Recently, I received an email from a Fool Us performer who had tried to explain to his friends and family why the show frowned on “red herrings.” I think I can explain this in a way both laymen and magicians will understand.
]]>When a magician uses a red herring, he or she is offering the spectators a possible method for the trick. However, the red herring is not the actual method. The best way to convey this idea is to watch a classic red-herring trick, the Hippity-hop Rabbits.
The red herring (false method) is the rabbits have the opposite color on their backs (white/black, black/white). The spectators think this is the method. At the end, when the rabbits are shown to have completely different colors on their backs, the red herring is destroyed (it could not be the method) and the spectators are fooled. This type of trick (the spectators think one method is going on, but are proved incorrect at the end) is generally called a “sucker” trick. They work well on children because the red herring riles them up.
But a red herring only makes sense if, at the end of the trick, the red herring is proven false.
Suppose if, at the end of the Hippity-hop Rabbits, the magician just put the rabbits away without showing the backs. The spectators would conclude their assumption about the method was correct (because it wasn’t disproved). There would be no mystery; the spectators would be happy with their assumed method.
And this is what’s wrong with introducing red herrings into the tricks on Penn & Teller: Fool Us. The false methods implied by the magician are never disproven. Now Penn & Teller are left trying to guess which of many possible methods the correct one is, and this is not how the Fool Us game is played. If you want to fool P&T, at the end of the trick they should be thinking, “We have no idea how that trick works,” not “From what we saw he could have done it three different ways. I guess we’ll pick the second way.”
But there is something bigger here. If P&T have been presented with five equally plausible methods, and none of them have been disproven by the end of the trick, then the audience has also been left with those same five methods. If an intelligent audience member wants to analyze the trick, they can pick whichever of the five methods they can deduce, and be perfectly happy saying they figured it out, even if it wasn’t actually the method used. This makes for terrible television, and an uninteresting and ineffective magic performance.
Johnny Thompson had a phrase he used all the time to explain this situation: “Magicians need to close all the doors.” Instead of leaving the door open for spectators to choose one of several plausible methods, the magician needs to cancel out all possible methods. (For more on this, read Juan Tamariz’s article on “The Theory of False Solutions.”)
The reason more magicians don’t go the “door-closing” route is because it is far more difficult. But this is the route that leads to astonishing magic. It is also the route that leads to Fool Us trophies.
]]>Many of my friends saw a live performance of the show. All of them raved about it; all of them were gracious enough not to give away too much information about it. I’m going to follow their lead. I’m not going to spoil anything for you, but I do want to comment on two important aspects of the show.
Some years ago, my friend Max Maven commented that magicians of the twentieth century accomplished one amazing thing: they managed to turn something inherently profound into something trivial. With In & Of Itself, Derek shows how powerful conjuring can be when placed in the service of ideas. This is something few magicians ever attempt. The show focuses on the theme of identity – how we identify ourselves, how others identify us, and whether or not those assessments are accurate at all. Every effect in the show (and let me be clear, there are some mind-boggling effects) is there to support the story being told at that moment. Many magicians have discussed the concept of magic and meaning; Derek shows how it can be done at the highest level.
The only other magicians I have seen who incorporate magic into their ideas so effectively are Penn & Teller. I have worked with them since 1998; most of the time, the impetus for a new routine comes from the desire to express an intellectual idea, as opposed to the desire to do a variation on this trick or that trick. By letting the idea drive the trick rather than the other way around, conjuring is placed in its strongest role: as the dramatic element that supports the idea being presented.
Make no mistake, though, it takes a lot longer for routines created this way to reach fruition – sometimes years. I worked on the vanishing pygmy elephant routine for several years before I moved from Vegas. It took several more years before the R&D was completed and the routine entered the show. Here’s something you might not know about this routine: its underlying idea is never overtly expressed to the audience. But this idea makes the effect so baffling.
The other aspect of In & Of Itself I want to mention is Derek’s performance persona. In an interview with Vanity Fair, the interviewer touched on this.
Vanity Fair: Throughout the performance, you speak with a very distinctive cadence – slowly, with lots of pregnant pauses. It reminded me of watching David Blaine. I used to be annoyed by what I considered this flat, almost blank affect, but the more I watched him, I realized it was intentional – that he was turning himself into kind of a mirror.
DelGaudio: He’s getting out of the way of the wonder. Like, he doesn’t want credit for the astonishment. He wants the astonishment to exist on its own, and he just happens to be there. He’s putting the importance where it belongs, which is on the moment rather than on himself.
Way back in Workers One (1990) I wrote this:
“Once it has been established that the performer is ‘quick with his hands’ or has a lot of technical ability, the spectators have been provided with a satisfactory explanation for all the effects they witness. Granted, this explanation may be totally wrong, however it is an explanation the spectators can live with. Many performers of the ‘Look at Me’ school of magic are perfectly content to leave the spectators with this explanation of what they have seen. This is their philosophical choice. My own preference is to consider the magician in the same way you would consider a motion picture screen: the screen is the medium by which we are able to view the movie. If you have ever been to a movie theater where the screen is stained or dirty you know how distracting it is. You become aware of the screen and focus less on the movie. Likewise, the magician is the medium by which the spectators are able to see impossible happenings. This is also the function of the classical musician: to transmit the music from the mind of the composer to the mind of the listener. If the manner of the performance draws undue attention to the performer, the impact of the music (or the magic) is lessened.”
