Opinions

Howdy,
I don't have the time tonite to update my blog as planned, but there is a great thread on theory11.com which started as one thing but turned into another.  It's a good read if you haven't read it.  Everyone had their opinion which is what keeps any art fresh and evolving.  No one is right or wrong, it's all opinion and how you view magic from your shoes.  Here is one of my posts from said thread, if you have the time and haven't read the whole thing it is worth while.  http://forums.theory11.com/showthread.php?36072-Style

 Originally Posted by ChristopherT 

Without a character, you're probably a hack.

Holy crap, it's like you know me. 

Seriously though, this is the most archaic, closed minded and insulting thing I've endured in all of today. I've seen and know magicians who are hacks that hide behind characters and persona's thinking that their characters make them as a magician. Some of the most accomplished magicians today do their best work as them selves. I will site 2 examples. 

Theory 11's own Jason England. Although I have not met him personally, I did get to spend some time a while ago with one of his close friends, Chris Kenner - another Magician who is exactly himself and always has been. Chris Kenner spoke extremely highly of Jason England assuring us that what we see is what he's actually like. Jason England would have to be one of the worlds most leading card handlers/performers who is exactly himself performing, teaching or just day to day. 

David Copperfield. Whom I have met. Before you laugh at me, I am familiar with his work and did see his show when he toured Australia last time. Most of his show was less drama and smoke machines and more a middle aged man laughing and joking with the audience. Again, name dropping Mr. Kenner said this latest tour is as close to David in real life as it's ever been and he's having the most fun he's ever had. I'm not quoting word for word as it was a couple of years ago but that's pretty close to what was said. 

I don't think magic is completely moving away from characters and persona's, people still love and expect to see magicians and characters. And I'm certainly not stepping on stage and being myself unprofessionally. It's kinda like my day job, I have to be professional and more friendly than I may be on my own time but what makes me such a successful sales man is that I'm myself, I believe what I'm telling my customers and they trust me. 

There's room for both of us on the stage, like I said before magic has evolved. We are performing art, and you can't say one way is superior than the other. You can have the opinion but to make a statement like that can be damaging to an aspiring magician who reads it who is doing an awesome job sharing what they share how they want to share it. If you enjoy your magic and others do too, don't change how you do it by adding (or removing) a character. Just do what you do. 

 Originally Posted by TeeDee

Amen. "Yourself" cannot do real magic. Therefore, if you "be yourself", you are not being a magician, you are being someone who does tricks.

If I do magic as a magician it's expected and not extraordinary. If I do magic as myself and people trust me, I do miracles.

Inner Movemonkey

Hey all, just thought I'd share a little clip of me practising a spread cull.  I know it's now performance ready that's why I'm showing you so you can (nicely) rip into me and tell me what I'm doing wrong so I can make it smoother.  I never use complicated (to me this is complicated) sleights when professionally performing or performing for people I don't know, I just save my inner "movemonkey" for friends and fellow Magi.

I hope you have all read my previous post and enjoyed it.  I know some people would have chuckled at how easy coming up with a method to trick I explained was, but I hope it did make a few people think and maybe even sparked some creative juices to make a whole new trick for them selves!  I will be posting my method this evening with a short clip showing the moves I will use.  Till then.

~Jesse

Hi and welcome to my blog!

This will be the first of many (I hope) post I make about myself and my obsession for a deck of cards.  I will be talking about everything from first time publicly performing, sleights vs simplicity, creating an effect, different cards for different tricks, routine lengths and much more.  A lot of people are probably curious as to my experience and authority to talk about these such things, I have 20 years of deck time (not all of it as serious as I am now) some - a relatively small about - professional experience and learnt the hard way at 9 years of age how important it is to practice before performing for a room full of your peers which will happily rip you a new one when you fail miserably.  Apart from those reasons, I'm as crap as the next amateur magician - except I have a passion to share and discuss magic with people on the internet.  

My posts will consist of me gasbagging on about a particular subject for a few paragraphs then ending with something each week which will hopefully make you guys think.  I will share an effect I've created, some may be from my actual performance set list and some will be things that I'm still refining.  I will not share the method till my next post but I ask you, how would you do it?  Is your method complicated or simple?  What would your patter be like?  My next post I will show a short video performing the trick and explaining my method.  You version might be completely different or exactly the same, that's the beauty of this art.  Neither will be right or wrong, my point is just to have us all stop and think and expand out minds for a few minutes.  This is what I believe helps us become not only better magicians but better people. 

Today I'll share something I've been showing a lot of people lately and if I was professionally performing at the moment would defiantly be my walk around closer.  Using an in use shuffled deck, have a spectator select any card, you can always use a pre selected/signed card from a previous trick to save time and or add to the power of this card that had already performed some miracles.  Place the selection face up slightly forward jogged (toward the spectator) on top of the deck (which is in your deck hand in mechanics grip) and explain that the card is going to hide back inside the deck with a wave of your right hand.  Proceed to waive you other hand over the top of the deck, in one smooth wiping motion the selection disappears from the top of the deck.  Briefly spread through the deck to show that the card is no where to be seen as it is hiding in plain sight, and doing a great job.  Explain that you need to draw the card out by confusing it, so it won't know what way to face making it easier to find, proceed to cut the deck in half turning one half face up and faro (smoosh the cards together end to end so they thoroughly mix) face up into face down.  Explain that the selection doesn't know which way to face and is much easier to find now and ask the spectator to extend one flattened face up hand.  Place the deck in the spectators hand and tell them you are going to reset the deck, remark likening a reset button on a computer or video game - resetting which way the cards face.  Gesture over and around the deck (as much as you feel comfortable - depending on performance tone and or spectator tone) finishing with a click of your fingers of both of your hands either side of the deck.  Claim that the deck has been reset and indicate for the spectator to spread through the deck, finding the selection facing the opposite way to the rest of the deck, too confused to hide properly any more.  

So, how would you do it?  Feel free to post a comment with your method don't worry about being am "exposer"  here, this is exposure - it's a thought process and brainstorm.  And the only people reading this far are people with a genuine interest in magic.  As I said I will share my method and perform this for you in the near future.  Thank you so much for reading and I'll hopefully see you next time.

~Jesse