The Unforgiven

I thought I could use this blog as a way to showcase a few effects I've been working on. Feel free to take whatever you can from these "brainstroms" of mine...and if you could leave some comments on what you like or what needs improvement that would be wonderful.

Effect:
The word 'shrive' means to absolve of sin. It's from that word that we get the day before Ash Wednesday - Shrove Tuesday - meaning the day Christians are forgiven of their sins.

"Years ago, the worst possible thing that could happen to a person was to die unshriven - or to die with sins still unforgiven."

The magus takes out a small packet of cards.

"Here are some notables of the past who very likely died unshriven."

The magus shows each card and comments on the name:

"Jack the Ripper. Identity and date of death, unknown. In the fall of 1888, this serial killer held the metropolis of London in the grip of fear as he murdered at least five women, seemingly at will. He was never caught and his identity is still unknown.

"Attila the Hun, died 453 A.D. Known as the "Scourge of God", he conquered half the world, leaving the fragments of the Roman Empire cowering before him. The blood of countless people is on his hands. And yet he died in bed, on his wedding night.

"Macbeth, died 1040 A.D. He became king of Scotland for a brief period after murdering the rightful king, Duncan. His actions plunged the country into war. Some argue that he murdered the king to satisfy the demands of his wife, Lady Macbeth.

"Blackbeard the Pirate, died 1718. His real name was Edward Teach and he was the most feared man of his day. A mass murderer, his wanton cruelty knew no bounds. He ended his life on an American gallows.

"Lizzie Borden, died 1927. She was accused of murdering her father and her mother with an axe, a crime that shocks the world even to this day. A jury acquitted her but the public did not and she spent the rest of her life in seclusion out West.

"Ivan the Terrible, died 1584. Ruler of Russia, he was the classic feudal despot, bringing misery, destruction, and death to his people.

"Nero, died 68 A.D. Emperor of Rome, he was accused of starting the great fire that destroyed the city; and was also accused of doing it to provide inspiration for a song he was writing. The populace eventually rose up against him and he died by his own hand.

"Guy Fawkes, died 1606. A member of the famed 'Gunpowder Plot', he attempted to blow up Parliament and the politicians in attendance, during the conflict between Catholics and Protestants. He was executed by the very government he tried to destroy.

"Stalin, died 1953. Absolute ruler of the Soviet Union, he held the world in the grip of fear. He led his country through World War II but at a terrible cost; he also killed millions of his own people by forced famine, banishment to Siberia, and his notorious secret police."

The magus asks that the packet of names be cut several times to mix them up.

"These people, I believe we can safely assume, all died unshriven - or unforgiven. But you (to a spectator) look like a very good person and, perhaps, you can save just one of these horrid people. Give them a 'second chance' as it were, in eternity."

Have the spectator cut the cards, completing the cut, and remove the new, top card. The magus picks up the remainder of the cards, so they won't be a distraction.

"You could have selected any one of these fiends, whose crimes put them outside the bounds of human decency.

"And yet, being a basically decent person, you have decided to give a chance at redemption to - (here you pause dramatically and then reveal the name, along with some further details of the person's life, if you wish).

The selected name is shows to match your announcement.

The magus retrieves the card and continues with whatever he is doing.

Method:
This is an old principle, dressed up in a new and bizarre set of clothes.

Note the first initial of each of the names; the letters spell the nonsense word JAMBLINGS.

That is all you have to remember. (That, and to keep the cards in the right order!)

The cards can be cut, and the cut completed, as often as you like; it will not change the cyclical order of the word JAMBLINGS.

When the spectator cuts the cards and removes a card at the cut, you pick up the top cards of the packet and then put the bottom cards on top. The bottom card of your packet is now the card immediately before the one that was chosen.

Casually glance at the bottom card of your packet and you know the next card.

For example, if the bottom card is Lizzie Borden (and her first name starts with the letter "L"), you know the next letter must be "I" for "Ivan the Terrible".

Everything else is presentation.

You may want to embellish the profiles of each one by adding more historical details. That's fine; just don't overdo it. Remember, you are doing a wonder of magic, not giving a lecture or a history lesson!

Performing Magic For Kids

You have just discovered the wonderful world of magic. Trip after trip to the magic shop has added to your ever growing arsenal of magic tricks. Thirty-three days later the credit card bills arrive to remind your wife that this IS an expensive hobby.

