Every
now and then I will hear one magician being overly critical of another. Maybe
because a magician could not do a “classic palm” with coins, or a “pass” with
cards. Critical magicians might condemn such inabilities with phrases such as
"you should get out of magic", "you should not be in
magic", or "you will never be a good magician".
This type of
criticism is mean, hurtful, and can be damaging to a magician starting to learn
the craft. It is not constructive in any way. That being said, there was this
one guy who came into a magic shop where I was. He told a story about how his
gig went the night before...
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"I
was performing a kid’s show for about 20 kids yesterday. All of them from ages
6-8. It was a nice home, lavish furnishings, beautiful wooden staircase, and
deep pile white carpet. All was going well until I got ready to do the fire-eating".
WHAT!?, I thought to myself. Fire-eating
at a kids show?! Kids will try to duplicate what you did during your show after
you leave! Never do fire magic or tricks like sword swallowing at a kids show.
Ugh! I was frustrated, but he continued...
"I
pulled out the torch and lit it." (For
clarity, the “torch” to which he referring is an 18‑inch long,1/2 innch diameter
aluminum rod. Screwed onto the top of the rod is a cotton head that has been
soaked in lighter fluid).
"I
was waving the rod about to show the flame, and the head flew off! It landed on
this white carpet of hers, so I stomped it out before it could spread. Made a
terrible burn mark, though".
I stood there with my mouth hanging
open. There were twenty things I wanted to say to this guy, and they all tried
to come out of my mouth at the same time! It sounded like I had a drooling
problem. He continued...
"And
you know, she didn't even pay me for the gig"!
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So,
I did meet someone who truly should not be in magic. He was a danger to himself
and others. He gives magicians a bad name.
As
for the rest of you, I am here to help guide you on this wonderful journey we
call “The Art of Magic”. You know where to find me, when you are ready.
-John
Those who give away secrets should stop. Magic is art and does positive things in people's lives. JP
ReplyDeleteJP, this is very true. In China a magic performance is often evaluated on its art form. Many people in the audience may already know how the trick is done, it doesn't matter. But in the US, it is not uncommon for spectators to get up and walk out of a show where they know how the trick is performed. Those who give away the secret to spectators hurt magic in the US and the people that perform it. -JA
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