Should you try to be funny?
Probably not is the short answer. That may sound odd coming from someone who bills himself as a comedy magician, but comedy isn’t something I tried to add exactly. I couldn’t help it if I’m honest, humour is in my bones, whether I like it or not.
I really wanted to be more debonair than funny, but it went completely against my natural personality and my abilities.
I do know my magic would be more powerful without humour. I am yet to be convinced that isn’t the case 100% of the time, if instead of finding the funny, you concentrate on the magical build and the denouement the bigger the effect will be on the audience.
Comedy and magic can combine nicely, but comedy will always diminish the effect, generally because it provides a release from the tension or build of the routine.
Having said that if you are funny and get laughs naturally go for it. But try and make the actual trick funny in itself. It is possible to throw funny lines at tricks which simply aren’t designed for it, and I don’t like stand-up jokes just interspersed into a magic act.
Magic sometimes elicits laughter as response, but it can produce so much more. Don’t be afraid to leave comedy because it isn’t necessary for magic to be entertaining, there are a huge variety of forms of entertainment and magic is one in itself. You just need to present magic in an engaging way, if you are funny it will happen and then you will know.
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