No problem! You will make back all of the money you've spent and more by becoming a part-time professional magician. Looking around for places to hone your craft, you suddenly remember that you niece has a seventh birthday coming up. You call you sister and offer your services in lieu of a gift.

Two weeks later the performance time arrives. You pack all of your "A" material into two large cardboard boxes. You start the show for sixteen first graders and all of your relatives. The show goes well. Everybody is laughing and having a good time. You take some theatrical pauses to build suspense as you search your boxes for the next great trick. Finally, your fifteen minute show concludes after fifty-three minutes. You never realized you had that much great magic. The kids cheer and applaud for your debut magic show. Even your sister, wiping the tears from her eyes, says, "I have never had more fun than I did watching your magic show. It was great. John got it all on tape."

This is how many part-time professional magicians attempt to begin their career. They look around and decided that doing kid shows is the best way to start. Performing magic for kids is one of the most difficult areas of magic to do well. This article explores some of the challenges of performing children's magic.

YOU ARE TRAINING CHILDREN

Children don't understand many of the common cues in a live performance. Most children are raised in the age of television. Not a bad thing, except the laugh tracks prompt the children when to laugh. No laugh tracks and the children are left out in the cold. They are quick and will get up to speed in no time. But they need your help.

The same issue is even more problematic with applause. Children are not used to clapping. They don't understand applause cues. Those wonderfully timed applause cues will leave you and your audience with a lot of uncomfortable silence.

What can be done? Everything. One of your most important tasks as a children's magician is your opening. The beginning of your show must do four things:

• Establish audience control
• Teach the children to react to applause cues
• Set the tone for the show
• Introduce your performing personality

The audience needs to be warmed up prior to your magic show. It seems hokey and a waste of time, but it can make the difference between a great magic show and a horrible one.

Children love to have fun. Even in school children are taught to obey those in authority. For some reason, many magicians forget to establish authority early in the show. The result resembles a saloon brawl in the wild west.

When you step out for the start of your show, you have the perfect opportunity to establish the ground rules for the show. I don't mean that you should bring out a list of house rules for the show. Instead come out with confidence and warm up your audience.

After you welcome everyone to the show, look out over the audience and say, "This looks like a really great crowd. Let's see how loud you can clap. On the count of three ONE. . . TWO . . THREE . .Not bad! Let's try it again. On three . . ." After some byplay conclude by saying, "What do we do when we like the magic? (pause) What do we do when we LOVE the magic?" (pause and react strongly to the crowd)

Four things are being done by that warm up. You have taught the children to clap when they like the magic. It also trains them to react to the applause cues in the rest of the show. The warm up establishes that you are in control for this show. Finally, it sets a fun tone for the show. This is the first time your audience gets a sense of your performing personality.

YOU ARE NOT PERFORMING FOR THE KIDS

You will learn quickly that the most difficult task facing the children's performer is to design the show to appeal to children and adults at the same time and at different levels. No I don't mean filling your performance with phrases that have sexual double meanings. Nothing is more pathetic and unprofessional than the performer that gets a child on stage and slyly eyes the adults in the crowd and says "Do I have a big magic wand or what?"

Children's cartoons provide the best examples of the point I am trying to make. Take Loony Toons or Spongebob Squarepants for example. These cartoons work for children and adults on different levels at the same time. This is what you must achieve to be a successful children's magician

This is very difficult thing to pull off. This is one of the main reasons that doing children's magic is so difficult. You must DESIGN your show for both audiences. One key to the show design is your performing personality.

YOU ARE NOT YOURSELF TODAY

When you perform magic for children, you must have a distinctive and appealing performing personality. Long gone are the days when the children's magician can come out on stage in a second hand tux and wow his audience with a formal magic show. Look at Silly Billy, one of the most successful children's magicians. His performing personality is fun and engaging. His show tone is fast paced and humorous.

Even beyond children's magic, examine the performing personalities of children's television. Captain Kangaroo, Mr. Rodgers, and Peewee Herman are examples of compelling performing personalities. Each one was successful, yet, had very different performing personalities. The common factor was that each performer engaged children through fun.

Your performing personality must engage you audience, children and adults, with fun and wonderment. You must draw your audience into the show by your performing personality, but you must wow them with a well designed show that delivers great magic. This is why doing children's magic is so tough.

If you want to start your career in magic as a children's magician, think again. Kids are brutally honest. There is nothing tougher or more satisfying than have a great children's magic show. Being a children's magician is not the best way to become a part-time professional magician.

