some new tricks and the years wrap up

Well as December closes to an end I have begun to think about my last year in magic. At the beginning of the year I knew OF some tricks and slights, i knew HOW they were performed but could do very little magic itself. Now 12 months later I can confidently perform 3 or 4 different 10 minute routines in close up magic and free style a few tricks. I've learnt how to captivate children with Guy Hollingworth's 'Once Upon a Time'. I have performed 3 gigs for 3 very different audiences and enjoyed many evenings in the local goth club honning my performances as well as magic geeking with some great freinds. So what made htis year different to toher years when I toyed with magic. As stupid as it sounds I think getting a pluck foam case was a great start. Being able to store my props and get at them easily made it possible for me to practise for just a few minutes a day if need be. The other factor was taking opportunity tp perform when it was thurstupon me. I could have bailed, I could have chickened out, but I didn't. I think having friends involved in magic and a very supportive girlfriend all contributed to this. So in short. Keep at it. stay involved have faith in yourself and the universe.

preachy bit over. now it's time to talk of my gig. The gig was with my great friend and partner Harvey. The clients were a support group for people with autism and aspergers and their families. I think Harvey was better prepared for our audience than myself, but I think we both did a great job. The main thing as to not have ambiguous instructions where they could do the wrong thing via a simple mis-understanding of language. The other was to not enter a competition with the participants. I think this is true with all magic to be honest, it's not about proving we're smarter than those around us. it's about entertaining people, and maybe making them think a little more about the world around them, certainly it's also about giving them that pleasant belly flip of surprise. Here then There went down well, as did Do as I do, Four sight, and aces High. Out of This World proved popular however some people found it too incredulous and insisted a trick deck was used even after examining the pack. I have experinced the strnage phenoma of being 'too good' before. When explaining how I made my own waistcoat to a lady in the fabric shop I work at she insisted I was lieing, she said it was too good to be home made. I explained that as a tailor if my work wasn't as good, if not better than the shops then I was in trouble she still left calling me a liar. This it was with this trick. It's a simple almost self working trick and i's all in the presentation, but the parent of one of the children insisted it 'looked like something from the telly' and thus was fake. it seems he would only be satisfied that something was a REAL MAGIC TRICK if he could work it out. I asked him if it was not a magic trick and if it was not a truly phsyicic event then what was it, he simply replied 'cheating' so there you ave it folks you can't please everyone, either you're not good enough, or two good and force someone onto a mental 'cul-de-sac'

Ambitious card was a lovely trick for someone who was shy and maybe needed a little coaxing to be involved. IT works well as a one on one trick and made the participant realise I could be there just for her. A new trick was 'The Wee Wee Mentalist' taken from 2wo Faced by David Forrest. This DVD centres on new uses for classic gaff cards such as double backed and blank backed. The effect is the spectator chooses a card and writes their name on it. A simple stick drawing of a mentalist reads her mind and is seen thinking of the card. It has a lovely reveal and uses only basic slights. The response was impressive. It's a departure from my normal choice of magic as it can't be dressed up as gambling skills or advanced psychology. By having a stick man thought bubble reveal the card it's obvious classic card manipulation is a foot. However no-one has worked out the method and they seem to enjoy the physical transformation of the card. Defiantly a keeper.

i'm not dead....

or worse, giveing up on magic. I've had a wonderfull magic filled month, just no time to blog it. Expect a big catch up up-date soon