Doing mentalism on the street as part of a television special is NOT street magic as it is commonly practiced. (Unless you approach spectators with a television crew behind you and have them all sign appearance releases!)

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
It has not been well received in some circles.

You'll see that many of us agree with you Bob.

Very interesting point Mr. Cassidy.

Respect,

granterg

I'm always a little wary of Wikipedia. Context is everything. Any how... that's another discussion. The original Jamy Ian Swiss article about street magic including Mr. Burger's quote can be found at http://www.antinomymagic.com/swiss.htm
Quite an interesting read. The discussion has far more to do with the way magic is marketed to new/ young magicians rather than a criticism of the street as a performance venue, and in this regard I whole heartedly agree with Mr Swiss, and Mr. Burger. The problem comes down to a misunderstanding of the medium, rather than the venue or location for performance. What was so great and revolutionary about Blaine's street magic, was that it made close up magic a viable way of reaching a mass audience (through TV) rather than just a few people around a table. The reactions were strong and we got to play along vicariously through those reactions. What many magicians misunderstand is the simple fact that Blain's or Brown's performances for television are constructed through editing. That is to say, a story is pieced together and a character created through the editing process of television. It's not necessary to create that theatre on the spot in the street. All that's necessary is to get a big reaction. True theatre is about more than just the big reaction however. Blaine and Brown know this, and the sense of drama and importance, story telling etc... all come from the post production. The careful selection of music, voice over etc... . The experience of the people who saw it live would be very different, (not worse, just different/ maybe more one dimensional). If you can get some footage of blaine performing for people unedited and live-Eg fan video of him performing off the cuff etc.. I think you'll agree that the experience is quite different. This is why, when Derren Brown Performs live, his style, the effects he chooses, the way he builds drama and tension etc... are all very different from the way he performs for a televised special, or live on a talk show etc... In fact I can think of know other magician living today who is as capable of moving from taped television, to live theatre, and to live television. Not to mention he used to earn his living as a restaurant worker as well, and one can only assume that he was terrific in that regard as well. The lesson ins this; magic is created in the minds of the spectator, and when it comes to televised magic- its the medium of TV and the careful work of an editor and director that deliver that magic through our eyeballs and into our imaginations. It is because those editors and directors (working with the above named performers) have been so successful at their tasks that the magic industry changed the way it marketed its effects, which in turn led to a generation of young magicians trying to recreate what they saw in televised "street magic", without realizing that it simply wasn't possible to recreate what they saw on "Magic Man" or "Mind Control" without a medium such as television, and all they were left with was a hit and run version of the ambitious card or some other basic effect because they behaved like a TV magician for a live audience. This denigration of the art came about because some dealer sold these young magicians a "street" effect, just like David Blaine does, and these young magicians promptly began ambushing strangers on the street and treating their magic like it was a practical joke. That's the gist of the article and what Mr. Burger was getting at I think. Anyway, a fascinating read.

Anyway, I still think this discussion is better suited to another thread. Yes Derren Brown does perform in the street for television, but this discussion is more about the challenges of different performance spaces and mediums, not mentalism per se. Mr. Brown also loves parrots. Perhaps we should move the discussion in that direction....

Eugene burger says parrots are loud, noisy and full of poop.
Do you agree or disagree?

P.S. I'm Guessing Mr. Burger would not be a big fan of Derren Brown.

Burger goes to Mc Donalds so he can't be old school!

I just alerted Eugene to this thread. I do know that he has respect for buskers
and street magicians. There is NO doubt about that. He and Jeff McBride host a busking
workshop along with Mario Morris in November.

Eugene Burger talks a little about street magic,Here.

This is a response from Eugene Burger on this discussion.
____________________________________________________________________

Devious,
Thanks for the email. I read most of the stuff you send. First, I am a HUGE fan of Derren's who, as Bob Cassidy pointed out, is doing a TV show on the streets. Second, I live in Chicago's Gold Coast area and over the years I have run into many clients and, because asked, have performed for them and their friends on the streets . So I don't have any problem with performing on the streets and don't think that just because a performance is done outside on the streets that it is necessarily trivial.

It is how we approach it -- and people -- and the context that makes the difference -- and can make what we are doing trivial.

Thanks again for writing. All the best, Eugene Burger

Great response.
Thanks to Devious for bringing Eugene Burger himself into the conversation.

It is interesting to know Mr. Burger has such respect for street magic.

Thanks Devious for bringing Mr. Burger into this!

granterg

This made me laugh...



and in the same paragraph...

Yes. I thought that was rather ironic as well.

Devious, thank you for taking an interest ( as usual for you ). And to Mr. Eugene for sharing his thoughts and words!

You are most welcome Mr Clarke and all.
I also wish to thank Eugene for taking an interest in the discussion.

I'm certain that Eugene will continue to monitor this thread.
Having said that, why not leave your comments for him to read.
~Dev/

Eugene Burger always speaks to what is true for himself without prescribing for others.

Eugene is a classy performer that performs at a paying gig, like a restaurant. Derren is more of a street perform doing magic/puzzling things in the street. I love them both, but 2 different performers that can't be compared together. Eugene does magic tricks; Derren doesn't do much magic, he wrote that in his book.

Eugene is a great guy and so is Derren. He plays the theatres but not the streets unless you mean on TV.That is not real street performance though. Just TV in the street.