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kasper Loyal user 253 Posts |
I always enjoyed the comment that. "Magic is childish or just for children." Just invite those folks to a poker game and you will realize their rude comments don't have any meaning any more. They won't put money where their mouth is.
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Pop Haydn Inner circle Los Angeles 3691 Posts |
Inflatable Rubber Jumping Castles are just for kids, too. I don't think that is fair, either.
What does playing poker have to do with magic? |
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panlives Inner circle 2087 Posts |
Quote:
On 2011-08-24 20:11, Whit Haydn wrote: Have popular magicians like Doug Henning and David Copperfield been deleterious to magic?
"Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?"
"To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time." "The dog did nothing in the night-time." "That was the curious incident," remarked Sherlock Holmes. |
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Pop Haydn Inner circle Los Angeles 3691 Posts |
I don't think so. It is just cycles. Magic becomes popular when there are arresting performers who grab the public imagination. After a while, things go fallow. It is just the way it is. Popularity increases the interest in magic, and the number of people doing it. After a while, it isn't so exciting again--it becomes almost commonplace. Then it collapses for a decade of two, and then it is revived with new fans who find it new all over. Its not good or bad, it just is.
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Vick Inner circle It's taken me 10+ years to make 1120 Posts |
Quote:
On 2011-08-28 15:49, Pop Haydn wrote: I fight this so hard (among other banging my head into the wall endeavors), but sometimes it's all to true. You try to educate the consumer. I love when clients call me and say "I feel comfortable with you" or "We decided to hire you over the other performers we were considering because of how well you explained everything, you took the time learn about our event, to explain the details of the performance and how it will tie in with our event" Of course my all time favorite ..."We've never had anyone like you here before, we loved it and want you back on ..." and sometimes it works but that's the general perception. I hate it but ......
Unique, Thought Provoking & Amazing Magical Entertainment Experiences
Illusions By Vick Blog of a real world working magician Magic would be great, if not for magicians |
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Vick Inner circle It's taken me 10+ years to make 1120 Posts |
Bartolomeo
You might get something out of http://www.jamyianswiss.com/fm/works/whymagicsucks.html The reason won't be what you might think
Unique, Thought Provoking & Amazing Magical Entertainment Experiences
Illusions By Vick Blog of a real world working magician Magic would be great, if not for magicians |
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funsway Inner circle old things in new ways - new things in old ways 9982 Posts |
In business consulting I learned that the great hidden fear is, "Appearing foolish before one's peers." Throw in the impersonal communications of CellPhones and the Internet, "whom do I blame" mentality and the turning of "average" into a religion, and ...
the last thing a person wants is to be be fooled, while daily fooling the IRS, their spouse and themselves over what is important in life. A magician should be able to say, "I deal with the unknown, conquer it and come a way unscathed," in a theatrical representation of every man's failure to deal with the unknown in his/her personal life. But, as soon as you say, "It's only entertainment," you sell out to foolishness. Be an inspiration rather than an echo. Vick says, "Thought provoking." Huzzah! Of course, this advice can apply to any chosen endeavor, but magic is especially vulnerable because it scrapes at basic human fears.
"the more one pretends at magic, the more awe and wonder will be found in real life." Arnold Furst
eBooks at https://www.lybrary.com/ken-muller-m-579928.html questions at ken@eversway.com |
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magic4545 Inner circle Jimmy Fingers 1159 Posts |
Why magic sucks?
The secrecy thing prevents us from differentiating between someone who is doing amazing, creative work and someone being a hack. Lack of policing by our peers. In comedy, the comedians would fry anyone who wasn't doing their own material, styles, etc. Magicians claim themselves to be the greatest, while using a bunch of off-the-shelf tricks. Networking, hype and schmoozing are more important than ability. Magic organizations Never say anything bad about another performer. Delusions of grandeur Preshow work, television production methods, and less-than-"above the board" methods. These erode the credibility of our art, one shill at a time. They begin assuming that everything that we do is done using less than creative methods. These things are killing the public perception of what magic is. |
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Brad Burt Inner circle 2675 Posts |
The operative presupposition of the post above appears to be that the 'public' cannot tell the difference between a really good 'magical performer' and a so-so or even a bad one. I read the post 6 times and I don't see anyway around my conclusion.