My writing in the above paragraph is a little sloppy (and Darwin Ortiz correctly took me task on it), so let me clarify it. A performer should certainly establish his or her performance persona and point of view. But magic is most effective when presented as a shared experience, with the emphasis on the event, not the performer. When the magician becomes the conduit for the moment of astonishment and not the cause of it, the impact can be profound, because all logical and rationalized explanations disappear.
This is certainly the case with In & Of Itself. Derek is the host, the storyteller. But with the exception of the card-cheating demonstration, when the magic occurs, his role is that of an observer, not an instigator. This is what produces such an emotional and theatrically profound effect.
So, congratulations Derek DelGaudio on your achievement. In & Of Itself is an inspiring show, one I’ll be returning to often. - Michael Close
]]>I am a big fan of contemporary physics and cosmology. I have read and studied the general public books of authors like Stephen Hawking, Brian Greene, and Lawrence Krauss. I don’t mean that I have skimmed through the books by these learned gentlemen; I have read and reread them, trying to wrap my head around the concepts they introduce. And I’m gaining some headway. I’m beginning to understand the Big Bang, inflation, dark matter, dark energy, string theory, and the importance of finding the Higgs boson.
]]>[Originally published in M-U-M, August, 2012]
I am a big fan of contemporary physics and cosmology. I have read and studied the general public books of authors like Stephen Hawking, Brian Greene, and Lawrence Krauss. I don’t mean that I have skimmed through the books by these learned gentlemen; I have read and reread them, trying to wrap my head around the concepts they introduce. And I’m gaining some headway. I’m beginning to understand the Big Bang, inflation, dark matter, dark energy, string theory, and the importance of finding the Higgs boson.
But no matter how many of these general public books I read, or how many of the wonderful science programs I watch on television, my knowledge of this subject would not cause any working physicist to worry about his or her job security. There is simply so much more to physics than the surface concepts explained in these books. If you doubt this, just open up a physics textbook and see how far you get through it. (The collected Feynman Lectures on Physics are fun, if you’re brave.) I have been exposed to the concepts and ideas of contemporary physics, but in no way does this information diminish my respect and admiration for the people who devote their lives to science. Even a casual reader of these books (or viewer of the television shows) must realize that there is a lot more to physics than is presented in shows or books for the general public.
So what’s the point of this little essay? I’ll get to it in a moment (and I know many of you are way ahead of me), but before I do, I want to define a term I’ll use in the rest of this article. The term is “gizmo.” For our purposes, the “gizmo” is the one-sentence explanation of how a magic trick works; the kind of explanation that a lowlife masked magician or a kid on YouTube might divulge. “The coin is copper on one side and silver on the other.” “The magician wears a plastic thumb.” “There’s a trapdoor in the stage.” “The playing cards are marked.” “The box has a secret compartment hidden by mirrors.” For a generally disinterested layman, the one- or two-sentence explanation of the gizmo is all that’s necessary to give the impression the entire workings of the trick have been revealed. (If I want to expose the McDonald’s Aces trick to a layman, I don’t have to explain how I accomplish the switches, the laydown, or the various vanishes; all I need to do is show three of the Aces are double-faced.)
Magicians get upset when someone indiscriminately exposes the various gizmos of magic tricks. I get upset, too, but not for the reason you might think. I’ll explain why I get upset in a moment, but before I do, let’s take a look at various types of magicians and how exposure affects them.
There are magicians whose only knowledge of magic consists of knowing the gizmo. In other words, the only difference between the magician and the spectator is the magician got to the magic shop first. Such magicians aren’t magicians at all; they are magic trick owners. Many neophytes start out this way, and there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as their audiences consist only of family and very close friends. Such magicians hate exposure because exposure makes a layman exactly as knowledgeable as they are.
Then there are the magicians whose presentations are such that the only message offered is that the magician is superior because he knows the gizmo and the spectator doesn’t. Such magicians aren’t magicians; they are jerks, and they are the reason many people hate watching magic. Such magicians hate exposure because they can no longer use knowledge of the gizmo as the justification for their assumed superiority.
Then there are the magicians who are more advanced than the neophyte and who structure their presentations to avoid looking like jerks, but who are still knocked off their pegs when a trick in their repertoires is exposed. What can they do? What can any of us do? The answer is simple: we have to be better magicians. We must have a deeper knowledge of effects and methods. We have to know how to psychologically manipulate our spectators, to control what they observe and what they remember, to dispel possible methods, and especially to cancel the thought of any gizmos they may be aware of. And most important, we must offer content that goes beyond the mere presentation of puzzles – puzzles whose gizmos a spectator needs to deduce in order to be satisfied by the experience.
