tricks and performing them. Of particular relevance to the spirited discussion on this thread, Scarne's position was categorical:

“When performing, be natural. Naturalness cannot be achieved by memorizing your patter, but by having just an outline of what you wish to say.”

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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Tarotist » January 22nd, 2023, 3:42 pm

Yes. I suspect that is basically what David Nixon did. You sort of have to do that when you are on television every week. Of course the Scarne book was written for people performing impromptu for their friends and family. I suspect when performing formal shows possibly a more scripted procedure might be preferable.

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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby MagicbyAlfred » January 22nd, 2023, 4:14 pm

While the tricks in Scarne do not require sleight of hand, but only subtlety and in some cases math, there is still some very strong material in there, and Scarne did not say the tricks were designed for or limited to performances for friends and family. Tricks such as "The Upside Down Deck," created by Francis Carlyle, "Scarne's Drunken Poker Deal," and Braude's Mental Card Trick (Dr. Ben Braude)," to name but a few, are quite strong, and suitable for performance in a professional setting, even though Scarne modified the numerous tricks contributed by many superb cardicians (such as Dai Vernon, Francis Carlyle, Cliff Green, Bob Hummer, Dr. Jacob Daly, Frank Garcia, Harry Lorayne, and many more), so that no sleight of hand would be required.

I was amused when I read the following in Scarne's preface: "Some of my most gratifying moments – – during the course of writing this book – – occurred when I went back to the magicians, who contributed the tricks, and performed them using the new methods. That these men could not believe that no sleight of hand was involved in the trick was the supreme accolade."

In any event, I have long maintained that the magician who has good patter, and is entertaining, will go over better with a lay audience doing nothing more than self-working tricks, than the most advanced finger flinger who is dull and boring and lacking in presentational skills.

I don't necessarily agree with Scarne, however, that patter shouldn't be memorized. For some, memorization is a good thing, maybe even essential; for others not so much. Everyone is different and what works well for one may not necessarily work well for another, especially since we all have different personalities and traits unique to us. One size does not fit all, and all that matters is what works for each performer. Nothing succeeds like success.

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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Tarotist » January 22nd, 2023, 4:46 pm

Many decades ago I was working in a shoe shop in London and someone there (possibly the manager) was a bit of a gambler and used to frequent casinos. He knew I was a magician and so he related a tale how the night before he had been to a London casino and saw a guy doing amazing card tricks including one where he made a selected card appear from his mouth. I knew John Scarne did that and of course I knew about his connections with casinos and I thought to myself, "No, it couldn't be!" but I asked the guy anyway if he remembered the name of the magician. My jaw dropped when he said "John Scarne!" I always associated him with the USA and no British magicians told me he was in London. Come to think of it I may have been the only one who knew it.

I made up my mind to visit the casino and meet him but somehow I chickened out of it and it never happened. I always regretted that.

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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby MagicbyAlfred » January 22nd, 2023, 5:21 pm

Wow, I'm sure that's an opportunity Mark would like to have back.

But while we are on the topic of scriptwriting and John Scarne in particular, I think it is fitting to post Bill Malone's classy performance of the Scarne Aces on National TV. What a splendid subject for a routine Scarne makes. Bill's patter (script if you like) is a masterpiece, a perfect accompaniment to the unbelievable magic. Always remaining natural and conversational, Bill captivates and enraptures the audience with his story-telling, weaving a presentation that brings to life the lore of old-time gamblers, gangsters, and card mechanics, and of course, the character of Scarne, himself, whose astounding skill puzzled even the best magicians of his day. Notice how Bill breaks character and engages with and involves the spectators with his lighthearted banter, charming the socks off of them and making them laugh, while simultaneously blowing their minds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdynigHAFQs

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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Tarotist » January 26th, 2023, 9:51 pm

MagicbyAlfred wrote:
Marty Jacobs wrote: What other topics relating to scriptwriting do you think need to be included in this series of articles?


Story telling.

I wrap quite a few of my routines inside a story. The stories (virtually all fictitious, some plausible, others very far-fetched) are either about something that happened to me or an experience that I had, or they are about others. People love stories when they are well told, and I find people are very receptive and attentive to magic presented within a story format. I have found that it adds greatly to their enjoyment of the performance of a trick or routine. I have no idea how far storytelling dates back to, but certainly, it would have to be centuries upon centuries.

