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montymagi Special user Slidell La 752 Posts |
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On 2008-12-27 08:23, Ken Northridge wrote: If you can't use that name just use the name he is using on here now. |
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Harry Stanley New user 47 Posts |
A friend of mine who is not a member of this illustrious forum has asked me to post the following:
"I have read the fuss on the magic Café about the Open Sesame book. I would urge Smartini to have another look at it. There is a reason that Silly Billy, Tony James, JR and other top pros recommend it. The book changed my life. I decided that I wanted to do children's shows but I had no idea how to go about it. I purchased Open Sesame in the late seventies and read the opening chapter in a Chinese restaurant. When I came out of that restaurant I was already a kid's entertainer and I hadn't even done a trick yet! I did my first show a week later and it was a smash hit! I have never looked back. Tony is correct. The advice in that opening chapter is pure gold and is easily the best chapter in the book. All you need to know about the PSYCHOLOGY of entertaining children is there. Times change but children don't. However there is still plenty of material in the book that can be used. The ring routine in there is excellent for children and in fact I think it is about time I learned it. However I do use the bits of business that are described as the opening remarks for the routine in Open Sesame. And I have been using them for 30 years or so. However my own ring routine isn't as good as the one in Open Sesame and so I am going to put some effort into learning it. But there's more. I have used a lot of the gags in the glove puppet routine described in the book. I don't use the actual routine in the book but I do use the little bits of business described. And I use the amazing silks from pocket at every show. Here is a clip of a brilliant children's entertainer making use of this very item. Look at it and tell me that it isn't a great example of entertainment from Open Sesame. It isn't even a trick but it will get more reaction than the most elaborate new item from a dealer. http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=2PB3wQz-Md4 Incidentally the fellow in this clip is an AVID devotee of Open Sesame. I only wish I was as good as him." |
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MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
That clip is one of the best examples on how kids magic should be presented. Hopefully those here that will benefit from seeing it will, one, be able to see it, and two, understand what it is they are seeing. The interaction with the kids is great, the gags get 'em riled up, he hurts himself a couple times, he gets the kids to think they are ahead of him and challenging him in a fun way. Outstanding.
You know, breaking down that video component by component would likely be helpful to people. Loved the silks from pocket, I've not seen that before but I've an idea of the fold needed. |
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magicgeorge Inner circle Belfast 4299 Posts |
The silks from pocket was the first gag I tried from Open Sesame, nice to see I'm in good company.
I like Open Sesame it has some great bits in it and the introduction is gold. Yeah, sure some bits are hilariously out-of-date but that's quite fun too. I like Silly Billy's book too. I think what he has done has taken the traditional style of UK kid's entertainment, updated it and presented it in an almost dummies guide form for those that need things shown to them. On top of that though, he has some good ideas and nice lines. I don't really get why everyone raves about the colouring book routine. Maybe I'm daft. Of the two, I'd pick Open Sesame because it gives you ideas and concepts to build on rather than the end result which gives more scope for originality. Just me, though, and I would recommend both heartily. George |
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Danny Hustle Inner circle Boston, MA USA 2393 Posts |
Open Sesame..
The Children's Penelease is a BRILLIANT ropes through body! The preface and introduction, Chapter one the entertainment of children, and chapter two magigags and bits of business, should all be studied DEEPLY by anyone wishing to entertain children. These words contain SOLID truisms that are as valid today as they were 500 years ago in panto the first time a child shouted, "OH YES YOU DID!". You need to actually READ it and not just look at a gag and say, "oh, that old thing." A LOT of children's entertainers that I see today are far to impressed with tricks and not nearly as curious as to why any audience should find them entertaining. This was a book written by people who spent a lot of time actually entertaining children with magic and not just showing them a bunch of tricks. Combine the wisdom of this book to go along with the four figure flying widget that some guys are so proud of and they would be a force in children's entertainment that would be hard to surpass. Everybody wants sweets but nobody wants to eat their vegetables. This book nearly made me a vegan. Unbelievable POWERFUL tools are at your disposal in the first pages of this book if you only dare to read them. This book made me a better children's entertainer because it made me THINK about why and how an audience is entertained. Brilliant stuff. I believe I paid a right sum for this book on eBay about $60 as I recall. It was worth every penny. Best, Dan- "MT is one of the reasons we started this board! I’m so sick of posts being deleted without any reason given, and by unknown people at that." - Steve Brooks Sep 7, 2001 8:38pm ©1999-2014 Daniel Denney all rights reserved. |
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Ken Northridge Inner circle Atlantic City, NJ 2392 Posts |
Okay, Danny, that's the last straw. I just ordered my copy.
"Love is the real magic." -Doug Henning
www.KenNorthridge.com |
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TrickyRicky Inner circle TrickyRicky 1653 Posts |
When I was 9 years old, I bought (Open Sesame) from Harry Stanley from the UK.Same name as our new member.
