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George Ledo Magic Café Columnist SF Bay Area 3042 Posts |
Kyle,
You've put your finger on one of the basics of entertainment -- telling some kind of a story about a person or persons. In theatre, we refer to it as the three dramatic conflicts (man vs. man, man vs. himself, or man vs. the gods, i.e., outside forces). Movies, plays, ballets, novels, songs, stand-up comedians, and everything else, including some modern commercials, are all based on what happens to someone and what they do about it. That's why we much prefer to hear someone tell about something that went right or wrong during their vacation than to see photo after photo of the ship, the waiter, the fountain, the pigeons, and so forth. Stories are about people, not about objects, and it's been this way since forever. I love this exercise and the challenge you posted. Let's keep it going!
That's our departed buddy Burt, aka The Great Burtini, doing his famous Cups and Mice routine
www.georgefledo.net Latest column: "Sorry about the photos in my posts here" |
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magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Thanks. My intentions here with these exercises are for the manipulator, that we get people thinking outside of the norm.
We have too many manipulators who, in my terms, just become CLONES of what is already being done. Rather then explore new directions in magic, they latch on to what they see and that becomes redundant. There is so much more you can give to an audience in a manipulative style act and so many magicians are not learning these new principles of thinking or are just to scared to try them out. A storyline that is developed with a central character is only one way of many too add what I call "layers" to an act. It is these layers that give the audience much more then just a show of skill alone. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
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Kevin Vu New user Renton,Wa 61 Posts |
I have a question. I think it's very off subject, but can anyone define a "MANIPULATOR"? It's kind of hard to say if I'm one, because I don't know the PROPER definition. Like my whole story line involves different things from like newspaper tear, to hats, to card manipulations. but I mean that's my only thing in there. I excluded all my candles and canes.
Sorry to get WAY off the subject! Lets see if I can sum this up, Define what "manipulator" is =) Thank you all! Kevin Vu Renton,Wa P.S. Great ideas for the baseball routine. Very impressive! |
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wikiro Elite user NY 435 Posts |
I was wondering though where is the line between Magician and Actor. See the couch potato is an excellent idea, but where is the magician?
He may be the magician himself as the couch potato, but hes still a fool that doesn't know magic and how it happens. So if you do a full out show you'll have skillful magic and then boom a dumb found magician all of a sudden. If you go with a dumb found routine shouldn't you then make your whole show like that?
If you punch a wall so hard your knee hurts your goal has been accomplished.
Never Panic! Wikiro |
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George Ledo Magic Café Columnist SF Bay Area 3042 Posts |
You pose a good question...
I can think of two ways to respond. First, taking the couch potato (the baseball theme), it's still a magic act. If it's done "correctly," i.e., professionally, and with proper attention to the entertainment value, the audience will accept it as just that -- a piece of entertainment featuring magic. I don't believe audiences "need" to see a magician playing a magician to be entertained with magic. The one thing that's missing from the couch potato routine (given it's just an idea at this point) is how the guy resolves his problem at the end -- how the story turns out -- what HE does to get things back to normal. A bunch of weird things happening to somebody can only go so far as a piece of entertainment; it needs a clear resolution. The second thing is that, even in a full-evening show, a "character skit" would not be out of place. There are lots of precedents for this in other forms of entertainment -- we've seen it for umpteen years on TV. It could be a breath of fresh air to an audience that normally sees one trick or illusion after another.
That's our departed buddy Burt, aka The Great Burtini, doing his famous Cups and Mice routine
www.georgefledo.net Latest column: "Sorry about the photos in my posts here" |
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magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
George brings out some excellent points. As I see it, the magician's main job is to simply entertain. We just so happen to entertain using more magic then anything else. However, this does not mean a magician can and should ONLY be a magician.
I feel strongly that a magic and manipulative act can bring so much more to an audience if one adds what I call "layers". These layers can be a theme, storyline, character, style, transitions, emotional response, etc. The loist really does go on and on. Adding these layers is like a pizza. Surea plain is fine but if you put on layers to the pizza.. isn't the pizza enjoyed that much more? Your giving your audience more to grab ahold of in your act. If you are going to use a theme with a character, then fore most you must first develop the character and the story being told to the audience. Without this storyline, your act has no way of developing and ending. The audience will end up more confused then entertained. Character skits would not be out of place in a show. A pewrfect example is red Skelton. he played many characters on stage and in his show and the people learned to love HIM no matter who or what character he portrayed. They were entertained. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
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wikiro Elite user NY 435 Posts |
Actually I understand. LOL Its hard to change my opinion, but you have (Im impressed).
If you punch a wall so hard your knee hurts your goal has been accomplished.
Never Panic! Wikiro |
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magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Thanks so much. It was never my intention to change anyone's mind but to just open up others minds to see an act or their show in a different light. To at least think about just how entertaining an act or show can be for an audience and how to get it that way if it is not.
Too many of us think too much as a magician and not enough as a lay person. This tends to damper the entertainment value that we really could give to an audience. Kyle =)
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
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Chris Miller Loyal user Rochester, NY 242 Posts |
A Catcher, an umpire (spectator volunteer), and a batter are on stage. Crowd noise with announcer calling the count. Bases loaded, 3-2, the pitch. Batter tenses up but does not swing as catcher catches ball. Soundtrack has Ump calling strike three and the argument starts as catcher tosses ump the ball and stands to the side. Batter runs ump through an impromptu eye test, multiplying the baseball having it disappear/reappear and so-on. Batter mentions ump should have worn his glasses. Ump says he doesn't wear glasses. Oh yeah, what's this ... Batter pulls glasses out of umps pocket, from all over the place. Perhaps funny ones, like binoculars. How could you miss it ump? Batter makes a ball float outside the plate showing that it couldn't have been a strike. Soundtrack has the ump toss the batter (You're outa here!) Batter drops bat in disgust and exits. Catcher says he'll take the bat. Ump picks it up and hands it to catcher who is removing his mask and it is the batter! That should get a double-take me out to the ball game!
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magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
AWESOME!! We have some very creative thinking here. But this shows how an idea can be carried out to make a magical act or routine so much more for any audience watching it.
As in the above example, it is the theme and the chracters that really helps the magic to not only flow but to make sense as well. The magic is great to watch but the audience also enjpoys the interaction of the characters and the comedy and the bits of business along with it. The catcher becoming the batter is a perfect suprise ending that really hits home. Nice thinking on this. Kyle See we are now thinking outside of the normal way most think about putting a manipulative act together. Many want to do a show of skill alone, and there is nothing wrong with that. The only problem is that you must also even with a show of skill, be very good and still have character and style to go along with it. This discussion has shown that a manipuylative act can go in many different and NEW directions if we allow ourselves to open up and to add "layers" to the manipulative routine. Keep going and lets explore other ideas and thoughts. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
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