Thanks for posting that, Dougini

There is within each person a capacity for holding “in mind” something considered impossible: a mystery, a conundrum, an apparent defiance of physical laws or a shaking of something believed. We can rotate that concept about, poke and prod it, peel away layers of perceived falsehood – and apply a label based on our personal experience. We “entertain” a notion of “what if” with often pleasing rewards of emotional and rational comfort; what I call a “Sense of awe and wonder.” It doesn’t matter whether the stimulus is from nature, music, poetry, discourse, prose, dream or a demonstration of some kind – the internal response is the same.

We then have a choice of label to apply – trained mental boxes in which to place the experience. These might include: foolishness, skill, magic, optical illusion, a con, mirage, mistake, flight of fancy or daydream. Our task as performers is to insure that “magic” is at the forefront of their choices, with the other options minimized in comparison. A secondary goal is to have the observer appreciate the effect as “pretend” as opposed to “real magic” or “authentic magic” or “spiritual magic” – whatever those might mean to the individual. We might also have a goal of the concept of “art” applied instead of “shock” or “charlantry.”

Thus, it is not enough to simply offer a “trick” that causes surprise or a “double take.” These certainly have entertainment value, and might even accidentally trigger “magic” as a label; but our goal should be to create a long-term memory considered as magic – a story to be told to grandchildren. It is precisely because we cannot describe exactly “what is magic” that we can offer a demonstration instead, capture attention and mold the observers’ possible reactions. Ideally this means that the spectator knows you are a magician, knows you intend to provide a magical demonstration, and that they know you are doing it RIGHT NOW! Any other setting risks having a different, undesirable label applied to our efforts.

Any “sense of magic” of the type we wish to engender is within every person, but so are a lot of other options. You wish to communicate a specific concept about magic to the spectator by affirmation of any concept already entertained by the observer, and by negating the other options. This requires that you be absolutely clear in your own mind as to the various types of magic to which you have been exposed, and denial of their existence will never serve. I personally feel that by immersing myself in performance magic I increase my ability to recognize magic in the world around me, in each personal interaction and the quality of my dreams. The essential question is what to do with this focused knowledge?

I can do tricks or craft an artistic performance. I can entertain and walk away uncaringly, or place a seed of hope and love of life in each spectator. I can share knowledge with other magicians to enhance their appreciation of performance magic. I can also do “real magic” in everyday life by modeling attributes of effective living – at least be accused of doing so by others. By some people’s standards I also can do “authentic magic” and bear the burden of responsibility for sustaining that belief. I can be me.

My pleasure, Funsway.

Some real interesting takes on what magic "is". I found it accidentally, looking for something else, and Bill Palmer looked familiar...Merlin! Also, a few other familiar faces!

Doug

There are 2 types of magic onlookers.one sez,"i hate to be fooled." the others say,'i love magic."your job is to find out who's who b4 the end of the show.it's quite a task to turn the former but it can be done.he must have no hint as to how the trix work.he will begrudge but applaude.the latter may be led to the slaughter.i saw the worst magic show I've ever seen in 50 yrs the other day,by a guy I've known for 30 yrs and have tried to aim material at.he has always declined.he will not spend a dime on any new material.his perf was a muddle of halfassed junk.BUT the audience of moms and little kids were transfixed.they loved it.a show for 6 yr olds,he ended w/the shabbiest mental epic prop in the world.it looked like noah played it on the arc.they believed what they were told and had a fine time in the bargain.it was a free library show and they thought the "magic pirate"was the greatest perf on earth.like rick nelson sang,you gotta please yourself but listen to them.they will tell you what to keep in and what to drop.

Reminds me of what somebody said once about playing poker. There's a "patsy" in every game. After fifteen minutes of play, if you still haven't figured out who the patsy is, it's you!


I did a puppet show once where we had no stage at all. We had run a couple of voices through a filter so it sounded like several different characters. We sat on chairs, held up our puppets and ran the tape!

It was amazing! The kids, parents, teachers, everybody was looking at the puppets (and not us!) and following the story as if it were high drama. We were invisible. It was cool (and a little bit freaky), but I guess when you've got them on your side, you're pretty much Golden!

I can't help but think that this happens about as often as musicians get asked "What is sound?", or novelists get asked "What is language?"

Okay, so I have some extra time on my hands and I thought I'd post on this topic...

I think there are many challenges when it comes to defining magic to a lay audience. Modern sleight of hand magicians\illusionists\entertainers may only consider magic in the context of entertainment. In this context magic will have one very specific definition as it relates to individuals performing seemingly supernatural acts and creating illusions for the purpose of entertainment. However if we consider the history of magic we must expand our viewpoint beyond that of the field of entertainment. Magic today exists in many forms and venues and must be considered not only as entertainment but also in the realm of science and religion. Harlan Tarbell in the Tarbell Course (printed in Volume 1, I think) goes through an abbreviated history of magic. In this history lesson he talks about magic and its use in biblical sources. He then carries that through to the roman empire all the way through the modern era.

I think its fair to say that magic in and of itself is hard to define and it will look and feel different to everyone. With that, I will try to define magic by paraphrasing the words of the late Justice Potter Stewart: While I can't necessary tell you what it is, I know it when I see it!

Jeff

Sorry it has taken me this long to get back to you. I've been extremely busy for the past little while.

In any event, that strongly sounds like how I would actually phrase something. I like that.

I always keep a mini deck of cards on me or a little bit of string inside my bag. I at least study a few card tricks if I need to demonstrate something. I suppose it's one of the rare few times that I actually speak and perform magic. But it's really more of an impromtu thing. If anyone actually asks in an interview, I always try to spin it in a way that it's a 'be prepared' sort of thing. I find that interviewers seem to like that response.

I'm with Andrew on this one. If a layperson asked me such a question I would politely say "I don't know." and back away slowly under the assumption they were potentially dangerous.

I did encounter such a person in a magic shop once. He asked me what I thought about David Blane, and when I asked him to clarify what he meant (since we were in a magic shop I assumed he was a magician) his response indicated that he wanted to know if I thought what Blaine did was "real magic."

Disney does whole shows this way. We justs aw the Nemo one at Animal Kingdom. It was one the big highlights of the trip for my wife. The audience actually *does* see the performer in this case, whoa re actors/dancers, but they integrate the puppet and performer together as one "entity" in their minds.

The term I've ehard for this btw is "theatrical puppetry".

Posted: Aug 30, 2010 4:14pm
OH, are we on the "real magic" thing again? I find that a much less interesting question than 'what is stage magic." To answer "what is stage magic" I usually say its one part applied cognitive psychology, one part simple physics, and a whole lot of lying-- mostly with your body language which is one of the most effective ways to lie