Variety

I hate Dexter.

Have you ever heard of Dexter?

It’s an American crime drama. Dexter is a serial killer who only kills criminals who ‘deserve to die.’

My mother-in-law, who lives with us, watches that damn show every day.

I find it disturbing. Dexter tortures his victims before killing them, often waxing philosophical before he does the deed.

Worst of all, he narrates the episodes with inner monologues revealing his thoughts as he reacts to people around him.

His inner monologues usually fall into two camps:

“Boy, I sure hope I don’t kill today.”

And the second, after he inevitably kills:

“Boy, I sure hope I don’t get caught.”

The show is repetitious to a fault, with no charisma from its lead and disturbing writing.

I don’t watch the show willingly. But my mother-in-law has it on whenever I walk into the room. And I can hear that stupid show playing as I cook dinner each night.

I know what you’re thinking.

“Why is Cris droning on and on about a serial killer in a newsletter for magicians?”

Simple…to my eye, Dexter is annoyingly repetitive.

I suppose that’s true for all shows on TV. We get to know a character or set of characters. Then there’s a formula, depending on the genre.

That’s true in magic, too. We have our favorites. Then there are the classics.

Most magicians say the ‘classics are classics for a reason.’

There are plenty of offbeat, unusual effects out there, too.

With hundreds of thousands of effects to choose from, today’s message is simple: don’t be repetitive in your show.

Children’s magicians often rely too much on the ‘look no see’ plot. I’m as much of a fan of this plot as the next magician.

But many kids show performers rely on it way too much.

Similarly, don’t have more than one change bag routine in your show. It just becomes too much of the same.

Comedy for kids is the same, too. If you find dropping a prop makes the kids laugh, do it no more than three times.

As my friend Jim Kleefeld says, doing a gag more than three times is overkill.

And that doesn’t mean you should drop your prop three times…then move onto another routine and drop that prop three times.

Try to vary your routines, too. Have longer routines mixed in with shorter routines. Routines with one audience volunteer. Routines with multiple audience members. Routines with no volunteers.

Bring different kinds of effects into your shows. Disappearances. Productions. Penetrations. Magic has (I forget the exact number) something like twelve basic effects.

As long as they are appropriate, try to use as many of those in your show as you can.

Audiences love variety. This is especially true in magic.

Now let’s talk about mentalism.

On Max Maven’s “Nothing” DVDs, he and host Michael Weber talk about ‘Swiss Army Mentalists.’

They derisively describe these performers as having too many skills for their shows.

Really?

In his Color series, Max also talks about the limitations of mentalism, namely how there are only four (or whatever the number was) distinct effects to choose from.

For believability, many mentalists recommend limiting your abilities.

Me? I can’t imagine anything more boring than watching a performer do an entire show with just one ability.

Think about it. If you see a mentalist do nothing but predict things for an hour, how entertaining will it be?

And yes, I know the counterpoint: Come up with unique and engaging presentations.

I get that. But limiting yourself to one (or even two) abilities is handcuffing yourself, in my opinion.

I compare magic shows to movies. Consider all the elements of a good movie: writing, directing, acting, cinematography, editing, special effects, stunts, etc.

I prefer to give myself as many tools as possible to work with.

Take away too many tools and suddenly you’re Dexter…boring and repetitious.

So here’s your homework (bet you weren’t expecting homework, right?): Look at your set lists.

Take note of how many times you’re exhibiting the same skill. Try adding effects that incorporate different magical abilities.

What about routine length? Do you have routines that are super quick, less than 30 seconds? Add in a longer routine. Variety is what makes a good show come to life.

Then look at your volunteer routines. How many use just one volunteer? Two? More?

If every volunteer routine you have only uses one person, try adding some variety.

Add a routine that uses two volunteers. Add a routine that uses a half dozen volunteers.

This adds considerable variety to your show, even if you’re a mentalist.

I prefer to work with set lists. But if you’re the kind of performer who creates a one-of-a-kind lineup for each show, consider the above suggestions when putting a show together.

Finally, consider your close-up work, too.

If you’re performing strolling magic, add variety there, too.

Yes, I know you’ve been performing that Ambitious Card routine for years.

Yes, it gets great responses.

But that doesn’t mean you need to follow it with three more card routines.

Quick note…I love card effects. I’m currently in love with ‘signed card to impossible location’ and try to put a variant of this plot into most of my shows.

But audience members crave variety, too. After the Ambitious Card, consider busting out a Hundy 500-type effect.

Or starting with my Perfect Corporate Strolling Opener available in this book.

Audiences love good magic. They’ll love it even more if there is a variety of material.

Have a great week!

--Cris

 
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