The Case for Reliable Methods

I grimaced as I looked at the image.

I was rehearsing a new mentalism piece with my reluctant wife. This particular piece was a drawing duplication.

If you’re not familiar with a drawing duplication, it’s an effect where the performer asks a spectator to draw something while keeping it hidden from the performer. Using their psychic mojo, the performer is able to reproduce the spectator’s drawing accurately.

In this case, the method I was using gave the performer a secret impression of the spectator’s drawing.

The method, which I won’t reveal here, is brilliant. It uses a principle I was unfamiliar with and combined it with an even more obscure tactic to create test-like conditions for the effect to work.

When this thing hits, it looks like the performer must be the real deal.

Unfortunately, after rehearsing with this method, I had a batting average of around .600. That means at least a third of the time, I can’t get a good glimpse of the image.

And I don’t know until deep into the routine whether it worked or not.

I considered using the method anyway because it looks so impossible. Then I’d simply have a backup method in case the test conditions one didn’t work.

Eventually, I decided to scrap the test conditions method. I settled on another terrific-looking method…ironically by the same creator.

It’s not ‘test conditions’ but still appears to be very cool.

And if that doesn’t work, I’ve got another method I’ve cobbled together myself. I used this method in a few other shows, and it always fries audiences.

I’ve spent the last few days wondering if I should have just used my method in the first place. I’d have saved myself about $400.

In magic, there seems to be two camps. The first camp really loves clever methods to effects. Maybe the method is test conditions, like in pure mentalism. Or maybe it uses cool electronics to accomplish the impossible. And some magicians gravitate toward complicated sleight of hand.

The second camp? That’s where I live. I prefer methods that are simple and bomb-proof. I want to connect with my audiences, remember my script, succeed at each effect, and collect my check.

I don’t like risks. To me, risk involves overly complicated sleight of hand. It can also involve memory work. For instance, I know how to rapidly solve a Rubik’s Cube. Trouble is, it takes anywhere from 45 seconds to a minute and a half. And I can’t talk while I’m doing it. I just don’t have the mental capacity to do it.

I recently watched Harry Anderson’s Penguin Live lecture. For the most part, I thought it was great. And one thing Harry kept coming back to was using methods that were “cocktail proof.” I took that to mean Harry liked methods that were easy and required little if any thought.

That’s what I love. Live performing is challenging enough. And the thing is, people don’t know if you’re using fancy sleight of hand or a simple gimmick. Nor do they care. They simply want to be entertained.

If you’re striving to become a full-time professional magician, I strongly urge you to get the idea of complicated sleight of hand out of your head. Sure it’s fun to do with your friends. I have some kick-ass sleight of hand routines I’ll bust out on rare occasions f I want to impress magician. But when money is on the table, I want something reliable with a minimum of thought needed.

I once recall Max Maven saying on one of his videos that he enjoyed using routines that carried risk in them. Risk that the entire 10–20-minute routine could fail in the end. Max compared it to a running back in football having a great run of several yards yet being tackled before they could score a touchdown.

To me, that represents flawed thinking. In a performance, there should theoretically be nothing opposing us. It’s not like football.

Yes, I’m daring to criticize a true legend in our business. Max could do whatever he wanted because he was Max. But for the rest of us mere mortals, our clients pay us to succeed.

If we don’t, we have failed. It’s not a “great run” like a running back. Our audiences merely see a magician who couldn’t stick the landing on a trick.

If you’re gifted in sleight of hand and can present complicated material to your audiences in an engaging fashion that results in repeat bookings and referrals, go for it.

But the vast majority of dedicated sleight of hand artists I’ve seen in my lifetime can either do sleight of hand or perform. Most can’t do both. My advice? Three things:

1. Record your live professional shows. Listen to the audience’s reactions. Be honest with what you are hearing and seeing. Adjust accordingly.

2. Ask yourself how you feel before and during your performances that require difficult sleight of hand. If it makes you nervous, change methods. I can’t stand being nervous about a method when I perform.

3. If you can, find a director. Get some honest feedback with an eye toward improvement.

Remember, audiences want to be entertained. That means engaging presentations that are fun and appropriate for the audiences you’re performing for.

Looking for entertaining and professional presentations? I offer three books filled with polished material perfect for the real world. Check them out here.

Until next week…

--Cris

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