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Mr Timothy Gray Veteran user Rue d'Auseil 364 Posts |
Now, not to be so ambiguous about things – this is just about the most exciting project I’ve ventured onto in the past two years.
I completed my studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland – graduated a year & a half ago with an MA in Acting – worked a bit – two plays I adapted have been produced in the past year - & now I’m at a point of artistic transition. The structure of the new show – as I detailed in my previous post – is entirely one-on-one. Only one audience member at a time. Locations are varied, but always consisting of a dark, back room & the performance is never announced in advance. What do I hope to achieve with this? Mystery. Magic. & just something that’s a bit different. & spooky. I took a long look at my magic library - & promptly sold off about half of it. All I need is contained in those few, classic volumes – Tarbell, Hay, Annemann, Corinda, etc. There are no new methods. Not when the audience member’s EXPERIENCE is the ultimate goal. A few bits of paper – a candle – an UNGIMMICKED tarot deck – a stack of UNGIMMICKED spirit slates. I’m no longer relying on anything modern or mechanical. Indeed, I am straddling the line of bizarre magic & legit reading. & I’m fine with that. I have no one to answer to – but myself. I’ve done my homework. I’ve meditated, I’ve consulted & I’m open to something new. Now, do the audience members know this is what they are going into? Absolutely. Once the performance pops up, there is sufficient literature which is discreetly dispensed, which gently informs the potential audience what is in store for them. Once inside the performance space - & since no audience member receives the same performance - & a conversation takes place - I will be mindful & respectful of the audience member’s vibe. I’m not the first to try this sort of one-to-one performance. The late Adrian Howells was a performance artist who took his one-to-one performances across the world – performances that required actual physical & emotional contact. What I’m doing doesn’t even approach that – but is nonetheless, an exciting IMMURSIVE EXPERIENCE for the audience member. It is simply time for me to break away from the mold. It’s time for me to step back & change what I feel is wrong with most of the magic & mentalism & bizarre magic which I see today. I want to offer up something MEANINGFUL. An EXPERIENCE. & that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
Yr. Obdt. Svt.,
Mr Timothy Gray Specializing in the Occult Arts of Fortune Telling, Magic & Mediumship; Est. 1986 |
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Brynmore14 Inner circle The Séance Chamber 1815 Posts |
My Imp is always whispering ideas in my ear;) I really like where you are going with this. You are challenging yourself and daring to innovate. I applaude your dedicated study of Spiritualism and the theatrical tradition. Your one on one concept is fantastic. Keep treading your moonlit path. |
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Malakim Loyal user 206 Posts |
Well, I sort of come here from the other direction.
My interest, for over 20 years, was in the genuine occult magic. Don't get me wrong, belief is something strange to me, so this was a theoretical and or test of techniques kind of thing. Magic is a great subject to study, it is like a street that takes you past a whole lot of subjects from the natural sciences over art and music to social studies. On top of this interest I also travel a lot, first privately and now as part of my job. I love to bringt artefacts home from the variouse countries. On top of that my wife comes from a seafaring familie and a whole lot of real artefacts from the strangest places in the world have found their way into our house. So I was in the position to tell stories from my travels, spiced up with some knowledge of the occult and some artefacts to show for a while now. It is quite normal that people who visit us get fond of one or other Object in the house and usualy there are stories to every object to tell. Only lately I added magic as we are talking about in this Forum which is a lot of fun for me. I just add to stories that little extra and funny enough this is not all too far from genuine occult magic at all. The idea that occult magic is something entirely out of this world is basically wrong and to understand why that subject is not totally stupid you just need to think around a corner which happens to be a very similar corner to what needs to be done to entertain someone with a "show magic". As far as I understand the community of Alchemy Moon is based on exactly this point in thought. |
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Mr Timothy Gray Veteran user Rue d'Auseil 364 Posts |
But is the object(s) the OBJECT of the performance? This is something which I am trying to bring to light. I am noticing a dependence on props & interesting curios. These things, of course, fuel the flame of mystery & imagination - but, surely, the story, the performance, the conversation (either spoken or un-spoken) between the performance & the audience MUST COME FIRST.
I sense a disconnect - a reveral in thinking - with most modern magic: 'I have an amazing thing - now what do I want to do with it?' Shouldn't it be: 'I want to do something amazing - what do I need to accomplish that?' These are just questions. I have no answers. I'm searching. Stirring up the mud under the water. Drawing the universe in crayon. Using soy-milk & almond-milk instead of moo-cow-milk.
