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MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Hello bizarrist and psyshadow! Please kick in with any corrections or pointers ye might have (ye is a bizarre word) or just to tell me I'm full of it. Again, do not read further if you have any sense. Thank you.
My character I am developing is a person who goes into old mines in the Virginia City Nevada, which you all are familiar with having studied your history books. Since he had to develop his mystical powers some how (seventh son of a seventh son, mother assisted gypsy woman, born under a certain type moon, etc) I came up with the story that Leonard was caught in a small mine collapse which opened up a old cavern with some old mining supplies in it and in the complete darkness encounters an old miner who explains to him the secrets of finding silver ore etc.. When rescuers come hours later and open up the collapse Leonard had taken some items the old miner told him to look for in the cavern but....there was no old miner, he had been alone in the shaft the entire time. From that point on strange things happened to him and he had learned to deal with it. Spoooooooky. The character now has the excuse to have certain abilities and objects which can be run through the story line and made into routines. The following routines are in the process of being written and incorporated into the story. Being that the story is key if the routines don't fit, they don't get forced. Find the Ore or the bizarre name: Metalliferous Aquisition Requires: eight small pouches, leather or canvas, all the same. eight small bags of cloth that can easily fit into pouches seven rocks of the same size, one quartz rock with silver veins old mining map Effect: The spectator will select a bag and place the quartz with silver in it, the other reg rocks are also put into bags and all are put into individual pouches. Leonard determines which pouch contains the quartz. Method: In order to incorporate the story the basic PATEO method will be used and each pouch laid on the map blah blah blah. The last pouch is shown to contain the quartz. I think this is the more dramatic method and because the spectator is such an important part of the presentation it adds to the effect. You could, of course, simply use a device such as a dowsing stick or a pendelum (sp). I first saw this type effect by Eugene Burger and from Oneale's writing. Prediction of time or bizarre name: Chronograph Augury Simply put predicting the time a spectator sets a potcket watch to. Date of Death or bizzare name: Messor Remuneror The date of a persons death is found on a drawing of a tombstone. The date is secretely written by a spectator and the the tombstone drawing on a card is put inside a black hanky with a pencil and the pencil is seen moving and the card removed with the date now there. I don't want to expose anything but most know how this is done, based on Burger routine. Haunted nail or bizarre name: Reperio Procuratio Haunted key but done with an old nail or spike. Well, what do you think you dark mystical mo fo's? |
Tony Iacoviello Eternal Order 13151 Posts |
I think it is great that you are thinking about the character and logically associating the material.
Something I do when working on a presentation is to write out the act in story form. For me, this lets me play the part of a member of the group witnessing and participating in what happens, and by looking back on it, I can see if the routines build and fit together. It also helps me see if the material truly fits the character and what I want to portray. I don't see the association in finding or with the date of death or the haunted spike. The name and or date appearing on the tombstone is a great effect. Robert Neale did some fantastic work on this. Done right, this can have an astounding affect on people. You may want to look into the spike. What makes the key move and appear impossible is not present in a nail or spike (unless they are bent). Having one rotate in the hand might appear as exactly what it is, and from a little distance may not even be noticed. I think you are off to a great start and are showing a lot of thought towards building an act. Just my thoughts, Tony |
MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Thanks Tony. I plan on doing it in story form as you suggested. The idea is, as you know, to determine what the character would have on him because it is character driven so I think every need to connect that character as does the story. Yeah, the nail thing I have to actually sit down with. I have looked into IT or PK as well as the haunted key but if it doesn't work out then it doesn't go in.
