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David Neighbors V.I.P. 4910 Posts |
You know if your audience wants to look At your COINS And not you! I think you need To put your coins Away! And go back and work on your audience management skills!
35-40 years ago When I was Just starting out. when even I worked Everyone wanted to see my coins, my deck of cards , and my hands! They would even grab my hands in the middle of the trick! But after I had been in magic for a few years. A odd thing happened! No one wanted to see my hands anymore! No one wanted to see my coins any more. No one wanted to see my Cards ant more! I had gotten Confidants in my work!!! I knew my stuff was GOOD ! I knew my performing was GOOD, with being A know it all about it! When I walked up to a table they saw someone who know what he was doing! A PRO.!!! Not someone who had just made it to the trick shop yesterday! Someone who did not just Know just how to do the Trick, BUT WHEN to do the trick! And make them have fun with it! The oldd masters used to say ' It's not what you do it how you do it" And as for using your own coins, or a gaff." The only person who could really get away with the Judicious use Of a gaff was somebody Who did not need one! " People as me Me why I don't Color my hair To make my self look younger, And I Say no That's distinguished! ( thank yo Roger Klause) I worked for that gray hair I looked like someone who know what they where doing! So--- for Years now no one has asked to To see my Coins, cards, or look at my Hands!!! To me that is audience management! And to me audience management is knowing how to get around the Trick coin or card ??? ! Now for the Person who just does magic for there friends quarters my be fine! But for the PRO. who does it for a livening you really have to make sure that they can see those coins! This is what you DO! Why wooden you have your own Coins? A Pro. golfer Has his own Clubs! A pro. Bowler Has his own Bowling ball! a pro. pool player has his own stick! And I know a lot of singers who carry there own Mike stand! Do you NEED THEM ? No but they just make it Easier! And you can do More with something you Know! I think there are better ways to get around the trick coin ? 1St. of all don't bring it up if they don't! If you say here Take a look at these Coins! Make sure they REAL!!! Then of course They Mite Think WHY does he want me to look at them. Is he going to switch one out for a fake one in a Min.??? And just because you borrow them, Does not mine that you can't switch a fake coin!!! So maybe you want to do a soft sell That they Are real with saying anything about it! The Gran-pa story is great for That! People love hearing about old family things like that! It tugs At the heart strings! Doing a coin roll is a great way to say this coin is real! Because if you have that much skill what do you need a fake coin for? The first time I work for Laymen ( if they don't come over in the middle of the show ! ) I take a coin out of my coin purse And start rolling it! I don't look at the coin I an rolling, I look at the ones in the purse! then I take a 2 Th. one out an start rolling it along with the first one, and agen I don't look at the coins in the hand but the coins in the purse! I then take out the 3 Th. Coin and start rolling the 3 Th. one! You can not look at the coins in your hand!!! If you do you look like your showing off!!! and this is not what you want!!! you want it to say " wow this man is so at home with these coins they just coin alive in his hands! " You now have to brake the Ice without looking BAD !!! So I say Sorry evidence Of a misspent youth ! : And if I get Laughter On that one I said Yea I have no life! And all this said's I am good I don't need Gaffs, without saying it! Then I take out the 4 Th. coin! ( the one with the shell on it! ) Then I do a mult. clip Pass Hand them the coins They vanish from my hand and reappear on the table! ( More S.O.H.) Now they know what I do is the hardcore S.O.H. Stuff! So now I can RING IN the Gaff!!! And that's just One way I want to use a soft sell To show my coins Are REAL And not a O So I am borrowing these coins just so you know they are REAL!!! And why do they need to be familiar with them! magicians use a lot of stuff They are not familiar With! I an sure No one knows what a Sponge ball If Bit it KILLS! A silk Hank Do they Relay Know what that Is??? And there is a lot of stuff like that! But you can tell then WHAT it is! That's story telling!!! Ok so that's 3 cents This time! NEXT!!! |
Al Schneider V.I.P. A corn field in WI surrounded by 1080 Posts |
All this sounds very good.
I noticed that about hecklers. When I began I seemed to be heckled a lot. As time passed, the heckling stopped. And I never worry about half dollars. If you look like you know what you are doing, all that bad stuff goes away. The trouble is, you must know what your are doing. Here is another point. Tough to explain. I stopped performing FOR my audiences. I began performing WITH them. This led to an intresting way to deal with people looking at my props or sitting in the wrong spot. Sometimes I cannot let people sit behind me to my left. I don't ask them to move. I say, "If you sit there you will see how I do all this stuff." They just get up and move. Occasionally I have a very dirty coin on the table. Occasionally someone will start to reach for it. I do not stop them but say, "That's not a real coin. If you pick it up you will see how it works." They then do nothing and simply go along with the flow. Now, I don't know if this makes sense. I feel the audience is on my side and we are sharing. It is a very comfortable feeling. Well done Mr. Neighbors. Al Schneider
Magic Al. Say it fast and it is magical.
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David Neighbors V.I.P. 4910 Posts |
WOW!!! And thank you Mr. Schneider !
