Chapter 3

Back in the days when Showmanship for Magicians was first published, there was no television, there were no rock bands with pyrotechnics, no summer blockbuster movies, no video games and no internet. During those times there was mainly radio, different varieties of live theater and motion pictures.

Though eras are different, the preferences of audiences truly have not changed that much over time. Audiences still prefer entertainment that includes conflict, character, and emotion.

Conflict, simply put, is a struggle. Some type of problem a person must overcome. The conflict can be between man vs. nature, man vs. circumstances, man vs. man, or man vs. himself.

It is much more interesting to watch a man trying to complete a task of accomplishment then it is to watch someone who has already succeeded. I think we see this everyday with celebrities. We are first happy for the fame these people get and then we buy the tabloid pictures or cruise the gossip websites trying to see how these people fall from grace.

Everyday people struggle. It may not be as elaborate as defending your home from aliens from another planet. Most people only have to struggle with the mundane tasks of paying bills, having to put up with their over confident boss, or driving through rush hour traffic. At the same time, all people can understand struggle, they can relate to it and watching someone struggle can make people actively think about the situation the character is going through, put themselves in the character’s shoes and fantasize what it would be like to be in the same situation.

This starts at a very early age, while some boys pin towels to their shirts pretending to fly, some little girls play the role of a princess in a Disney movie.

The conflict in a magic act doesn’t have to always be the classic sucker effect, of the magician faking to expose the trick, and then revealing the trick worked anyway.

Cardini’s act was nothing but conflict about a man who’s props seemed to come to life and pop up when they were not wanted.

Houdini’s famous for building conflict in his struggles to escape his binds.

I think the path most magicians take is the incorrect one and that is starting a conflict with the audience. When a magician brings out the “look how clever I am” attitude on stage or in their performance they put themselves on the other side of the playing field of most of the members of the audience. The show is nothing more than a challenge and a contest with the magician on one side struggling to keep the methods of his “amazing” feats a secret and the other side consisting of the audience attempting to figure the secrets out. I think most people would agree this situation, though amusing for a brief moment, is not a form of entertainment.

Here is a quote from one of my favorite movies, The Color of Money.

Eddie Felson: You're some piece of work... You're also a natural character.
Vincent Lauria: [to Carmen] You see? I been tellin' her that. I got natural character.
Eddie Felson: That's not what I said, kid. I said you *are* a natural character; you're an incredible flake.
[Vincent's smile fades; Eddie continues]
Eddie Felson: But that's a *gift*. Some guys spend half their lives trying to invent something like that. You walk into a pool room with that go-go-go, the guys'll be *killing* each other, trying to get to you. You got that... But I'll tell you something, kiddo. You couldn't find Big Time if you had a road map.

Having character is completely different than from being a character. Character is having charisma, being able to have people drawn to you. That can come from having a sense of humor, being charming, talented, and most important, humble. Being able to lead and guide others into different states of mind that you want them to go into. This could also be called rapport.

Some people are just characters. In the quote above, Eddie is telling Vincent that with his “go-go-go” he can get people to want to challenge him, want to beat him at his game. As a performer, you must know when the pep and excitement isn’t turning into that “go-go-go”, challenging attitude that turn a performance into nothing more than a battle of the wits.

Emotion is the way you can move an audience. The emotion doesn’t have to be a huge dramatic slap in the face or cheesy dramatic tear jerking. It can be as simple as making people laugh, smile, shock, be sympathetic, suspenseful. All of these can be done in a magic show successfully if thought out fully and performed well after following precise rehearsal.

If you watch television, movies, theater, music concerts and even some high quality productions on the internet you will see that the performances stress sex, common problems, sensations, complex situations and “escape” from the humdrum. You will also find comedy, nostalgia and sentiment.

Please also note a successful production is carefully rehearsed and routined, the material has been edited and selected. And at the end there should be a PUNCH! Details are considered; costume, make-up, lines and sets.

This attention to detail and knowing what people want can be incorporated to a magic show. Music, rhythm, staging. There is too much reliance on the mystery and the comedy. Costuming, grooming, make-up should be considered.
Most magic shows suffer from poor material, poor delivery, fumbling, lack of precision, slow tempo or having things be out of date.

Magic can’t be shaped to modern entertainment if public preferences are not catered to.

Always wishing the best,
Adam White

Ebook
www.adamwhitemagic.com