Let’s assume you’ve won your audience over in the first thirty seconds with a warm, witty, informative, properly-structured introduction. After thirty seconds the audience likes you, they’re intrigued, they’re relaxed and comfortable. What next? Tricks? No. You first have to really “connect” with one person in particular. Obviously you must perform for the entire group, making eye contact and warmly extending yourself to each of them in turn. But, to start, you have to choose one person in particular to participate in the performance. It will fall to this person to “pick a card,” or “take a look at this [...]
Jul 112008
I read an article once that stated that stage fright is the second ranked fear only being preceded by death. After carefully analyzing a statistical statement like this it is clear that a majority of people fear the judgment of the crowd they are presenting or performing in front of. In this month’s article we are going to take a close look at what causes stage fright and some strategies to overcome these fears. More importantly we will provide you (the magician) with some concrete methods of overcoming your fears of external judgment. Though in February 2008, I touched on [...]
Jun 232008
It is interesting to observe the variety of reactions that come from witnessing a magic effect. Some people relish in the moment with a child-like enthusiasm; while others resist and intellectually prod poking holes in the effect, draining the moment of all its mystery. So the question remains: why are some individuals willing to let go and enjoy the foreign experience that magic delivers, while some seemingly cannot drop their defense mechanisms long enough to be blanketed by the magical experience? In this month’s article I am going to dive in deep into the human psyche to answer these important [...]
We’ve all been there. You want to create a unique piece of magic but you are stuck. You’ve tried to wrap your brain around an item that you want to build an effect around and your mental capacitors have burnt out. Have no fear! Enter the Big Rig, busting through your wall like the Kool-Aid man hollering “Oh Yeah!” Here’s the idea, you take one word from Column A, one word from Column B and throw them at a word from Column C. This is an exercise designed to help spawn new creative en devours. Column A (Common Items) Column [...]
Have you ever heard a recording of your voice or watched yourself on video? Those unaccustomed to the camera will state that what they hear or see differs greatly from how they perceive themselves internally. The self concept is a powerful influence on us as individuals and can deceive our sense of reality. This month’s article is going to address the issues with the extraordinary differences between the perspective of our internal mirrors (self concept) and the audience’s perspective and most importantly why having this knowledge can assist in improving magic performances. Having been a public speaker on a professional [...]
Mar 062008
Have you ever witnessed an effect that by the time it came to the punch line, you found yourself wondering what just happened? Most beginning magicians throw a barrage of effects at their audience with a lightning speed execution with the hopes that the audience will follow. In most cases not only does it confuse the audience, but it lessens the impact of the punch line. This month’s article with explore the art of simplicity, more importantly the attention span of the average spectator. So why do we want to simplify? Think about if I go up to a spectator [...]
Feb 152008
It has been statistically proven that public speaking is among the top 5 fears, even surpassing death in some independent studies. In this month’s article we will be discussing the psychology of fear, specifically that dealing with public rejection and some proven techniques to overcoming the jitters. What does fear of public rejection have to do with magic you may ask? Think about this: you may have mastered an effect in the privacy of you and your reflection, but have you ever been so nervous that the execution of that same effect fell flat? Yes this article may be assisting [...]
Creative blocks are an intrinsic part of the creative process and though they can be frustrating there is a solution. All Magicians striving to create a new routine or magic effect have come to a point where the ideas fall short of manifestation. In this month’s article I will cover a four step process that has been proven to assist the creative flow to do just that, continue to flow. I have been through the corkiest creative sessions with Jeff Stone. Imagine two grown men in the latter stages of sleep deprivation rambling passages that would only be comprehensible to [...]
I am back! I apologize for disappearing for a month however; I was attacked by a rabbit during my performance of a rabbit out of a hat routine. Monte Python come to mind? But now I am back and ready to provide you with some more psychological concepts. This month’s article will focus on the concept of passion. So what does passion have to do with Magic you may ask? Well I will answer that question through the exploration of burning desires. In addition to magic, I have had extensive experience in consulting individuals, groups, and organizations on the basic [...]
I am not a magician. I don’t even play one on television. However, I have learned through experience the real magic that takes place between a presenter and his audience. Even with magicians and illusionists, the illusions you manipulate with your hands are not the end, not the ultimate magic, but means to the end, the ultimate magic that you produce with your heart when you connect with your audience. When I started my career as a professional presenter, I didn’t understand the magic. At that point, my presentation was all about me. I was so impressed with myself. I [...]
Oct 092007
Last month we discussed in detail the process of memory (if you did not read September’s issue of the Full Montoya, then this will be a good time to do so). This month we are going to provide you with some concrete examples of how Master Magicians take advantage of this process. Deciding what effects I wanted to use for examples in this article was not easy, however, after filtering through a set of my favorites, I determined to use the following effects to illustrate how Long-Term Memory affects perception using the fill-in-the-blank principle: Re-set by Paul Harris The Coolest [...]
Sep 152007
In criminal investigations it is a known fact that the eye witnesses to a crime can be an unreliable source of information. The reason behind this phenomenon is based on how memory works. In this article we are going to explore the process of memory, more specifically how short-term memories are transferred into long-term memories and how the magician can utilize this process to produce powerful magic. Going back to the criminal investigator: the attempt to utilize eyewitnesses in criminal cases can be difficult due to the fact that memory is produced through the perception of the individual. Basically this [...]
Working with Jeff Stone has taught me many things. Jeff is a true master of taking the simplest magic concepts and turning them into masterpieces. In the beginning stages of my magic training I focused a lot of my efforts on the mastery of techniques and “moves.” Then came the pinnacle moment in my magic training when I heard Master Stone say “you focus too much on the technique and not enough on your presentation, young Card Thrower.” Okay he didn’t call me a young Card Thrower; however, the message was clear. And that message is embedded in the ancient [...]
After teaching for 4 years I realized that the true objective of education is to guide not manipulate, meaning that a lot of teachers that I had the opportunity to work with fell into the trap of providing their students with a “cookie cutter” solution to education. I witnessed instructors providing a general curriculum, which only tailored to small percentage of the three learning styles, resulting in a limited portion of the student body really comprehending what was presented. So what does this analogy have to do with Magic? Just like the students your audience perceives your effects through their [...]
