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Cycopolos New user 22 Posts |
Ok I think I have learnt a fair few tricks, sleights, everything I need to get out there and try to enhance my skills by performing for people I don't know, and getting out of my comfort zone.
When I get asked to perform, I freeze up and forget which tricks I should do. I need a steady constant routine which flows that I can perform. This where you guys come in, any help or advice is very much appreciated. Thank you all. |
jimhlou Inner circle 3698 Posts |
Why do you need a steady constant routine if you freeze up??? Just do one or two tricks over and over and over and over (you get the idea) until it becomes second nature and you're comfortable. Then add another trick.
Jim |
Jaz Inner circle NJ, U.S. 6111 Posts |
Start with only a few routines.
Keep these routines short or at least easy to remember. As an example, these might be two with coins, one with a pen, one with coin and pen, two with cards. Make a list of the routines and keep the list with you for quick reference. Good practice, rehearsal and especially performing is where you will find your 'comfort zone'. After performing the above routines for a while and build confidence you can add to the repertoire list and perhaps add a couple of longer routines |
Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
Cycopolos, what tricks do you already know?
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mrunge Inner circle Charleston, SC 3716 Posts |
Yes...knowing what you already know might help in putting together a routine.
As mentioned by others though, don't worry about a routine at the moment. Just go do one or two tricks that you already know well and work on your presentation skills of talking to others. Then you can start adding other effects and creating actual routines. You'll be comfortable performing for others, have some effects and presentation skills to work with and be in a better position to start making your magical effects longer and more polished. Mark. PS - Welcome to the Café! |
fallingblood New user North Dakota 98 Posts |
I'd suggest picking up Strong Magic by Darwin Ortiz. I think it would be a benefit to get.
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The Amazing Noobini Inner circle Oslo, Norway 1658 Posts |
I'll answer this from the newcomers point of view. I have not performed any card tricks for anyone. I freeze up too easily too and so I have decided to take my time and be well prepared. If (most) people don't know that you do magic anyway, they won't expect anything until you suddenly blow their mind someday. Next year is just as good as this one. Plenty of time.
Besides practicing with cards in hand I also go through tricks in my imagination where I tend to be a very impressive magician indeed. This can be while walking down the street or something. No cards. These corny daydreams help me come across funny lines to say and I even surprise myself by going from one effect directly into another. Suddenly I discover that there is a natural progression or a theme which goes with the imaginary dialogue. Something I hadn't thought about when doing it cards in hand. It also feels good because in my mind, I am king. I'm showing myself how great it can be when everything is done right. This then is my goal. I subsequently write these tricks that I think may go together down. First as a list of titles. This is shuffled around. The titles are often things I don't well enough at all. But if it fits with something I then will have a reason to pursue that and practice. These keywords then become fully described tricks with patter and description of every fine detail and notes about everything from the moment I take out the cards. Even if I know I won't be using those words as I have written them. The process is done to help me remember and to come across sudden obstacles I hadn't thought about. It focuses my attention on the work. The obstacles are marked in red and later fixed one by one after thinking and maybe discussing problems here. So after a while I go in and make a note about taking the Jokers out and putting them on my left side and not my right as I begin. You add to it and add to it. One thing affects the other. As long as there is a script then this is where the focus is. So when I getr an idea from seeing something else, maybe I think "wow... that would be perfect to add to..." If I didn't have the script then it would have just been pushed away in my mind and not connected with what I need it for. Today I decided to toss a large chunk of the manuscript away and replace this and that and change the order of a few things. When I write these changes down, I will discover new problems I hadn't thought about earlier. How to go from this trick to that without having to... etc. It is important to sacrifice in order to improve. "Kill your darlings", as they say. But I always have to force myself to do the actual writing work. That part is always a struggle. Having to do all that work. This requires reward promises in the form of sweets or some sort of toy shopping. Often I will fail and eat the dessert and not do any work. So be it. The script prevails and I have to tackle it sooner or later. I have a few building blocks. Between two and four effects that run great together. After that I need a change of