One of the ironic mysteries of our crafts this the people who crave the magical experience the most are magicians – and yet, so often, we’re the most afraid of embracing the mystery at the heart of what we do.
In this regard, many of the students i work with remind me of myself for the first 10 plus years of my fascination with magic. During that time, there are many topics that occupy the aspiring magicians mind – sleights, ruses, sequences and trick after trick after trick. These concepts take up such a large percentage of our attention and focus, it often takes many years before the performer finally gets around to focusing on the audience or even the effect itself (where the real magic ultimately takes place).
I love old magic posters like the one in this post, because they remind me that mystery and persona (Thanks Juan) lie at the heart of what we do. These powerful, clear and often strange images capture the imagination and personality at the heart of the most wonderful magic. When I’m working before an audience – that’s the space i want to connect to.
This isn’t to say your craft is unimportant. Nothing could be further from the truth. Practice, develop and even obsess on your tricks, and sequences and ruses and sleights. But never forget that the reason why – so that in performance, you can create the experience of real magic.
