I used to put the horse before the cart?
The real turning point in my magic and performance ability came when I was finally able to separate effect from method.
It is very hard for new magicians not to get excited by methods, whether it be a new gimmick which resembles a James Bond gadget or a new sleight of hand move. Perhaps it isn't surprising as it is the solution we are buying, so it does make sense to be extremely interested in them. But we also get trapped into believing the quality of effect is directly related to how to it is done, despite experience showing us to the contrary. The excitement of discovering the simple fooled us somehow got replaced with that is too simple.
I’ve seen a whole room of magicians react in astonishment to an effect, only to dismiss it immediately upon learning the secret (Svengali Deck). The point to remember here isn’t that a simple solution is good, or that a known gaff is of just as much value as new concept. The important factor is that the presentation and performance created the astonishment.
Regardless of what you perform the better the handling and the better the presentation, the better the effect. This is where no NASA style gimmick can help you.
The problem I certainly had was that giving so much attention and concern to the method passed over in to my performance. I thought too much about how and when to make sleights that was what I concentrated on supposedly creating a theatrical experience.
I now fall in love with effects, and because of that, I pay little regard to the mechanics as they no longer bother me. My sole concentration is on creating the effect, not just physically but in the mind of my audience too.
This mind-set has helped me relax on stage and improved my performance no end – simply because I no longer pay any attention to discrepancies, odd object and illogical handlings. I can now hold out a palmed card for an age, I forget about it, as my focus is on creating the illusion through my other (visible) presentation actions rather than the (invisible) secret actions.
I now reherse my routines without doing any of the sleights, just concentrating on making the performance engaging, powerful and/or funny. That is how it should look when I do it for real, and it is also how I aim to feel when doing it. If I can't nail that, the rest is pointless.
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