What is Close-up Magic?

Close-up magic is magical entertainment that happens right in front of you, magic you can not only see but feel and touch. This intimacy is what makes it so different from other types of magic. An expert close-up magician will involve and interact with the audience far more than a stage magician (or any other form of entertainer for that matter).

Most close-up magicians use common props such as playing cards, coins, sponge balls and rope. And all magicians perform the same basic magical effects with these props, making them appear, disappear, change, levitate, break and restore, and penetrate other objects. What is amazing about close-up magic is that it happens so close to you, sometimes while you are holding the props!

There are many standard close-up magic effects and standard routines used to present them. For example, the 'Ambitious Card' where a chosen card repeatedly rises to the top position in a deck of cards without any shuffling or cutting, or the 'Sponge Balls' where the balls move invisibly between the magician's hands and those of the spectator's. In fact, these routines are freely available if you care to look. Anyone can search the internet and buy books and DVDs on close-up magic, or even the props and standard routines.

What really sets one close-up magician apart from another is how they present their magic. In fact, presentation is the key - it is what makes close-up magic entertaining. A really good, professional magician will be creative and present their magic in an original and entertaining way. Sometimes humorous, sometimes mysterious, sometimes just plain weird and freaky. The magic becomes a vehicle for the personality and ideas of the performer.

This is what makes close-up magic great entertainment. An interesting, strange and funny person demonstrates the impossible, weird and wonderful, right under your nose!

Why Do Magicians Wear Tuxes?

This wonderful question has rarely bothered magicians for decades. It should. Some possible answers might include:

• He is getting married today.
• He just got off work as a waiter.
• He is going to the prom.

Wait! The man is about to do magic. Surely anyone doing great magic wears a tux. It logically follows that a person dressed in attire not worn generally by the public in nearly sixty years must be a well trained and entertaining artist.

I encounter responses such as:

"People won't know we're magicians if don't wear our uniform," bemoan penguin-like prestidigitators.

"Real magicians must wear tuxes," cries the part-time professional in his ill fitted and second hand attire.

The question of what magicians should wear has been around for more than a century. The correct answer has been around just as long. Unfortunately, many magicians don't get it.

Jean Robert-Houdin, the father of modern magic, looked around at how his fellow magicians dressed. The common uniform for a "real magician" was to dress up like a wizard complete with a conical hat. Robert-Houdin chose to view magic as an art. He devised many wonderful effects. He would go out on a bare stage to present his magic dressed in formal evening attire. The attire was appropriate and commonly worn for evening theatrical productions. Instead of dressing in way completely different from his audience, Robert-Houdin dressed just like his audience.

The point being made is simple. If you want magic to be viewed as a fine art, take your performance and dress seriously. Let the quality of your magic performance speak to the level of your magic artistry. If you want to be a magic clown, then dress like a penguin.

What about Lance Burton? Great question, thanks for asking. Lance's performing personality makes wearing a tuxedo appropriate for his performance. Mr. Burton consciously links back to magic's historical roots. Figuratively speaking, he wears the mantel of magic passed down through the ages. He portrays the great magician out of our past. Lance performs classical magic effects while donning the classical magical attire.

This is completely different from the approach of 99.998% of the other magicians wearing tuxes. Most part-time professional magicians wear a tux without regard to their performing personality. The key to what to wear is your performing personality. Begin with the assumption that a tux is not an option. Examine the key elements of your performing personality that you want to communicate to your audience. Tailor your dress to consciously communicate those key elements.

Another factor to consider is whether you want to stand out or blend with your audience. Let's say you want to blend with your audience. This is common approach for the restaurant or corporate magician. What will your audience be wearing? Try to dress a little above your audience. Let's say you want to stand out. Find ways to contrast with your audience that communicates positively to your performing personality. For example, assume your performing personality is that odd middle aged uncle that all the kids love but make parent roll their eyes. You know the type, every family has one. His style sense will be decades out of style but he will be clueless that he isn't the hippest guy around. If that is your chosen performing personality, then the performer's style will match the outfit. The point again is that the outfit chosen by the magician must relate to performing personality.

Let's get back to the original question. Why do magicians wear tuxes? Nobody knows including the magicians. Know your performing personality. Select your dress to complement your venue and performing personality. Treat your magic performance like the artistic performance you want it to be.