Character & Effects

I almost had tears in my eyes watching such a beautiful effect.

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of driving to Toronto to see my dear friend Paulk Romhany give a lecture to the local IBM group.

For those of you who don’t know, Paul is the publisher of VANISH magazine and a tremendous magician.

Seeing him in person was a treat for me. The last time we saw each other in person was at least ten years ago in Vancouver, Canada.

Paul’s performance reminded me, oddly, of a lesson in character I learned from William Shatner, of all people.

Shatner wrote two books detailing his experiences making the original Star Trek TV series and the later movies he starred in. The lesson in question comes in his discussion of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.

Shatner was working closely with a screenwriter and trying to crack the story himself. At one point, seduced by the bad guy in the film, his best friends Spock and Dr. McCoy would turn against Kirk. But there was a problem.

Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley, who portrayed Spock and McCoy respectively, flat-out refused to go along with that plan. Their characters were simply too close to Kirk to betray him. Too much had happened over the years. The three men were more like brothers than merely Starfleet coworkers.

Nimoy and Kelley knew their characters so well, they didn’t hesitate to say “No” when presented with something incongruent with their characters.

Magicians could learn a lot from this story. My friend Paul understands this concept better than any magician I’ve ever seen.

Paul performs a show as silent era film star Charlie Chaplin. He wears clothes appropriate for Chaplin, wears makeup, and even applies a Chaplin-style mustache.

The entire show is performed without Paul speaking. He coordinates his physical movements to match the beat and tempo of the music. He’s got Chaplin’s mannerisms down perfectly.

On the night I saw Paul perform, his final piece was the Floating Broom. I don’t believe it’s available any longer, but I remember it when it came out. It’s a Zombie-style effect where the magician covers the broom with a foulard. The broom levitates, spins, and twirls, first behind the foulard and eventually in front of it.

The way Paul does it is simply breathtaking. And part of the emotion I feel is due in no small part to the character and connection built up with the audience in the previous 40 minutes or so of the show.

By the time that broom comes out, the audience is invested in Paul as the Little Tramp. And of course, using a broom in a show where he’s recreating Chaplin is a no-brainer. It’s simply the best marriage of trick and character/show I’ve ever seen.

Years ago, I had a similar choice I had to make.

I decided I wanted to get a Losander Floating Table. I thought it was a beautiful effect and would make a great finale for a school show I was putting together.

But there was just one problem: My show was modern. I try to avoid the goofily painted kid show props as much as possible. My props are plastic, trimmed with silver, and while many are brightly colored, I really strive to avoid the cliché bad props if I can.

That brings me to Losander’s tables. His tables are wooden. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to justify a wooden table in my show. It just didn’t fit. And while I could have scripted an explanation, the visual inconsistency with the rest of my show would have bugged me.

I put off buying Losander’s table…right up until he released his Excalibur model. Designed to look like a modern metal table, this fit my show perfectly. I bought it immediately. It’s been in my show ever since.

There are a ton of effects I would have loved to add to my shows over the years. But many of these effects would not have fit my character. For example, I wanted to do a watch steal. I think it’s an incredible effect. But there’s no way my character would ever do something like that.

Here’s another example: Sands of the Egypt.

I bought Jay Mattioli’s brilliant version called Sandz many years ago. I crafted a script where I spoke throughout the piece. It was for one of my educational shows and it fit perfectly. Eventually, I stopped performing it for that show due to the time it took to set it up.

But when I tried performing it silently, set to dramatic music for a non-educational show, it didn’t fit me. I don’t have that sense of movement and drama for that kind of silent performance. So these days, Sandz sits on my shelf, gathering dust.

So today’s message is about matching effects to fit your character.

Too many magicians just string together a series of effects and call it a show. To truly connect with an audience, your show should be more than that. It starts by examining your character.

Who is your character? When you’re considering adding certain effects to your show, ask yourself if the effect truly fits YOU.

Pretty heady stuff! By the way, if you like these kinds of questions, musings, and rants, you might want to check THIS out.

Until next time, have a great week!

--Cris

P.S. By the way…whenever you’re ready, here are 4 ways I can help you grow your magic business to book more shows at higher fees:

 
1. Grab my FREE report for professional working magicians.

It’s called “The 2-Word Secret to Eliminate Your Competition & Become Your Area’s Busiest Magician.” This report reveals a strategy that almost NO magicians are using (and the ones who are don’t use it correctly). Get your free copy HERE.

2. Get my website video training for under $10:

 
In this 2-hour video training, I’ll reveal exactly what your website needs if you want to succeed as a professional entertainer in the 21st century. Get all the details HERE.

 
3. Get a complete business-building plan handed to you on a silver platter.

 
Not sure how to move your magic business forward? I’ll analyze your complete magic business (website, market, competition, and more) and give you a complete game plan for getting your performing business to the next level. Find out how HERE.

 
4. Work with me privately.

 
Need help in multiple areas? I can help you with your website, direct mail, email, or other marketing strategies. I also offer consulting services for crafting magic routines or even entire shows. Want to find out more? Shoot me an email at cris@theprofessionalmagicianclubpro.com.

To find out more how I can help you book more shows at higher fees, click the button below to see my list of services.

© Copyright Cris Johnson, Inc.