You and I think along the same lines Tony. The spike because they use wood to reinforce the mines around here and to be honest with you, the dang thing looks cool. The tombstone I came up with, didn't know Oneale did it, thanks for the info, and again it is something I like and will see if I can make it fit and make sense for the charactor, I loved the way Burger did his message thing, but if it doesn't work, again adios. Then again the character encountered a ghost in the mine so maybe the year that miner died? I'll have to give it some thought. This is all a wonderful excercise. This is just pondering so far. The performer should never force an effect, we decide what and when, no one else. |
MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Greetings from beyond the gray curtain.....Lenny the K here... I'm kidding! I'm really not dead but was....acting! Sorry if I scared you.
My development continues as I look into what a Virginia City miner would have access to. Thanks to Tony for bringing me back to the reality of the magic having to fit the character, which leaves me with cool names for routines and keeping in the world famous Metalliferous Aquisition and perhaps Chronograph Augury. The others, though I dig'em, are out for this character. My research consist of on line seaches which provided character and geographical reference but limited pocket item information. That, my dark clothed and pentigram wearing friends, will be resolved to local museums! You see...I love at the gateway of the Comstock historical area and can find plenty of items used by the miners and others in the area, some cool stuff. It ranges from gambling chips and devices, dice, candle holders (scary), maps, scales, etc.. You have to keep in mind that lots of the mine work was either purely physical with large tools like picks or huge machines....we are not talking placer mining for the most part. Luckily the area also has loads of ghost and indian lore as well... So that is where I am at the moment. I would like to thank all the people who have offered their kind advice to me since I arrived, uh...wait....no, other than Tony and the good guys a number of you have been more hostile than anything else. Must be sensative about the wearing black isn't bizarre magik stuff....sad. Oh well, thanks Tony! |
seadog93 Inner circle 3200 Posts |
FWIW I like your ideas and you've got me thinking more about the bizarre show that I'm working on and the character I want to portray (I'm to three similar but different character types).
I don't have the experience to give suggestions on this type of show, but I appreciate your posts.
"Love is the magician who pulls man out of his own hat" - Ben Hecht
"Love says 'I am everything.' Wisdom says 'I am nothing'. Between the two, my life flows." -Nisargadatta Maharaj Seadog=C-Dawg=C.ou.rtn.ey Kol.b |
MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Thank you and thanks to secret mystery PM guy.
I'm doing okay with my development. I was interested to see if this area was an ad fest like some other areas. |
RCP Inner circle Two Minnie's in The Hell's Half Acre, The Republic of Texas 2183 Posts |
Howdy Lenny, I like this little gem:
http://www.ronjo.com/magic/70629603009.html Any alchemy routine of course. Why would you dig when you can "make gold". Caved in mine means lots of dead souls, at least one of them could cause trouble? Seance?, Ghostly interruptions while your telling the tell? Sounds like fun. |
RCP Inner circle Two Minnie's in The Hell's Half Acre, The Republic of Texas 2183 Posts |
Why did Leonard survive? Sinister. Couple fun things you could do with a wooden cigar.
There is a cool little stubby an old miner would smoke. Lots of coin or chip possibilities. You going to be the miner or tell the miners story? |
KOTAH Inner circle 2289 Posts |
Very interesting theme, caves and mines. Fertile ground for the story teller.
Some time back I wrote a story called "Spelunking" It was a tale of murder and deciet. It made good use of Dr. SAwas rope trick. In another called, "Mines and caves like Open Graves" had a Tommyknockers bent to it and employed the telekinetic timbers as an effect. I look forward to hearing more as you continue to flesh out your gold min theme. Best of luck. Kotah |
MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Thank you RCP, good idea. Leanard survived because it was just a minor cave in but it exposed the items used in the show and also the ghost aspect is introduced by the character he encountered in the cave that conversed but was not seen. When rescued the ghost character, thought to be real until that point, was gone. Leonard is telling the story of the miner using the items found.
