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ToPher Regular user Somewhere 120 Posts |
If I have a stripper deck or any gaffed effect of sort, I have no fear. If I have just a deck of cards or just coins I have fear. "The problem": I prefer to do tricks with sleights rather than gaffs.
My sleights/routines are not bad. I practice a couple hours a day, yet when it comes time to do a trick for somebody I get the shakes, scared, or forget lines. I think the problem is a lack of confidence with myself but I'm not sure how to overcome this. Have any of you had this problem before? And how did you over come it? Thanks for the time. "T" |
Leeman Special user Hollywood, CA 709 Posts |
If I understand you correctly then you do not have this problem when you are using gaffs? You have to ask yourself why this is. Are you comfortable using the gaffs because you have used them more and are just more familiar with them or is it because a lot of the work is out of your hands and placed on the gimmicks?
If the reason is the first of the two then it is easy to solve. You just have to get more time practicing the effect. If it is the latter of the two then the problem is a bit different. Maybe try changing the handling so that a lot or all of the sleights you are having trouble pulling off are not used or are done while there is no heat on your hands. But most of all just keep performing for people and in time a lot of the jitters will wear off. |
DrDale New user 60 Posts |
Yes, know I had this same problem for a while when I started. I found it helped to practice these things over and over until I did it with ease. Also I found outs and that was a huge confidence builder. I also must mention that I took a look at what was scaring me and for me it was the thought of failure. But then I realized so what if I fail? I will just chalk it up to experience and move on. No matter who you are you're going to mess up sometimes. The point of doing magic is to have fun, so do just that and do not worry.
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pbg739 Veteran user San Jose, Ca 340 Posts |
T,
This happens to all magicians. The gaffs do help at first, as you can focus more on presentation than hard skill. But here is how a magician advised me once: If you have a trick with sleights that make you nervous, put that in between two tricks you know well. Also, don't be afraid to post here. Dr. Dale has a good point too. NO matter who you are you're going to mess up sometime. We all have. I've done shows where 3 tricks in a row didn't work. Wow, was that good times indeed. I became a comic magician all of a sudden. I digress. Practice until you're comfortable and use your mirror. That way you can see all of your angles. But have fun. We're here to help you. Good luck. Pete |
funnybusiness New user UK 66 Posts |
Sure everyone gets the same problem of nervousness. I’m a beginner of magic and I too get nervous when I perform only for friends. Because I'm a beginner, I need to practice with audiences on my routine and patter. A while ago I was performing card tricks to one of my friend's friend the first time we met (and yes, she is cute too!!!) I did kind of mess up my routine cause I was nervous and she kind of figured out the secret. I give it a break and thought, "So what if I mess up, this is the learning process and success bound to begin with failure!!!” So I built up my confidence and say to her "Look, I'm going to do it one more time and you have to watch carefully.” This time I perform smoothly and she was amazed big time!!! I drove her nut all night!! So I think the key is to have confidence in yourself!!!
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kihei kid Inner circle Dog House 1039 Posts |
Welcome to my world! It used to be the same for me as well and still is sometimes when I'm doing a new routine for the first time.
Keep up the practice then do it for a friend or family member until it's right. In my humble opinion, that should do the trick (pun intended.)
In loving memory of Hughie Thomasson 1952-2007.
You brought something beautiful to this world, you touched my heart, my soul and my life. You will be greatly missed. Until we meet again “my old friend”. |
Luke Sherratt Loyal user The Isle Of Wight, England 246 Posts |
Hi, I remember being really shaky and nervous. I still get nervous, everyone does, but I don't let it eat me up. I thought to myself, “Right if I am going to be nervous I have to embrace it, not fear it.” You have to change the way you think about it, think about it as excitement, not fear. Here is a tip that I found helpful, get LOUDER and FASTER. Don't shout. Take your voice that bit higher so it is above talking but below shouting. Get louder not just in your voice but also in your movements. Gesture whilst you are talking. Move your hands and arms. Make every movement you do a nice smooth action like you do this all the time. Get faster in your voice and your movements and above all BREATH. Don't move so much and so fast you can't talk at all, be calm, confident and loud. Also do not practice in front of just a mirror because when you do that you are trying to do sleights so they will be undetectable. So in essence you are trying to fool yourself. Cut out a pair of eyes from a magazine, stick them to your mirror, and perform the trick out loud and look at the eyes. Then act like theses are the eyes of the spectator. This exercise will help you confidence, performing style, audience interaction, and it will really help with connecting with the chosen spectator.
Good Luck Luke
We're 106 miles from Chicago, we have a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses
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Curmudgeon Loyal user Iowa 245 Posts |
Luke, I like the eyes on the mirror idea and I will try that. Right now, when I learn a new effect I will keep doing it over and over, working on it, and then when I feel comfortable I will take it to my wife (my biggest heckler) and if I feel comfortable after performing for her, I’ll take it to a good friend. And after that I’ll kind of start working my way to anyone that wants to see it.
Just stick with it. Wade |
Jesper Amstrup New user Denmark 89 Posts |
The hardest people to perform for are people who know you well. They are much harder to misdirect than people you don't know. And if you mess up, you never have to see them again. That should take some of the nerves away.
