Magic & Charisma

[Joe Mckay]

You make a fair point, Brad. Even if you are only delivering expository patter - that requires care and consideration. I just think that is not what most magicians think about when they worry about scripts and presentations.

But I defintiely agree that clear instruction is very important. I just wish more magicians would pay more attention to attitude and plot!

[Brad Henderson]

And he’s wrong.

Or at least looking at possibilities small mindedly.

if ghosts can be a thing, why can’t lonely coins be a thing?

For many people, either are just as much a ‘thing’ as the other.

[Joe Mckay]

I apologise for turning this thread into an impromptu magic blog.

I appreciate your patience with me on this.

Experience is the best teacher. As such I appreciate the constructive criticism from those with way more experience than me.

Cheers!

[Jonathan Townsend]

Joe, you're selling short some of the people who are very much about performing and magic though not "demonstrators of tricks". Magicians on the street performing for a hat have a different objective than the variety show artist who's got a place on the bill and ambitions of being the feature act.

It starts with an audience. Even an internal (imaginary) audience has feedback to offer. Let's take a note from Vernon and set aside pranks/confusion* in our discussion for now. What's on offer for the audience? Where does the magician meet the audience? What sort of engagement will there be for the performance? What signals do each participant in this engagement have to move from start to finish?

There are living performers who can help you get better with audiences. Some of them are also writers.

*There's a Monty Python bit about "Confuse a Cat" that we can come back to later. To startle or astonish an audience has applications and context outside our craft.

[Brad Henderson]

Joe. How many issues of the invocation have you read? Tell me it’s not exactly what Andy is allegedly doing. Someone shows up to the magicians house. There is a strange object or letter. A familiar and emotionally charged concept is introduced in conversation. A demonstration occurs.

Exact same thing.

Only different is theme.

[Joe Mckay]

I agree. I have said elsewhere that Andy's work is a modern updating of Bizarre Magick. But taking inspiration from a Twilight Zone aesthetic rather than one based in the Supernatural.

The wonderful thing about the Twilight Zone is that inherent to the aesthetic is the idea of having surprising (but logical) twists.

As such - designing tricks with a presentation inspired by The Twilight Zone has the wonderful bonus effect of creating a compelling plot as well. Presentations rooted in a Supernatural worldview tend not to have this lovely add-on feature.

Bizarre Magick tends to deliver the audience exactly where you promised to take them at the start of the trick. There is no twist or surprise like you will find in a trick that has a compelling plot.

Finally - I have a complete file of the Invocation and The New Invocation. It is a wonderful set of magazines.

[Joe Mckay]

For me - the value of a thread like this is simply to set out interesting opinions that I have thought deeply about.

I guess that is where my rambles can tip over into "magic blog" territory. So I apologise for that. All this extra free time (due to the pandemic) has sent me a bit loopy. Hence the increase in magic rambles here on the forum over the past few months. Sorry!

I appreciate the feedback. But my ultimate goal is simply to offer up something for people to chew over. I think magic needs more people going against the grain. We should start a thread asking the same question that Peter Thiel asks all job candidates:

“What important truth do very few people agree with you on?”

[Joe Mckay]

The nice thing about impromptu magic is this.

When you are performing for friends - you don't need to worry about being charismatic.

The fact that they like you and know you is enough.

The issue of charisma only becomes important when performing for strangers.

90% of all the magic tricks ever performed are by amateurs performing for their friends.

So - as long as the trick is fooling and has a compelling plot - the rest takes care of itself.

You don't need to stress out over your presentation or how charismatic you are.

[Joe Mckay]

I think it adds interest and energy to a performance when there is a sub-text to the performance that drives the action.

It creates a "reason" for the show to take place in the first place.

The sort of things I find funny are the sort of delusional petty arrogance you find in characters like Michael (The American Office) & David Brent (The UK Office). I find nothing funnier than when people spend years obsessing over unimportant slights. I think this is because I am a nihilist. As such - if something is important to you then it is ultimately just as important as anything else that might traditionally provide meaning in a person's life (eg love, kids, status, wealth, religion, military heroism). So even though people who over-react to trivial events in this way are ridiculous - I also feel I can relate to them on a very deep and profound level.

So, I like the idea that the sub-text of my performances is rooted in a multi-year internal disciplinary proceeding in which I am contesting my suspension from The Magic Circle "...for being a pompous, pretentious jerk who is more interested in being a pseudo-intellectual than entertaining people with magic".

I will still be performing strong magic. I just like the idea that I have become obsessed with overturning my suspension from The Magic Circle. And that it has turned into a long-running legal battle. That would provide the sub-text for my magic.

Of course - it may be funnier - if I say I have been suspended from the local magic club. That is lower status than been kicked out of The Magic Circle. I guess I am echoing one of my favourite magicians here (John Lenahan) who became famous in the UK after he got kicked out of The Magic Circle for exposing gambling moves on TV.

I have always enjoyed being a faintly ridiculous person who both says smart things and comes across as a pathetic pseudo-intellectual at the same time. I find ironic pomposity to be funny. I don't have any friends left to discuss these ideas with. So - I just thought I would float this idea here on the forum.

I also like the idea of being such a pseudo-intellectual that you flatter yourself by mistakenly imagining that the word pseudo is actually latin for "very" - and as such you have misunderstood the insult and taking it as a compliment.

[Joe Mckay]

It goes back to the idea of a McGuffin. If the performer you are watching wants to achieve something - then the goal they are trying to achieve is ultimately unimportant. Since - as a viewer - the important thing is what you learn about the person's character as they go about achieving that goal.

The McGuffin provides a beginning and an end. And it is in watching the character undertake that journey that you learn about them.

The destination is ultimately irrelevant. It can be anything you want. It is not about the destination - it is about the journey.

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

[Joe Mckay]

There is a popular sitcom in the UK called The Inbetweeners.

The star of the show is an actor called Simon Bird.

Back when he was a student - he regularly performed in a national university stand-up comedy competition. It is quite an important competition since many successful stand-up comedians first taste of success was through this competiton.

The following is a 7 minute comedy set that he put together. It is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. It is a good example of how having a sub-text to the performance adds an extra level of energy that you simply don't get with a traditional performance. It sort of breaks the fourth wall in some way since the performer is not simply there to entertain. He is also there to prove a point and further his own agenda.

Effectively this becomes the McGuffin that grounds the entire comedy set.

I think it is incredible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfJI11NoHCM

[Richard Kaufman]

Joe, who the heck are you talking to here? You keep posting and no one is responding.

[Joe Mckay]

Sorry - I'll give it a rest!

I have a VR headset arriving on Tuesday. The new Oculus Quest 2. I wonder if Virtual Reality will offer an interesting new platform for magic?