Roots and Branches Archives - Stone Cold Magic Magazine

Magic That Will Make You Cry

Jeff Stone — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 07:03:45 +0000

True astonishment is a thing of beauty when it is properly captured. Dean Dill is one man who has captured it. Mr. Dill’s coin magic is clean, simple, slow, deliberate and down-right majestic. As silly as this may sound, I am moved to tears often by the beauty and the purity of truly talented people. I mean, who wasn’t moved to tears by Bianca Ryan? or what about Paul Potts?

When we see performances like those, we are moved. When was the last time you were moved . . . truly moved, by a magician? Dean Dill was that magician for me. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt astonishment. As a performer, I often am not “allowed” to experience astonishment. My mind won’t let me. It’s too busy thinking about the effect from the perspective of a magician.

In my opinion, it is one of the biggest sacrifices that a performer makes when s/he becomes a magician. Once you cross over from “layperson” to magician, there’s no going back. However, there are rare cases when you can, for just a split second, feel that feeling again.

Here’s your chance to experience it. Don’t think about it. Don’t try to “solve” it. Don’t dwell on it. Just watch it and be astonished. Before you do, I would highly recommend you read last month’s Roots and Branches article called The Art of Astonishment. This is basically a guideline to how to feel astonishment. Once you’ve read that, feel free to watch Dean Dill perform this beautiful effect. It’s magic that will make you cry.

Root:

Let’s Remember Our Roots. The Root: MOVE YOUR AUDIENCE! Stop with the mindless droning on about what prop your holding and what you’re going to do with it, and where you’re gonna stick it. I’ll tell you where to stick it! Your audience members are not morons. You don’t need to say, “I have here a deck of cards.” Are you serious!?

Branch:

Let’s Build Our Branches. Your Challenge: MOVE YOUR AUDIENCE! For the next 30 days, I want you to take one effect in your current repertoire, and stop . . . and think . . . Think about what you’re saying, when you’re saying it, why you’re saying it. Make sure that your words have meaning and aren’t simply stating the obvious. As many of you may know, this is the final issue of Stone Cold Magic Magazine. So I thought I’d go out with a bang. I may ruffle some feathers, but this subject is near and dear to my heart. Why can’t our magic be moving and beautiful and emotional and meaningful? The answer is: it can!
This is why I wrote 793.8. My mission for that book is to solve this problem: too much of magic has no meaning. I’m not even opposed to “adventures of the props” as a way to present. What I’m opposing is a flurry of narration of every move and every breath you take. I’m opposing statements that are so obvious that by making them, you’re calling your audience members idiots/fools/etc.
What’s the point of saying, “I have here a pen. Take this pen and sign this card.” Why!? How ’bout saying something like: “Would you mind signing your name on the card” as you simply hand them the pen. Find these problems in your presentation and eliminate them.

Now go study the classics and go discover your true magical self.

The post Magic That Will Make You Cry appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

The Art of Astonishment

Jeff Stone — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 07:03:55 +0000

A Letter to My Clients

As an event entertainer who uses magic as part of my act, I’m often asked the question, “What is Magic?” or “Is Magic Real?” The answer to the latter lies in the answer to the former.

One of the magicians I’ve studied is someone that most non-magicians have never heard of, Paul Harris. For magicians, he is one of the ultimate creators and teachers. His thinking on magic and what he calls The Art of Astonishment revolutionized my (and many other magician’s) thinking about what I do.

Simply put, the ultimate goal of a performance is to create moments of astonishment. Whether I’m on a stage in front of thousands of people or I’m at your table with 3 or 4 others at a banquet, my goal is to create a moment of astonishment.

Notice I didn’t say that my goal is to “Astonish You,” but rather, “Create Moments of Astonishment.” Those are moments that you (the audience) and I (the performer) should share. It’s a moment where you feel wonder and awe, where you feel like a child again, where you feel magic.

When I say “feel magic,” I don’t mean Harry Potter style magic as in magical powers. I mean magic as in the laughter of a child or the majesty of this beautiful planet we call home. It’s a feeling that makes us feel young again when life was much more mysterious to us.

