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drhackenbush Special user 686 Posts |
Denny,
Some say these books are hard to plough through, Tommy Wonder said he learned to speak English so they could read 'em. I happen to like "Showmanship for Magicians" the best (I actually like the references to Jack Benny, a favorite entertainer of mine - talk about being a master of timing...). What do think of the series, and which do like the best of the three? Thanks, Charley |
TheAmbitiousCard Eternal Order Northern California 13425 Posts |
Magic by misdirection seemed pretty good.
showmanship seemed ok. I've not read the trick brain. I've never been interested to acquire it. for showmanship it seems that "maximum entertainment" by ken weber seems far better. for timing and misdirection the works by john carney or "leading with your head" by kurtz would be more worth your while. for the trick brain? I have no idea. maybe "the books of wonder":
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TheAmbitiousCard Eternal Order Northern California 13425 Posts |
I didn't realize when posting that this was in Denny's forum. My appologies.
It will be funny tho, if he completely disagrees. Sorry about that Denny. Frank
www.theambitiouscard.com Hand Crafted Magic
Trophy Husband, Father of the Year Candidate, Chippendale's Dancer applicant, Unofficial World Record Holder. |
Denny Haney 1945 - 2019 48 Posts |
Hi Frank,
Actually you will find that I agree totally. Maximum Entertainment is probably today's Fitzkee. It is a real life "today" approach to making your magic entertaining. Ken Weber has done an excellent job. This is now a classic in magic. As for the Fitzkee Trilogy, they are a MUST READ. Theory is just that...THEORY. It gets you thinking. Not all theory books will agree on everything. Look at Darwin Ortiz' Strong Magic. He debates the Fitzkee works and that is what this is all about. We must THINK!! My favorite is Showmanhsip for Magicians by Fitzkee. I guess I have read it over twenty times and each time I read the book, I made some little change in my act that was for the better. YET, in the Fitzkee book he says you should never close with the sub trunk illusion because it leaves you all disheveled and with spectators on stage with you at the end. I closed with the sub trunk for almost my entire career. You see, these books are NOT GOSPEL!! You read varied opinions and you THINK. Magic by Misdirection by Fitzkee is my second favorite of the three books. It's a good synopsis on what magic is really all about, how it works and WHY it works. Trick Brain----I don't think I have ever been able to read it all the way through. I keep falling asleep. Tough book to read. My head swims every time I try ot read it again. My thoughts......Read EVERYTHING you can on showmanship, presentations, structure, and theory. The Fitzkee Trilogy, Henning Nelm's Magic & Showmanship, Strong Magic as well as Darwin Ortiz' new book Designing Miracles, Ken Weber's Maximum Entertainment, Our Magic by Maskelyne and Devant, Jamy Swiss' Shattering Illusions, Books of Wonder, etc. You will find that there are not that many books on the subject and you could build your library of the works on this subject for only a few hundred dollars. The there are the paperback pamphlets on the subject. Like the Carney and Kurtz works that Frank mentioned. Let's not overlook these little paperback pamphlets. Now if you are absolutely SET on DVDs rather than books, I just don;t see how you can learn showmanship at all. Showmanship is an "intangible" thing and must be read..the written word. You can't teach it on DVD. There is no thought process there. Do your research. Don't wait for the next NEW book to come out. Just start getting them ALL. Some of the chapters in Tarbell on the subject are absolutely priceless. AND don't forget those biographies of other magicians. You can learn so much about "performing" by reading the life of someone who has already done it!! Denny |
drhackenbush Special user 686 Posts |
Thanks, Denny. As I mentioned in an earlier post, some of the more important gems that have influenced my magic on a larg scale have come from biographies. It's been said that if you want to hide something, publish it in a book.
Frank, I do appreciate the newer books, but also really enjoy the older ones, so it isn't so much of an either/or for me, it's more of a this-book-AND-that-book thing. There are some older books I've felt didn't do much for me; but there are also many recent books that I've read and thought the message had been said better 50 years ago. |
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