The best book on how to become a children entertainer bar none. Ken, you will thank Danny a thousand times. Everyone should take a look at the clip on the Youtube of one of the great, Mark Lewis doing his thing. By the way "welcome to the Café Harry Stanley". TrickyRicky |
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Harry Stanley New user 47 Posts |
Quote:
On 2008-12-27 18:37, TrickyRicky wrote: Thanks, Richard! Does 14, Frith Street, London W1, ring a bell with you? Up the dusty stairs, past the "model....come on in" signs, to be greeted by Ken Brooke trying to sell you a piece of thread! |
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MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Oh oh....a positive statement from one who should be insulted, and the top childrens entertainer in Toronto to boot....
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Payne Inner circle Seattle 4571 Posts |
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All part of childhood indeed. All too true. Racism isn't inherent, it's a learned behavior. If you can't see the racist overtones one might implant or reinforce by having children dress up as "Chinamen" in long robes, qued wigs and drooping black mustaches then taught to walk in the Chinese fashion by shuffling about the stage whilst talking in a high pitched "pidgin" English then I would suggest you might consider enrolling in a cultural sensitivity class. Also just because such behavior is in your yearly Panto's in no way validates it either. It is still culturally and racially insensitive and can be deemed offensive to many. But then you've got shows like Goodness Gracious Me across the pond so really you can't be blamed for such behavior as it simply hasn't occurred to many over there that such antics might be seen as inappropriate for impressionable children. But then we here in the States could never have Manuel from Fawtly Towers or poor Albert Riddle from Robin's Nest without raising the ire of the Hispanic, Irish and the one armed members of our population. Heck, we can't even think about showing the old Amos and Andy TV shows for fear of appearing Politically Incorrect. I won't even go into the validation of drug use one might think the performer was validating by not only showing an audience of children how to prepare an opium pipe but then offering it up to your helper to smoke. True "Open Sesame" starts out with invaluable information for the devotee of children's entertainment. But I can easily see where one might reject any information contained in the book when they get to the extremely dated and culturally insensitive routines. Perhaps a revised edition with some routines written and performed in this century might be considered.
"America's Foremost Satirical Magician" -- Jeff McBride.
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MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Gee, I always was of the position that a compitent magician was able to write and perform their own routines based around an effect....silly me.
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Payne Inner circle Seattle 4571 Posts |
Quote:
On 2008-12-27 02:01, Danny Hustle wrote: At one time the "Truth" was that the world was flat and that Ra pulled the sun across the sky in his golden chariot. So no, the "Truth" isn't always the "Truth". Much of the information in "Open Sesame" is of the highest caliber but some of it desperately needs updating. Children today are a lot more sophisticated than they were sixty years ago and their attention span is razor thin in comparison. It is a good starting point but it is not the end all and be all manual of entertaining children.
"America's Foremost Satirical Magician" -- Jeff McBride.
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sleightly Elite user New Hampshire 500 Posts |
One would hope that adults are capable of reading a work that contains some material that is objectionable and know how to adapt or omit that material in such a way that it would be acceptable.
Dismissing an entire work due to a few pieces that were acceptable for most of the market at that time is somewhat ludicrous. If we were to burn all books that delve into objectionable material we'd have mighty little to read. Study the book, challenge your own biases and make an adult decision as to what you wish to incorporate into your own work. DO NOT DISMISS an entire work based on your own bias. It is too late to condemn the authors, they are no longer around to defend themselves. Instead, strive to provide a positive example in your own work. If your criteria as a performer is to present only material that will not offend, you will not likely be in demand. Audiences look to entertainment to escape reality, to project themselves into another character who can say and do things they cannot or will not. Look at it this way, we can only protect our children from so much. At some point they will be released into the wild and will have to fend for themselves. Better to challenge them while parents are still in mix. Woe betide my child if I failed to adequately prepare her for life. That doesn't mean I advocate beating children or exposing them to gratuitous sex or violence. In this circumstance no one is even advocating that performers should go and perform all the material in this book as written, merely suggesting that study of the approach may improve their work. Then again, we learn more from mistakes than successes. Have children changed psychologically? Is any medical professional advocating that kids have different developmental faculties than previous generations? Nope. Culturally, they are exposed to more, earlier and more often. Does this invalidate their developmental process? No. Can we benefit by referencing current experiences and icons that they will recognize? Sure, but it does not negate the fundamental experience children have with a live entertainer. The only valid performance point I have seen raised to date it the attention span issue and that is directly related to how children interact with electronic media. In my experience, live performance is significantly different. Kids get less opportunity to attend live performances and are therefore untrained in how to behave. To facilitate the best experience for all, it is now up to the performer to train children how to act at a performance and then to perform material that is genuine and true to their character and interesting to an audience. Thus you will find success. It might take time to "find" your audience, but if you have talent, make prudent choices and are persistent you will succeed. |
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RJE Inner circle 1848 Posts |
Danny, I have to agree with you about Penelease.
