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by Lee Alex
How
do you go about bringing your effects from the eagerly
awaited postal package to actually performing on
stage in front of a live audience?
It has been said many times, especially when starting out in
magic, most effects will end up unperformed, abandoned in a
pile of a bottomless wardrobe. It is human nature for
mankind to be greedy, at the same time; it is human nature
for mankind to be curious!
How many times have you watched a performance live on stage,
on television? How many times have you read about an effect
in a book or on the Internet? How many times have you stared
in wonder at the fellow magician displaying his latest
novelty at the local magic society, listened in awe at a
lecturer explain his techniques at the magic convention? All
the time thinking to yourself - "I am going to perform
that effect".
With the advent of the Internet today never before has the
modern day magician been so spoilt for choice and resources.
There are endless numbers of dealers all offering their
wares, tempting our palettes and begging us to buy, buy, buy
(although most of the time they do not even have to beg!).
How difficult is it to make a choice according to your
personal budget, according to your wicked temptations,
according to the fulfillment of your dreams?
An order is placed and from the moment that order is
dispatched, evil impatience is conceived... It seems like
endless days until finally that long awaited ring of the
bell sounds, and the postman waits on the other side of the
door, golden package in hand. A snatch, without so much as a
thank you, and the packet is greedily ripped open by the
savage apprentice.
A quick scan of the enclosed instructions, a fiddle of the
gimmick, a blunder of a practice and quicker than a wave of
the wand, the latest novelty is shown to the nearest victim
- result:
Mockery, jeering laughter, sarcastic remarks, unexpected
comments...
The latest dream has been shattered, the magi's heart sinks,
and another marketed effect is thrown on to the burial heap
of unwanted effects, along with last week’s order, and the
order from the day before that...
The above is a familiar scenario which we have all
lived through, sometimes more than once (In our lives, there
is no such thing as "once bitten, twice shy", our
greedy eagerness doesn't listen to such idioms!).
How do you go about choosing the effect that you will
honestly practice until you polish the performance enough to
be able to put it into a routine, connect with the other
beautifully rehearsed effects, and perform that in your
stage show for many seasons to come?
The longer we are in this business, the wiser we get to the
advertising of the open-eyed dealers. We turn a blind eye to
the multi-coloured language of the advertisements and get
down to the real nitty-gritty of an effect before we dare to
part with our hard-earned money.
Reviews are an evil in disguise - what suits one person may
not suit another. Until you actually see an effect in
performance, it is very difficult to imagine with words how
the number will actually look on stage, and whether that
particular effect will suit your style, or the role in your
routine.
Some dealers on the Internet complement their descriptions
with on-line videos. I often wonder how long it will take
for the dealers to get wise that in some cases this is a
good selling point, but in the majority of cases it is these
videos that are actually losing sales to some companies!!
For the last two years running, I have amazed my
manager when attending the Blackpool convention from Turkey,
and returning home with only a couple of books under my arm.
I have attended countless conventions, whereas my manager
has only ever been to those two Blackpool conferences. For
him, the dealers’ hall was like a Santa's Grotto, a scene
direct from Hogwarts, where you should expect the
unexpected.
For me,
it was like a battlefield - a place where armour should be
worn in the correct places, where blinkers should cover the
eyes, and where, at all costs, earmuffs should be kept well
over those frozen little shells - not so much to keep the
cold out, but in order not to be able to hear the voices of
the eager sellers displaying their latest goods.
When do I part with my money then?
Careful planning is the route to me opening my wallet (or
rather the wallet of my manager, who has control over all my
spending...).
Imagination is the answer to a good performance. Starting
from "A" and going to "Z" in a logical,
step by step way. It is with this in mind that effects are
chosen, "created" and put into a show.
Each and every magician has his own style, his own persona,
his own imagination. It is these tools that will help him to
bring a purchased effect from the package to the platform,
and make him stand out from the rest.
Before "purchasing" comes "planning"....
BUY WHAT YOU NEED!! It is as simple as that. A simple
routine built according to the needs of your performance,
and the demands of your public are your main weapons when
fighting the battle to an outstanding show.
Before planning your show, look at your target audience:
What do they want to see?
Look at your working conditions: Where will you perform?
What are the conditions on stage - the lighting, the area,
the closeness of the spectators, the arrangement of the
seating.
What are the conditions backstage? How much set-up time do
you have? How much space can you use backstage?
A professional performer needs to look at the
financial aspect of investing in an effect. How many times
will the number be presented - is the effect a one-off
special for a particular group with a particular need? How
much are you getting paid for your performance, and how much
time will you spend before you can put the item into your
act?
