The greatest female magician I have ever seen!
Re: The greatest female magician I have ever seen!
I bet she IS cracking a smile underneath her hair! One of the advantages of her face being hard to see. Jack Shalom please note.
Re: The greatest female magician I have ever seen!
The Sacred Riana illustrates a greater truth about magic. 99% of magic is the persona of the performer, not the trick. If only more magicians understood this.
Re: The greatest female magician I have ever seen!
jammen wrote:The Sacred Riana illustrates a greater truth about magic. 99% of magic is the persona of the performer, not the trick. If only more magicians understood this.
I have ALWAYS understood this! Right from the very, very beginning. The trick is of no consequence whatsoever. It is the MAN (or in this case WOMAN) that matters not the trick. I learned this when I was 16 years old from the first few pages of the Presentation section of Expert Card Technique. I took it to heart and it remained my philosophy for my entire life in magic. YOU are the magic not the bloody trick! Of course magicians pay lip service to this concept but they never follow it in practice.
A good magician does not present magic. No. He presents HIMSELF presenting magic.
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Re: The greatest female magician I have ever seen!
Performer wrote: "I have ALWAYS understood this! Right from the very, very beginning...It is the MAN (or in this case WOMAN) that matters not the trick. A good magician does not present magic. No. He presents HIMSELF presenting magic."
Well said! I guess I was lucky enough to understand this from the beginning, as well. Soon after acquiring my first tricks from a magic store in Brooklyn (Magic Milk Pitcher, Egg Bag, Lota Vase and Silk to Cane), and the book, Houdini on Magic, I started giving shows at family parties at the age of six. At that point, I didn't know how to be anyone else but myself, so that's what I presented, and 6 decades later, I don't think that has really changed (nor, for that matter, has my level of emotional maturity).
Well said! I guess I was lucky enough to understand this from the beginning, as well. Soon after acquiring my first tricks from a magic store in Brooklyn (Magic Milk Pitcher, Egg Bag, Lota Vase and Silk to Cane), and the book, Houdini on Magic, I started giving shows at family parties at the age of six. At that point, I didn't know how to be anyone else but myself, so that's what I presented, and 6 decades later, I don't think that has really changed (nor, for that matter, has my level of emotional maturity).
Re: The greatest female magician I have ever seen!
One problem with certain people is that in some cases being yourself is not necessarily a good thing. It is all fine and dandy if your natural personality is an interesting one. The problem arises if the normal personality is on the dull side. That means you have to work harder at making it interesting or at least make the performing personality interesting. That is where the real challenge lies and it takes a lot of thought. And to make it even more challenging, personalities change as the years go by in many, many cases.
And another danger is that an interesting personality can become TOO interesting! It can overshadow the magic with over presentation which goes over the top. Performers who talk too much and are too energetic and have a tendency to over present which is just as bad a fault as under presenting. You have to show an interesting balance. Don't go over the top but don't have the personality of a dial tone either.
This can get very complicated and even difficult but with proper thought to the matter it can have good results. Expert Card Technique explains how to do it. You have to live that character until it becomes real. Like interest gathering in a bank. In many ways this aspect of things is more important than the trick.
And another danger is that an interesting personality can become TOO interesting! It can overshadow the magic with over presentation which goes over the top. Performers who talk too much and are too energetic and have a tendency to over present which is just as bad a fault as under presenting. You have to show an interesting balance. Don't go over the top but don't have the personality of a dial tone either.
This can get very complicated and even difficult but with proper thought to the matter it can have good results. Expert Card Technique explains how to do it. You have to live that character until it becomes real. Like interest gathering in a bank. In many ways this aspect of things is more important than the trick.
Re: The greatest female magician I have ever seen!
Here is the exact sentence from Expert Card Technique which gives the secret of developing an interesting character and maintaining it.
"The longer you live with the character you are creating, the more real that character becomes, very much like interest compounding in a bank"
There. Now you know. I certainly did. And did a long, long time ago.
"The longer you live with the character you are creating, the more real that character becomes, very much like interest compounding in a bank"
There. Now you know. I certainly did. And did a long, long time ago.
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Re: The greatest female magician I have ever seen!
it seems a bit like method acting, but it's a lifetime part...