Creating our summer resort show for last year, I wanted to include a version of the Farmer and the Witch. I always liked the idea of the switch, but as a stand alone routine, I found it kind of lame. I obtained a copy of Open Sesame and immediately saw the potential of including a version of Penelease to the routine. Tie the waist, the witch's broom replaces the wand, and ignore the wrist ties. Throw in a couple of dads playing the part of the farmer's two ugly sons to hold the ends of the rope and you come up with a killer contemporary 10 minute stage routine. |
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kimmo Inner circle Sheffield 1193 Posts |
RJE - Fantastic! Personally, I find the idea of taking an old routine and putting a modern spin on it very exciting! I'm going to have to dig out my copy of Open Sesame and have another look through it. I was lucky enough to see Wilfred Tyler, the co-author of this book perform at my 6th birthday party and it was his show that sparked my interest in performing magic!
VISIT MY ONLINE STORE!: www.kimmomagicshop.com
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deadcatbounce Special user the Wilds of Ireland 863 Posts |
When I started out looking to entertain kids, after years and years of denial, I bought "Open Sesame" along with several other books, including "Silly Billy".
I was so disappointed with "Open Sesame", I considered selling it on eBay. I'm so glad I didn't. After a few shows, I went back to the books..and then realised just how good "Open Sesame" is, in the areas that everyone on here has discovered. It's excellent. Just take from it what you need, and ignore, or improve the dated bits.. Regards, DCB
"With every mistake - we must surely be learning..." George Harrison.
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Danny Hustle Inner circle Boston, MA USA 2393 Posts |
Quote:
On 2008-12-29 15:49, Payne wrote: Actually, those were commonly accepted misconceptions and not the truth. That is why I said, the truth is the truth. Opium dens and big chiefs are the Ra's and the flat earths. I am assuming people reading it today will have the where with all to separate the wheat from the chaff. In my humble opinion there is still much more wheat than chaff in this book. Quote:
Much of the information in "Open Sesame" is of the highest caliber but some of it desperately needs updating. Children today are a lot more sophisticated than they were sixty years ago and their attention span is razor thin in comparison. I disagree with the attention span...I have done an hour and a half show for children with no intermission and they have hung with me and had a blast. Believe me, I was as shocked by this as anybody else! I truly believe the reason for this is because there were no other distractions. I think kids today have plenty of attention span, I just think they have more distractions in most situations. I also think there is some GREAT magic in this book that can be very easily be updated to suit today's audiences. Quote:
It is a good starting point but it is not the end all and be all manual of entertaining children. I agree with this completely, but I also think that there is some fantastic information about the art of entertaining children contained in this book that you will not find anywhere else. When reading the truth in these sections I think they make themselves obvious to the reader. No need to chuck the baby with the bathwater. Best, Dan- "MT is one of the reasons we started this board! I’m so sick of posts being deleted without any reason given, and by unknown people at that." - Steve Brooks Sep 7, 2001 8:38pm ©1999-2014 Daniel Denney all rights reserved. |
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magicgeorge Inner circle Belfast 4299 Posts |
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On 2008-12-29 15:43, Payne wrote: The idea of an up-dated edition is certainly an interesting notion but I would've thought most could spot the offensive parts and actually celebrate in the fact of how the world has changed. In some ways the book is a great argument for political correctness as you can see how we used to be without it. I don't agree with Tony that there is still anything like this extent of racism going on in panto or any other entertainment medium over here nowadays. I didn't quite get your comment about "Goodness gracious me" but the shows success was achieved by parodying these archaic attitudes. George |
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Ken Northridge Inner circle Atlantic City, NJ 2392 Posts |
After finally reading the first two chapters of Open Sesame, I must agree with the many who have said it is a must read for any children’s entertainer. I don’t want to start a cultural argument here, but I found Open Sesame’s approach to entertaining children to be very…English. And I love it! It’s the approach that I have been practicing since day one. That’s probably because most of my ancestors were English and it must also be why 80% of my ipod is loaded with English musicians. I must have been born with it.
American performers tend to be a little bolder with the kids and sometimes rougher. Chris Capehart, Silly Billy and John Cassidy are good examples. This is not a criticism of them. In fact, I think they are brilliantly funny! But, you have to have the right personality to pull it off. I don’t and it does not fit the style that Open Sesame talks about. I think I have the English style and it works very well for me. I’ve long felt that audience control starts the minute you walk on stage and say your first word. Kids can sense if you’re afraid of them. They can sense it if you don’t like them. Therefore, the simple but profound advice found in Open Sesame is priceless. Your comments are welcome.
"Love is the real magic." -Doug Henning
www.KenNorthridge.com |
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