I don't know which effects you are doing, but try to keep it as easy as possible without gaffs. Try something self-working like Overkill and work your way up to something using the glide and a simple false shuffle and cut. Then progress to something a little harder. |
Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
Instead of practicing 2-hours, practice 1-hour. Change the other hour into performing more for friends or relatives. You will get use to spectators easier.
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ToPher Regular user Somewhere 120 Posts |
Hey,
Thanks for all the advice. I've started to put it to some good use. Hopefully in the next couple months things will start to turn around. Thanks again, "T" |
JesterJ New user 68 Posts |
I know that when I first start playing music for an audience, I'd get nervous, but I'd just push through it. Now, I don't really get nervous at all. I've had some truly awful moments on stage and I survived them (and I've had some truly wonderful moments).
With magic, I'm back to getting really nervous. I find that I get through the first trick with no problem, but then I've got an adrenaline rush. The second trick is hard to get through calmly. If I push through that, I calm back down again. I practice a fair amount and I've been thinking of outs for where things are likely to go wrong. It's really going to be a matter of performing for people over and over again. Jester J |
jae New user Missouri 10 Posts |
Quote:
On 2003-11-19 16:25, W a d e wrote: This is true no matter the performing art. One will have "performance anxiety". The way that I worked through it was to perform/ paint/act for my children. They are as is Wade's wife is to him, my biggest critics (also my biggest fans). What helped me with public speaking was practicing the materials until I could insert my personality into it and have fun with it. Having fun is the key to any type of performance art. And if one never takes one's self too seriously, they can turn a trick that failed into a lead in for the next... just don't be shaken by the one that didn't work make it seem almost intentional... saying hmmm will try that one again later... or mimic Rocky and Bullwinkle and say mmmm that trick never works... next time for sure... something to make the audience laugh (and you as well) and perhaps come back to it later in the routine... when you feel more secure.
Life is short..Reach for tomorrow but live for today. And NEVER take yourself too seriously.
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bobdomeros New user 53 Posts |
This is regarding ToPher's problem with having fear using just a deck of cards or coins yet having no fear when using gaffs. ToPher, you said you prefer to do tricks with sleights rather than gaffs.
Why? If someone is nervous performing on the trumpet but okay while performing on the piano, one solution might be to stop playing the trumpet and continue playing the piano. It could be that your fear is a signal to yourself that you should focus - at least right now - on tricks using gimmicks. Maybe, though you're working hard on it, you're just not quite ready to perform in public using sleights. Who knows why? You say it might be because you have a lack of confidence. That may or may not be true. The real problem is that you prefer to do tricks with sleights rather than gaffs. Do you prefer to be nervous? It might be that your goal is to do tricks with sleights, and that's a good thing. But a near-term goal might be to gain confidence while performing, so it doesn't matter what type of trick you perform. You could even gain more confidence by not performing magic at all, but performing something else. My point is to listen to yourself. Perform what you're comfortable performing, and perform a lot, so that you gain more confidence. Then slowly start to do tricks with a small bit of sleight of hand, following everyone else's advice. |
rcad Loyal user St-Eustache 211 Posts |
W a d e,
We use the exact same method! jae, Although my mind totally agrees with you, my feelings don't listen. But you've made me realize a few things that I'll post here in case it could be of any help to someone else as well. I figured that the fear was one of humiliation. If the trick were to fail, I'd be humiliated. But why? I found two answers so far: 1. Perfectionism: We want to shine, we want to be loved and accepted. If we fail, we were not up to the challenge and aren't worthy of their love and admiration. So we are never sure whether or not we are ready to show a trick, even if the mirror says otherwise and the wife is amazed. That feeling never leaves us, especially not in front of an audience. I really believe perfectionism is at the root of the fear. 2. Forgetting we are not our character: I also fear that if I fail a trick, I will be regarded as a dishonest man. I hold truth above all. In fact, I even believe that magic acts as a catalyst for me. I permit myself to cheat and lie while still being a "good person". I don't know if this makes sense to anyone. In any case, all this made me realize that the character we must create, the magician we become, is not *us*. He is the one performing the tricks. If he fails, it means nothing to him but to find a way minimize the impact. The character acts as a shield. *We* on the other hand will be regarded as people who are practicing a difficult art. I know all this has to do with the magician's own perception but isn't it what we are talking about? Richard
"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious." Albert Einstein
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TheNightBringer89 Special user 766 Posts |
I have the opposite problem, I am more comfortable with sleights than I am with gaffs Here is why I think I am this way.
1. A gaff usually means you have to ditch something, or the effect is not examinable at the end. 2. If I get caught using a gimmick I feel dirty, like I am cheating the audience and they will think I am less of a magician. Just my $0.02, by the way. Topher if you have an AIM account it would be cool to chat with someone who is having basically the same problem as me (NERVES!) I shake like crazy when just performing for family!
"Dreams are born of imagination, fed upon illusions, and put to death by reality."
It doesn't matter if you're right or wrong, If you're not like the others then you don't belong. |
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