|
|
seamagu Special user 885 Posts |
Hi All,
I have a number of effects that I am happy with, but now I need to put them together into a routine. As I only really get to do impromptu mentalism at this stage I am looking for any tips, advice for developing a theme? I have also been thinking long and hard about my 'on stage' persona and am interested in your thoughts on this side of things. Obviously it is based on me, but I want to give myself a stage name that I think sounds better (more enigmatic) than my actual name, is this common practice or should it be avoided? Also, how exegerated do you Guys/Gals make your stage persona's? This is probably basic enough stuff and I have my own ideas but I am just interested in what works and what the common pitfalls might be. Once I get my persona and routine sorted I think I would be ready to extend my performance beyond family, friends and colleagues. thanks in advance for all your replies, especially yours A**** , B*** & I******!!!! Sea.
I love post its
|
Ulises Galeano Regular user Indiana 132 Posts |
I might be able to help, a couple months ago I was in the same boat, having the same questions about names, themes etc etc. After much research, talking to the pros, and trial and error, I found out that as far as name change it is all about your persona and reason to do so, Max Maven for example changed his name to fit his persona, and Banachek changed his name from steve shaw because people could not remember his name, because it was too simple, but then Richard Osterlind, Bob Cassidy, and Paul Draper all use their real names.
As far as theme, it all depends on what type of "powers" you want to show, are you a mindreader? a person who uses psychology? NLP? Metalbender/telekenetik? etc etc. Find out who you want to be, and what effects show these skills. Again I'm still new at this, I am already doing shows, and have been performing as a magician for years, but mentalism to me is a whole different monster. Hopefully someone who has more experience will comment. |
Atlas Inner circle 3103 1277 Posts |
Sea,
I think that regardless of your capacity or level in mentalism, when you create a set, it has to flow well. When presenting an effect to the audience, you will be accepted more readily when it appears that a number of effects, rather than simply one, are accomplished through homogeneous means. For instance, if I present a drawing duplication, and then a card effect, the flow of the set is stunted, and you may disrupt the train of thought in the audience that you are seeking to establish. When there is a lack of homogeneous flow to a set, an observer can come to conclusions about your performance that differ vastly from what you would like them to believe. However, you can easily avoid this situation by being careful to present your effects properly. What do I mean? Let me illustrate. In my teenage years, I played a popular game called SNAPS. You would code a word to a confederate by starting a sentence with a consonant, and snapping the vowels in between. After playing this for a while with my friends, the persistent ones could eventually figure out how things were done. To obscure the method, I created variations upon the word code theme. Because there were so many iterations of the code, a person who did not know how we played could never figure it out. As soon as they had a theory, the next performance (which looked exactly the same but operated on a different principle) would prove it wrong, and they would be left back at square one, trying to figure it out all over again. If someone sees the process that you employ alter in order to achieve different results, the performance is not homogeneous, and therefore something different must be happening each time. The cynics may argue that some subterfuge is afoot. However, if what they see throughout looks and feels the same, but achieves different effects, then it is no different than it was with our childhood game. Their theories fail them and they begin to suspend disbelief. I believe that I've seen you mention that you present as a psychological mentalist. I'm not quite done with "The Prodigal", but I will send you a section that I think will help your progression a lot and should help you to solidify any impromptu set within the framework of that persona. Best, Atlas |
seamagu Special user 885 Posts |
Thanks guys,
That really helps. Some good food for thought! It is the flow that I am trying to create in a routine and your advice is much appreciated. I have been developing my effects based as a psycholgical mentalist, but I still want to add a certain edge of mystery near the end of my routine, possibly indicating that my 'work' brings me to the boundary of psychology. Just some thoughts. Thanks for your support, regards, Sea.
I love post its
|
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Penny for your thoughts » » Trying to put together my first routine (0 Likes) |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.02 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |