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Close-Minded

There's a reason that I love magic so much and it's that I love to be fooled. That's quite a bizarre stance coming from a magician, but I really do love it when I am left with that devastatingly numb feeling that everything around me is not as I originally thought. Words cannot explain it, but the likelihood is that, being on the receiving end of this experience is the main reason that you are a magician.

My affection for being moved to such a psychological state forces me towards taking other people on this mysterious journey. I couldn't care less if I found Bob's selected card, and to be frank, nor could he. Bob wants to see something radically different to some guy who could beat him at a game of cards, and man, what I'd give to be the person who shows it him. Bob wants to be astonished, amazed and as magicians, we should strive to receive this reaction from him.

I have received a lot of e-mails lately from people who hoped that I have the answer to this problem. Unfortunately, I don't have all the answers that you're after, and I know only very few people that do. But by analysing the responses that ninety nine percent of us already receive, we are already close to obtaining the answers to the real reactions that we want to receive. Firstly, it's quite clear that we need the audience to care about what we are doing. Darwin Ortiz made a fantastic observation in Strong Magic that the reason we receive reactions such as, "That's great, but can you make my food bill disappear?" Is simply because we have an exceptional talent, but simply performing tricks is not as useful as being able to make a bill disappear. Performing such magic normally creates awe and admiration and if that's the reaction that you would like to receive, then I suggest looking at how you can turn the magic that you perform into the magic that your audience would create if they had your powers.

Let's analyse the reactions that a lot of us receive in a little more depth. To start with, most people show their expression to a performance by applauding the magician. Clapping is music to our ears; however, I tend to think such recognition is rather fraudulent. Although we may not realise it, almost all tricks are purposely structured to receive applause at the end and we even learn body language that says, "Applaud now." To me, this is a forced reaction, and not something that I am comfortable receiving - of course, natural applause is fine, but anything else must go from my act.

But why? No one can tell the difference between an audience clapping when they have to, and when they want to, so surely that's acceptable? Not for me - I want to receive a genuine reaction of wonder and astonishment from my audience and forcing them to applaud is far from genuine. One performer that I really respect for this is Lennart Green as when people applaud when he makes a mistake (such as firing a card from the deck and not catching it) he will stop them. I have also read stories of Elvis Presley stopping his band mid-performance if he did not feel that it was perfect with the words, "Come on, these guys have paid to see us - let's give them all we've got."

A more genuine reaction is when an audience member gasps. This short intake of air is the moment they will be talking about for the rest of their lives. Don't interrupt this moment, but instead stop time and allow the spectator to enjoy the beauty that is astonishment. Of course, it is impossible to physically stop time, but by this I mean capture the moment of magic. If a spectator gasps whilst you are levitating an object, wait a moment before you pluck the object from the sky so that you don't diminish the feeling of magic.

This leads us comfortably onto the most important area of reactions… reacting to reactions! In the introduction to my booklet, "Virtual Reality," I suggest that this moment is so important that you must do nothing that will change the spectator's emotional state. The most important thing that you should never do is to interrupt your magic by telling a joke at the moment of astonishment. It is extremely tempting to make a wisecrack, "And the second ball appears in your hand… just what you've always dreamed of," But the humour will either interrupt or over power any other emotion that you have spent so long developing.

In a similar nature, if you are not receiving the reactions that you are looking for, you probably need to consider where the fault is actually occurring. Audiences will respond in considerably different manners with the different genres of magic that you perform. I hate sucker effects (refer to the second article of this column) and find that the reactions that I receive after performing them is a thousand miles from what I want. My aim is to create astonishment, not puzzlement so I tend to perform magic with a reason.

Creating reason is extremely important when it comes to pushing away any form of perplexity and bringing closer astonishment. I have spent a lot over time over the last few months experimenting with astonishment, and I have found that as soon as I stop making the spectator's ask themselves questions the magic starts to materialise. Instead of, "How did he know that it was my card? Oh, he must have looked at it… or did he make me pick that one?" You should start to hear, "Wow! I guess the way I hold and look at the card can really tell him things about me." In this example, I simply force a card on a spectator and have them hold it between their palms and instead of simply naming it, I describe the apparent methods that I use - even such vague sayings such as, "I see you're wearing a red top and that's bound to influence you into picking a red card," Work perfectly. Of course, if I were to perform this little effect between a card location and vanish, the effect would be totally lost. However, as a single effect, or when included in a routine with a similar presentation I will acquire the kind of reaction that I love to receive.

However, all is not that simple as we seem to be forgetting the most important area of reactions - the audience. Different social groups will react in very different ways. An elderly group of people may politely clap, while a large group of teenagers will no doubt be a great deal louder. Upon studying the kind of reaction that you require, you will be able to choose the audience that will react in this way.

There are also several other factors that should be considered, such as your props - using an old style key is perfect for a Haunted Key routine, but you will sacrifice the chance of a decent reaction by also using modern day magician's apparatus in the same routine. Your dress is equally important as if you play the character of a wizard, you won't receive the reaction that a wizard would unless you look like a believable wizard. And, most importantly we have character - but we'll cover that in a lot more depth another time.

I hope that provides a detailed look at changing the way our magic is perceived from an audience's viewpoint. I have recently taken part in an interview for a magic website and I explained a few interesting ideas for receiving great reactions when performing impromptu magic. So, please feel please take a look at the interview over at www.cardmsg.com. Have a great month!

Andi Gladwin