|
|
Go to page [Previous] 1~2~3~4~5~6~7~8 [Next] | ||||||||||
Shrubsole Inner circle Kent, England 2455 Posts |
Twenty-fourthly: NEVER, EVER listen to a word I say.
With that in mind, I think that labelling everything and compartmentalising everything doesn't do a lot or mean much when the overall object is to entertain. If dropping your pants during a demonstration of mind reading improves the entertainment factor for that audience; then go for it! I do agree that there is a difference between presenting magic and mentalism: In mentalism the 'game' is to come across as normal and as fair as possible, leaving only one possible answer for the event that has taken place. (That being that something mental has taken place) This is usually augmented by having the direct opposite style to a magician, so that they do not think that what you have just done is in fact a simple trick. (That is why many suggest that to create that 'image' you really shouldn't be doing obvious magic tricks before or after the mentalism as people will then just see the mentalism as nothing but another trick) Of course, there are no rules and if someone wants to do a flashy card routine followed by a heavy mentalist piece and finishing off with levitating 10ft in the air, they are free to do so. And if that does entertain people then that is the goal achieved. The only problem comes with the question: "Why are people not taking my mentalism seriously and always looking for the secret to the trick" - And the answer is that people know you and see you as a magician and then that is the answer to everything you do. A Mentalist is a magician pretending not to be a magician.
Winner of the Dumbringer Award for total incompetence. (All years)
|
|||||||||
Erik L. New user Omaha, NE 53 Posts |
Quote:
On 2011-07-16 09:17, Jay Are wrote: Perhaps that wasn't your intention but I thought what you wrote sounded condescending. You told him that you have no respect for him and that he was ridiculous for performing in front of people waiting to see a movie. I think you should've just simply explained better why you don't think it's a good idea to perform for people waiting in line for a movie. I just don't think it's right to speak that way to someone regardless of how long they have been doing magic or mentalism or how new they are to The Magic Café. I thought the Café was for helping each other out, not talking down to others. How can anyone get anywhere in this artform if all we do is shun people and basically tell them to get lost? If someone is sincere in wanting to improve and they show that they're not just here to learn secrets, then why not help them out? I doesn't do magic or mentalism any good if someone is performing either one poorly. I think we should do what we can to help others out so they do our artform justice. If you're trying to make a point to someone I think there are other ways to go about it without telling someone that they're being ridiculous and that you have no respect for them. |
|||||||||
Sandstar Loyal user 232 Posts |
Mentalism, mental magic, magic - all are theater. We are actors playing parts. Young actors may think they can play any part. The experienced professional knows what characters he can play well and which ones he can't. By playing well I mean making a character come alive for an audience. There are some actors who can play the part of mentalist and make that character absolutely believable. Frankly, I think that number is fairly small. There are people who can follow all the rigid rules, rights, attitudes and theories of mentalism, dedicate themselves to the art and craft and an audience still won't buy their performance as "real." It's not a character that they can portray. To a few, acting the part of mentalist seems to come naturally. I'm not talking about the many hours necessary to prepare an effect and integrate it into a performance. I'm talking about persona. I've seen Bob Cassidy perform. There is a naturalness about his presentation that makes what he does totally believable. His persona is believable. He has the gift to play that part and he has perfected all the rest that is necessary. But not many have that gift. There is a real need for people who are studying this form of theater to take some courses in acting. It will shift your mind away from the preparation and performance of "effects" and make you focus on the basic skills of character creation. When you start to know yourself as an actor it will be a lot easier to decide what part you can play well - either magician or mentalist. And as actors let's not look down on each other. That comes from taking ourselves far too seriously. We are all just fools playing parts. And if you can't accept that reality, my friend, no matter how skilled and gifted you are, you are a fool indeed.
|
|||||||||
Erik L. New user Omaha, NE 53 Posts |
Quote:
On 2011-07-15 20:13, DallasCarter wrote: I think your problem was performing way too much. If and when I do decide that I want to show someone my special abillity I only do it once and no more. Once you prove that you're a god, what else is there to show them? It is always best to leave people wanting more. As far as "getting caught" goes, I've never had that problem when performing mentalism. Even if someone says that they do know what you're doing, chances are they're just guessing or they just want others to think that they know. By the way I liked that you uploaded a video explaining yourself and your situation. Best of luck -Erik |
|||||||||
Thomas Cooper Special user 935 Posts |
I call myself "Thomas Cooper" here because this stops the magic café appearing when people google my stage name.
