(Close Window) Topic: People you practice on.
Message: Posted by: Double O Magic (Aug 20, 2010 11:45am)
Is it common to have someone you practice your magic on when there is a risk of messing up? My mother is a very trustworthy person so she is mine. And many times she finds some things out and sometimes I am soft and explain to her many tricks. Which I very regret doing. Is there a way to stop myself from doing this? I find it sometimes a lot easier to practice if she knows what she is looking for in the trick.
Message: Posted by: Mr. Mystoffelees (Aug 20, 2010 3:36pm)
I would think it is very common. My "magic assistant" is my sigmificant other, who is willing to (a) watch, (b) comment on whether or not I flashed or otherwise gave away the effect, (c) promise not to disclose anything she ferrets out as to how things are done, and (d) suggest improvements, etc. (the part she likes the best). This happens after I have the effect pretty well practiced and have satisfied myself in the mirror that nothing shows.

I generally do not tell her the secrets, as I think any magic loses too much in the knowing to be useful. I know I will want to show her again, with more practice and the tips she gave me, and I believe I would not get the same response if she knew how it was done. It is easy to feel you need to reveal the secrets as a "payback" but there are other, and better, ways to do this, I find...
Message: Posted by: Mary Mowder (Aug 20, 2010 4:50pm)
My partner Tom and I show each other new effects. While I have surprised him, after 52 years as a Magician, I think he has always been able to figure out how I did things retroactively. The converse is not always true. If I don't guess how it was done, I don't ask and he won't offer.

By the time I've watched it the 10 or more times he'll ask me to watch to get an opinion on the various details or I watch him show others the effect, over the course of time, all illusions will be gone. I love to preserve the Magic as long as possible.

Why tell?

- Mary Mowder
Message: Posted by: TheGreatRaymondo (Dec 1, 2011 12:50pm)
I practise with a good magician friend of mine. We perform to each other and immediately point out any errors, flashes etc whilst doing the routine. If we get 'caught' we go straight back to the very begining of the trick and start again.
Trust me - you need to be good friends with whoever you do this with but it certainly sharpens you up.
Like professional sports people say - you can train all day and night but its only real, competitive participation that brings out the best in you and shows you what you are capable of...
Message: Posted by: motown (Dec 20, 2011 10:32pm)
I tend to try things out on a variety co-workers. Seems to work.
Message: Posted by: Andy_Young (Mar 15, 2012 8:08pm)
Well I practice on my dog and a friend from work. The dog is nice because he won’t interrupt me. My friend is nice because no matter how it goes she is always ok with me showing her another trick.
Message: Posted by: Believing (Apr 15, 2012 6:12pm)
I usually practice alone, but when I do practice with someone, I usually practice with a close friend of mine.
Message: Posted by: pepita (Apr 23, 2012 12:40pm)
I find it quite hard to find someone with whom I can practise...I ask my life partner, but I am very annoyed when things don't go as smoothly as I'd expected and I see he's trying to find the secret !
Message: Posted by: Ray Bertrand (Apr 24, 2012 1:33pm)
I learned to first of all practice in front of a mirror. One of my mentors told me to practice to the point I could wake up in the morning and do my routine perfectly before having my first cup of coffee and I would do fine. Having fellow magicians to practice in front of is invaluable. They provide feedback (and you needn't worry about exposing the secret/method). I will perform my effects in front of my spouse before going public. She enjoys seeing the magic and is not interested in knowing the secret.

Ray
Message: Posted by: TheGreatNancini (Apr 26, 2012 1:04am)
Being a two person act, I practice in front of my son and he practices in front of me.

When we feel we are getting ready to take it public, we try it out on my husband /son's dad.

Since my husband does not like performing in front of people, he is quite happy helping us behind the scenes. He is very good at understanding the mechanics of magic, so if we can get a new act past him without him figuring out how we do it, we know we are ready to take it out.

