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Mystery Entertainment

From our side of the fence, we do "effects." From the spectator's side, our routines fall into one of three broad
categories:
1. Puzzle
2. Trick
3. Extraordinary Moment

The spectator intuitively knows that what he has just seen is, to one degree or another, impossible, improbable, or just weird. She can't figure it out, but she assumes that if she knew the secret, she too could perform it too.

A trick is a demonstration of perceived skill, and therefore
is more impressive than a puzzle. The audience doesn't care whether the signed card found its way into your wallet via a beautifully executed one-handed palm or one of the "no-palming-required" methods.

Tricks have the ability to thoroughly and satisfyingly entertain.

An Extraordinary Moment leaves no room for explanation.
The viewer gasps for air rather than grasp for a method. Skill
is not an issue.

A perfectly executed Balducci Levitation is an Extraordinary Moment. Four Jokers that change into four Kings is a terrific Trick.

Close-up performers have more opportunities to deliver Extraordinary Moments than stage performers. The physical separation between the stage perform.er and the audience works against his achieving anything more than Tricks.



Bona Fide Magic
What if you could perform. real magic?
Emotions lubricate the entertainment engine, and in
upcoming chapters we'll be examining techniques for boosting
the emotional content of your routines.
Emotions generate real magic.


Stalking the Extraordinary Moment

The typical Cups and Balls routine involves a cascading series of mini-climaxes. The best performers of this classic effect use charm and wit, along with their magic, to hold the audience's attention.

Extraordinary Moment: a coin disappeared from his hand! No
props, no "moves" that he was aware of, not one word of useless
patter.

Between the best Cups and Balls routine and Blaine's
Raven, which will be remembered a week later?

It's you who makes the moment trivial.
It's you who can make the moment extraordinary.

Magic for Magicians vs. Magic for
Everyone Else

Laypeople want direct
plots. Anything else is magical masturbation, done because it
makes you feel good, and no one else.
What do people remember?

"I picked a card and
... he told me what it was."
... it jumped into his pocket."
... he tore it up and put it back together."
"Siegfried put Roy in a box and covered it for a second and
then Roy was gone and a tiger was there!"
"She floated!"


The stronger the magic, the less need for showmanship.
The corollary, naturally, must be that weaker magic requires

The best performed magic and mentalism have always been,
and always will be, direct, immediately understandable, and
compelling enough to be recalled days later.
How much of your show fits that description?

The Trivialization of Magic
Routines tumble down the above hierarchy (i.e.,
Extraordinary Moments become Tricks, and Tricks become
Puzzles) because of the attitude of the performer.
It's the presentation that squelches a potential Extraordinary Moment
into a very nice Trick.
Think about every word you say.


You want your presentational skills to equal or exceed your
magic technique. Both goals require time, dedication, and effort.
All magic, at its core, is a Puzzle. Presentation-and
presentation only-is the lever that elevates a Puzzle to a Trick,
or a Trick to an Extraordinary Moment.
Raise your level.



Visit Adam & Felix Magic Shop - https://www.vulpinecreations.com