Yr. Obdt. Svt.,
Mr Timothy Gray Specializing in the Occult Arts of Fortune Telling, Magic & Mediumship; Est. 1986 |
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Intrepid Inner circle Silver Spring, MD 1179 Posts |
Afraid I'm a bit late to the party once again. Been reading backwards through the forum to catch up on what I've missed. This has been another thought provoking discussion. I applaud Mr. Gray's pursuit of raising the presentation of magic from a craft to that of a performance art. Dougini's question on where we leave the audience, and how can we bring them back is another topic of interest. This is all good. Thanks guys.
Bob
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Darkness Inner circle 1626 Posts |
Quote:
On Mar 2, 2015, Mr Timothy Gray wrote: Ok now we are talking. I agree with everything you have said. Of course "the story, the performance, the conversation (either spoken or un-spoken) between the performance & the audience MUST COME FIRST". No one has ever had a problem understanding or agreeing to that from the beginning. But could you not achieve the same "with" props, is my point. It’s a simple yes or no answer. Also, how do you go about finding venues that will entertain this pop up idea? Are the customers in these places any different as the venue suggests?? I'm thinking they might be as I know a lot of people who may not frequent these kinds of places. I wonder if the customers beliefs make them more susceptible to your offering?
THE SUPERNATURAL ILLUSIONIST & EFFECTS CREATOR WWW.MRDARKNESS.COM
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George Ledo Magic Café Columnist SF Bay Area 3042 Posts |
Quote:
On Mar 2, 2015, Mr Timothy Gray wrote: You earned an MA in acting (congratulations), so please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm a set designer and have been around actors, directors, choreographers, and all the rest for over thirty years. One thing I've noticed is that top-notch professional actors are very selective about the roles they play. You hear over and over that so-and-so turned down a part that was offered to him because the part wasn't right for him. The director or producer may have thought it was, but the actor did not. What does all this tell me? Like I said in another thread, what it tells me is that these people are actors first and foremost. To them, a script (a role) is just a vehicle with which to practice their craft. It's not the whole point of the exercise. If they feel a role will help their career, they take it, otherwise they don't. I'm using "practice" here in the same sense that doctors, architects, and many others practice their professions. In fact, registered architects have a license to "practice architecture," and doctors have one to "practice medicine." Doctors often refer to their business (the office and patients) as "a practice." So, in that context, I tend to agree with you. A prop (whatever it is: a gorgeous Victorian haunted cabinet or an unprepared slate) is just a vehicle with which the performer practices his profession/art/craft/hobby/whatever. The performer is a magician, not a prop demonstrator.
That's our departed buddy Burt, aka The Great Burtini, doing his famous Cups and Mice routine
www.georgefledo.net Latest column: "Sorry about the photos in my posts here" |
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MatCult Inner circle 1518 Posts |
Quote:
On Mar 2, 2015, Mr Timothy Gray wrote: I like the idea of these pop-up performances. I imagine they will be disarming and exciting for your audiences. The spontaneity of it could be powerful - the way an unplanned night out can often hold more delights than an event you have been expectantly anticipating for weeks. I do have some questions: If the experience is everything (and I agree that it is) why does the means of achieving it matter so much to you? Why the stress on "UNGIMMICKED"? I'm curious as to how you are going to make the performances MEANINGFUL. I think it's a worthy goal. And in a way, any good reading is inherently meaningful and should involve a genuine connection and dialogue with the participant, but I feel like you are aiming for something more - something that transcends entertainment and becomes art - and I'm curious as to how you plan to achieve that. What I'm reading sounds like a novel and immersive entertainment - but I'm genuinely curious as to what makes it MEANINGFUL art, where other performances are not.
"Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business."
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Brian J. Hatcher New user Charleston WV 52 Posts |
Quote:
On Mar 2, 2015, Mr Timothy Gray wrote: In my opinion, the object of the performance, as it is in all art, is to engender an emotional response in the audience. It can be as easy for us in bizarre magick to focus on interesting props as it is for XCMers and other magicians to concentrate on barefaced displays of skill. But I don't believe any one single quality can be considered the crucial piece of a work of art. Plot, character, props, skill, all of these things come together to make a performance. It's our job as artists to determine the types and amounts of these ingredients to mix together to make a satifying piece of art. Not easy questions to answer, but that is what makes magic ultimately worthwhile. Although not obvious to the audience, and to some magicians, magic certainly involves a lot more than having a trap door and knowing how to use it.