Sometimes you can get blindsided by an unexpected exposure. In 2000, the country was made aware of the existence of “hanging chads,” which just happens to be a part of the method of a trick I am well known for. What did I do? I retired the trick for several years. I have a large enough repertoire I could do that. I missed performing the trick, but I was able to put it back in rotation after the knowledge of chads faded into the clutter of informational noise normal people are bombarded with every day. I know stage magicians suffer when the methods of certain illusions are indiscriminately exposed. But illusionists have always had a major challenge, that of transcending the “box.” How do you justify the prop? How do you make it less of an object of intellectual interest? There’s the challenge. After all, I’m not sure how much of a difference there is in a spectator thinking, “There must be something funny about that box,” and that same spectator knowing exactly what the gizmo is. Either way, mystery disappears.
Why do I hate exposure? I hate it because it reinforces the stereotype that conjuring is simple and trivial; that if you know the gizmo, you have the right to call yourself a magician. Nothing could be further from the truth. Providing a disinterested, skeptical spectator with the experience of astonishment cloaked in an evocative presentation is one of the most difficult things I have ever tried to do. The information on how to achieve this is available, safely hidden away in books – books that must be read, absorbed, studied, reread, and internalized, just like a physics textbook.
If you’re angry about exposure, fight back by being a living example of the fact that there is more to magic than the gizmo. Let your performances show that magic can be a deep, meaningful, and relevant art form.
]]>“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.” – Carl Jung
I have no idea what allows some people to be more creative than others; a fortunate arrangement of neural connections certainly is important. But research has shown everyone is creative, to a greater or lesser degree.
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“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.” – Carl Jung
I have no idea what allows some people to be more creative than others; a fortunate arrangement of neural connections certainly is important. But research has shown everyone is creative, to a greater or lesser degree.
I believe what makes creative breakthroughs happen is the amount of time someone spends ruminating. A musical analogy is this: Someone asked a great blues guitar player how he got so accomplished. He said, “You always have a guitar in your hands.” And that’s how it is with creativity; the creative person is always thinking about something.
Jung describes this process as “play,” which makes it sound like fun and games. Sometimes this is true; much of the time, it isn’t. I have spent many hours in the playpen of my mind trying to pound a square peg into a round hole, without actually understanding the true nature of either the peg or the hole. Then suddenly, without warning, I realize there are other pegs available that fit that hole, or that another hole exists that fits the square peg, or that pounding a peg into a hole is not the solution I was looking for in the first place. Sometimes this is an “Aha!” moment, appearing out of the blue. Most of the time, however, it happens because I have filled my head with other unrelated “stuff” and I finally discover the connection between things I thought were unrelated.
Such is the case with The T.O.M. Epiphany. “T.O.M.” is an acronym for an insurmountable limitation of the magic creative process. (Thoroughly explaining T.O.M. is beyond the scope of this blog; all is explained in the ebook.) I first encountered a version of T.O.M. more than forty years ago, in the work of Stewart James. It took many years for me to internalize Stewart’s process, even at a basic level. I was then faced with a frustrating situation. When I realized how stringently T.O.M. confines our attempts to create new methods for magic effects, two questions immediately came to mind: Why do these constraints exist? Is there any way to circumvent them?
I was at the “square peg/round hole” stage of my thinking; I needed more “stuff” rolling around in my brain. That “stuff” eventually arrived from two disparate sources: 1) the research, organization, and writing required for two of my Targeted Training sessions; 2) my layman-level interest in physics. Almost instantly (and I laugh when I use that word, since “instantly” took forty years), I understood why T.O.M. exists and why we cannot directly escape its limitations. But I also realized there are methods to do an end-run around T.O.M.; these methods will allow us to create magic effects that cannot be unraveled.
T.O.M.’s restrictions arise because we live in three-dimensional space; the key to circumventing it is the utilization of the other dimension available to us: time. In The T.O.M. Epiphany you will learn strategies for accomplishing this. This is not a theoretical or aesthetical discussion. This is nuts-and-bolts information I have applied to simple and more advanced effects. You will immediately be able to appreciate the effectiveness of this approach.
In addition to all the background information you need to understand my approach to this problem, you’ll also learn updated and refined handlings for six tricks, plus a new, previously unpublished two-trick card routine you will want to immediately add to your repertoire.
The real value of The T.O.M. Epiphany is that it will change the way you think about the routines you already perform. The great news is that these changes will not require greater physical dexterity; this means the information is of benefit to magicians of all skill levels.
I am excited about The T.O.M. Epiphany. It took a long time for my thoughts to coalesce, and it was not easy to write. But I think the effort is more than worth it. I sent an early, incomplete draft of the manuscript to several people; here are two comments:
]]>“Wow – wildly thought-provoking.” – Teller
“This is a unique and uniquely useful book. It uncovers a world of techniques on a subject of eternal interest to magicians, one I’ve never seen discussed, except where these ideas first appeared in your own writing. It is ground breaking.” – Pete McCabe
Get your copy today!
The side steal is a bugaboo card sleight. There are some effects, such as my The Card, the Forehead, and the Salt Shaker, for which it is absolutely vital; you can’t do the routine without a swift, dependable way to palm a card from the middle of the deck. There are other routines in which the side steal can be circumvented. For example, a selected card can be controlled to the top or bottom of the deck and palmed off, rather than having a card peeked at and stealing it from the middle. From the standpoint of expediency, the side steal is great, especially when used from a peek. There are no extraneous actions; the card is peeked at and immediately stolen (either palmed out or moved to the top of the deck).
