Reuniting with Old Friends

I couldn’t believe how comfortable I was doing a routine I hadn’t touched in at least ten years.

I had been hired to perform for a ladies' group about ten minutes from my house. Since I don’t perform much for adults anymore, I was worried about being rusty.

I had spent some time in the weeks before the gig rehearsing extensively some effects I was planning on doing for middle school audiences. Since most were mentalism-based, I felt comfortable putting these routines in front of an adult audience.

So, I felt pretty comfortable with the new material.

Most of the old material I was performing was stuff I hadn’t touched in a decade. One piece in particular – Bob Cassidy’s 4th Dimensional Telepathy- used to be the feature in my adult shows when I performed at a lot of corporate holiday parties. Now? Not so much.

Because I’m planning on doing more adult programs in the future, now seemed as good a time as any to dust off the old routine.

I had already resisted the urge to load up the entire show with new material I was working on. Trying out a completely new show in front of a live audience is nerve-wracking as anything I had done. I was determined not to repeat the mistake.

I had already performed for this group six months ago, so I had already used up my “A” material.

Right now, those of you familiar with 4th Dimensional Telepathy are probably wondering why in the world it’s not in my “A” material.

The answer is simple – I had gravitated over to a blindfold act years ago. It filled about the same amount of time but without the need to set up the gimmick envelopes and billets.

In short, I was lazy.

But here I was six months later, reaching back in time for old material to balance out the new.

When I started performing the routine, this wonderful wave of nostalgia washed over me. It felt great revisiting this old friend.

I was so delighted with how the experience went that after the show I immediately went into my show files and reordered my material, putting 4th Dimensional Telepathy back in my “A” mentalism show.

Magicians are funny like that.

Many of us often lust after new material.

Eugene Burgher called it Tyranny of the New in one of his books. Rick Maue talked about chasing the perfect lie in his books.

We’re obsessed with secrets, so we chase the next cool thing.

While I enjoy learning new magic, I’m usually nervous as anything trying it out on a live audience for the first time.

The only reason I’m even doing it now is because two of my middle school assembly shows need serious updating. The old stuff just wasn’t cutting it.

But rather than chasing the new, I always turn to stuff I already have when I’m looking at overhauling a show.

There’s something powerful about slipping back into an old routine. The familiarity of it, the professionalism…assuming you mastered it to begin with.

My advice? Before you buy a new trick, ask yourself what slot in your show this new trick will fill. (If you’re a part-timer and just curious, that’s a different matter.)

When I say ‘slot’ I’m talking about a place in your show that serves a specific purpose. Are you looking for an opener? A closer? An audience volunteer routine? Something that uses two people? If you’re a kids’ performer, are you specifically looking for an effect that uses grownups?

Once you know where in your show the new effect would go, look back at your previous purchases to see if one of those would fit the bill.

Granted, sometimes when we buy a trick, we are disappointed with the method. And if that’s the case, why? Is the method something that you can’t do?

For me, I can’t stand rough and smooth. I don’t know what it is, but I just don’t have the ‘touch.’ I also can’t do a double lift to save my life.

(I was eternally grateful when Eugene Burger wrote in one of his last books that he had decided to avoid performing any magic that required a double lift.)

If the method isn’t practical for your skill level, comfort, or working conditions, then I fully understand why you may cast it aside into the old junk drawer where magic tricks go to die.

But if you go through your old stuff before buying something new, you just might uncover a lost treasure. Something you cast aside looking for the ‘quick fix;’ of something new. You’ll be reacquainted with an old friend, one you’re already familiar with.

If the trick is something you once mastered, your audience will pick up on the fact you have a certain ease and comfort with this trick. It won’t be anything overt, but they’ll just sense it on a subconscious level.

And they will appreciate what you are doing even more.

Until next time, have a great week!

--Cris

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