executes a “trick” without revealing the method.
makes the “trick” entertaining.
makes you forget that you were ever watching a “trick” in the first place.
You know you’re a magician when you can make money appear from thin air, but you’re constantly broke…
It begs the question… What is magic really?
Let’s face it… If you had a super power like teleportation, would you really use it to make a signed card teleport across the room into a can of soup?
If you could make objects appear from nowhere, would you really make doves appear from brightly colored fabric?
If I could really disappear and instantly reappear anywhere I wanted, would I really live in Ohio in January?
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Hey… Speak up!
I can’t hear you…
I went to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra a couple weeks back. My ears are still ringing!
If you’re familiar with their music you know it’s incredible. Nothing compares to their live show though. It’s amazing. Not only are they incredible musicians, they’re incredible showmen.
Every aspiring live entertainer should see them perform at least once!
Why is it that seeing a live show is so different from watching a video or listening to an album?
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The Masked Magician hit the scene a year after I started in magic. He was just as controversial in the magic community as you’d expect.
The big names in magic asked their fan bases to write angry letters to the show sponsors. This is ultimately why the Masked Magician left TV. He ran out of people willing to give him money.
When the Masked Magician finally faded the magic community breathed a sigh of relief. People would forget and move on. The art of magic was safe!
Then the Internet hit. YouTube hit. Wikipedia hit. We entered an era where secrecy is nonexistent. Suddenly we realized that the Masked Magician wasn’t a “one time problem” that could be solved. He was the first tiny wave in a hurricane of exposure!
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Many folks have a less than favorable impression of magicians. They’ve sat through a magic act and said “this is boring!” or “I don’t like this!”
Part of the problem is that anyone who buys a magic trick is suddenly a “magician”. These guys go out after about five minutes of rehearsal and start trying to perform professionally.
This doesn’t explain the entire problem though… Recently one of the bigger names in Vegas came to Columbus and lost his audience’s attention! They started loudly talking to each other, taking cell phone calls, and texting!
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Most magic sucks.
I can try to hide it, dance around it, and sugar coat it but at the end of the day the truth is most magic sucks!
Why?
The world of magicians has a serious problem. Anyone who learns a couple card tricks can call themselves a magician! It doesn’t matter that their act is boring, unrehearsed, and unpolished. They can call themselves magicians and there’s nothing anyone can do to say otherwise.
I’m not talking about the kid who’s interested in magic and wants to learn a few tricks. There’s nothing wrong with that. They’re not doing any harm.
The issue comes from the “grown-ups” who learn a few tricks, call themselves professionals, and do crummy performances.
Why is this a problem?
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“I think the best part about being dumb is that it makes magic a lot better.”
This joke got a laugh. Why? It doesn’t rely on surprise so it has to make the audience feel superior…
…But superior to whom? Superior to people who like magic.
Whoa.
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We’ll continue our series on the science of humor this Sunday. I want to publish this post while it’s still timely.
Recently I joined the throngs of people at our local Cineplex to see Tim Burton’s fresh take on “Alice in Wonderland”. I had high hopes, but was extremely disappointed. I felt one reviewer summed it up perfectly with the following statement:
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