Where I was considering performing this is in the town of Dayton Nevada which still retains the original buildings from the beginning of the silver mining days. Dayton was where gold was first discovered in Nevada and was the gateway to Virginia City and also where they ground up the ore, the huge cement structures and caves used as officed are still there. A restaurant bar that President Grant visited has a room upstairs that was, I believe, a small theater at one time and I think they'll let me use that. |
RCP Inner circle Two Minnie's in The Hell's Half Acre, The Republic of Texas 2183 Posts |
You might find this useful for costume ideas.
http://www.gentlemansemporium.com/gentle......66704270 |
MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Nice, thank you.
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seadog93 Inner circle 3200 Posts |
Quote:
On 2010-08-27 17:42, RCP wrote: That is a VERY cool looking store
"Love is the magician who pulls man out of his own hat" - Ben Hecht
"Love says 'I am everything.' Wisdom says 'I am nothing'. Between the two, my life flows." -Nisargadatta Maharaj Seadog=C-Dawg=C.ou.rtn.ey Kol.b |
Silvertongue Inner circle One day I will die leaving behind 2426 Posts |
An old miners lamp aka spirit lamp might be nice. The broken pocket watch could be used to find the lump of gold ala pendulum/ pateo, this would then lead smoother into the watch effect. Maybe trying to draw closer to the mysterious man in your vision and eventually doing a Q&A with the lamp type thing.
Maybe even find an article for a real cave in and copy the story changing the names. There is a website where you can make up fake newspaper clippings, do a search, its linked somewhere here in the spooky. This with the map and the show may even get you some backers to go back into the mine and search out the gold The time the spectator fixes on the busted up watch could match the time of the cave in you were in on the newspaper clipping and the date could match the date of a preceding cave in that happened years earlier also mentioned in the news report. Also you could have found a wallet amongst other things. Like Chester Copperpots in the Goonies, this could leave you open for lots of great stuff. Heirloom anyone? Just a few thoughts...
For as long as space exists,
And living beings remain in cyclic existence, For that long, may I too remain, to dispel the sufferings of the world. -Shantideva Engaging in the Conduct of a Bodhisattva |
MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Good ideas, thank you.
There are actually tombstones in the cemetary in Virginia City that were put up by families for miners who's bodies where never recovered. Nice of 'em huh? Another interesting thing that relates to what you brought up. I knew a geezer, now passed, who would track down gold hunters. He'd get his map out of the gold areas (all pretty much claimed by a gold hunters group you have to pay to access, greedy mutha's) with the creeks and rivers. Keep in mind gold is heavier than sand etc so in a current it tends to gather and certain points. The geez would get his crystal pendulum out, or a plastic L thing and call it a dowsing stick, and tell the gold miner that he would give them locations where gold is in exchange for a contractually agreed 20% of any gold found or $50, which ever! No kidding, he'd do this over and over and claimed he actually got gold out of it. I will say the old guy really believed he had powers....he didn't of course. |
MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Hello crypt dwellers! Things are going well. I've added to my outline the story of Samual Clemons (he had not become Mark Twain yet, but he did first use the name in Virginia City) being mugged by masked bandits who stole his money and very valuable and beloved pocket watch. It turned out to be his friends doing the robbery as a joke and to give him something to write about (Twain did write about it in Roughing It). Twain never forgave them for the robbery as the loss of his watch, even for a short time, realllly got him angry. So I incorporate this story and the watch, now how to add magic? The ol' egg bag! How to get the bag into the story? I explain that Twain would put his valuables into a black bag and hide it in the corner of his home or carry it with him rather than have the watch visible. I can tell of another robbery attempt where Twain shows the bag empty and all that then pull the watch out etc.. Good stuff! Also incorporating the lota pot as the mines are very hot so water would be needed. Another thing about the lota pot is if timed right the empy pot can be used to close out the show.
I loves the process! |
alemanzano New user 94 Posts |
Hey, Lenny!
I just would like to thank you for this threads you've been creating and all of you guys posting on them! They've been like a course on an approach to a creative process in magic to me. Thanks a lot, Alexandre |
MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Cool! That is the goal. I enjoy the development of character and scripting...
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