Maior Cogitatio Magiam Maiorem Facit
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Mr Timothy Gray Veteran user Rue d'Auseil 364 Posts |
Quote:
On Mar 26, 2015, MatCult wrote: These are some really great questions & I appreciate you've taken the time to realize I'm just not tooting my own horn. The stress on ungimmicked pertains, in particular, to the Tarot deck. I'm a student of the Marseille Tarot. When I began to study those images - which reach back hundreds of years & inhabit the popular subconscious - I wanted to actually learn about them, rather than purchase a marked deck & rely on a memorized crib sheet. I wanted to know & understand the deck of 78 cards (either the Noblet or Dodal deck - both restored by Jean Claude Flornoy) I was shuffling back & forth in my hands. I wanted to give myself over to my intuition, my innate creative thinking & the power that the very image of a Tarot deck carries - especially since my persona is very much a Fortune-Teller. The only way - to my mind - to make magical performance meaningful is to release the ego. Set it aside. Or destroy it. Not so much that you become a non-entity - but that everything you do is in service of the participant. No showing off - no attempt at impressing - but offering up whatever little miracle you convince of as a gift. This is a tough one to do - & I'm not entirely sure I've mastered it yet. But it's at the back of my head every time I perform. It is the stripping away of so much baggage magicians have self-imposed over the past, I shouldn't wonder, 100 years. Be humbled by the magic you perform - unless it's a curse - but even then, it can be displayed as a means to enrich some one else.
Yr. Obdt. Svt.,
Mr Timothy Gray Specializing in the Occult Arts of Fortune Telling, Magic & Mediumship; Est. 1986 |
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Intrepid Inner circle Silver Spring, MD 1179 Posts |
Mr. Gray, I'd imagine that as an actor, the use of an ungimicked deck helps to keep the moment "real" by forcing you off of a prepared script and keeping your mind focused on the moment as it unfolds in unpredictable ways before you and the specator. And in this way also helps with charactor development by keeping you on your toes in much the same way that improve does. Does this make sense, as I'm only guessing here?
Bob
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Mr Timothy Gray Veteran user Rue d'Auseil 364 Posts |
Quote:
On Mar 26, 2015, Intrepid wrote: I see what you're going for & yes, you're correct. I'm so comfortable in my persona that 'character' doesn't even exist. It's simply me - or, rather, a version of me. Interestingly enough, since the way I read the Marseille Tarot is neither occultish or esoteric & is based entirely on the story the pictures are telling, there's no reason to stay on my toes. I take my time - let the images do the telling - & let my audience member talk as well. I see no reason to spit it out rapidly. These things are best when they are allowed to breathe.
Yr. Obdt. Svt.,
Mr Timothy Gray Specializing in the Occult Arts of Fortune Telling, Magic & Mediumship; Est. 1986 |
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MatCult Inner circle 1518 Posts |
Quote:
On Mar 26, 2015, Mr Timothy Gray wrote: Come on, be honest, there's definitely a bit of horn tooting going on. You seem very proud of your approach, your achievements and convinced that you are doing something special. Where I come from that is tooting your own horn. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it. But let's not pretend it's not happening. Quote:
On Mar 26, 2015, Mr Timothy Gray wrote: It's good that you have taken the time to learn your oracle. But I'm not convinced this makes you as unique as you appear to believe. I know many people on here who give readings have been through this process - learning one oracle (or in some cases several oracles) thoroughly and putting in the flight time to give meaningful and entertaining readings. It's pretty standard practice. Good on you though.
"Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business."
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Mr Timothy Gray Veteran user Rue d'Auseil 364 Posts |
One can only but try...
Yr. Obdt. Svt.,
Mr Timothy Gray Specializing in the Occult Arts of Fortune Telling, Magic & Mediumship; Est. 1986 |
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Darkness Inner circle 1626 Posts |
"I'm so comfortable in my persona that 'character' doesn't even exist. It's simply me - or, rather, a version of me."
Toot Toot! Really? So when can we expect an Oscar Mr T.? There are no buts, your ego seems to be bigger than the Café from your words, not my opinion. Just an observation. Working in a dimly lit backroom of a seedy bar, entertaining one drunk person at a time for 15 minutes, wearing goth makeup and sitting in a room that I'm sure most people would not rather be, definitely helps the creep factor? Try the same thing in a legion hall under bright florescent lights. Conservatory question: Can you please tell us how do you do make character disappear to the point it doesn't even exist? Just by being practiced, confident and comfortable? Please explain “exactly” how your character does not exist "technically". It's delusional to think it doesn't unless you are not in character or have dissociative identity disorder, than I apologize. That's not a joke BTW it's a fact. You did say: "Above all, it's perfectly acceptable - & a lot more fun - when disagreements & debates take place on this forum, instead of everyone back patting & posting in a complacent manner." Ok lets have some fun, please answer the question with a smile on your face and not with a dismissive deflection or selective hearing.
THE SUPERNATURAL ILLUSIONIST & EFFECTS CREATOR WWW.MRDARKNESS.COM
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