People like David Williamson and Daryl are blessed with such entertaining, larger than life personalities that ring and rope effects (or just about anything... they could rob a bank and people would love it) work very well for them. For most of the rest of us there needs to be a reason for doing these moves, since that really is all a routine like this is. Mark Leveridge has a nice story presentation for this on his Master Routines dvd. It paves the way for purpose in ring and rope work. I think most "average" personalities could benefit from his example.

Patrick Page got it right, I think, with his presentation as well. It is a routine with two moves... on and off. That's it. He knew that if you don't have an involved and engaging story line and you don't have a personality that can carry this effect on its own, then just keep it short, sweet and to the point. His routine can be found on his Secret Seminars: Rope Magic dvd. Both dvds are worth studying. Any more sources you guys can think of to assist the OP and the rest of us with good strategies for effective presentation for ring and rope?

I learned my routine from a DVD (well, VHS first - then I got the DVD) from a magician whose first words were "If you would ever want to put a ring on a rope - and I don't know why you would; it's just something magicians do ..."

The moves were good, so I learned them. Then I changed the story line to my little dog Ringo who won't stay on his leash, unless it's time to eat. One of my best routines for both kids and adults.

Ed

If you were to ask Daryl or David Williamson about being blessed with their larger than life personalities, I suspect they would tell you that these performing personalities were the result of years of experience and development. The reason that certain people are able to pick up magic tricks and inject large amounts of personality into them is that they understand who their characters are, and how they think. They know what magic is for, and what they are about. Performing personalities are constructions that take time and devotion to create. Very few people, especially magicians who are often socially backward, are gifted with a performing character naturally. It is something that requires study, patience and risk.

I think Pop is completely right on this point. The trick (and the moves that go into it) are just a small part of the performance. It's the other parts of a performance that are generally more important and paid less attention to by many magicians.

But I also think we have to bear in mind other people's perspectives. People's interests in magic and the reasons for performing can vary hugely, especially among the vast majority who have magic as nothing more than a hobby. Of course I don't like to see magic performed badly. I want to see it presented as well as it can be. But while I used to be exasperated by some of the terrible performances I'd see (most regularly down at my local magic club) my attitude has changed and over the years I have come to look on these, often less than excellent exhibitions of prowess, in a different light.

The change for me came when, years ago at my local club's Christmas party, a local club member nervously stood up in front of everyone and ham-fistedly, and embaressingly awkwardly stuffed a hanky into his fist. With a silence created from a combination of not knowing what to say and being unable to both handle the simple mechanics of the trick and speak at the same time, the hanky was clumsily 'secretly' extracted via a TT. After a pause, not for dramatic effect but simply for him to make sure he'd done everything he needed to to make the hanky vanish, his hand opened to reveal it empty. At that moment, and for the first time during the trick, he looked up at the audience. What I remember most clearly about this guy's performance though was the look of sheer joy on his face at what he had achieved. It was, by any standards, a truly awful performance, but it gave the performer a palpable sense of achievement, accomplishment, and pride.

Now one can look at that and think (as I did at the time); how pathetic was that?, or one can look at it and think (as I do now); what a great gift that simple magic trick gave to that person at that moment.

Please don't get me wrong, I want to encourage and see good magic and certainly don't want to excuse bad or mediocre magic... I believe, at it's best, magic is a mechanism through which the person performing connects with the audience and that it is this connection and communication that creates the real magic. I think this is why I often find myself being a bit lost at magic conventions. I don't see that much of what's there having anything to do with my interest in magic. Acquisition, mechanics and the end result seem to hold court... and what constitutes the performance hardly seems to play any part in most conventions' proceedings.

But I (now) understand that some people don't have the same goals in magic. For some people just being able to have a go, or do the trick can be enough. While I don't personally want to promote this kind of attitude towards magic, I think magic is big enough to accommodate those who don't want either from it, or for it, what I do.

Regardless of what are looking to do with magic, it's good to be continually reminded that there is more to it than; knowing how it's done, being able to execute the moves and the final outcome of the tricks.

And in this regard we are lucky to have respected performers, such as Pop, willing to give their time to provide these us with these reminders and help point us all towards a bigger picture we otherwise might not be able to see is available to us.

I just reviewed my old "Boy Scout Magic" of 1960. There is very little in this that would be considered "good magic," and this seems borrowed from Hoffman.

Most is puzzles and games meant to challenge the imagination and prod creativity, with the idea that every youth should learn to conquer "stage freight" and shyness
by being able to stand up before strangers and peers with confidence. Any quality of performance is secondary.

Today, with kids conditioned by vicarious glimpses of life, skill based on finding cheats, etc. perhaps this "expanding focus" should be reconsidered.

I can shift my view from encouraging practice and mastery to one of "any magic effect performed anytime, anywhere is a good thing!"

Bring back the concept that EVERY young person should be encouraged to stand before a crowd and DO SOMETHING before they think personality and self-confidence are something borrowed from FaceBook.

A few may become "bitten" and aspire to go further with magic as an art form or a "higher order" form of entertainment. All will remember that, for a moment, they did something considered impossible.