The Art of Connecting

The Art of Connecting by Magic Ian
 
You just did the best center steal anyone has ever done, you have the jumbo coin finale ready to produce, you look up and your audience is gone. You lost your crowd, somewhere when your patter started they drifted off. Worst of all, you probably didn't notice they were gone because you didn't connect. Your never took your audience along with you on the ride.
 
What I find lacking in most acts is the theatrical mechanisms to connect your subjects to your zone. If you don't have their undivided attention and then keep that attentive focal point, you have lost the game.
 
Magic is like selecting music in a Juke Box*, select the wrong song and half your audience is gone. The style and patter you use must be carefully chosen,

the speed of your speech, the focal cues where you emphasize the effects you will be working on, the eye contact, how you use your surroundings, clothing, and misdirection of your hands.
 
When I start my performances, I introduce my props as if they were associates I want the audience to meet them. Sort of, “allow me to introduce you to my little friend, this coin, and his partner the card”. I give them full and royal entrances. I personify my props so as to give them the attention of someone who is talking. If the audience is not introduced to the props, they will not care what they do. If a feature of the cards is to change, I take great care to describe that feature so that when the change or effect takes place it is fully noticed. A color change is a costume change, a change in the suit is like changing night to day. It is startling and impossible, not just a color change.
 
All during the act, I constantly reinforce the features of my friends so when there is any difference, it is appreciated. It stuns and affects the spectators. The finale, is built up, not just revealed. All of the moves have the audience waiting for the revelation, anticipating something is going to happen and the audience will not leave, but will lean in close, and watch and listen like the conclusion to a great suspense film.
 
Anything less than this is just doing a trick.
 
-Magic Ian
aka Ian Sutz
www.tricks.ws
 
*long before ipods and MP3 players there were devices in diners* where you could play your favorite song for a fee.
*Diners were popular before fast food restaurants, they were distant relatives to Denny’s or Ihop.