But, if that's so you would have to apply that to every other performing craft: Comedy, juggling, acting, whatever. And, if that's so you should be able to logically go to Las Vegas and of the performing magicians working regularly there should be a significant percentage that are not that good. Since the public can differentiate good or bad and make a buying decision based on that then a certain percentage of 'bad' magicians should be found even among the headliners. The shows should be very short lived, etc. I've been active in the industry for just 40 years now and it's ALWAYS been the way it is now. People talk about how much more exclusive it was in the good ole days. How much harder to it was to become a magician. Read magic history and you discover that a lot of that was because the guys at the top actively subverted the ability of those coming up from below! (Read the story in this months Magic Magazine!) For the most part the VERY BEST magical performers who have any sense of the business end of things OR have a good agent or manager will always find work and a lot of it. The rest will lie about how much they work or not care. And...there will always be a need for a training ground. Start doing kids shows for not very much. If you have talent you get better and better and graduate to adult shows of one kind or another and maybe, maybe if that's what you are looking for you end up with a large stage show. It's stratified. And within that stratification there is the entire gamut of good, bad and ugly and mostly the not so good don't really last. They grow bored by their own incompetence and move on. But, you see, we in the trade have a skewed view of the thing. We tend to focus on the negative aspects, because we 'want' it to all be perfect. I WANT it all to be perfect. But, magic like life is a mess. And, WE as professionals are over sensitized to the mess that's magic specific. But, it's the same in comedy. Guys start out. They are the 'class clowns' and frequently told they have 'talent', etc. So they try putting an act together. And...it's original even. They are themselves and they are terrible. Buy, maybe they are 'just' good enough to be a Comic Disc Jokey or they work small local venues where folks know them and still think they are funny and they are funny BECAUSE they know the local folks. Whatever. How do you think the comedy PROS talk about these guys? And, then, it happens: One of these 'not so good' comics starts to get it. He discovers that in fact he does have talent. He works and works and fails and tests and works some more. He starts to get better little by little. Suddenly he's "discovered"!!!!! Wow, that guys a genius!!! See how funny he is? Must have been born with it...... Yeh..... It's all a big mess and out of the mess comes the best and the not so best. Very, very, very few performing pros started out even 'good'. Most starting out would be happy to just be thought of as ok. It's ok. Magic is ok. It ain't gonna go anywhere. It has reinvented itself dozens of times and will continue to do so far into the future. Heck, remember how they 'used' to put a disclaimer at the beginning of every magic tv show? "This show uses NO CAMERA TRICKS!" How about this: The business card of some magicians in the future will tout: I use ONLY my own hands and totally normal objects to produce my magic! Well, you get the idea................. Best,
Brad Burt
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HerbLarry Special user Poof! 731 Posts |
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I use ONLY my own hands and totally normal objects to produce my magic! I tell people this on my pitch everyday.
You know why don't act naive.
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magicians Inner circle Teacher and Legend 2898 Posts |
Quote:
On 2011-10-15 16:21, HerbLarry wrote: Gee, I tell them that every thing they are about to see is done with trick photography.
Illusionist, Illusionist consulting, product development, stage consultant, seasoned performer for over 35 years. Specializing in original effects. Highly opinionated, usually correct, and not afraid of jealous critics. I've been a puppet, a pirate, a pawn and a King. Free lance gynecologist.
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Pakar Ilusi Inner circle 5777 Posts |
Where does magic stand?
On the shoulders of giants.
"Dreams aren't a matter of Chance but a matter of Choice." -DC-
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HerbLarry Special user Poof! 731 Posts |
Quote:
On 2011-10-16 16:56, magicians wrote: I like I like.
You know why don't act naive.
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