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roysmith New user 5 Posts |
Afternoon, interested to find out how many folk enjoy magic as a hobby compared to those who make money from it? I am fascinated by the technology, skills and ideas behind magic. This means I don't concentrate on a specific set of tricks to make a full routine but have a great collection of individual tricks. Is this normal?
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wulfiesmith Inner circle Beverley, UK 1339 Posts |
You betcha roysmith!!
since I have stopped performing, I still purchase magic for my own enjoyment and as a hobbyist. It's the intrigue of it all, isn't it Wulfie |
BCS Inner circle 1083 Posts |
Roysmith,
Yes you are normal... LOL Over the years I have read several statistics there are more hobbyists than workers that purchase magic. I am the same as I am hobbyists more than a performer these days. My passion is Cups and Balls and magic history... I have too many Cups and books. Take care, Bruce |
TomB Veteran user Michigan, USA 330 Posts |
Nothing wrong as long as you can pay your bills.
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sirbrad Inner circle PA 2096 Posts |
Welcome to the forum! I do both, magic has been a hobby of mine for about 38 years now and a profession for about 30 years now and counting. When I first started out as a kid the only "magic props" that I had was a 1960's Admam's Magic Set, followed by books such as The Amateur Magician's Handbook, Mark Wilson's Complete Course, The Magic Book by Harry Lorayne, Scarne on Card and Magic tricks, Bill Severn books, Bruce Elliott, Hugard, Gibson, etc. I did not have money for expensive props or single tricks until later on when Is tarted earning money with my magic. I also was someone who was a "finger-flicker" since I had to practice with cards and coins a lot for those reasons, and I wanted to learn the hardest sleights and flourishes out there just for the fun of it, and to build a solid fountain to my magic house.
So then later on I could pick whatever tricks I wanted and use gimmicks/gaffs even more effectively combined with sleight of hand. I then got the Tarbell set, and VHS tapes were godsend allowing me to see the timing, misdirection, patter, and sample presentations from other magicians; which I rarely seen as there were not many other magicians around in my area. Then DVD sets of course were great. But books provided so much more for the price, so really both should be combined as the best overall learning sources. I still tend to collect far more books than anything else, and I especially love massive tomes and magic periodicals which are HUGE and filled with invaluable material, some 40,000 pages or more. But I have plenty of tricks/props as well, and DVD sets that I love. I love it all and collect it all still. I buy more magic as a professional being I have far more income to do so, and I do not travel as far as I used to so I need to constantly have new material for repeat bookings. Those who travel the world can do the same act for 50 years, and I did that for many years as well. But I also like to keep my act fun and fresh as well, for me and my audiences. So new material occasionally is a good thing. Then later on you can rotate older material back in again as well. In fact magical looking props and apparatus is what attracted me to magic, and most laymen are attracted to as well, especially kids. That is what attracted me to magic almost 40 years ago, when I saw mysterious looking, mystifying, glitzy, glamorous, magical looking props on a table on stage. They peaked my interest as I HAD to find out what they did! I also went through the "organic props only" stage however I discovered later on that I was doing myself and my audience a disservice, as magic props have their place and are very elegant, beautiful, and appeasing to the eye, and can be very entertaining as well.
The great trouble with magicians is the fact that they believe when they have bought a certain trick or piece of apparatus, and know the method or procedure, that they are full-fledged mystifiers. -- Harry Houdini
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Mary Mowder Inner circle Sacramento / Elk Grove, CA 3659 Posts |
Welcome roysmith,
I am a professional and I have some tricks I've been practicing for years that never see the light of day. I'm just playing with them because I like 'em. Every once in a while one of these will work into the act but that wasn't the expectation when I took some of these tricks up. If I want to stay fresh, part of my practice has to be "just for fun". I also work on tricks and other aspects of performance for my act and I usually enjoy that too but not in the same way. Have fun! -Mary Mowder |
Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
You will never work a day in your life, if you do what you love, and have a strong interest in.
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Jonmaddgician New user Perth, Western Australia 72 Posts |
I always say that music was my first passion, & magic started as a hobby that just kinda got outta hand, & I got my first magic gig by chance at a popular venue, that then led to private & corporate events, & next thing I knew, I guess I turned into a working magician! Over the next few years, as I started getting paid for more magic related work, I started performing less & less socially, & the dollar value of my "work" kinda poisoned my love of performing just for the fun of it. This was also probably when I was going through a bit of a rough patch, & magic became my main source of income, & I felt less likely to want to "giveaway freebies". When I sorted my life back out after too long a break, magic turned back into my secondary income, & I started finding myself a bit more, & strengthened my identity as a performer, whether it was magic, music, clowning, or even as a high school teacher, & quickly reignited my love for just performing. Now time is a bit tight, so I don't often get a chance to just go out & play with magic, but at least I'm always ready!
Back to the original post, I am also interested in the mechanics of many tricks, but my standard working repertoire is really only about half a dozen to about a dozen tricks that I chop & change & mix & match, & I take a LONG time before I add new material SLOWLY into my routines... |
RCarruth Veteran user Spartanburg, S.C. 341 Posts |
Hi Roy.. I dare say most of the readers here are hobbyists as opposed to professionals. Few rely solely on magic for a living. It's challenging...! JMHO
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