Hello,
As a newbie I thought I'd introduce myself.

My name is Jon and I've had an interest in magic since a child, but always found I lacked the dexterity for cards and the like. What little magic I have managed has always been one with a good story behind it rather than an impressive slight, etc. I have always loved performing (on stage etc. as I do am dram) and storytelling and have had an interest in darker things since a kid - ghosts, vampires, murders (I'm a Ripperologist and have studied the Jack the Ripper case for over 10 years, have written articles and spoken at conferences and next week am presenting a theatrical piece about the Ripper case).

I'd like to read up on the thinking behind designing dark effects. Does someone start with the story and design an effect around it or vide versa?

Jon:
Welcome to Spooky. You will find we are a friendly (albeit dark) bunch.

To answer your question, it goes both ways. Sometimes you have a stellar effect that you merely 'dress up' in dark weeds (altering the look of the prop, if necessary, and giving it a dark and fascinating background tale). Other times, you might have a great story to tell that would be greatly improved with an effect that you either scout about to find or develop on your own to enhance the telling.

In either case, the story is king.

Welcome again, Jon. I am certain further elaboration and additional ideas are forthcoming by way of merry greetings to you . . . standby!

BC

Welcome, Jon! A hearty welcome, indeed. You are in the right place as a storyteller who might like to put a little something special in a performance.

Theory! Hurray! Last Friday we wrapped up a Seance Chamber Online Invocational (Onvocational) on this very subject. The concensus of our small panel is that, generally, the story comes first and we (sometimes struggle to) find a little something special to accentuate it. Most of us keep notebooks of ideas that might sit for years before an effect and a story finds a perfect fit. The most important is question to ask one's self in putting something together like this is "is the performance a cohesive and flawless bit of storytelling?". I have dozens of unfinished projects as I not found that perfect match; for me it is important that I keep writing (stories) and when the perfect effect falls in my lap, then it is simply fantactic. However, your story should hold up on its own, with no effects; then you know it is a worthy performance peice. If your performance has an effect that makes people wonder "did I just experience something weird?" is icing on the cake.

These are my opinions. Perhaps there are other opinions....

P.S., I understand whoat you are saying about being unable to master certain slights. My handicap is palming; cannot pull it off with my long boney fingers (which are better suited for setting a scarey mood).

P.P.S, If you haven't already, check out Paul Voodini's Jack the Ripper Seance material.

Thanks Prof BC and YitzhakNoDice for the welcome and insights.

I suffer from dyspraxia which basically means I have coordination and fine motor skills problems, so a lot of slights are frustratingly impossible for me.

I've looked at Paul's materials many times and have spoken to him once or twice on Facebook. Excellent stuff and very helpful gentleman.

I want to try and work around my interests and my latest obsession is Shakespeare so I've got some ideas of maybe a story surrounding Macbeth and the supposed curse, actual witches spells etc. Loose ideas at the moment which I'm going to try and flesh out and fit an effect around.

Welcome Jon!

You will find that this dark path has some of the most rewarding reactions to your presentations. As a mystery performer you get past the magicians ego and become a entertainer. You get away from the trick and bring the true meaning of magic back on to the stage. It transcends the trick and becomes a theatrical performance piece that makes the participants start to question their perception of reality. You give them a reason to suspend disbelief and actually become part of the presentation.

When I first started in bizarre performance I noticed that a lot of magicians perceived what we do as gore, shock or geek magic. This could not be farther from the truth in my point of view. Not all that we do has to be scare or deal with spirits. We time travel, we present UFOs, we have no limits. We are the magic. It was hard for me to step away from the trick and the slight and focus on the story at first. The results of years of study is that I can now make a deeper connection with those that come to see me.

Good luck on your journey, my friend. if you need help just ask us and we will do our best to help you find the answers you seek.

Welcome hope you get something useful out of your time here.

More often than not I start from story or bizarre items then look at what I can do around them, but I will sometimes find a method I think is so wonderful I will try and work something around it. But I personally prefer having an ending in sight in terms of story and what I want the audience to experience. Which ever way I work I like the story to be interesting enough to be told without an effect being necessary. The effect along the way will embelish the story. Add the cherry to the top.

Thanks everyone. Thought I'd share what we're doing next week in Llanelli, South Wales. There's no magic in it - just storytelling.

It's a theatrical experience that's part lecture, part play and part murder mystery. I'm telling the story of Jack the Ripper with actors portraying some interesting scenes from the case (not the actual murders). We're then presenting the case for numerous suspects and evidence packs of repro documents to the audience, and letting them decide who they think the Ripper may have been and why.

Jon,

Welcome. Your show sounds great. I love the concept and the blending of lecture, play and murder memory.

Jon, Welcome to Spooky!!

Great group of people here... I'm sure you'll fit right in man.

