The first nip of fall is in the air this year up here in the Shenandoah Valley. It is 49 degrees this morning as I wrap up this month’s contribution. No major changes in my life. I still do a little radio news and voice tracking and lot of substitute teaching and my weekly schedule of restaurant magic in such places as the Hookah Lounge.
After seeing several grandstand magic acts at county fairs around here, I am asking myself about the definition of an “entertainer”. Think of Collector's Workshop and other magic dealers. If a person had a million dollars he could buy a heck of lot of "self-contained" miracles of the deluxe kind....pre-packaged routines, but would any of that make him an entertainer?
Maybe the rule should be this:
Okay, guy you say you want to be magician. Well first we have to find out if you're an entertainer:
Just stand before us with no props, just YOU and your miserable-looking out-of-shape body with a costume that does nothing for it.
NOW: Entertain us! Sing, dance, act, do impressions, tell a story or joke, make us laugh, cry or barf -- what the heck and if you can pull THAT off ---
THEN! Maybe ... just MAYBE you should start learning to do.... some magic.
Start off with mentalism or pseudo hypnosis or ventriloquism (itself a kind of visual magic-illusion). Max Maven used to say that it was very easy to do mentalism, it was very difficult to do it well. Are YOU interesting and compelling to watch? Do people like you? Does no one want to look away ( or sadly ‘walk away’) during your time in the spotlight?
“You only get fancy props when you are ready.”
The result? --- About one in a thousand wanna-be magicians would be working today. Sheeze they’d even make lousy hobbyists. Fit only for Internet chat rooms and driving all their friends away with their whining: "Wanna see a trick?" "NO, creep, get lost and do the world a favor: Disappear! It is an option!"
Be honest: I'll bet the numbers of magicians who actually rose the hair up on the back of your neck, who gave you goose bumps just looking at their STYLE of Presentation --let alone any actual magic that fooled you -- you could count on the digits of one hand... and still have your thumb dangling free, uncounted.
Recently, Joseph Gabriel did it to me. As did James Dimmare. Lance Burton came close with his classic dove-card and-candle act. They have been a few others. There are many European Illusionists on You-Tube that are exciting to watch (Dani Lary, Peter Marvey etc.)
Or as the magic dealers should say about acts such as these, "That guy deserves my props!"
But then, to 99 percent of the dealers, just having money means you deserve their props. Now, in fairness, the song writer rarely has control over what happens to his crafted melody. He sells the sheet music and however it is either butchered into the noise of cat screeching on the sound of angel’s voices is not under his control. But a magic dealer is a little different. All of them are also a form of mentor and instructor. No bartender is legally allowed to sell alcohol to someone who is intoxicated and will do harm to themselves by using the product. Yep, we all know a lot of wanna-be magicians who are drunk on a dream.
In a truly ethical world: Some dude phones up a magic dealer to buy some stuff for the first time in his life, and he first has to answer a short (very short) questionnaire, if he isn't already on file. In order to GET permanently on a "universal file" for all the world's magic dealers, he's put through the following (I mean, thereafter, the buyer just gives the dealer his "file number", that the dealer can verify instantly via the Internet) :
- What magic organizations do you belong to?
- Who can vouch for your skills?
- How long have you been in magic?
- Can we see an unedited DVD of a portion of your act?
- What French magician was described as "The Father of Modern Magic", and what Canadian-born magician was affectionately called "The Professor"?
- Answer ONE of the following questions: (a) What is Rouging Fluid? (b) Fanning Powder? (c) What are Slush Powder and Dental Dam used for outside of magic?
- Are you married (not a requirement) and if so, how the heck did you manage to find woman who likes magic? (Of course the last one is a joke.)
THEN, and ONLY then -- would the rube qualify to buy any magic (short of a ton of unstabilized flash paper all at once) anywhere, anytime, from a magic dealer.
Here are some ideas for entertaining with no props or just a couple of coins. I often do the “hand twisting” (both hands out, thumbs down-right and over left”) as a gag in a “prop-less show”.
I also do the fingers interlocked and hands clasped with both index fingers extended (they can not keep them from slowly touching!) as an example of mental suggestion. (In a High School classroom I NEVER use the word “hypnotism”. I used the concept of mental suggestion and mental illusions).
Something that I do for some audiences ,that is pure entertainment and hilarious, is the “Dime Penny and Nickel Riddle”. This is an idea that I got from Dan Harlan’s lecture about 5 or 6 years ago at the Orlando Ring. Maybe you remember. It is a great bit.
On your hand lay a penny, a nickel and a dime… Tell the audience to pay attention and that you are giving them all the information they need to solve the riddle:
Say, “Ben’s mother had 3 children; the first was named “Penny” point to the penny. The second child was named “Nickolas” point to the nickel.”
Now point to the dime and say, “If you know the name of the 3rd child, raise you hand, do not blurt it out. Just raise your hand!” A few hands will go up and people will snicker… A majority will be puzzled.
I say, “When the answer hits you it will be like a bolt of lightning! You will say to yourself, “Yes, How simple!”
The repeat the riddle: “Ben’s mother had 3 children; the first was named “Penny” point to the penny. The second child was named “Nickolas” point to the nickel.”
Now point to the dime and say, “If you know the name of the 3rd child, raise you hand, do not blurt it out. Just raise your hand!” This time a few more hand go up and more people start laughing… A few still don’t get it… This goes on another could of times and a few still don’t get it. I go out into the audience and usually pick on an older guy or woman and in a frustrated voice put the coins in their palm and say, “Hokay, lets go over this again and listen to what I am saying! The audience is in stitches as I repeat the riddle… I deliberately have them repeat very world I say!
“Ben’s MOTHER… Ben’s Mother!” The audience is rolling in the floor and the poor guy is repeating it UNTIL he get’s it…and says, “OH! YES!!!! “Ben! Ben!” The audience breaks out into laughter and applause….
This gag can go on for 5 minutes and the audience totally engaged and entertained if you use your voice and a kind of “Paul Daniels” attitude. I have used this gag many times… It is an almost prop-less crowd killer!
Props are becoming meaningless anymore. High school kids with a MP3 player with 10,000 songs are no longer fooled by much…even if they do not understand the electronics. I recently took “The Obedient Block” into my classrooms and did the whole bit with “talking to the block”.
The trick got no real response other than the comment, “It has something electronic in it that recognizes your voice and grabs the string”.
I even have trouble now with drawing duplication because there are
pens out that let you draw and instantly download it to a computer!
$125 dollars!
Most people think that the pen or pencil just has funny electronics build into it! Scratch that miracle…
Technology is now so ubiquitous, props have less impact. Learn to entertain without relying on them.
Have a good and prosperous Halloween!
Dennis Phillips
Harrisonburg, Va
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