Does anyone else find the term "Special User" to be a bit condescending? |
|||||||||
DallasCarter New user 66 Posts |
Quote:
On 2011-07-16 12:46, Erik L. wrote: I agree. I performed too much . . . I need to work on that Thanks! |
|||||||||
Shrubsole Inner circle Kent, England 2455 Posts |
Quote:
On 2011-07-16 14:06, Thomas Cooper wrote: 20% Funnier than the WIzard Product Review! I give it 84%! PS: Stop playing with your hair and TURN THE AUTOFOCUS OFF!!! :lol: "I've made myself so MOIST!" - WTF?!?!?!?!?! Rarly am I lots for words!
Winner of the Dumbringer Award for total incompetence. (All years)
|
|||||||||
Sean Giles Inner circle Cambridge/ UK 3517 Posts |
Wow Thomas! Just watched your 'Moist' video. I think I need to go lay down in a dark room and try to get that image out of my head...
|
|||||||||
Shrubsole Inner circle Kent, England 2455 Posts |
New Topic Title:
"I got Busted! How do You cover when your Nan walks in on you whilst you are covered in lube?" Do you: 1. Run away in shame never to be seen again? 2. Ask your brother to rub his hands all over you? 3. Carry on like it's the most normal thing in the world? :lol: You'll never live this one down!
Winner of the Dumbringer Award for total incompetence. (All years)
|
|||||||||
johnnyl New user 57 Posts |
What do you do?
Credit them on their sharp observation but make sure you don't get busted again. It will be soon forgotten if you back it up with some more great performances that baffle them. |
|||||||||
David Thiel Inner circle Western Canada...where all that oil is 4005 Posts |
I came here about a number of months ago and had the same definition: that mentalism was just an offshoot of magic. This is understandable because in 20+ years of performing comedy magic full-time, I looked upon mentalism routines with the same eye I would fix upon the latest arm chopper or light/heavy box. I would ask myself if THIS routine would fit in my my magic show...and if I could use it to entertain my audiences.
For a while in my magic shows, I did a routine with an egg bag in which an egg, delivered by an invisible psychic chicken flying high overhead, suddenly appeared, delivering a prediction as to something my volunteer had just "thought." The bag was examined and apparently empty...yada yada. I thought I was doing mentalism. I wasn't. It was magic. People on this forum corrected me. I was supposed to call it "mental magic" and, since it seemed to be such a critical issue to the mentalists here, I shrugged and decided it was "mental magic." I DO respect my fellow performers and many of these guys had been very helpful when I came here with my whole performer's worldview COMPLETELY shaken up by what I'd seen in the 13 Steps. And besides...my invisible psychic chicken brought the house down. What difference did it make? I asked myself if a label really mattered that much. Now that I am doing magic AND much more conventional mentalism as SEPARATE shows I have to admit that...yes...it really DOES matter. Minds wiser than mine have spoken to the point -- but the performer's worldview is completely different when doing mentalism instead of magic...or it is for me anyway. With mentalism, I am not trying to trick anyone. I'm actually sharing something with them and they are open to being shared with. Mentalism is MUCH more intimate than MOST magic...because it creates a bridge between performer and spectator. So now I get it when I see Mentalists get offended when a magician tromps in here, showing no respect (and no...I am not speaking about anyone specific here) demanding answers. This is an art and, unlike many magic performances -- there's a different kind of discipline called for. Mentalism and magic are completely different (but distantly related) languages. When you to a perfect top change...or saw a woman in half and there aren't nine buckets of blood on the floor and a SWAT team coming in through the skylight in a magic show, the audience is well entertained -- if you've done it as a skilled performer. But they know that, despite the entertainment quotient, you, the magician have done a trick. They may not know WHAT the trick was...but they know it's there because people DON'T saw other people in half and not wind up in prison. Do a mentalism show -- a WHOLE mentalism show and watch the expressions on the faces of the audience. You'll see wonder there. Literally. They are thinking..."Maybe.....maybe...." I've said it before: a magician's great reward is a standing ovation. A mentalist's reward is a cocked head and dumbfounded wonder. I've had a few of both in my time...and the latter is MUCH better. NOW try to imagine a performer who does magic effects mixed in with mentalism. Think about it: Everything in the program, in the spectator's eyes, is reduced to a "Trick." Some very fine mentalism routines have been done this way, routines that (M)entalists take seriously, in magic shows...and been reduced to "trick-dom." The other day I actually saw a clown doing the Mother of All Book Tests. It bugged me. Seriously. He showed no respect to the routine...and followed it up with a TT silk vanish. Had I just seen mentalism? Nope. If clowns didn't still make my inner child pee his pants I probably would have said something. Maybe. But would it matter? And while there is still a magician in me that shrugs his shoulders and wonders why Mentalists get their knickers in a knot over what is really JUST a routine...there is also an ever growing (M)entalist inside that feels a literal grief and irritation at the presumptions taken with something I hold quite precious. To put it more plainly: Mentalism ISN'T Magic...anymore than France is Germany. They just share the same continent. But they speak different languages. David
Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Except bears. Bears will kill you.
