|
|
BenCummings New user 95 Posts |
Hi - Can someone direct me to books / compendiums of humorous lines that can be used within a mentalism show or mental magic routines? I have a couple books, but frankly the one-liners are VERY cheesy and not all that funny. Any help to good books / references would be much appreciated. Thanks
- Ben
Conversations With Mind Readers - Crawl inside the minds of 32 of the greatest<br> mentalists on the planet. After a decades absence, it's available again on a limited basis:
http://conversationswithmindreaders.com |
magicgeorge Inner circle Belfast 4299 Posts |
Not sure such a thing exists.
It'd be kind of weird if it did. |
harris Inner circle Harris Deutsch 8812 Posts |
The humor would come from interaction with volunteers and your audience.
Improv background would be very helpful in this area. I have played around with the idea of a humorous (then killer mental effect) routine within a ventriloquist routine. Serious meets sewious could work.
Harris Deutsch aka dr laugh
drlaugh4u@gmail.com music, magic and marvelous toys http://magician.org/member/drlaugh4u |
BenCummings New user 95 Posts |
Thanks for the advice - Yes, agree it always seems the very best humor arises naturally from the interactions.
Can anyone suggest a good book on improv / comedy, such as we are discussing? It does not have to be mentalism or magic specifically. I've tried reading a couple (can't remember which ones) but I never really connected with them. Any recommendations? Ben
Conversations With Mind Readers - Crawl inside the minds of 32 of the greatest<br> mentalists on the planet. After a decades absence, it's available again on a limited basis:
http://conversationswithmindreaders.com |
BenCummings New user 95 Posts |
Bump!
Conversations With Mind Readers - Crawl inside the minds of 32 of the greatest<br> mentalists on the planet. After a decades absence, it's available again on a limited basis:
http://conversationswithmindreaders.com |
harris Inner circle Harris Deutsch 8812 Posts |
I can't think of a specific, book, but would suggest you look up at your library Theatre Games, or Improvisation Exercises.
If you are really game, you might take a class at your communiversity or local community theatre. Larger cities(at least in the USA) have improvistion troupes that sometimes offer classes. My background was in theatre and improv prior to becoming a magician. Harris aka drlaugh4u
Harris Deutsch aka dr laugh
drlaugh4u@gmail.com music, magic and marvelous toys http://magician.org/member/drlaugh4u |
BenCummings New user 95 Posts |
Grat thanks for the tips. Much appreciated - Ben
Conversations With Mind Readers - Crawl inside the minds of 32 of the greatest<br> mentalists on the planet. After a decades absence, it's available again on a limited basis:
http://conversationswithmindreaders.com |
harris Inner circle Harris Deutsch 8812 Posts |
You might also consider doing part of a routine, as a character such as the wonderful Irwin Corey. Not to copy him but, to develop you own character....and out of that character can come catch phases, bits and schticks.
In the past some have used things like noodle strainers and cake mix stirrers as props during mind reading. What can you come up with. Me I just thought of a ukulele...and the song.....?????
Harris Deutsch aka dr laugh
drlaugh4u@gmail.com music, magic and marvelous toys http://magician.org/member/drlaugh4u |
BenCummings New user 95 Posts |
Thanks for the tip. That won't work for my persona (at least me personally) but I appreciate the suggestion.
- Ben
Conversations With Mind Readers - Crawl inside the minds of 32 of the greatest<br> mentalists on the planet. After a decades absence, it's available again on a limited basis:
http://conversationswithmindreaders.com |
Pizpor Elite user 476 Posts |
I'm not sure if these will suit you or not, but I'll throw the suggestion out there. I've found these items to have a lot of fun lines in them, especially for magicians.
Sleight of Mouth, by Harry Allen http://www.amazon.com/Sleight-Mouth-Harr......02YMYN64 Funny Stuff, by Aldo Colombini http://www.wildcolombini.com/cart/produc......s_id=386 Laughing out Loud, by Aldo Colombini http://www.wildcolombini.com/cart/produc......s_id=390 Make 'em Laugh, By Aldo Colombini http://www.wildcolombini.com/cart/produc......s_id=392 Aldo has a few more one liner books on his web site. I own each of these mentioned plus a few more. They are a nice mix of jokes and gags, and there's probably something in there you can match to your performance. I personally use a bunch of his stuff, and it comes across quite well. Clean comedy. That said, you do have to wade through it all to find things that you'll use. The price is right too. Hope it helps. |
Russell Davidson Inner circle Hampshire, England 1108 Posts |
A book can't teach you to be funny.
|
Pizpor Elite user 476 Posts |
Interesting point. So are you saying that the breadth of books along the lines of; Stand-Up: A Professionals Guide to Comedy Magic by Ian Keable, or Judy Carter's Comedy Bible are misguided ventures?
|
BrianMillerMagic Inner circle CT 2050 Posts |
Quote:
On 2012-12-11 15:00, Pizpor wrote: What he's saying is what Jay Sankey says in the introduction to Zen and the Art of Stand-Up Comedy. That is, one cannot be taught to be funny. However, if one is naturally funny, one can learn to do stand up comedy. These books are largely about the craft of comedy, not "being funny". |
Russell Davidson Inner circle Hampshire, England 1108 Posts |
Quite correct Brian. Although learning that Jay Sankey said it makes me shudder a little bit!
|
Sealegs Inner circle The UK, Portsmouth 2596 Posts |
There's a big difference between being a comedy act and having comedy in your act. As a comedy act (such as a comedy magic act) your audience knows what to expect regarding the comedy... they expect you to make them laugh and if you don't you fail them. But as a magic act the audience doesn't necessarily have any comedic expectations so any comedy (if it generates laughter) comes as a bonus.
If an audience has no comedy expectations of you you can elicit a comedic response with material that for a comedy act just wouldn't cut it. This is where learning about the craft of comedy can be useful to those wishing to be as funny as they can be within their show. Books such as Ian Keable's and Judy Carter's are very useful in helping understand and learn this craft and while the 'not-naturally-funny' performer probably has most to gain from such books even the most seasoned pros can benefit from being given an insight into the processes that they are maybe putting into action without thinking about what they are doing. Laughter acts like a social lubricant and can greatly help create a rapport between the performer and their audience and in doing so helps facilitate in making the magic more interesting, relevant and effective. So while a book might not be able to teach you to be funny it can help give you the tools to be as funny as you can be and enable you to inject humour and laughter into your show in a way that will generally improve your connection with the audience and as a result the overall performance of your magic and your act. (As a side note, many magicians that get laughs performing as a magic act mistakenly then perceive themselves to be a comedy magic act. They are, after all, getting laughs .... But when they start to pitch themselves as a comedy magic act, through their advertising, billing, intro. attitude and/or performing manner and style the same material fails to work in the way it did for them as a magic act. This is why, I believe, comedy magic acts are often considered by the general public to be fairly low down the pecking order of comedy hierarchy. They often just simply aren't funny enough as a comedy act.)
Neal Austin
"The golden rule is that there are no golden rules." G.B. Shaw |
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Now that’s funny! » » Compendium of Humor in Mentalism / Mental Magic (0 Likes) |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.04 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |