Disclaimer: I rarely perform magic any more because I am a person with Parkinson's disease and therefore, I have a tremor that is inconsistent, so I can never really plan a show. I am a collector and what people in the business of magic call a "methodologist." (I am going to get back to the term methodologist later, I promise.) In short, I collect methods. I am very aware, however, that the method is NOT the magic. I should also add that the method that I use to achieve the effect or "the magic" is almost always the simplest one. Intrigued? Read on. Okay, Okay, even if you are not intrigued,
please read on.
Learn Magic
Please
take a moment, read this short
article by
Ian Frisch and watch the videos. Then, learn the magic and share with your
friends. Now more than ever (nod to Ryan), we all could use a little magic in our lives and these
are two great effects.
I take a controversial stand on magic and that is "magic belongs to
whoever can do the research, discover the secret
and then, rehearse
and perform it well." What follows the “and then” part of the above
sentence, is what makes all the difference.
It Is Not The Method
As the phenomenal magician David Regal said (paraphrasing) in a recent interview “Having the
sheet music does not make you a great musician and the same goes for secrets and magic…”
Please allow me to illustrate my point. Many years ago, I had a series of three library shows on the NJ shore. My brother Paul picked me up from the NJ Transit Train station and as soon as I got in his car, he said,
"Hey you better not do the that thing with the... ...that masked magician guy exposed it on TV last night and..."
I replied: "I'm not worried about it..."
After the first show, my brother came up to me and said, "I see that you decided not to do that thing..."
I replied, but I did, I just did it this way..."
My point is that the secret is not the thing, "the magic" is. To truly entertain people you must separate "the move" from the moment of magic. Watch the coin effect in the video from the the article that I have posted and you will see what I mean.
And Old Friend
Let me to tell you about an old friend Neal AKA Effervescent. I know Neal from my days of swing dancing in NYC. He is one of the co -founders of yehoodi.com and as his nick name suggests, he has style. I taught Neal a few simple effects and he amazed people with them. How did he amaze people with such simple effects? The answer is also simple, he performed them as though they were miracles and he seamed just as amazed by the effect as the people watching.
What if you are annoyed by magic, or God forbid, "hate magic?" Then, I would argue, that it is even more important for you to learn these effects.
Please do this for me, I promise that you will not regret it.
Challenge/Offer
Perform one or both of these effects, video tape it (preferably with someone watching) post it on Facebook and let me know. Then, I will teach you at least two additional effects via zoom! Remember the secret is not the magic!
A Word About Universal Design.
If for whatever reason, you cannot perform these two effects, contact me and I will come up with something that you can perform. Sound fair?
Magic Is Important: Bringing It All Home
Magic is important for so many reasons. First, when done well, it is entertaining and maybe even amazing. More importantly, it teaches us that what we thought was impossible is really not. Think about all the things we accomplished from home during this pandemic. Many of these things we once thought were impossible.
If you could take coin and magically penetrate a solid wooden table, then what else could be possible? Is there more than one way to to accomplish things? Could we cure Parkinson's and other diseases? Could patients, doctors, researchers and pharmaceutical companies become methodologists and search for a range of solutions? (I told you that I would get back to this!) For example, is freezing a degenerative disease in its tracks less of a miracle than a cure? What about repairing a gene so that someone at risk never gets the disease? 20 years ago, was it possible for patients to be real partners in medical research and/or write journal articles? If we do not label something as "impossible," is anything possible?
David Regal
David Regal is a writer, actor and magician. His book "Approaching Magic" is one of the most important books on the subject. His new book "Interpreting Magic" has received rave reviews
(reaches for wallet). While the effects in these books (there is much more to these books than effects) are not technically difficult, they are not really for beginners either. If you are a beginner, would I discourage you from purchasing these books? Of course not, after all, anything is possible!
David Regal on Penn and Teller Fool Us.
Thank you for reading!