setup, a change of cards, to put most of the deck aside or whatever. These building blocks I see as modules that can be put together in different order or performed separately. I have tricks within each module that always follow one another so if I freeze up I will only have to remember the first one. Trick no.2 is just an extension of no.1 in that module. Finally I want to say that maybe I sound like I have a much greater repertoire of tricks than I actually have. I only know a few. But I am structured so I make the most of the little I know. I have a lot of tricks in my notebooks that I have copied down move for move, but I don't know or remember any of them because I haven't given them the proper thought. In the beginning I wanted quantity but things only started to fall into place when I learnt a couple of effects really well. I think the routine will form itself. Some tricks want to be together. It is in a way automatic. But that takes time. You need to take one or two and then really try to imagine those seen through someone else's eyes. What is good and what isn't. And why not? etc. This goes for the sleights within tricks as well. You may well substitute one shuffle for another which does the same job. It can be difficult to remember what comes next if you think of each shuffle as a new item every time it is needed. Find maybe two and try to explore them further. Understand why the card ends up where it does. If you really know how it will come out then there is no need to think more than "control selected card to second from top", for example. Ok, I admit that I make it all sound easier than it actually is. These are my thoughts on this anyway. Maybe it can help you and maybe not. It helped me because I now focused my thoughts on it while writing it. So now I understand it a little better myself. Me, that's what I want to do now. Not learn anything new but to understand the little I know better.
"Talk about melodrama... and being born in the wrong part of the world." (Raf Robert)
"You, my friend, have a lot to learn." (S. Youell) "Nonsensical Raving of a lunatic mind..." (Larry) |
Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
You ever thought about writing a book?
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The Amazing Noobini Inner circle Oslo, Norway 1658 Posts |
Quote:
On 2007-08-28 21:52, Dynamike wrote: Who, me? Well yes, I did write one actually but as you can probably guess it was boring and self indulgent. I know I tend to go on a bit in my after midnight posts. Sorry. Just think of them as scrolling exercises.
"Talk about melodrama... and being born in the wrong part of the world." (Raf Robert)
"You, my friend, have a lot to learn." (S. Youell) "Nonsensical Raving of a lunatic mind..." (Larry) |
Cycopolos New user 22 Posts |
Thanks for the reply guys ome great advice I think the writing down of a sequence of tricks for a quick refrence will be important because after one or two tricks I have a problem moving quickly onto the next trick.
thanks for the advice!!!!! |
Nick Wait Inner circle Lichfield, UK 1042 Posts |
While I agree with Noobinim to a ceretain extent, and what he suggests is surely a incredibly useful exercise for both him and many others, there really is no substitute for performing. And putting the time you perform off will not help, you may end up putting it onto some sought of untouchable pedestal, it increases the mystique and fear of performing, as you worry that anytrhing less than perfection will do. My advice would be simply practice 2-3 tricks, for a week. Simple tricks, that you can learn inside out, and just force yourself to perform them for as many people as possible.
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fxdude Loyal user Hollywood 241 Posts |
The thing that helped me most was testing new tricks on my girlfriend first, then co-workers, friends, and family. I was still nervous as hell practicing in front of them but they could point out when I looked nervous. They were also much more forgiving when I screwed up tricks. Performing for people that know you well can be difficult but I always let them know that they are just my test audience and if things don't work it's because I'm just learning the trick. I always thank them at the end for letting me practice on them whether I perform the trick correctly or not. Most of them understand and only give me a little bit of hell when I mess one up
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Aus Special user Australia 996 Posts |
Depending on how deep and good you wont your routine, it can be a very in-depth process, and I think routining only gives you more things to think about and possibly forget if performance anxiety is your main concern.
I advocate self working effect in this case for a few reasons. Firstly self working effects generally don’t require overt slight of hand but rather subtle principles meaning when your faculties are not the best you don’t have a higher risk of stuffing the trick up by dropping cards or doing a triple lift instead of a double etc. Secondly less thought on mechanics of a trick enables you to focus more on your presentations and also allows you to apply principles that enable you to control your anxiety. So I feel that less is more in this case Cycopolos. Magically Aus |
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