A routine performance has a beginning, a middle and an end.
The means of getting from one to the other is the result of
your careful routining. Personally, for my performances
should be as magical as possible. Nothing is just picked up
from a table and performed, rather items are produced
magically. For example; a silk is plucked from thin air, a
cup is pulled from inside the silk, the silk is wiped around
the edge of the cup, the cup fills with water, which is
sipped, a leaf is blown from the mouth as if choked upon.
The leaf is caught, and expands into a sheet of paper. The
paper is destroyed, dipped in the cup of liquid, wrung dry,
and blown into a shower of ... Yes, you guessed it the old
"Snowstorm in China"!
Take a
look at the structure of the routine. It is far more magical
than presenting the audience directly with the sheet of
paper. How could they guess what the magical result is when
you first pluck the silk from the air?
Routining is a different ball game... so let's jump a
few steps and proceed with the purchasing...
You have chosen your effect, made your purchase and the
required items are in your hands. Before even looking at the
items received, firstly read the instructions. This includes
reading the effect. The effect is written from the audience
point of view, and that is your goal. This is what you want
the audience to see.
The
instructions are the basis of the birth. Read the list of
apparatus supplied, including anything about the gimmicks.
At this stage, you are just reading, and not handling
anything. Study the instructions and the moves. Learn any
sleights before proceeding with the routine. (This may
include leaving the effect in hand, and looking at other
resources to acquire sleights).
After re-reading the instructions, you are ready to take the
props into your hands for the first time. Once again, step
by step the instructions are followed. You may, at this
stage, want to plug in the iron to warm up, in preparation
to iron out any wrinkles that may occur...
The
magician’s enemy, the mirror, comes into play here. How
does this effect look from the audience’s point of view?
Some people swear by the mirror, I prefer the live
victims....
A trusted loved one, with the patience of a saint is the
best practicing module. Someone who can criticize
constructively, someone who has the same aims as you. A
fellow magician from the society is always willing to help
out when it comes to practice. Make sure it is someone who
you respect as a performer, not someone you can't abide!
Having grasped the principles of an effect, it is
time to redevelop and put a signature on the number.
Many tricks these days are sold along with an instructional
video. These are fine when in the early stages of practice,
as actions DO speak louder than words. However, ignore the
performance once the effect has been mastered - such videos
have habit of "cloning" magicians.
Take into account your character. Look at the general decor
of your props. Ask yourself again, what are the needs of
your audience? If you patter on stage, what story will you
tell whilst carrying out your routine? What effects come
before and after the new item, and how can these be linked?
Maybe the colour needs changing? Maybe you can exchange one
prop for another. In the example of the Snowstorm above, the
fan was eliminated and replaced with the "blow"
from the mouth, which originally blew out the single leaf -
of course those in the know will realize that my lungs are
not SO strong!!
Taking
this into account will help develop the marketed number into
your own style.
It is a
good idea to ask these questions whilst making a purchase
too - it will save you a lot of time in the long run.
Novices are bored of their elders telling them to
"Practice, practice, practice".... but never has a
truer thing been said. Private rehearsal is the magician’s
best friend, next to live audiences.
It is important to put your effect to the test, as often as
possible. Seasoned performers are learning just like
students in every performance - in that respect everyone is
at an equal level.
Putting greed out of the way, and bringing personality to
the forefront will help you develop your act in a slicker,
more polished and professional way. Thus, making bringing an
effect from package to platform a much more profitable
pastime!
Lee Alex
www.leealex.com
At the age of eleven when Lee first began to nurture his love
for magic, what started as a hobby soon became a way of
life. From the very beginning, Lee's special talent and
natural ability won him numerous awards from local and
national magic societies.
Lee's knowledge of magic developed rapidly and for many
years, whilst still in normal education, his flair for
foreign languages was employed by an international magic
supply company in England, where Lee translated magic
articles and effects for publication, along with
contributing his own original effects and illusions.
Lee's performing took him all over the North of England for
private and public performances - parties, fairs, fringe
festivals, hotels, theatres, magic society functions,
cruising, television and performing live for listeners over
the radio.
Since then, Lee has performed at various venues all over
Europe, Greece, Germany, Austria, England, Poland, Portugal,
Bulgaria, Turkey, Azerbeycan, Ukraine and at -40 °C in
Siberia!
Lee's original employment of classic effects brought up to date, mixed with creative scenarios have most recently seen him planning and performing at major events for international companies in Turkey.