Because the needed card is trapped in the deck, the side steal adds another layer of complexity to any card palming procedure. To do it well requires attention to many small details, each of which must be committed to motor memory before the move will begin to flow. If you have large hands, many of these details become more forgiving. If you don’t (I don’t), some serious, concerted practice will be necessary. In other words, the side steal is not for wimps.
Having said that, some methods for the side steal are easier than others and can be mastered in a relatively short period of time (assuming you are already comfortable palming cards). Other methods, like the Erdnase Diagonal Palm Shift, may take a lifetime of practice and experimentation before you feel satisfied with your results. Be that as it may, if you want to add some form of this powerful move to your arsenal, it behooves you to get the best instruction possible.
To this end, Lisa and I have revised and updated our 2007 Side Steal ebook. It now matches the format of our other ebooks. You will receive both an EPUB file (perfect for reading on tablets) and a PDF file (perfect for desktop computers and printing). Included is new analysis of the inherent problems of moves like the DPS and ways to dispel “the heat” when using the side steal as a card control.
It has taken longer than expected to bring this updated ebook to the marketplace, and for that Lisa and I apologize. The side steal is a technical sleight. It has to be explained clearly, with each detail examined so the student can understand the process – and thus the delay as we made sure we’d covered all the bases. If you want to add a version of this sleight to your arsenal, this ebook will get you started on the path to mastery.
[For a glimpse of how a standard side steal looks if the performer has large hands, check out this clip, of John Scarne in a beer commercial from the 1970s The side steal happens at around 0:43.]
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My motivation for learning memorized deck magic was based on two things: a Juan Tamariz lecture in St. Louis, during which he performed Mnemonicosis; and the (unfortunately) vague descriptions of Bert Allerton’s memdeck effects in The Close-up Magician. Concerning memdeck magic, The Close-up Magician contains this salient point: “The reason the stacked deck tricks impressed people as being on a plane entirely beyond that of the usual card trick was because instead of being asked to select a card, they were required to merely name a card.”
]]>Although I was familiar with Simon Aronson’s stack (which I purchased when it was released in 1979), I did not memorize it until the summer of 1990. My motivation for learning it was based on two things: a Juan Tamariz lecture in St. Louis, during which he performed Mnemonicosis; and the (unfortunately) vague descriptions of Bert Allerton’s memdeck effects in The Close-up Magician. Concerning memdeck magic, The Close-up Magician contains this salient point: “The reason the stacked deck tricks impressed people as being on a plane entirely beyond that of the usual card trick was because instead of being asked to select a card, they were required to merely name a card.”
When the time came to learn Aronson, I already knew exactly how I wanted to exploit a memorized deck. I was going to have spectators name cards and then reveal them in an improvisatory manner; consequently, I developed repertoire that helped me hone the necessary skills.
I would conjecture that many magicians hop on the memdeck bandwagon without having a clear idea of how they are going to use this tool. They learn a stack and they avail themselves of the built-in effects and the various (and often ingenious) card locations and divinations possible. But then, they want to make the jump from “take a card” tricks to “name a card” tricks. This is what I have termed, “Taking the Next Step.” Many discover, to their chagrin, that the next step leads them straight into the deep end of the pool.
When you start a trick by asking a spectator to name a card, every action that follows will fall under close scrutiny. What makes a trick like The Invisible Deck so strong is that after the spectator names the card, the magician (apparently) doesn’t do anything. The deck is removed from the card box, the cards are spread face up, and the named card is shown to be the only reversed card in the deck. Fortunately for us, The Invisible Deck does all the work. Performing named-card miracles with an ungaffed (but stacked) deck places great demands on our technique. We need a broad knowledge of sleights, and we need to be able to do those sleights with a high degree of competency.
It is at this point that many magicians get overwhelmed. My goal with the “Memdeck – The Next Step” webinar is to provide you with a pathway through this labyrinth by suggesting a core group of sleights and some excellent effects that utilize them. This will allow you to perform with confidence, and this confidence will encourage you in your progress toward memdeck mastery.
I hope you’ll join me on Sunday, June 23, 2019, for this special webinar. For more information, go here: https://www.michaelclose.com/
Lecturing is a frustrating experience, especially so if your goal is to impart information rather than to pitch products. The problem is that the range of knowledge and experience in any given group of magic enthusiasts is wide. In a magic club you may find someone who has been interested in magic for forty years, and someone else who has only been interested in magic for two years. But the neophyte may know more than the old timer. How do you address such a diverse group? I openly discussed this problem before my lectures, using the following story.
]]>Lecturing is a frustrating experience, especially so if your goal is to impart information rather than to pitch products. The problem is that the range of knowledge and experience in any given group of magic enthusiasts is wide. In a magic club you may find someone who has been interested in magic for forty years, and someone else who has only been interested in magic for two years. But the neophyte may know more than the old timer. How do you address such a diverse group? I openly discussed this problem before my lectures, using the following story.
My musician friends were always intrigued when I told them that I was going out to do a magic lecture. “What in the world is a magic lecture?” they would ask. “Well, it’s like this,” I would reply. “Imagine that there is a violinist who is giving a concert in a city. This violinist is nationally known. While in the city, the violinist gives a Master Class. Attending the class are some professional violinists. If there is a local college, some violin majors will attend. Perhaps there will be some talented high school violinists and their teachers. Also attending will be some people who own violins. There will be people who own recordings of people playing the violin. There will be people who have heard of the violin. And there will be two trombone players and a clown. That’s what a magic lecture is.”
When I began lecturing in earnest in the early 1990s, I felt unsatisfied with my results. Chuck Fayne gave me some advice. “You’re frustrated, aren’t you,” he said. “The problem is you’re trying to teach. Don’t teach. Demonstrate and explain.” Chuck’s suggestion certainly solved the problem of trying to speak to a group that had a wide range of experience and knowledge, but I feared that such an approach was too superficial. I really wanted to discuss aspects of magic that I felt were important. – Closely Guarded Secrets (2006)
In the almost thirty years since I began lecturing for magicians, I have often returned to the problem of how to go beyond the watered-down “demonstrate, explain, and sell” lecture format. Two big questions needed to be answered: Would magicians be receptive to a lecture that focused on a narrow topic? How could I impart that information?
The first question was answered when Jeff Pinsky (owner of The Browser’s Den of Magic in Toronto) asked me to do an all-theory lecture at his store. I agreed to do it, but I was skeptical about how it would be received. As it turned out, it was a resounding success, with a sold-out audience who stayed through the entire lecture. This convinced me that there was a market for narrowly focused training.
The second question was answered by the advancement of personal computer technology; I could host a lecture via the Internet. My spoken text could be easily combined with a slide presentation, videos, and downloadable files. And best of all, the participants could ask questions as I went along. Plus, the webinar could be replayed after the live broadcast.
To date, Lisa and I have hosted a half-dozen webinars; I have thoroughly enjoyed preparing for them and presenting them. They provide a unique learning experience. I have future topics in mind, but if you have any suggestions, please email them to me at mail@michaelclose.com. Check our website often for upcoming webinars; or, better yet, join our mailing list and you’ll be alerted to upcoming presentations.
]]>“Magic consists mostly of bald-faced lies. I think if you don’t lie like a bandit, you don’t have the remotest chance of entertaining and fooling your audience.”
– Geoff Latta, The Long Goodbye
My friend Peter Samelson posted the above quote on his Facebook page; it stimulated some discussion. Lies (and the ability to tell them convincingly) are part of the conjurer’s toolbox. A magician who chooses not to lie eschews an important layer of deception.
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My friend Peter Samelson posted the above quote on his Facebook page; it stimulated some discussion. Lies (and the ability to tell them convincingly) are part of the conjurer’s toolbox. A magician who chooses not to lie eschews an important layer of deception.
Jerry Andrus famously declared he never told his audience any lies during a performance. He accomplished this by the shrewd placement of “strategic truths” – statements that either failed to impart all the necessary information or that emphasized a condition of no actual importance or one that was about to be altered without the spectators being aware of the alteration.
For example, Jerry would insert a chosen card into the center of the deck, stating, “Your card goes somewhere in the middle of the pack,” which, at the moment of utterance is absolutely true. However, a few seconds later, as the pack is squared, the card is secretly moved to the top via the Panoramic Shift, an action that Jerry refrained from commenting on. Although I don’t recall his ever saying the following, he could then dribble the cards from hand to hand and comment, “Your card is in here somewhere” – another truthful statement.
Dai Vernon’s effect Triumph allows for a valuable moment of truthfulness; it occurs during the cutting display just before the final revelation. The status of the squared deck at this point is: face-down selection, face-up cards (about half the deck), and then face-down cards (about half the deck). During the cutting display the deck with be reoriented so all the cards are face down with the selection face up in the middle. The patter is, “So now we have a mess. Some cards are face up; some cards are face down. Some cards are back to back; some cards are face to face.” This is all true, even though it does not describe the exact condition of the deck. It is a brilliant piece of scripting because it convinces while it accomplishes the dirty work.
The takeaway from this: if you are in a position to say something truthful, then by all means, tell the truth. However, telling the truth is not going to be our go-to strategy.
One way we can deceive is by withholding from the audience one or more important pieces of information; in effect, we lie by omission. The Twenty-one Card Trick conceals a mathematical placement within its dealing procedure. But we don’t inform the spectators of this fact. Memdeck magic works because we withhold two important pieces of information: the deck is stacked, and we have memorized the order of those cards. Lies of omission are easy to script, easy to position properly within the script, and easy to delivery convincingly. The key rule: don’t say any more than you have to.
We can also let our props do the lying for us. Well-manufactured gaffed cards and coins simulate the genuine articles. As long as they are handled nonchalantly and intelligently, our spectators will assume “those are the real deal” and will thus lie to themselves. (There is much more to be said on this subject, which borders on the idea of “how do you get into and out of a routine that uses gaffs.” The lie the spectators tell themselves may hold up during the body of the trick, but when the climax comes, the heat on the props may be more than the lie can sustain.)