Personally, I find it easier to take an effect and metaphysically dress it up, create a backstory to it, find props (if needed), and then refine it and finally test it out by performing it for others. For many magi I know, the creation process seems to work the opposite way though (starting with a story and then adding an effect to it). That said, I am a proud Southpaw, and that may explain my creation process preference?

Also, I want to echo what my brother Michael so eloquently stated in his post above... The "Bizarre" is not all ceremonial daggers and goblins... To get a larger sense of the art form, I would recommend seeing Bizarre Magik as more than just the one-dimentional, hard stereotype of a solely "dark" art, loudly themed around morbidity, death, and demons (only)...

In my personal opinion "Bizarre Magik" has all too often limited itself to the confines of scarring people with halloween themed theatrics. Now, this can be fun and highly entertaining don't get me wrong, yet it doesn't have to end there. I much prefer the term Christopher J. Gould coined, "Metaphysical Magick", or Dr. Specktor's term, "Core Mystery Art".

Again, I'm not saying "Bizarre Magik" shouldn't or can't be "dark/morbid/grim" all I'm saying is that so-called Bizarre Magik has now evolved so much more than it's humble beginnings. Many of my effects are centered around such "bizarre" yet enlightening themes as time travel, Afrikan religion, wisdom proverbs, and personal transformation. If morbid themes are your interest and preference, than I am all for it!! Scare and haunt away!! Yet, realize that Bizarre magik can also be used to enchant, motivate, uplift, empower and inspire in a positive way as well.

If you have not already done so, definitely check out the storytelling magick/"bizarre" works of Ed Solomon (DeNomolos), Carl Herron (Brother Shadow), Leslie Melville, Robert E. Neale, Christopher Gould (of Alchemy Moon), Larry Hass, David Parr, Lary Kuehn and Aaron Alexander (just to name a few).

If serious about this genre of magik, I highly recommend reading Stephen Minch's critique called "Vivisection of the Bizarre" in his The Book of Forgotten Secrets, which adds a critical, much needed balance, and an honest look at our art form in my humble opinion.

As far as scripting and storytelling is concerned I would recommend The following (albeit, the last two titles ares now very rare and can be quite hard to find):

- Scripting & Storytelling for Paranormal Entertainers by Stephen Ward
- Magical Adventures and Fairy Tales (Once Upon A Time) by Punx (Ludwig Hanemann)
- The Dark Waltz - Arcane Edition by Michael J. Fraughton
- Presentations for the Storyteller by Ed Solomon (DeNomolos)
- Being A Treatise On The Theory & Presentation Of Magick by Brother Shadow (Carl Herron)

Hope this helps brother... Feel free to PM me anytime should you ever wanna build on anything further.

Peace.

~ Nyama ~

Many thanks for your insights and recommendations Nyama. I'll be sure to check them out.

Welcome Aboard Jon.

I am only a short ride away from south Wales, so I would have loved to have come along and give you some support, but things are MAD on the Moon at the moment. Let me know if you are planning any more. Also, get in touch with me if you need any support on publicity.

Back on topic.

I think that you will find that people in our neck of the woods are the most progressive in their thinking and some great minds have been exploring new and exciting pathways, as well as retreading some old ones with renewed vigour. The main thing for me about Mystery Performance is that there are no rules. No real definition of what it 'is' - but a lot of thought on what it 'could be'. There are no Popes here to tell you 'thou shalt do this.' or 'Thou shalt not do that!' As we are defining and redefining our art, we are afforded freedom. This freedom yields some exciting possibilities.

You say; should you think of the story first and the trick after, or vice versa? You will get a resounding 'story first' from everyone here. Many here see the Mystery Performer as the custodian not only of storytelling but of true magic. I think they are right to do so.

My own thinking has been leading me more and more down the path of storytelling and I am at the point where 'the trick' is becoming irksome. Certainly, few here would perform as a magician demonstrating a trick - and if tricks are used, much thought goes into how to hide this fact.
My own view is that telling a story can be far more powerful and far more magical than any switch, gizmo or battery driven piece of magic. Indeed, I have begun to wonder if I need 'a trick' at all? We do not even like using the word 'trick' as it sub-consciously alludes to something that we find incongruous to what we are often attempting to achieve. In my latest work and in my (increasingly) casual performances, I am attempting to eradicate 'the trick' altogether - simply because I do not think that it is necessary. There is much that we can do with real phenomena and real magic. One of the components of this is the voice and the word and how this alone can transport the audience into a realm of magic.
Such thinking is heretical in other areas of magic, but not here.

so you have found the right group I think.... ;-)






PS - It was Dr Todd who Coined the term Metaphysical Magic - not I, but I use it, as it is a good term.

You're welcome Brother Jon.

A couple other titles that I forgot to mention, which are worth adding to the scripting and storytelling list are:

- Vo-Du-Magick by Gede Nibo
- Embryos by Paul Prater
- Capricornian Tales by Christian Chelman
- The Art Of Storytelling Magic by Brother Shadow (Carl Herron)

Brother Chris,

Thank you for that correction...