magictricks-9

Magic Tricks
Back To Snippet
Back To SITEMAP

Why do magicians wear tuxes?
Author: J.L. Siefers
This wonderful question has rarely bothered magicians for decades. It should. Some possible answers might include:

•He is getting married today.
•He just got off work as a waiter.
•He is going to the prom.

Wait! The man is about to do magic. Surely anyone doing great magic wears a tux. It logically follows that a person dressed in attire not worn generally by the public in nearly sixty years must be a well trained and entertaining artist.

I encounter responses such as:

"People won't know we're magicians if don't wear our uniform," bemoan penguin-like prestidigitators.

"Real magicians must wear tuxes," cries the part-time professional in his ill fitted and second hand attire.

The question of what magicians should wear has been around for more than a century. The correct answer has been around just as long. Unfortunately, many magicians don't get it.

Jean Robert-Houdin, the father of modern magic, looked around at how his fellow magicians dressed. The common uniform for a "real magician" was to dress up like a wizard complete with a conical hat. Robert-Houdin chose to view magic as an art. He devised many wonderful effects. He would go out on a bare stage to present his magic dressed in formal evening attire. The attire was appropriate and commonly worn for evening theatrical productions. Instead of dressing in way completely different from his audience, Robert-Houdin dressed just like his audience.

The point being made is simple. If you want magic to be viewed as a fine art, take your performance and dress seriously. Let the quality of your magic performance speak to the level of your magic artistry. If you want to be a magic clown, then dress like a penguin.

What about Lance Burton? Great question, thanks for asking. Lance's performing personality makes wearing a tuxedo appropriate for his performance. Mr. Burton consciously links back to magic's historical roots. Figuratively speaking, he wears the mantel of magic passed down through the ages. He portrays the great magician out of our past. Lance performs classical magic effects while donning the classical magical attire.

This is completely different from the approach of 99.998% of the other magicians wearing tuxes. Most part-time professional magicians wear a tux without regard to their performing personality. The key to what to wear is your performing personality. Begin with the assumption that a tux is not an option. Examine the key elements of your performing personality that you want to communicate to your audience. Tailor your dress to consciously communicate those key elements.

Another factor to consider is whether you want to stand out or blend with your audience. Let's say you want to blend with your audience. This is common approach for the restaurant or corporate magician. What will your audience be wearing? Try to dress a little above your audience. Let's say you want to stand out. Find ways to contrast with your audience that communicates positively to your performing personality. For example, assume your performing personality is that odd middle aged uncle that all the kids love but make parent roll their eyes. You know the type, every family has one. His style sense will be decades out of style but he will be clueless that he isn't the hippest guy around. If that is your chosen performing personality, then the performer's style will match the outfit. The point again is that the outfit chosen by the magician must relate to performing personality.

Let's get back to the original question. Why do magicians wear tuxes? Nobody knows including the magicians. Know your performing personality. Select your dress to complement your venue and performing personality. Treat your magic performance like the artistic performance you want it to be.

Read about more controversial issues at:
http://www.learn-great-magic-tricks.com/more Learn-Great-Magic-Tricks

About the Author

------------------------------------------------------------
J.L. Siefers has been performing great magic for years.
He has shown hundreds of people how to successfully
learn to do great magic tricks.
http://www.Learn-Great-Magic-Tricks.com Learn-Great-Magic-Tricks.com
Click now to get your FREE magic tricks!
------------------------------------------------------------

...

magictricks-8

Magic Tricks
Back To Snippet
Back To SITEMAP

To Be Or Not To Be A Professional Or An Amateur Magician
Author: Preston Houer -
An amateur magician is anyone who has a minimum amount of talent, skill and knowledge when it comes to performing magic tricks. He or she may be anyone who knows one magic trick or at least three magic tricks.

But basically, a more technical definition of an amateur magician is anyone who does not in any way practice magic as their trade, even if he or she knows four, five, six or more than a number of magic tricks. This is regardless of how good, better or excellent he or she may be in performing flourishes, sleight of hand or optical illusions.

However, there are those amateur magicians who try their very best to expand their current knowledge as well as repertoire and still practice magic as their primary source of income. People who do this are usually called hedge magicians. This is in order to differentiate them from authentic professional magicians who make practicing and performing magic as a trade and make an actual living doing so.

Meanwhile a professional magician is anyone who has a little bit more knowledge and talent compared to an amateur magician. These professional magicians know sufficient magic that makes it enough for them to use it as their primary source of trade and income, as well as not using magic to assist them in a trade other than magic.

So technically, even if a barber performs his job using magic and no matter how many tricks he or she knows and is capable of, that barber is still not considered as a professional magician because his primary trade is cutting hairs and not necessarily being a magician.
Another way to differentiate a professional magician from an amateur is by the way he or she does flourishes.