By now, we’ve all pretty much figured it out and a lot of the “magic” is gone. So is magic real? Yes. To me, magic is a feeling that is created by many, many wonderful things in life. One of those wonderful things, if I do my job right, is my presentation; at least that’s what I hope. I approach astonishment, and occasionally I hit it. I should say we hit it.

If I’ve done my job right, you (the audience) are less interested in how the “trick” “works” and more interested in savoring the moment of astonishment. Once you (or I) start to focus on the “how” of a “trick” the “magic” is gone; the feeling of astonishment fades.

My job as a performer is to focus on you and my presentation more and the “trick” less. Your job as an audience is to focus on the presentation more and the “trick” less. Notice that both of us must focus on the “trick” less in order to create astonishment, but trust me; when it happens, it’s a thing of beauty.

So take this challenge as an audience. The next time you see a magician perform, try to connect with him/her. See if s/he is trying to connect with you. Look for the moment of astonishment; don’t kill the magical feeling by trying to “solve” it.

So “What is magic?” and “Is magic real?” Magic is Real. It’s a feeling, a feeling I often call astonishment. The “trick” as it is sometimes dismissively referred to is merely the vehicle. It is the vehicle on the road called “connection.” This road is where you (the audience) and I (the performer) connect with each other on our way to the destination . . . a place called Astonishment.

I hope to see you there soon!

Root:

Let’s Remember Our Roots. The Root: You are on the same team as your audience. When I was actively marketing myself as a performer, the above letter was sent out to my mailing list of potential clients. It was part of a bigger effort to keep the magical moments of life at the top of the mind of my potential clients. This particular letter is very much about teaching the audience to properly play their role.

Spectators don’t necessarily know this. We’ve all met the spectator who narrates the entire trick as he tells us how everything is done. It’s not entirely his fault. He believes that his job is that of debunker. He wants to disprove any claims (outrageous or otherwise) that we as magicians make. He’s just playing the wrong role and doesn’t know it.

Branch:

Let’s Build Our Branches. Your Challenge: Educate your audience. For the next 30 days, focus on making very clear what your audience’s job is. Do this politely, of course. You can do this by openly saying this directly, or you can show them by your actions, or a combination of both. I want you to stop and figure it out on your own, but your job is to make sure that the audience knows that their job is let the feeling of astonishment happen, and then after it happens, let it wash over themselves until they’re buried neck-deep, yet comfortably. Teach your audience and your world as a performer will change.

Now go study the classics and go discover your true magical self.

The post The Art of Astonishment appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Thoughts Govern Action

Jeff Stone — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 06:03:13 +0000

Suddenly, Max was aware of his surroundings; he was in a hospital. The last thing he could remember was a total stranger telling him that he didn’t look well. Slowly he began to remember that more than one person had told him that he didn’t look well. In fact, five total strangers, within one hour, had told him that he didn’t look well. After the fifth person, everything was a blur.

This is a dramatization of a true story, or rather an experiment that was conducted by an early 20th century journalist named Napoleon Hill. The “strangers” were people who worked for Napoleon Hill. The goal of the experiment was to find out what would happen when a perfectly healthy person was told that he looked ill. The result? The “perfectly healthy” person passed out. This experiment demonstrates that the mind is extremely powerful and that if a thought-seed is planted, it will, most likely, become a reality.

Adolf Hitler demonstrated this powerful principle by actually taking someone’s life with a game of the mind. Hitler had one of his soldiers conduct an experiment on a prisoner. The victim was tied to a chair and blindfolded. Then the soldier used a piece of ice to “cut” the wrist of the prisoner. No cut was actually made, however the soldier held the melting ice on the wet wrist, allowing the dripping water to fall into a bucket. Next the mind game began; the prisoner was repeatedly told, “If you tell us what we want to know, we’ll stop the bleeding!” The feeling of a slice, the wet wrist, and the dripping sound along with Hitler’s words were enough to convince the prisoner that he was bleeding to death, so he did; he bled to death without actually bleeding.

These two stories are negative examples of how strong the mind is, but if the mind is powerful enough to kill, then it is also powerful enough to create happiness and success. A person is, literally, what he thinks. Our circumstances and surroundings are a product of our deepest thoughts and subconscious desires. Most of us have heard the old adage, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” This is a true principle. However, the meaning of this cliché is not found in the physical act of making the lemonade (turning the bad to good), but rather in the attitude that leads one to discover that lemonade can be made in the first place. Even the character Doc Brown from the hit movie Back to the Future demonstrated his understanding that attitude and thoughts govern action when he said, “If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.”