Expertly performed sleight of hand also puts the spectators in the position of lying to themselves. They take in visual information, but that information does not convey the truth of the situation, and so they lie to themselves (the deck has been shuffled, the ball is in the left hand, the top card has been placed into the middle, etc.).
The key rule here: When possible, allow the spectators to lie to themselves.
A lie is also useful to distort the spectators’ memory of events; this can be particularly effective during a recap just before the denouement. Juan Tamariz is a master of this. For example, near the end of a card effect, Juan might say to an assisting spectator, “You remember – we shuffled and cut. You remember?” The reality is that Juan shuffled (false) and the spectator cut (genuine). But phrased in that way, combining the two actions and the two participants (Juan and the spectator), the lie slides under the radar. And if the lie sticks and the spectator remembers it, he will recall shuffling the deck, even though he never did that.
The lie of distortion is one I use all the time. You can find examples in many of my published routines. But, you have to be careful how much you distort the truth and where you place this lie within your script.
This now brings us to Geoff Latta’s bald-faced lie – the big lie – el grande whopper. This is the equivalent of looking the customs officer in the eye and stating, “I have nothing to declare,” when you have ten thousand dollars’ worth of souvenirs in your luggage. To work, the big lie has to be strategically placed and convincingly delivered. Timed incorrectly or poorly delivered, the lie easily collapses.
For that reason, I rarely use a big lie. However, I do have one example in which the big lie elevated an effect to legendary status. This occurred during my 1998 lecture tour (sixty cities in ninety days). One of the featured effects was You Hue (Workers 5). The routine used a gaffed set of marking pens and was a variation of the Takagi Wild Card routine. In this case, the name of a randomly selected spectator was duplicated on five business cards using the color marker he selected. The climax of the routine involved a huge distortion of the truth. But the lie was designed so it happened at a critical moment; the lie slid past System 2 and its analytic resources and lodged itself into memory. If you happened to see that lecture, I’m sure you remember the impact it had on the attendees.
Unfortunately, that complete story is too long for this blog. However, I will be holding a webinar on this subject in January. Check back for the exact date and time. Until then, tell the truth as much as you can, and lie your ass off the rest of time.
]]>Looking back on the skill sets I’ve used to make a living during my life (magic, jazz piano, writing/editing), I realize that most of what I know about those subjects I figured out by myself, without any formal training. I did have an excellent high school English teacher my senior year; I received degrees in music theory and composition; and my time spent with Harry Riser was invaluable. But I grew up isolated in a farming community in the middle of Indiana; books were my mentors, and I studied everything I could get my hands on. As I absorbed that information, I was also unconsciously absorbing the process of learning how to teach myselfthe information.
]]>
Looking back on the skill sets I’ve used to make a living during my life (magic, jazz piano, writing/editing), I realize that most of what I know about those subjects I figured out by myself, without any formal training. I did have an excellent high school English teacher my senior year; I received degrees in music theory and composition; and my time spent with Harry Riser was invaluable. But I grew up isolated in a farming community in the middle of Indiana; books were my mentors, and I studied everything I could get my hands on. As I absorbed that information, I was also unconsciously absorbing the process of learning how to teach myself the information.
My father provided inspiration as I did this. He came from industry, and for twenty-two years he taught in the mechanical engineering technology department at the Purdue campus in Indianapolis. His great gift was as a teacher; he understood how to break down information and impart it effectively. I learned from his example.
Just because someone does something well doesn’t mean that person can explain the process. I found this especially true in the case of jazz musicians, who often simply play what they hear. They can do it, but they can’t tell you how to do it. More important, they can’t break it down so you can learn how to do it.
When I first began lecturing for magicians, I was extremely dissatisfied with my efforts. Chuck Fayne took me aside after one lecture and said, “You’re unhappy with your lecture, aren’t you?” I said I was. “That’s because you’re trying to teach,” he replied. “Don’t teach. Demonstrate and explain.” This wasn’t advice I wanted to hear, but considering the wide range of skill, knowledge, and experience, and the variety of areas of interest found in the average magic club, Chuck was correct in his assessment. I modified my approach to lecturing while realizing that, at heart, when I speak in front of a group of people, I am a teacher. I want to do more than give you information; I want to impart that information in such a way you can put it into practice in your own performances.
For the most part, magic books explain how to do something; they do not explain how to learn how to do something. I wanted to take an aspect of sleight of hand I knew well (in this case palming in its various forms) and provide a step-by-step method for learning it. In other words, I wanted to create a pedagogical method for learning to palm playing cards, similar to the method books (like Hanon and Czerny) that are available for the piano and other musical instruments.
My first attempts to provide this information were a brief chapter (“On Palming”) in Workers 3 and an ebook on the faro shuffle. The palming information was later expanded into three ebooks covering the bottom palm, the top palm, and the side steal. (Incidentally, the ebooks should be studied in that order.)
The first of the palming ebooks was released in 2006. We have now released it in a format matching our other ebooks (Palming Volume One - The Bottom Palm & Gambler's Cop). This means you will receive both an EPUB file (perfect for reading on a tablet) and a PDF file (perfect for desktops, laptops, and printing). The combination of text, photos, and video provides training second only to personal instruction.