My books are here: www.magicpendulums.com www.MidnightMagicAndMentalism.com |
|||||||||
mastermindreader 1949 - 2017 Seattle, WA 12586 Posts |
David,
Exellent post. And it's very refreshing to see that sometimes I'm not just talking to the walls. Good thoughts, Bob |
|||||||||
Withnail Special user 974 Posts |
Wow David. Just wow. Post of the year. Brilliant words.
Yet again that oaf has destroyed my day
|
|||||||||
Erik L. New user Omaha, NE 53 Posts |
Quote:
On 2011-07-16 17:00, Withnail wrote: I second your opinion. David's post was very brilliant and well spoken. |
|||||||||
Shrubsole Inner circle Kent, England 2455 Posts |
I don't mind "a cocked head and dumbfounded wonder" when I'm doing one on one or one on a few at a table or at a party, but during a stage show, I'd like a standing ovation, myself.
A theatre sat in silence with "cocked heads and dumbfounded wonder" whilst I slowly walk off isn't what I aim for. So again the flaw is labelling something and sticking it into one compartment when in the real world, there are a whole range of situations that don't fit the mystic weirdo doing things for 3 people and leaving them with "a cocked head and dumbfounded wonder". This is the whole problem: defining something and then outcasting anything that doesn't fit. (And 9 times out of 10, the only thing that is included just happens to be what a given person does!) Soon after that comes the believing in one's own hype with ambiguous phrases like "Mentalism isn't magic" - It isn't tap dancing either but I see little point in going through the things it isn't. Then only one stage further and we get the people who really think they do something paranormal and start the outpour of semantics to prove it. (Yet strangely they still hang around a site that talks about how to look like you are doing something paranormal using a device, gimmick or method exactly like errr ummm magic does. Hell, some even write books about how you too can use things to look like you are doing paranormal things. So much lost in translation, ambiguous phrases, semantics and cross-talk. The thread changes, but nothing else ever does.
Winner of the Dumbringer Award for total incompetence. (All years)
|
|||||||||
Thomas Cooper Special user 935 Posts |
How come I put loads of effort into posting a video and all anyone wants to talk about is me covering myself in lubricant?
I call myself "Thomas Cooper" here because this stops the magic café appearing when people google my stage name.
Does anyone else find the term "Special User" to be a bit condescending? |
|||||||||
Colin Inner circle Las Vegas 1355 Posts |
Thomas... You're a bloody genius!!
I hope one day we find out this has all been an elaborate act and you're actually a comedy genius messing with everyone!! I love it!!
Check out Psych-Artist.com now for free essays and other resources.
|
|||||||||
Sean Giles Inner circle Cambridge/ UK 3517 Posts |
Come on Thomas! Its because its bizarre. Imagine if Bob Cassidy posted a video of himself in just his boxers, rubbing lubricant into his body! Imagine how strange that would seem to you (and me). Try to see how it looks from the outside looking in. We've just seen you naked and lubing yourself up! If that's not a talking point, I don't know what is
Ill probably have nightmares tonight of you chasing me down the street naked with your bottle of lube screaming "come here, I'm a bender. Let me show you my bending routine" ***, wheres the black coffee. I need lots! |
|||||||||
Shrubsole Inner circle Kent, England 2455 Posts |
Quote:
On 2011-07-16 19:01, Thomas Cooper wrote: Great! A question that answers itself! Comedy genius or misdirection, it works! Have you had many PMs from people asking to be your 'Moist Buddy'? Why it hasn't made it to one of those internet clips shows I don't know!
Winner of the Dumbringer Award for total incompetence. (All years)
|
|||||||||
Stuart Cumberland Loyal user 289 Posts |
David: I applaud you for selflessly revealing your "transformation" from magician to a bona fide mentalist. I was well and truly impressed with your post.
You GET it. SC P.S. Bob: congratulations on the Dunninger award. You deserve it. You've certainly EARNED it. |
|||||||||
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Penny for your thoughts » » I got Busted! How do You cover? :) (0 Likes) | ||||||||||
Go to page [Previous] 1~2~3~4~5~6~7~8 [Next] |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.06 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 < |