If a man can think he’s bleeding to death and die from the thought, then a person can think he’ll be successful and succeed from the thought. If we truly believe without a doubt that we can do it (‘it’ being whatever we want out of life), then we will do “it.” As Henry Ford said, “If you think you can do a thing or you think you cannot do a thing, you are right.”

Root:

Let’s Remember Our Roots. The Root: Your mind is your most valuable tool. The above essay was written for a college assignment years ago. I recently came across it and decided to add it to the magazine because it teaches a great lesson that we magicians can apply to our performances. First of all, if nothing else, it might make for an interesting premise for an effect.

Looking beyond that, I think the power of this is found in how we connect in our audience. When we perform, we connect with our audience via trickery, patter and costume. Why not other things? Why not with our mind? Or at the very least, why not use our mind to improve how we use trickery, patter and costume to connect with our audience.

Branch:

Let’s Build Our Branches. Your Challenge: Believe that you’re amazing. I know the world of magic is filled with enough ego already, and there’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance, especially in our industry. Try this, however: check your ego. Then believe that you have the most amazing performance, effect, show, etc. Don’t go around shoving it in people’s faces and rubbing their nose in it, just quietly believe it.

Don’t put yourself in denial either. In fact, you’ll want to do the exact opposite of denial. Take extra time to get feedback from filming yourself, or asking people, etc. Whatever criticism you get, DO NOT DISMISS IT. Just the opposite. Think about it. Ponder it. Really open your heart and mind to find the truth of critique that you receive.

That may sound like the opposite of “believing you’re amazing.” However, it’s not. When you tell yourself you’ve got a great show, and you really truly start to believe, your actions, subconsciously will try to play catch up with your brain. You will, on a very subconscious level start attracting things that will make your show better, so when you start believing in yourself, the doors will open and paths will clear and you will eventually catch up to where you think you are. Just remember step 1: check your ego before you do any of this.

Put this to the test in your next show. Tell yourself repeatedly that you will get a standing ovation. I’m not guaranteeing that you will. However, what will happen is that the more you tell yourself that, the more your mind will work on ways to head you down that path . . . just don’t forget step 1!

Now got study the classics and go discover your true magical self.

The post Thoughts Govern Action appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Dreaming in Maven

Jeff Stone — Sat, 20 Sep 2014 06:03:45 +0000

A Bizarre Dream

I once had a dream about Max Maven telling us — I don’t remember who “us” is — a story. In the story he talked about a time that his mind was opened by some experience. He described it as having his “brain beaten back to salt.” Who knows what that means? The really odd thing was that as he spoke, it was very much in his real-life tone and mannerisms.

My dream perfectly captured the essence — – at least what I think is the essence – — of what makes up Max Maven. As he was telling the story, he gave that Max Maven look-in-the-eye and said, “This, my friends is a $1000 dollar story…” I don’t remember anything after that. When I woke up, the strangest thing to me was how accurately my dream portrayed him. It was a very strange moment and an overwhelming feeling that I couldn’t shake for quite some time.

What does the dream mean? Who knows? However, I did discover that apparently when you dream about salt it means “You are experiencing increased worth and a higher sense of zest and vigor.” At least that’s what it means according to the Dream Moods website. Eerily enough this site has been pretty accurate interpreting my dreams in the past.

Here’s what I think happened. I’m a big fan of Max Maven. I love the way he thinks; I love the way he creates; I love just about everything about his performance persona, his creativity, etc. There was a time where I was heavily studying his material, written and video. I was heavily immersed in him as a being, as a performer, as a creator and more.

It’s no wonder I had a dream about him that accurately depicted his persona. Further, I find the reference to salt a little too spookily accurate. I was experiencing an increased worth and higher sense of zest and vigor at the time. Studying Max Maven has been very inspiring and uplifting and boosted my creativity as a performer and creator. My quality of effect and magic in general became better and more meaningful and powerful while studying Maven.