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Atom3339 Inner circle Spokane, WA 3242 Posts |
Great topic, David!
When I teach a beginning piano player, they are uncomfortable not knowing anything about the piano. They continue to practice and start understanding more about producing music. Yet struggling. A few months go by. I am looking for something. Two months more, sometimes four go by. Then I see it. I see what I was looking for: They LOOK like a piano player. Their posture. The way they hold their arms. How comfortable they sit on the bench. The ease of distance reaching out to the keyboard. Sometime during those months, they came to the conclusion in their thinking, "I AM a piano player." Now they are on their way.
TH
Occupy Your Dream |
harris Inner circle Harris Deutsch 8812 Posts |
Excellent.
This has also happened to me over the years. Another thing I noticed was many people miscall larger coins in my hands..For instance calling my halfs quarters. Guess it is a zen thing. Folks don't say it, but it might be like the great horse rider. No one can tell where the person "ends" and the horse begins. We become one with our coins. In my close up routine for the Ring 129 event, I started with just a razor and a joke. Soon I had 3 coins rolling in the right hand...then 2 there and 1 rolling in the left. Mom told me when I was little, I loved spending money so quickly that I burned a hole in my pocket..The coins go in and out....Then they become Chinese(thank you Curtis K)... If and when I do get heckled,(much less these days but not often) I don't attact the person, but just as smoothly blend it into the show. side comment...at our last Ring meeting I bought a box of magic that included your pamphlet on your use of the coin rrrrrrrrrrt___. Good stuff! Harris still 2 old to know everything.
Harris Deutsch aka dr laugh
drlaugh4u@gmail.com music, magic and marvelous toys http://magician.org/member/drlaugh4u |
David Neighbors V.I.P. 4910 Posts |
Hi Harris,
Thanks man! Glad to know you like it! |
harris Inner circle Harris Deutsch 8812 Posts |
If I get to Colorado, I would love to watch and listen to you.
Thanks for sharing here and in print! Harris still 2 old to know everything.
Harris Deutsch aka dr laugh
drlaugh4u@gmail.com music, magic and marvelous toys http://magician.org/member/drlaugh4u |
David Neighbors V.I.P. 4910 Posts |
Yea Come on out man! we will HANG!!!
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magicalaurie Inner circle Ontario, Canada 2962 Posts |
Quote:
On 2012-06-12 21:33, David Neighbors wrote: Key here is that they can see those coins, and that is going to depend on the scale of your performance ie. the proximity of the audience, and to a degree the size of your hands. If they can see the coins clearly it doesn't matter what size the coin is and a small coin isn't going to be dwarfed by a small hand the way it might by a larger hand. Range of coins available is large, governed by the performer's discretion. I think most coin magicians will have their own coins, but they're not necessarily limited to choosing half dollars or dollars. My coins range from dimes thru Canadian dollars, American Dollars, and larger, and all can be used in a professional manner. |
David Neighbors V.I.P. 4910 Posts |
YES!!! And as you Say Just make sure they can SEE them!!! I have used Penny's Dimes,Nickels, and quarters For some tricks! Just Depends on the trick!
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harris Inner circle Harris Deutsch 8812 Posts |
Some magician's (and small animals) are intriqued when I choose to use small coins.
Some perceive it more difficult to say use nickels in a M P? or coin roll a dime. Use of smaller size coins, (or for that matter larger heavier ones like Morgans) give you more flexibility and angles. Learning things with both hands can also do the same. For some walk around venues (with folks of a certain age) I literally get down on my knees. Some audience members join me down there, while others have a taller birds eye view. Of course for me (who next year will be 60) getting up is not as easy as it used to be. Harris still 2 old to know everything
Harris Deutsch aka dr laugh
drlaugh4u@gmail.com music, magic and marvelous toys http://magician.org/member/drlaugh4u |
David Neighbors V.I.P. 4910 Posts |
Yea I just Turned 59 May 18, So yea I know what your taking about! It' a long ways down there now!!!
I used to go to magic Con's And set on the floor all night! But those days are GONE!!! |
Ray Bertrand Inner circle Ottawa, Ontario 1452 Posts |
I must concur. I'm 6' tall and I'll be 68 this fall. It's not so much a long way down as it is a long way to get back up.
Ray
Mentalism in Ontario.
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David Neighbors V.I.P. 4910 Posts |
Yea!!! Your right Man!
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funsway Inner circle old things in new ways - new things in old ways 9982 Posts |
If I get on the floor I can't get back up! So, I call my Service Dog who stands so that I can climb up her, changing her position to balance my weight shift -- another kind of magic. Trouble is folks want to see me get on the floor so that they can see her in action. Sigh!
More on topic, I recently saw Jeff McBride perform and the audience was entranced to see what HE would do next, not what Trick he would do next as he doesn't only do magic effects. Everything he does is about audience engagement.
"the more one pretends at magic, the more awe and wonder will be found in real life." Arnold Furst
eBooks at https://www.lybrary.com/ken-muller-m-579928.html questions at ken@eversway.com |
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