The ability to palm adroitly is one of the cornerstones of competent card handling. It is not as difficult as you might assume, especially if you have the proper information, which this ebook provides.
]]>For almost twenty years, Lisa and I have released material in an electronic format. Our first attempt, Learn the In-the-hands Faro Shuffle, was a simple menu-based program with text, photographs, and videos; it was released in 2001 on a CD-ROM (anybody remember those?).
In 2006, we released Closely Guarded Secrets as a PDF file with embedded video. With each subsequent release, we have pushed the envelope in regard to form and functionality. With our current publications (The Paradigm Shift Volumes One and Two and The Road to Riffsville), we now include an EPUB file, which allows the ebooks to be comfortably read on an iPad or an Android tablet.
This now combines the experience of reading a tree-based book with the tremendous value of having supplemental video instantly available.
No one else in magic is producing content at this level. We are convinced it is the most effective training method, second only to personal instruction.
And now, we’d like to share our expertise with you.
]]>In 2006, we released Closely Guarded Secrets as a PDF file with embedded video. With each subsequent release, we have pushed the envelope in regard to form and functionality. With our current publications (The Paradigm Shift Volumes One and Two and The Road to Riffsville), we now include an EPUB file, which allows the ebooks to be comfortably read on an iPad or an Android tablet. This now combines the experience of reading a tree-based book with the tremendous value of having supplemental video instantly available.
No one else in magic is producing content at this level. We are convinced it is the most effective training method, second only to personal instruction.
And now, we’d like to share our expertise with you.
If you have a manuscript, book, or lecture notes and you would like to have them published in an electronic format, please contact Lisa at lisa@michaelclose.com. We’ll be happy to explain the process and the deal we offer.
This is the future of magic publishing. Hop on board now.
]]>“Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” – Mark Twain
A few days ago, my name was mentioned in a post on a chat group on Facebook. Apparently, some years ago, I expressed my unhappiness that magicians were appropriating jokes, lines, and routines I had not yet published. This post sparked a discussion. I entered and then withdrew from that discussion (and from the chat group), but I did have a few thoughts on the subject, which I would like to offer to you now.
Way back in 1993, I wrote an essay titled, “Ethics,” which I published in Workers 3. Here’s a portion of it:
]]>There has been much discussion lately concerning ethical behavior, but for the most part the people doing the writing and talking are the creative people in magic, the people who have the most to lose from thievery. This makes perfect sense; after all, if your house is empty, the last thing you will worry about is being ripped off.
Consider the following scenario: Pretend you are a craftsman
A few days ago, my name was mentioned in a post on a chat group on Facebook. Apparently, some years ago, I expressed my unhappiness that magicians were appropriating jokes, lines, and routines I had not yet published. This post sparked a discussion. I entered and then withdrew from that discussion (and from the chat group), but I did have a few thoughts on the subject, which I would like to offer to you now.
Way back in 1993, I wrote an essay titled, “Ethics,” which I published in Workers 3. Here’s a portion of it:
There has been much discussion lately concerning ethical behavior, but for the most part the people doing the writing and talking are the creative people in magic, the people who have the most to lose from thievery. This makes perfect sense; after all, if your house is empty, the last thing you will worry about is being ripped off.
Consider the following scenario: Pretend you are a craftsman whose specialty is building furniture. For the last two years you have been building a magnificent dining room set. Every piece was finished by hand, the filigree in the chairs painstakingly carved. I come to your house for dinner and I admire this beautiful piece of work. So, one night, when I know you are gone, I bring a truck to your home, smash in your door, and steal the dining room set. Is this wrong?
How about this: You are an artist, and for the past year you have been painting a series of wildlife pictures. I visit your studio and admire your work. So, one night, I break into your studio and steal your paintings. Is this wrong?
How about this: You are a computer programmer. For the past three years you have been developing a Desktop Publishing program. You put it on the market, and one of my friends purchases it. I admire the program, so my friend makes me a copy and photocopies the documentation. Is this wrong?
How about this: A friend loans me some compact discs and some videos. Before I return them, I make copies for myself. Is this wrong?
How about this: You are at a magic convention. You watch a performer who has some new, funny lines in his act, material that has never been offered for sale. You write down the lines and use them in your act when you get home. Is this wrong?
The answer to all the above is, of course, yes, it is wrong. I doubt anyone reading this is guilty of the first two examples. Most people still consider the theft of physical property to be morally wrong and reprehensible. And yet the theft of intellectual or creative property seems not so wrong. Why should this be?
I believe there are three ways in which the wrongness of this action is rationalized away. First, if I make a copy of something you own, you still have your original. I am not depriving you of your book, video, compact disc, or computer program; I am just making one for myself. To many, this feels less wrong than breaking into someone’s home and stealing their stereo.
Second, the person I am hurting by my actions is someone far away from me, some faceless entity who will never know of my theft and, therefore, will not be so traumatically affected by it.
Third, this type of stealing is really easy. It can be done during the light of day at my local copy shop, or in the comfort of my own home. There is no risk to me physically, nor is there any risk to my reputation, nor is there any risk of repercussion. The perfect crime. Professor Moriarty would be proud.