Root:

Let’s Remember Our Roots. The Root: Study the Mavens. A maven is an expert in any particular industry. Max Maven is certainly that in our art, but he’s not the only one. He’s one who “speaks” to me. Who speaks to you? If you don’t know, it’s because you haven’t studied enough. It is the quintessential purpose of this column to tell you to study the masters of our craft.

That is why this column exists. Over the years, I’ve come up with several creative (hopefully) ways to say this, but the message is nearly always the same: find a root in magic and grow it to branch out on your own and make it your own.

Branch:

Let’s Build Our Branches. Your Challenge: Find someone in the history of magic or in the current world of magic who “speaks” to you, someone who inspires you, someone who influences you to be a better performer, creator, thinking, etc.

Who this person is only matters to you and nobody else. Once you find him/her, devour their work. Read their books; watch their DVDs; watch their shows. Remember the world we live in; you can watch their shows (likely) online. Do not “become” your inspiration, but rather let them create the best you by understanding pieces of them. Let them be seen in you, but don’t be them.

Now got study the classics and go discover your true magical self.

The post Dreaming in Maven appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Free Your Mind

Jeff Stone — Wed, 20 Aug 2014 06:03:07 +0000

Remember the day when the world was all abuzz with murmurings of that David Copperfield guy making the Statue of Liberty vanish? I wonder how that brainstorming session went. Did his team think he was crazy? How did he come up with the idea? Did he have the method or the effect first? Was it inspired by another effect? So many questions come to mind when I think of something like this.

Root:

Let’s Remember Our Roots. The Root: Any effect is possible. As magicians, we are creators. We create miracles, illusions, effects, moments, feelings, wonder, etc., etc. Even if we don’t literally “create” (i.e., design and build) an illusion, we still “create” illusion when we perform the effect. On top of all the things we “create” during a show, we also may create other things outside of our show.
We create relationships, customers, shows and maybe even products to sell. As a creator, we should insist that we do not limit ourselves. Don’t get stuck in your paradigms. Remember that with magic, anything is possible. I remember an old episode of Amazing Stories back in the day called Mr. Magic. The basic premise was that a washed up has-been magician was about to get kicked out of his venue when he comes across an old deck of cards that have magic powers.
The cards came to life and would animate, and fly around the room and all kinds of crazy stuff. When watching that as a kid, it was so magical and beautiful. Now as a grown adult, it’s even more beautiful and magical because the story’s beautiful, and the effects are beautiful. But most importantly, the effect is possible. Remember, anything is possible with magic. Any effect is possible. I have no clue what the method would be, but one exists.

Branch:

Let’s Build Our Branches. Your Challenge: Create an impossible effect. Take some time, even just 30 minutes and think up (and write down) as many crazy effects you can think of. Don’t think about stuff only in your genre. Don’t think about methods. Simply think about effect. You might be only a close up coin worker. But that doesn’t mean you can’t think of a crazy illusion.
Give yourself no limits. How ’bout “make the moon disappear.” Why not? How ’bout raising the dead in a cemetery? Sure it’s morbid, but it’s possible. The point of this exercise isn’t, necessarily, to come up with a method. It’s simply to come up with an effect. Think of the most outrageous and impossible effects you can imagine, and write them down.
Then, every so often, re-read the list. Think about the effects (not possible methods). Just continue doing this for the rest of your magic career. Every few months, read the list. As you do this, ideas (not necessarily methods for the list of effects) will come to you. Write them down. Write down everything. Let it soak into your subconscious. Force yourself to think outside of your boxes to free your mind. Remember Neo’s first jump across the building. Free your mind. Eventually, you will be almost completely free, and ideas will flow freely. You won’t be able to stop them.

Now got study the classics and go discover your true magical self.

The post Free Your Mind appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Everybody Likes Magic

Jeff Stone — Sun, 20 Jul 2014 06:03:33 +0000

Wanna See a Magic Trick?

We’ve all done it. You walk up to a table or someone in the “streets” or your friends/family and asked the . . . ahem . . . magic question, “Do you wanna see a magic trick?” Somewhere along the way, it’s changed from us asking to others asking. You’ve heard it: “You’re a magician; show me a trick.” Eventually, many of us have become annoyed by such a question. What happened? What changed? Why did we stop asking the question? Why do we hate being asked the question?