~Nanci
Message: Posted by: Simon Southern Moss (Jul 18, 2012 8:40am)
I feel the trick is to practice with a few very different people: start with excitable people to boost your confidence on a trick, then shift to a couple of children, then older and skeptical people. You experience different emotions with different people and, during performance, need to feel comfortable with all shapes and sizes
Message: Posted by: Philip Busk (Sep 8, 2012 3:17pm)
Not my wife.

Used to be my brother, then a friend, and then my kids.

Interestingly, my 9 year old has a VERY critical eye. She can catch things others don't. Maybe it's her height that gives her a better perspective. Reminds my of the Williamson video of the little kid busting him. Anyway, my 9 year old requires perfection and she is very hard to misdirect.
Message: Posted by: lotusFox77 (Oct 9, 2012 11:23am)
Don't wifes know us to well to realy take it searously ?
Message: Posted by: Mary Mowder (Oct 14, 2012 3:49pm)
Quote:

On 2012-10-09 11:23, lotusFox77 wrote:
Don't wifes know us to well to realy take it searously ?


lotusFox77,

With attention to detail like that, how can anyone take you seriously? LOL

Use your spell check! Read your post.

-Mary Mowder
Message: Posted by: bigcheese (Oct 23, 2012 3:13am)
I'm not sure why the OP regrets sharing secrets with his mother when s/he admits it helps to have her looking for the trick with that insider knowledge! Anyhow I personally like to practice with close friends but if they don't figure it out I've achieved my goal.
Message: Posted by: nathanmorris (Jan 12, 2013 3:19pm)
I'm lucky to have very supportive friends and family, I test tricks and new ideas on them. They offer advive, criticism and even help me strengthn the effect ( even tho they are laymen, their suggestions really take my magic up a gear)
Message: Posted by: Darkart (Jan 13, 2013 4:32pm)
My son helps a lot. I often wont tell him what I'm going to show then do it, that way I feel I'm able to see what its like for the audience etc. Also gives me points from different angles I may not have thought about.
Message: Posted by: Proximo (Jan 24, 2013 3:06am)
Lots of things said in this topic that I can relate to!
Me too I practice in front of my significant other, yet I can get very annoyed when things don't go like they should.
However, like Mr. Mystoffelees said, I also like to get as much feedback as possible. So I do insist she tells me whenever she noticed some fishy handling or whatever. And I also try not to explain lots of stuff (maybe sometimes something small), but I too find that when you explain something it makes it harder when you want to do it again at a later stage after more rehearsal.

One problem though, is like lotusFox77 said, I don't feel too relaxed: I can't do my usual patter because it feels "strange".
Maybe I should practice in front of someone else though...

Lastly, I always have a weird feeling when I'm showing a stand-alone effect, like a packet trick. It just feels weird to me because I want to tie it in with a full routine rather than just showing "one thing"... Does anyone else have this problem?
Message: Posted by: dorian_faust (Mar 27, 2013 2:27am)
I use a mannequin, I got it a few years ago for free when a local clothing store was going out of business, when practicing new parts of my show until I have it down to my satisfaction; then, I bring in my girlfriend or trustful friend to watch and make comments on what I can change.
Message: Posted by: The Amazing Pog (Apr 7, 2013 11:17am)
Well, I try things out on my family, but it often doesn't go too well because they're not really into magic. I'm gonna try and do more at work, which I hope will be more fruitful. I know someone who also, like me, is a magic beginner, so we can share ideas, but we're both so busy it's hard to find time to get together ...
Message: Posted by: Habbrock (Apr 9, 2013 5:27pm)
I practice on my wife when I feel I have it down. She knows enought to catch flashes and is happy to see me do it again. I keep it to a minimum so I don't drive her crazy. Works good so far.
Message: Posted by: CJRichard (May 6, 2013 11:14am)
My daughter is pretty willing to help out. More than I need her for watching, I need her because she has to play the part of my audience "volunteer" while I'm rehearsing something that has participation by a spectator. It's particularly hard to practice the opening section of Pop Haydn's linking ring routine without somebody holding "Ring Number One."

I also chop her hand off now and then.