As everyone who has a pulse knows, the new Indiana Jones film is coming out on May 22. Imagine that you are sitting in a darkened theater, you have a large popcorn and a swimming pool sized soda, and the lights dim after about 30,000 film previews. The screen fades up on a shot of Indy holding his whip, wearing his hat, and looking very serious. Then he says, “Hi, I am Harrison Ford. I am the actor who plays Indiana Jones. I am not really an archeologist. The film you are about to see is fictional so please do not take it too seriously. I hope you like the film.”

How would you feel if this really did happen? Everyone knows that the Indiana Jones films are fantasy but what would that do to your level of enjoyment? What would you feel like as you tried to get back into the fantasy world?

I feel that we magicians, especially mentalists, feel that we have to apologize for creating fantasy. That is why there is so much debate in mentalist circles on how one should structure, or even have, a statement proclaiming that what we are doing isn’t real.
Sometimes this ranges from the goofy to the clever to the misleading. I think all approaches are wrong.

It is ironic to me that the one group of people trying to sabotage peoples’ feelings of astonishment, wonder, and magic are magicians. We should be at the front of the line promoting magic and wonder. We should not be making excuses for creating surprise, joy, and magic. We should be the ones, not tearing other peoples’ beliefs down but building up the therapeutic value that a sense of wonder can bring to people. Yet, so many magicians are so scared to create a magic that is so strong that people are really getting into it.

It is my opinion that most people are thirsty to experience real wonder. I know that I am. I got into magic like many of you did: I had an experience with a magician that brought a sense of wonder to me. This feeling was like a white flash of brilliance that seared into my mind a sense that there is something more then the mundane “real” world. This event happened to me around six years old and it placed within me a desire to learn more about magic and it led me to become a magician.

My grandmother and mother bought me every magic kit that was on the market. I immersed myself in the theory and history of our great art. But, as time went on, I forgot that first feeling of wonder and replaced it with a hard cynicism that almost tore me from the reason that brought me into the world of magic. I would often use to disclaimers because I did not want people to think I was real or mislead people into accepting magical phenomenon as real. I was, in essence, telling people that if they felt wonder and astonishment at one of my effects then they must be stupid, ignorant, or gullible. If I stood up in front of you and said that the things I did were not real, and yet you had no idea how it was done, then the problem lies with you for not realizing it isn’t real.

My personal paradigm about how magic should be presented is very different from my early years. I want to make people experience what I felt when I experience magic for the first time. I do not want people to feel stupid if they think what I did was real magic. The person should feel honored that they let go, even for a few seconds, the hard shell of rationality. It takes courage to live in the moment and experience a feeling that society tells us is taboo.

If any of your ethical warning signs are going off then you are misunderstanding what I am saying. I am not suggesting that you talk to the dead, waste tax payers dollars by having federal labs test you for remote viewing, or have you remove curses for money. What I am talking about is for you to be what you are claiming you are: a magician.

That is why I think disclaimers are a bad idea. You are playing a magician, a mind reader, or any other type of magical character. A disclaimer that starts off your show by saying that you are not real is counter-inductive to what you really want to do. You want your audience to experience emotions that no other type of entertainment can bring them. Go out there and give them what they are paying you for and be a magician.

I feel that we are scared to create these feelings in people. If magic is going to grow then we need to grow up and become what we say we are. Don’t you feel it is ironic that a person who says they can make balls disappear, cut people in half, make playing cards appear, or read someone’s mind is telling their audience that magic isn’t real? If you do not believe in magic, its’ power, or value then please do the art a favor and get out now.

What shocks me the most is that magicians who complain the most about the exposure shows on TV are, oftentimes, the same people telling others that there is no such thing as magic. It is almost sad that so many magicians do not have a love for magic but a stronger love for how things are done. I feel that there can be hundreds of exposure shows on table and magic can still thrive. That is because there will always be those magicians out there who know the real secret is how ou magic touches people and not how our tricks are done.

Here are some tips on how to create magic:

*Don’t concern yourself with whether audiences think you are real or not. You want them, for at least as long as your show is going on, that you are real. Just as Indy/Harrison Ford shouldn’t destroy your suspension of disbelief, you should step on your audiences.

*Believe in what you do. I have written so much on the importance of character over the years that I feel like a broken record. Your performing persona is everything. If you are playing a character then your character assumes all powers, claims, and charms. One definition of persona is, “The role that one assumes or displays in public or society; one's public image or personality, as distinguished from the inner self.” This is a healthier, and more ethical, way to present what you do.

*Respect magic. Don’t treat magic as if it is a silly or disturbing subject. Treat the subject of astonishment with respect.
*Do not mock others’ belief systems. I have seen a magician mock the “legends of the congo” as if their magical beliefs were nonsense and rubbish. Then, in the same show after he said such things, he then did a Q & A act. The question then becomes: is the only real magic is the stuff he performs or is all magic silly just like the stuff those natives believe in?

*Don’t step on others feelings of astonishment. I know I am beginning to sound like Paul Harris but the truth of the matter is that Paul really does “get it.” He talks about letting the moment take hold on a person and not quickly stomp on it by telling a silly joke or nervously laugh. Speaking of Q& A, I did a college show just two weeks ago and presented my version of this trick. I did not get much clapping or applause from the audience after the presentation. All during the effect I was getting oohs and aahs but at the end I got nothing. The magician ion me thought, “I really bombed on that one.” After the show, I had almost EVERYONE come up to me and say that the Q&A part was the best part of the show.

*Put your ego at the door. Let your audience become the star. Let them read minds, have fun, tell jokes, and experience the magic. Share the feelings with them and try to experience what they are going through.

Don’t be frightened to be as real as you can. Go out and perform and do your job and create as much magic as you can. To answer this article’s title:

Be as real as you be.

Rich