Stories are so integral to the human experience that they are, at least metaphorically speaking, embedded into the human brain stem. Pople tell stories to one another all the time when they get together socially. Simply put, human beings love stories, and the never-ending popularity of movies, plays, TV shows (both fictional and documentary), novels, non-fiction works of literature, short stories, newspapers, magazines, blogs -- even jokes -- are a powerful testament to this. I find that presenting magic in a story format relaxes spectators, significantly blunts the challenge aspect of the trick, and removes or mitigates the defensiveness that many people have to being "fooled."


Just when you all thought this interminable discussion was at an end I saw something in Expert Card Technique which might make it go on a bit longer. I am afraid this venerable book is somewhat lukewarm about "stories". In fact I always found old Hugard somewhat intimidating so I am pleased after reading what he said that I only do a tiny amount of stories in magic but alas that might have even be too much for him. This was written in the presentation section of the book. "Unless you are a gifted raconteur avoid long drawn out "story" patter; remember when performing minutes are hours."

I think he had a point.

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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby MagicbyAlfred » January 27th, 2023, 3:37 am

Tarotist wrote:This was written in the presentation section of the book [Expert Card Technique]. "Unless you are a gifted raconteur avoid long drawn out "story" patter; remember when performing minutes are hours." I think he had a point.


Hugard did have a point. "Long drawn out" patter of any kind, story or otherwise, is to be avoided.

It is noteworthy that in his preface to Scarne on Card Tricks, in regard to presentation, Scarne said: "Remembering that many good effects have been ruined by poor presentation, I then sat down and wrote little stories...to accompany most of the tricks." Notice his use of the adjective, "little."

IMHO, what is to be avoided above all in the way of patter/scripting is, "The Story of Me," a phenomenon that afflicts the presentations of many magicians, and which is exemplified by narrations such as, "Now I take the coin [or ball, or cards, or whatever] and I all I have to do is just wave my hand [or snap my fingers, or cast a shadow, or give a little twist] like this, and, as you can see..." I could give dozens more examples of pitiful patter that redundantly describes the obvious and exalts the cleverness of the performer -- but you get the idea.

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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Tarotist » January 27th, 2023, 10:45 am

Indeed. I think far too many "magicians" indulge in too much chatter with not enough action. Long pauses where nothing is happening except talking is anathema to me. You need to get on with the job. The most frequent spot for all this pointless narration is at the very beginning of a trick. The "performer" chatters away for about a minute or longer before the trick even starts. They justify this nonsense by saying it "frames the effect" whereas all it really does is frame the boredom. I once saw a well regarded (by magicians anyway) performer do seven tricks in a two hour show. They could probably have been performed in about 30 minutes or less. The rest of the time was taken up by interminable yackity yackity yak yak yackiting. Hugard said that "minutes are hours". With this guy minutes FELT like hours!

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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Tarotist » August 30th, 2023, 2:02 pm

The reason I am resurrecting this thread is that I purchased a book on magic by a chap I have never heard of in all the decades I have been doing magic. His name is Henry Gross and I strongly suspect he is dead and gone by now since he mentions in the book that he started magic in the late thirties. It is quite a good book on basic sleight of hand and something compelled me to buy it despite the fact that I can probably do all the sleights described. It was probably the nice photographs that did it

Anyway I was a bit wary when I read that Mr Gross was one of those actor types since regretfully despite standard wisdom I have found that actors who do magic know as much about the subject as I do about the care and breeding of Japanese butterflies. Anyway, I was quite pleased when he made the following statement which is what I have been saying all along.

"The best way to compose patter is to find the general theme during rehearsal and to create a rough script in your head as you work. As you perfect the trick you will find yourself enriching the patter with new ideas. But don't set it. Rather, allow yourself the freedom to improvise during performance. All kinds of things happen during a performance, including mistakes, and you must feel free to ad lib when necessary. If patter is set too rigidly , you are apt to be at a loss for words if you make a mistake or are interrupted"

In other words don't learn it off by heart! Which is exactly what I have been saying all along. It is exactly the procedure I use myself. Anyway the title of the book for those of you who are interested is "Pure Magic" by Henry Gross.

