2012-01 Dennis' Deliberations

I have a confession. Marco Tempest leaves me cold. I have no appreciation of what he does. I do not consider it very mysterious or in the category of “stage magic”.  It is electronic gimmicky. But, I respect what he does and recognize that he is on the cutting edge of what magic will be in the 21st century. So even though Marco does not entertain me, I am going to heap praise on him.

FIRST: He entertains the public.
SECOND: Whether the “old guard” of magic finds him an electronic “sell-out” or not, he’s GETTING WORK. That is a positive and envious position to be in during this economic mess.
THIRD: I personally find his manner and voice and accent, and even looks, a turn-off, none of which is his fault. Many people like him. He does wear well while performing and is not obnoxious.
FOURTH: Check the history of Marco Tempest. He grew up doing “our” conventional conjuring, entering contests and what not, but then said he got “bored with it all.”  Having a geek’s interest in media technologies, he put on his thinking cap and merged the two.
FIFTH: In the process, he was able to create a novel form of “magic”, with a bit of a rainbows-and-butterflies Doug Henning slant, and it struck a chord with corporate hacks and audiences.  More power to him — considering so many very talented conventional magicians can’t get a decent toe-hold in show business these days.
SIXTH: I and all us old guys  have every right to say, in effect, his shtick of merging video special effects to “our” magic, is not our cup of tea, but we have to admit (through a gnashing of teeth?) that he’s hit on a successful ANGLE and is running with it.  You have to admire that much.Thinking outside the magic box…. is what it’s all about. The world is full of magic clones all doing essentially the same stock stuff. Now watch a few other guys come out of the woodwork trying to copy him.  I don’t think his technological bent can be FAKED, it has to come naturally. Lucky for him he had two sincere interests and was able to combine them, and (most important!) made them commercial.The world has always thrived on NOVELTY, but inherent in the very definition of “novelty” (I think) is something that cannot have “legs.” If it lasts it’s not novel, and if it is novel, it can’t last. When it is accepted as mainstream, it is no longer novel! David Copperfield hasn’t a thing to worry about.

Speaking of  Marco Tempest, how can Europe have at least 5 big touring illusion shows and we have almost nothing?  (They have Dani Lary, Peter Marvey, Luis DeMatos  etc. etc.) I helped Paul Osborne on some of his design work and consultation is in Europe. How can Dani Lary afford this?

This is very odd because I have been told that Europe is a socialist basket case; I have also been told Europeans are dying because their socialized medicine is failing. I have been told that their tax rates are confiscatory so they have no discretionary money. I have been told that most Europeans are crushed economically and have no freedom. That is what I keep hearing on the most watched news network on cable TV. They say that few people their own cars and homes in Europe much less a Super X in the attic and Temple of Benares in the basement.  I don’t know if the news channel is exaggerating for political purposes.  All I know is that Europeans have access to and they see lots of magic!

I have heard from some that big show business is not “controlled” by big mega media corporations in Europe as it is here. It is a lot more diversified and in some cases government supported.  This may be because each country operates politically separate even though they share a common currency.  I don’t think that money alone assure success otherwise Steve Wyrick would be at the top. Europe has a lot more respect for variety arts… Over here in the United States, variety arts do not have the same respect. It took Canada to create the very artsy Cirque du Soleil.  Does America lack a sufficiently sophisticated population to enjoy magic?  

Since I moved here in rural Virginia, I have been forced to drop “magic” from my advertising.  The Religious Fundamentalists here believe all magicians are in league with the devil. When I lived up here in the 1960s, I do not remember such superstition as a magician. What changed?  I would say that we have gone downhill intellectually, religiously and economically since then.The feeling by some on the International show-business scene is that America is become a 3rd world poverty- stricken place filled with ignorant people. A fair number of magicians have become ex-patriots in order to keep working. Jonathan David Bass relocated to Prague in the Czech Republic. Joe Conrad is in Thailand. Japan has several ex-patriot Americans. Cyril, from San Francisco, is a big star. Robert Gallup made it big in Australia. Hank Lee was on a tour in China when he died.   How many road tours like that are there here?

I am mentioning this because I care about my country. Yes, I am also a bit jealous of all the touring large magic shows and sophisticated magic in Europe.

I hope this New Year in a good one for you.