If you’re like most people – and most people are – you, very likely have been rejected with your humble question. It goes something like this:

Magician: Do you wanna see a magic trick?

Spectator: No. I don’t like magic.

Or maybe, “I hate magic”, “magic annoys me”, “magic frustrates me”, “it makes me feel stupid.”

They may not say these things out loud, but they think them, and their face, demeanor and response speak them loud and clear. Maybe their last encounter with a magician was crap. Maybe they got insulted by the magician who thinks of himself of clever and witty, when in reality he’s just an insulting idiot with a deck of cards.

Root:

Let’s Remember Our Roots. The Root: Everybody loves magic. It’s usually the magician they hate, or the trick, but not magic. A trick is a means to an end. The “end” is magic . . . a feeling. It’s a feeling that everyone loves. The problem is that most people don’t allow themselves to get there. They never make it to the moment. The reason they don’t make it to the moment is because of decades of bad magicians, stock patter lines, and insults.

I say the root is “Everybody loves magic,” but I should say, “Respect your audience.” We’ll save that for the branch, here in a moment. Believe me, when people are caught off guard and feel that moment, they really feel it, and they love it. Magic feels good. A beach sunset feels good. Love at first sight feels good. Being a parent feels good. These things are all magical things. Granted, they’re not the same level of magic, but they’re all magic nonetheless. The only one we really have control over is the “trick” that we do.

The only way that “trick” matters is if we give it meaning.

Branch:

Let’s Build Our Branches. Your Challenge: Respect your audience. Respect them enough to have practiced your material before you show it. Respect them enough to not insult them. Respect them enough to put effort into your presentation. More magic is lost (i.e., the feeling of magic is lost) due to mediocre magicians, poorly performed presentations and stock patter lines than all the Masked Magicians in the world.

Take the time to really focus on every effect in your repertoire. Does it have context, meaning, feeling, purpose, etc.? Or is it just you mumbling your way through the mechanics of a “trick” like a trained monkey? Yes, folks, these are harsh words, but they apply to all of us, including me. Take the time to examine your magic and give it some meaning. When you do, you will have shown your audience that you truly respect them and care about them, and you will allow them to feel a feeling that they’ve not let themselves feel in a long time: magic. Everybody loves magic.

Now go study the classics and go discover your true magical self.

Footnote:

Here’s a list of recommended reading to get you thinking about your magic:

Transformations: Creating Magic Out of Tricks by Lawrence Hass, Ph.D
Magic and Meaning by Robert E. Neale and Eugene Burger
Magic Matters by Robert E. Neale

The post Everybody Likes Magic appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Mysteries are Mysterious

Jeff Stone — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 00:03:15 +0000

The clear star that is yesterday shoots pineapples with a machine gun. Significant understanding is often one floor above you. What is Jeff talking about? Take a minute and try to solve that riddle. Post your comments below. It’s a riddle. I will not reveal the answer. To paraphrase Max Maven, some things are unknowable. True mystery is alive and well. We as magic folk are the keepers and perpetuators (I made up that word) of many forms of mystery.

The world record for solving a Rubik’s Cube is 5.55 seconds (held by Mats Valk). Is it a mystery that a human being can solve the cube that fast? Maybe. In reality, it comes down to years of practice, pattern recognition and the memorization of a butt-load of algorithms. I can solve it in about 35 seconds. There was a time where I thought it was impossible to get below 2 minutes. Then after years of practice I got down to an average of 1.5 minutes.

Years later, I got to about a minute average. Then 45 seconds, now 35 as of June, 2014. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get down to the single digits, but I do see a future where my average is under 20 seconds. Is it a mystery? It feels like it to those who can’t solve it. The fact is, it’s not a mystery. It’s a puzzle. It’s a puzzle that many have obsessed over and spent way too many hours with, but still a puzzle nonetheless.

I can also show you a Queen of Hearts and place it in your hand face down. Then a second later when you turn it over, it’s an Ace of Spades. Is that a mystery? Yes. Ironically, your spectator will often think, however, that it’s a puzzle and the Rubik’s Cube is a mystery.

