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wwhokie1 Special user 512 Posts |
Personally, I try to be very careful not to do anything that might embarrass any volunteer, whether adult or child. When a volunteer comes on stage, my approach is that they become the star of the show not me. Any volunteer becomes a part of the show, and anything done at their expense is also at the expense of the show. In certain settings that would be appropriate, but those settings are typically not family performances. When a child or adult returns to his seat, I want him or her to be glad they were on stage with me, not wondering what other people think of them. Even with some "sucker" type tricks you can make the volunteer out to be a star. For example, a die box, after pulling the sucker routine, where you are obviously cheating in the eyes of the audience, let the volunteer wave a magic wand over the box and give them credit for making the die disappear. Or let them be the one who magically finds it. Make the volunteer the star. To often entertainers thinks we have to always be the star. Like Jack Benny, one of the all time great comedians and entertainers, use to say, people don't remember who got the laughs, what they remember is was the show funny and entertaining. Jack Benny was known for giving the best comedy lines to his costars, and the humor was often at his expense. But his show was a monster hit and he was the king of entertainment for years, inspiring and influencing people such as Johnny Carson and Jerry Seinfeld.
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charliecheckers Inner circle 1969 Posts |
I think in today's world one cannot be too careful. I drastically changed my content based upon discussions here and I am so very glad that I did. I have replaced more experienced and established magicians at some of the higher profile gigs In my area and in part attribute it to the fact that my show never can be construed as offensive or dangerous. Now when I see those magicians (who I admire) perform in their "old school" ways it is glaring to me the mistake of looking at things from our own perspective.
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Neznarf Inner circle NY then AZ now 1840 Posts |
All the stuff Jeff says is true. And we all should know this already.
Also, I do misers dream / Coin Pail routine. Kinda similar to Jeff's. I got called on the coin from butt a few times so It's not in my routine anymore. (From a School or Library Shows) Being PC is what you have to be. Robert Baxt's "Boy and a Bucket" DVD has some great ideas for the Coin Pail routine. Funny Stuff. The audience laughs the hardest when I make FUN of myself. And I have a lot to make fun of. So I'm pretty funny.
"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain."
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JoshLondonMagic Special user 675 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-12-17 11:58, Neznarf wrote: Totally DISAGREE with this statement. We are not her to create shows that everyone loves. We are here to create remarkable art from OUR perspective. If we all did what was "PC" there would be a huge lack of funny routine and characters. Jeff Hobson immediately comes to mind. Point is, we are artists creating art. If coins from butts works for you than do it. I do a variation of it and it plays really well. My audiences love it. Josh
Josh
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The Mighty Fool Inner circle I feel like a big-top tent having 2140 Posts |
I don't do coin-from-the-butt when I perform MD....I simply think it's in bad taste, but that just me.
I don't think the breakaway wand puts the kid in an "embarrassing situation", watch any vid of a kids show where the BW is being used, and the child holding the wand is laughing it up just as much as the kids in the audience. The 'trap-door' line I never use, because it's just plain CORNY. It wont offend or embarrass the kid, but it wont get a laugh either.
Everybody wants to beleive.....we just help them along.
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Danny Kazam Inner circle 1516 Posts |
I performed my Chico routine the other day for an audience of girls aged 7-10. When I got the part of mentioning Chico's "sensitive area" some of the girls shouted, "His butt!". I also use the broken wand, and coin from the butt when I do Miser's Dream.
Does anyone watch the cartoons they have for children now? If we are going to entertain children, we must think like children, not like politically correct adults. All things we perform should be done with dignity and respect, but it's all about how we present ourselves to our audience. If we have earned their respect, and we handle ourselves appropriately, then no one can dictate what we should or should not do for children except our audience. All due respect to Jeff, but that is his opinion, and does not apply to all children entertainers. There are also different types of children magicians. The goofy clown, the silly magician, the semi-silly, and the serious. You can present yourself and your show in several different ways as well. The bumbling magician who screws everything up in a comedy of errors sort of way. Or the serious magician in a comedy of errors sort of way. You can act like a goofy clown who likes to poke fun of his audience and then karma gets him. You can be the serious magician who dresses like the stereotype magician and perform entirely to music. The list goes on and on. Some things we don't do because we either had a bad experience with it in the past, or because it makes us uncomfortable to do in front of children for whatever reason, but others may actually find those things to be a great part of their show. It's like all forms of entertainment and art. Of course this is all just my opinion, but my point is I will never allow another magician dictate what I should do or shouldn't do. I will listen to my audience, and reviews of my shows. But, I will always listen to advice.
Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.
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charliecheckers Inner circle 1969 Posts |
Quote:
We are here to create remarkable art from OUR perspective. If we all did what was "PC" there would be a huge lack of funny routine and characters. There are many considerations when producing any art form for a business. Often creating remarkable art from the performers' perspective is not the only ( or even the primary) driver of show content when it is being created for other peoples purchase. Many factors come into play, including the standards imposed by the client. Then there are ethical and artistic perspectives as well. Not to say that anyone here is out of line in any of these considerations, but I think we need to assess our show content with all of these perspectives in mind. |
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Starrpower Inner circle 4070 Posts |
Just curious: How many kids shows does Jeff do a year, and who hired him to police all of magic?
Nobody has any obligation to make other magicians look good or bad. I'm not in business to make others look good. "Others" can hire a PR firm if that's what they want. People said the same stuff about Penn and Teller 30 years ago and look where they are now. |
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MoonRazor Special user 843 Posts |
"Everybody Poops" But hacks SH** all over Magic.
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