According to the Online Encylopedia of Magic, a flourish is any sleight that is performed for the purpose of entertaining an audience and does not in any way contain any moves that are hidden. Most sleights that are performed are done so in order to deceive a captive audience and to do something that can not be detected. Meanwhile, a flourish is any trick that is done to draw the audience's attention away from where an actual sleight is simultaneously being performed.

There are some magicians who consider the performance of a flourish as simply a finger exercise and not really actual pieces of performance. But those magicians who do put in and include flourishes in their act are considered by some of their fellow magicians as a seriously skilled performer.

If a performance consists of a card trick wherein the cards are spread out on the table and when a performer does a pressure card fan, the image that that performer projects is one of professionalism and experience. But a performer of magic who simply holds the cards and then spreads them slightly, may then be considered more as an amateur. Although this may or may not be true or this may not be considered as a hard fact, this is the perception and the impression that a performing magician usually gives to an audience.

Flourishes are done not just as a form of show-off to the audience, a flourish is also done for the purpose of presenting just how a performer is truly dedicated to the magic act. It also shows the degree of professionalism one has for the performance.

When a flourish is done, it makes it easier to know the difference between a magic trick performed by an expert magician and your friendly neighborhood Jim who is doing a card trick.

A skilled performer comes off as a natural and will ultimately receive more credit for his or her performance as well as recognition, not to mention that good old respect for the skills he or she has.

When a spectator is looking at a magic trick where the occasional flourish is done, that performer is also seen as more than a magician but a person who is passionate at what he or she is doing. It is therefore so much easier to hire a magician who has more skills and experience than one who needs to practice his or her craft more.

Article Source : http://www.articledashboard.com

Preston Houer has been involved with the art of illusion and sleight of hand for over 30 years. Let Preston show you how to Have Fun With Magic. Visit His Site Today! www.have-fun-with-magic.com

...

magictricks-7

Magicians
Back To Snippet
Back To SITEMAP

Agents For Magicians, Should They Stay Or Go Poof?
Author: Preston Houer -
Some magicians hate agents, while some like them. What is better: having an agent or not having one? Which is which? Believe it or not, the decision actually depends on you. For some, getting agents is a very touchy subject. Usually it is because some find it very hard to accept that their agents get more money and earn more than the actual performing magicians.

So some magicians can not help but think: it is a trick! To help you decide better about whether you should get an agent or not, the following are some details and information which could help you decide whether to have an agent or to get rid of the one you already have.

One thing good about having an agent is that you save yourself from the trouble of having to negotiate yourself. Usually, there are instances wherein you can get higher talent fees if it is not you who are doing the haggling. If there is an agent involved, he or she would usually say that your services could only be gotten if the fee is such and such. Doing so usually means you would not create for yourself an unfriendly image.

Also, every time an agent makes money, so do you! The many bookings an agent gets for you, the more money you would get from all those gigs. This and minus so much of the hassle of you having to schedule all your performances, collecting your talent fees, practicing for your act, etc.

When you have an agent, all you need to do is show up and give the best performance of your life.

Agents also invest money on advertisements that are all about you. So you also save on the expenses and the stress of having to think of where your name should be placed, what size should your marquee be and all that jazz.

Another advantage of having an agent is that you look and are considered more as a professional than if you do not have one. It is so convenient to just show up for your performance and let your agent do the dirty work.

Still confused? If you already have an agent and you are still considering dropping him like a bad habit, maybe the following details would assist you to better decide if you should do so or not.

It is best that you talk with your agent and make an agreement with him or her on how much you would want to receive for your particular performance or engagement. Do not rack your brain thinking how much your agent would get out of this. It is more productive to think how much you would get out of that gig. If your agent earns a little more than you do, so be it. As long as you are getting the fee you want, that is okay. A good gig is a good gig. Imagine who they will be getting in the future for any more gigs. If they think of your agent, it is just the same way that they will be probably thinking of you too.

It is also highly advisable for you to get a contract. A contract makes your relationship with your agent more efficient, straightforward and clear. Thanks to a contract, your agent will not be able to hide how much they are getting. Have your agent fax you a copy of the contract.

Let us face it, just like in any profession there are agents that are good in what they do and there are those that are bad in what they do. There are also those who are unethical. There have been instances where agents and agencies merely concentrate on money more than in anything else. Avoid having to do anything with them. An agent or agency that does not call you even if a client specifically requests for your services is bad news.

There are also agents that will get you to lower your price but then still charge a customer with a large fee. Do not let this happen to you. Stick with the price you think you deserve.

You should also try to avoid agents who give you various reasons and excuses about this client being unable to pay because of such and such reasons. This is a trick, and you as a magician should know this better than the others.

Article Source : http://www.articledashboard.com

Preston Houer has been involved with the art of illusion and sleight of hand for over 30 years. Let Preston show you how to Have Fun With Magic. Visit His Site Today! www.have-fun-with-magic.com

...