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Jaxon
Inner circle
Kalamazoo, Mi.
2459 Posts
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Posted: Mar 16, 2005 3:53pm
This is something that took me a long time to learn. So I thought I'd pass it along.
Let's say you perform a trick that almost always gets a great reaction. I'm talking the super strong effects that just blows them away and they usually express just that.
Now, every once in a while you'll do that same effect for someone and they hardly react at all. No laugh, no surprised look on their face. They just sit there and act like nothing unusual happened at all.
Why would they do this? Well, there are many possibly reasons. Maybe you're performance was a little off that day. Or maybe it's just the mind set of the spectator. But there's one reason that might happen more often then you think.
You might have shocked them so bad that they are still trying to work out there thoughts. They may not know what to think and they are trying to figure out who to react to what they just witnessed. You've just knocked them out and it might take them a few seconds to recover. Then they'll finally react to it.
Even when people do react right away they'll often react even more if they are given time to come to terms with what happened. So it's important to give them that pause. Even more important is knowing when to give that pause. This is a hard thing to do sometimes because when we get a good reaction we tend to move onto the next phase of the trick to get that reaction again. But if you have a routine like this where each phase is a little stronger then the other. Try not to rush into the next phases to quickly. Allow them to react to one thing before moving to the next.
Sometimes when you give a pause you'll find that a few seconds later they'll start laughing or even applauding. I wish I could tell you how long to pause or when to do it but only experience will tell you that. All I can suggest is to keep it in mind when you perform. If there's a moment in an act that doesn't get the reaction you think it should then try it there. See if it'll help. eventually you'll be able to understand how to make better use of these little pauses in an act.
Ron Jaxon
"The map is not the Territory"
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Jeff_Mash
Loyal user
Bay Area, California
208 Posts
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Posted: Mar 16, 2005 4:16pm
That's very good advice, Ron. Not everyone is going to bow down and worship you after a dropdead performance of a killer effect.
The ones that seem to "let it sink in" usually have a look on their face, as if to say, "Wait a minute......how the....what the.....did you just....etc."
The ones that roll their eyes, now that's a whole different story!
When I used to do a lot of stage comedy acting, I learned very quickly that no two audiences were the same. Just because you may get a quick crowd doesn't necessarily mean that they enjoyed the performance any less. It could just be a different genre of people. Same applies to magic and your spectators. You may get someone who is a rocket scientist and their brain goes into "analytical mode" as soon as the effect is complete. He is baffled by the performance, but he's expressing it internally as his brain is doing cartwheels and hitting itself with a hammer!
Great observation, Ron.
Keep smiling,
Jeff Mash
MJM Magic
http://www.MJMMagic.com | Testimonials | MJM Magic on Twitter
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ClouDsss
Inner circle
1799 Posts
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Posted: Mar 16, 2005 9:31pm
I beleive that the majority of the audience requires time to sink in. However, there are some rare cases in which they don't get it at all.
Once I was performing a "Dark Card" effect. I allowed the guy to pick THE card and emphasized that it was blue backed. Then I told the guy that I was going to mark their card in such a way that when I spread the deck, they would be able to find it at a glance by looking at the backs. Hence, after changing the originally blue card to a RED back, I took it out and showed him. He was stun there and I thought I had him. Unfortunately, he asked me
"hmm so wheres the mark?"
In which I had to explain that it had become RED. And he was NOT a heckler.  he was really trying to participate in the effect. But I guess hes perhaps 'over' participating? 
cheerios
Think outside the box, cos people are all thinking inside now!! - ClouDsss
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Jaxon
Inner circle
Kalamazoo, Mi.
2459 Posts
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Posted: Mar 16, 2005 10:09pm
I know what you mean ClouDsss. I touched on that topic in another post titled "Mentality of Spectators." It's interesting how people see things so differently.
Click here to visit the post on "Mentality of Spectators".
"The map is not the Territory"
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Jeff_Mash
Loyal user
Bay Area, California
208 Posts
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Posted: Mar 16, 2005 10:10pm
Quote:
| "hmm so wheres the mark?" |
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I suppose you could have answered, "Up there in space, where your brain obviously is." But then again, he probably wouldn't have gotten that punchline either!
Keep smiling,
Jeff Mash
MJM Magic
http://www.MJMMagic.com | Testimonials | MJM Magic on Twitter
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leondo
Special user
Las Vegas
651 Posts
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Posted: Mar 16, 2005 10:58pm
From a historical perspective, after Servais LeRoy performed the first ever presentation of the beautiful Asrah illusion, he thought he failed because there was no applause.....the audience was simply to stunned to respond.
Imagine seeing the Asrah illusion the first time it was ever performed.......
What would your thoughts be?
Ted (Leondo)
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pepijn
Regular user
Utrecht (the netherlands)
134 Posts
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Posted: Mar 17, 2005 10:02am
Isn't is also important in a climax that keeps building up to keep a certain flow, keep them going to a certain point an from there on a relaxation?
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BerkleyJL
Veteran user
Chicago, IL
397 Posts
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Posted: Mar 17, 2005 10:21am
Quote:
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On 2005-03-17 10:02, pepijn wrote:
Isn't is also important in a climax that keeps building up to keep a certain flow, keep them going to a certain point an from there on a relaxation?
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As long as the "flow" doesn't disrupt the magic. I just performed Troy Hooser's "Charming Chinese Challenge" for some kids at my son's school. At one point, this girl said "I do NOT believe what I just saw!" and she was completely slackjawed. I just paused until she looked up from the coins and laughed before I went on. Everyone else enjoyed her reaction too, so it didn't hurt to give her that time to complete the moment.
I need a stage name.
Joe Berkley
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