Root:

Let’s Remember Our Roots. The Root: Perform mysteries, not puzzles. Right off the bat, I’m sure that some of you are thinking that puzzles have a place in a magic show, and you’d be right. As part of my close up show, I solve the Rubik’s Cube. No trickery, just a demonstration of skill that leads into a trick/mystery with the Rubik’s Cube. So, I’m not saying that you can’t have puzzles in your repertoire.

What I am saying is that magic done poorly comes across as a puzzle rather than a mystery. By poorly, I mean many things: poor presentation skills, poor use of a gimmick, fumbling, etc. For example, take the old classic drawer box prop. You open the drawer; it’s empty. You place some object in it; close it; reopen it; the object is gone. Then you close it again, reopen it and the object is back. It’s there; it’s gone; it’s there; it’s gone; open; close; open; close, etc., etc.

Presenting as I just did above is not magic. It’s not mystery. It becomes a puzzle for the audience to figure out. Here is the puzzle: How does this box hide stuff that he puts in it? That’s a puzzle folks, not a mystery. The drawer box may be too far gone to ever be more than a puzzle. Or not. I leave that to you. I use it only because it clearly demonstrates the point.

What kind of connection are you making with your audience. Are they too busy trying to figure out (i.e., solve the puzzle) of what you just did, or are they trying to enjoy the moment of astonishment as it attempts to wash over them? Though you don’t have 100% control of that, you do have a huge influence on it.

Branch:

Let’s Build Our Branches. Your Challenge: To quote the greatest metal band ever, “Seek and Destroy.” Examine your presentation, demeanor, verbiage, material, props, dress, etc. Seek for anything that leads the spectator to think that you’ve just given them a puzzle to solve and destroy it. If they think that they’re supposed to solve the puzzle, it’s partly your fault. Granted we’ve got a long history of crappy “magicians” who’ve made the beds we lie in. We need to wake up, and get some new sheets.

Rewrite your scripts. Restructure your tricks, Rethink your patter, Rework your wardrobe. Do what ever is necessary to communicate (both verbally and non-verbally) that you are offering something mysterious, not a puzzle to be solved. Like the meaning of that clear star that is yesterday that shoots pineapples with a machine gun, and the true location of significant understanding, some things are simply unknowable, and it’s your job to educate your audience and open their minds to this critical role that they play in the world of magic.

Now go study the classics and go discover your true magical self.

The post Mysteries are Mysterious appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Journals – Again?

Jeff Stone — Tue, 20 May 2014 00:03:56 +0000

Journals, Journals, Journals

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. You need to keep a journal. My latest book, 793.8 is about 70% from my journals.

When I was ready to write the book, I went through my journals and read every entry. If I felt it should be in the book, I simply wrote (in an MS Word document), “Journal Entry #71” or whatever. After I had completed going through my journals, I had a Word document that was several pages long with a list of journal entry numbers and nothing more.

Step 2 was to go back through the journals and type out, word for word, what I wrote in the journal. When that was completed, I had a dozen or two pages that listed every thing that I wrote in my journal that I was planning on publishing.

Then I grouped the material. Some of it was based on stuff already in my repertoire; some were crazy out-there ideas; others were simply essays, concepts, presentational ideas for existing effects and/or new effects. Once that was done, I took the time (several years) to flesh out the details of each journal entry. Etc., etc., etc.

The point is, without my journals, I wouldn’t have had the book which is now one of my best sellers.

Root:

Let’s Remember Our Roots. The Root: Ideas. Books are not the only thing to come out of my journals. I’ve also created effects, presentations and entire shows from my journals. I’ve developed marketing ideas from my journals that have helped me get gigs. Almost everything in magic that I’ve done started as a journal entry. The majority of the articles written in this magazine are from my journals.

Branch:

Let’s Build Our Branches. Your Challenge: Keep a Journal. If you don’t already own a journal go out and purchase one now, and start writing in it. You might remember that in January 2014 I gave you this same advice in the How to Create Magic article. I’ve given it before that as well. This is a critical part of growing in the art of magic: ideas. They are everywhere.

Now go study the classics and go discover your true magical self.

The post Journals – Again? appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Presentational Premises

Jeff Stone — Sun, 20 Apr 2014 00:03:10 +0000

Why do you do what you do? Are you a show off who likes to flaunt it to everyone who will watch? Are a tipsy Englishman who is reacting to thing happening to him? Are you a master of time and space? Are you a bender – someone who bends the real in unexpected ways during normal daily activities? Who are you?

