Magicians call or email the office every week – either to talk, ask a question, seek advice, etc. I think it’s funny that any of them would call me at all. I learn something new everyday about this business – and about those who are involved in it. This particular magician was very nice – courteous and professional. You might wonder why I would write that, but many of the guys who call are not nice or professional. That’s a completely different entry – and something I’m not sure I’ll ever understand. This guy had recently purchased our ASIA dvd and had watched it several times. He was specifically asking questions about some of the illusions he had seen because he is looking for “new material” for his show.
These conversations challenge me to re-evaluate my own thinking and direction. As we talked, it struck me that we (magicians) often put more emphasis on the illusions themselves, and the bells & whistles we surround them with, than we do on striving to make our performance of those illusions the very best it can be. Doug Henning once told me that a magician’s job is to create “wonder.” Certainly the “bells & whistles” are nice to have – our show is filled with them – but they should not define who we are as performers nor should we depend on them to “create wonder” in our audiences. The ability to do that should come from inside of us and I’m not certain that it’s something you can “learn” if the seed is not there in the first place. You can definitely develop and grow that seed into something better with experience and direction.
We are very fortunate to have the advice, direction, and creative abilities of some of the most outstanding people in the magic community working with us on our production. As a result, we have some incredible and original illusions in the show – things that no other magician in the world is performing. And we’re very excited about that. As we develop the presentation for these illusions, we incorporate as many theatrical elements as possible to make them even more appealing and unique to our audiences. But one of the most satisfying things about our performance is the ability to create “wonder” with those illusions even when it’s not possible to include all the theatrical elements designed for them. I think it’s much the same as with a concert pianist. One can play with a symphony and create music that is “bigger than life”; or one can play solo and keep it simple. Both have the potential to touch the soul of the listener and there are artistic merits to each. But the pianist should have the ability to do them both. So should magicians – create illusions that are “bigger than life” as well as touch the soul of the viewer…without all the bells & whistles.
As I wrapped up the conversation with this young man, he thanked me for my time and acknowledged that, perhaps, he doesn’t need any “new material” at all. The magic in his show is very good. What he needs to do is to take that magic and learn how to create wonder for his audiences – and that’s something that has absolutely nothing to do with a box, a light, a gel, a fog machine, or a costume.