Crazy 4-day round-the-clock online magic event this week

[Ted M]

Here's a big 4-day, round-the-clock online magic event starting this Thursday (Wed evening in the US):

http://www.unitedmagiciansfortheworld.com/

I just chipped in some euros. This looks pretty crazy.

[Ted M]

It's a free will donation fundraiser for young magicians, with 100 hours of content featuring hour-long lectures from...

Dani DaOrtiz
Hector Mancha
Boris Wild
Axel Hecklau
R Paul Wilson
Max Maven
Topas
Karl Hein
Richard Hatch
David Kaye
Sos & Victoria
Franz Harary
Simon Pierro
Michael Vincent
Richard Turner
Ian Rowland
Luis DeMatos
Christian Engblom
Shawn Farquhar
...and many more

[Ted M]

This is excellent, and open to all.

This morning I've enjoyed Boris Wild, who taught two good tricks, and Andy Nyman, who gave a director's perspective on magic.

[Joe Lyons]

This is excellent, and open to all.

This morning I've enjoyed Boris Wild, who taught two good tricks, and Andy Nyman, who gave a director's perspective on magic.

Agreed, this is great. I enjoyed Nyman and Wiseman's banter and knowledge and I'll be using Wild's open prediction.

[Ted M]

Just had my first exposure to Perseus Arkomanis and was very impressed. He's really thoughtful, serious about scripting, has real chops, and constructs his magic artfully. He wants it to have purposeful impact.

Somebody in chat asked him if he does ACAAN, and he answered that he doesn't, because he doesn't have a good enough script for it. And he doesn't consider the events in ACAAN to have enough significance to actually be memorable or meaningful -- so he doesn't see it as having good bones for scripting.

I know he's just published a huge book -- has he sent a copy to Genii for review?

[Richard Kaufman]

Dustin would know about the book. Dustin?

[MagicbyAlfred]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that ACAAN, or virtually any trick in existence, can be made memorable or meaningful. IMHO, the essence of what makes a trick or routine impactful on the audience lies far less in the bones of it, than how the plot is framed and the trick presented. For example, let's say that ACAAN were to be presented as an experiment in hypnosis where, through the power of suggestion, the magician conveys a particular number to a spectator and the selected card is found to be there, or as a mentalism effect, in which the performer conducts an experiment in ESP, where the magician is to attempt to telepathically convey a number to a spectator, who in turn, is to attempt to read the performer's mind. In other words, setting up an emotional hook and exhibiting good showmanship - principles that luminaries like Vernon, Helms, and others too numerous to mention, have espoused.

Arguably, the "21 Card Trick" is the most rudimentary (and inherently uninteresting) "trick in the book" if we were to just consider the basic structure (or "bones") as it has been presented from time immemorial. It is a trick most of us would turn our noses up at, and relegate to the realm of a rank beginner's effect. But can one make the proverbial silk purse out of a sow's ear? I believe that Bill Malone answers that question quite convincingly:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb8agQ2sGkA