Root:

Let’s Remember Our Roots. The Root: Premise. Why are you doing the trick you’re doing. Knowing who you are helps. My kids and I are total Rubik’s Cube addicts. We’re constantly timing our solves and competing with each other. We use a Stack Mat Timer (typically used for competitive cup stacking) to keep score and time ourselves.

The way it works is that you place both hands on the timer buttons. Then when you lift your hands off, the timer starts. As soon as you’re done, drop the cube and place both hands on the timer again to stop it.

I thought it might be fun to use the same timer to do a “find the selection” or “find the aces” routine. Have several cards selected and returned to the deck. Then set the deck on the timer mat. Place your hands on the timer; lift them, find the cards; drop the deck; stop the timer.

What’s the premise? I’m the fasted card finder in the world? Maybe . . .

Branch:

Let’s Build Our Branches. Your Challenge: Give your tricks meaning, premise, context. Think about your magic. Why do you do what you do? Who are you? Why are you doing the trick? Take some time and look at a few of your effects in your repertoire and come up with a definitive answer to why you are doing that trick. What’s the point? Feel free to post your discoveries below.

Now go study the classics and go discover your true magical self.

The post Presentational Premises appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Make Your Magic Meaningful

Jeff Stone — Thu, 20 Mar 2014 00:03:11 +0000

Building Your Show

To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme. No great and enduring volume can ever be written on the flea, though many there be that have tried it.

-Herman Melville

Are you that guy who does a trick; then does another trick, then another, then digs through his pockets (or case) and finds another and does another? Don’t be that guy. And if you’re saying “for my next trick” in your act, you need to stop now. Let’s change the above quote to fit us, shall we. It only requires that two words be changed. Change both “book” and “volume” to the word “show” and you’ve got it.

To produce a mighty show, you must choose a mighty theme. No great and enduring show can ever be written on the flea, though many there be that have tried it.

Root:

Let’s Remember Our Roots. The Root: Structure, theme, continuity. A mighty theme doesn’t necessarily mean a “complicated” or “big” theme. It could be simple and small. For example, I’ve considered putting together a show that has the basic premise of “I’m going to disprove all of the magic cliches.” The show would then be a group of effects that prove wrong the cliches.

For example, “Don’t repeat a trick” – I would introduce the idea to the audience and explain why people say it, but then I would proceed to disprove the theory by doing a trick that repeats – such as Ambitious Card. Another cliche is that it’s “done with mirrors” or “it went up his sleeve” etc. The show would be structured to use these elements in the theme of the effect or the show.

Currently I’m building a show that has the simple premise that “things aren’t always what they seem.” It starts with some very visual magic to get their attention and it builds with several effects that all fit that theme that things aren’t always what they seem.

Years ago, I used to do a whole card set centered around the theme of “things you didn’t know playing cards could do.” It was a bit more tongue-in-cheek, but it was fun and people enjoyed it. I did an “elevator” trick by Al Leech, The Gun Trick by Ken Krenzel, Mickey Mouse Math by Paul Harris and several others. The idea was that a deck of cards could be an elevator; it could be a gun, a calculator, etc. . . .

How ’bout a poker/gambling themed show. I know that it’s been done before, but how well has it been done. What if the show at a casino style poker table from the old west and you dressed the part of an 1800’s gambler. Throughout the show you might throw in some history and even have actual paraphernalia from the period. You use 1800’s style playing cards, etc., etc.

My father, who showed me my first magic trick ever, used to travel with the carnival. That’s where he met my mother. I’ve been compiling a list of effects for several years that I think would fit the carnival theme and make for a great stage show. Someday, I’ll put it all together. The intent would be to have a biography of sorts about my father. It would be very personal and very much a way to truly connect with my audience.

Branch:

Let’s Build Our Branches. Your Challenge: Create a theme. Build a show with some meaning. Give your magic some meaning. Look at the examples above and be inspired to create your own. What’s unique about you that could be a theme for a magic show? More than ever you must internalize the Roots and Branches closing tag line:

Now go study the classics and go discover your true magical self.

The post Make Your Magic Meaningful appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.