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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Bob Farmer » August 31st, 2023, 4:29 pm

I agree with Mark and most importantly every trick needs a theme. How many times have we been bored to a coma as a magician simply describes what he is doing as if the audience has no eyes. I just tried to watch a lumpenmagus on Youtube doing "Four Card Monte." He shows four cards and then says he has four cards and then, to make things worse, he says he does not have five cards and he does not have six cards. Then, when showing an Ace, he says this is an Ace.

There was no theme and as result there was nothing to interest an audience. He could have said, "I was cheated by a Blackjack dealer in Las Vegas, a guy they called Freddy Fast Fingers, and to save you a lot of money if you ever meet him, I'd like to show you what to watch out for." Now there is a story and a reason for the audience to be interested.

Themes that work for me relate to gambling, cheating, mind reading, fortune telling, left brain/right brain workings, etc.

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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Tarotist » November 1st, 2023, 2:58 pm

chrismeece wrote:I think it would be great to dive into character development in magic routines. Like, how can a magician create a compelling character that enhances the overall performance?


That is a great post. It is absolutely ESSENTIAL to create a compelling character when you work! I don't think 90% of magicians bother to even consider it. Or if they do consider it they pay lip service approval to it then go back to being their boring lifeless selves hoping the trick will do the heavy lifting for them. I consider that if the trick goes well despite the lack lustre character of the performer it is the inventor of the trick who should be getting the applause rather than the boring guy who is doing it.

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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Tarotist » November 1st, 2023, 3:00 pm

chrismeece wrote:I think it would be great to dive into character development in magic routines. Like, how can a magician create a compelling character that enhances the overall performance?


The first few pages of the presentation section of Expert Card Technique will tell you how to do it. Those few pages are more valuable than the rest of the book combined. However, you have to have a certain mindset to appreciate that value.

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Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby DennisLisi » November 8th, 2023, 11:10 am

This topic is near and dear to my heart (as they say). I have spent the better part of sixty years trying to create an entertaining persona. Unsuccessfully.

You can't create it. It has to come from within. Your audience's intuition will spot a phoney from the get-go. Either be real, or embrace The Phoney and make yourself a caricature. In other words, be so serious that you're funny, or something like that.

Another thing I've learnt is not to try too hard. It may seem counter-intuitive, but most people don't appreciate idiots who are anxious, stressful, worried about what might go wrong etc. Don't forget that when you are performing, the folks around you perceive you as a sort of role model. You are going to be a great disappointment to them if you imply that being a magician is a terrible experience. Relax and show them how easy it is to make miracles happen. That's the most amazing thing about Magic--if you think about it. Exerting yourself to achieve an effect is generally less impressive than doing it casually.

Tarotist
Posts: 1365
Joined: July 29th, 2021, 7:16 am
Favorite Magician: David Nixon

Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Tarotist » November 8th, 2023, 1:48 pm

DennisLisi wrote:This topic is near and dear to my heart (as they say). I have spent the better part of sixty years trying to create an entertaining persona. Unsuccessfully.

.


Expert Card Technique said that you live with the character and eventually it becomes real. Something like interest growing in a bank. If I ever get time I will type out exactly what was said.

I have two characters that I portray and they are both part of me yet contradictory to each other. One happened unintentionally by osmosis from the pitch business. Slick, fast, funny, fast talking and slightly rude. You end up like that if you sell svengali decks for too long. I use that personality if I am doing trade shows or performing on stage. And to some extent even doing kid shows.

However, I have another character which is also based on the truth. I use this for close up magic generally, especially impromptu work and it is EXTREMELY effective and disarming. It is completely opposite to the other persona as I appear absent minded, incompetent and a bit dithery. I let the people underestimate me and then I go in for the kill!

I am both personalities in real life. A bit schizophrenic perhaps. However, from a magic performance point of view very useful indeed.

Dave Le Fevre
Posts: 365
Joined: December 24th, 2015, 10:29 am
Favorite Magician: Paul Megram

Re: Scriptwriting for Magicians

Postby Dave Le Fevre » November 8th, 2023, 4:32 pm

Tarotist wrote:absent minded, incompetent and a bit dithery
My ears are burning :D


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