The above rationalizations are just that, rationalizations. They help us explain away our wrongdoing. We can sleep easier at night, wrapped in the blanket of this comforting thought, “Who am I really hurting?”
I posted this excerpt from the Ethics essay as part of the thread on the Facebook group. I was met with the reply: “This is a false equivalency. If someone steals your table, you are deprived of the use of the table. If someone steals your lines or your routines, you still have the use of those routines.”
It is this comment I want to examine, because at the heart of it lies one of the great problems in the world of magic.
There are magicians, professionals and part-time pros, who strive to be unique through their onstage personas, their repertoire, and their scripts (lines, jokes, bits of business). When a magician appropriates any of that material without permission, there is a tangible result. Other magicians see the thief perform the stolen material, and they, too, decide to appropriate it as well. Whether or not the original thief was a professional, the material eventually appears in the acts of people who perform for the public. The creator of the material has been robbed of his unique identity, and this has a tangible effect on his or her ability to make a living.
I believe this type of thievery hurts not just the creator of the material; it harms all of magic. To many laymen, magicians are simply interchangeable heads on top of cheesy tuxedos. Why? Because we all do the same routines and use the same lines. Instead of using conjuring to showcase our personality and our worldview, we hide behind tricks and patter that worked for someone else. With each iteration, the theft of lines and material lessens the stature of magic as an art form.
Sadly, one of the major traditions in the history of magic is thievery. From the murky history of Sawing a Woman into Halves, to some bozo trying to rip off Teller’s signature Shadows illusion, to the knock-offs that have driven great creators like John Cornelius away the magic community, magicians have constantly stolen from each other. It is a pitiable and pitiful situation.
Years ago, in self-defense, I made the decision that, if I was performing in a situation where a lot of magicians would be in attendance, I would only perform material I had published. (There are several routines in the Workers series that were published only because they were being appropriated and I needed to establish paternity). I have offered this advice to many other magicians.
Is there a solution to this? Probably not. But here are three things you can do. First, understand that, if you want to be a conjuror, your priority should be to establish yourself as a unique individual, and this uniqueness should be reflected in your onstage character, your choice of material, and your script. No one else’s patter is going to fit you as well as the words you craft for yourself. Be you; more important, don’t be afraid to be you.
Second, do the right thing. Theft of someone else’s material is not a victimless crime; it hurts the creator and it hurts all of magic.
Third, let your life be an example to others. People who do not display ethical behavior have probably not been taught ethical behavior. Talk with others about the negative repercussions of theft in the magic community. Explain why theft is wrong.
I have no belief in supernatural gods, nor do I have much use for any organized religion. However, I am a firm believer in a suggestion that is common to almost all religions: don’t do anything to anyone that you wouldn’t want them to do to you.
It’s a simple piece of advice that seems to be devilishly hard to follow.
]]>
In December of 2017 and January of 2018, I completed work on The Paradigm Shift Volumes One and Two. One chapter in Volume One, “Repose, Chaos, and Action,” came from my dissatisfaction with the way most magicians prepare for a classic force. I offered several solutions to this problem, and in doing so I clarified in my own mind the principles presented in the chapter. My purpose was to explain the ideas to my readers, but I was the greatest beneficiary of that process. The intelligent incorporation of the principles of repose, chaos, and action is one of most powerful tools available to conjurers.
Shortly after the publication of The Paradigm Shift ebooks, Lisa and I began work updating Closely Guarded Secrets. The memdeck routine, The Luckiest Cards in Las Vegas, caught my eye; I noticed procedures that, when examined under the guiding principles of repose, chaos, and action, were no longer optimal.
This led me back to my original writings on the memorized deck, which I published in Workers 5 in 1996. I discovered, to my dismay, that several ideas I put forth were incorrect, misleading, or sub-optimal. I needed to correct these errors.
I’m not going to beat myself up over this; our beliefs are based on the information we have at the time. There was a time when people believed the sun revolved around the earth – a belief supported by the visual information of the sun traveling through the sky once each day and the sensation that the earth did not move. With advancements in science and technology, this belief was upended. An important aspect of a scientific approach to the world is that you change your mind when presented with new information. (This is one way science differs from religion.)
I have information in 2018 that I did not have in 1990 when I began working with the memorized deck. This information consists of better techniques and clearly defined principles. Using this information, I reexamined my approach to memdeck magic and I attempted to fix the problems I saw. The Road to Riffsville contains what I discovered.
In particular, this ebook focuses on what I dubbed “Jazzin” in Workers 5. I coined this term because I stated that “improvisation” with a memdeck is like jazz improvisation. Unfortunately, this is incorrect. To equate the two things is a misleading and inaccurate analogy, and I fear it misled many readers. I have a better way of explaining it now.
The Road to Riffsville contains seven main chapters that address all aspects of one particular memdeck routine: several spectators each name a card and the magician reveals those cards in an amazing way. My demonstrations of this type of routine in the 1990s inspired many magicians to master a memorized deck.
The material in The Road to Riffsville is new, with an approach to the subject I have not seen before. It is not for the memdeck neophyte; however, if you have memorized a stack and you have some ability with estimation, you will find within its 28,000 words a substantial amount of valuable information.
As with our other ebook publications, we have combined text, photos, and video to provide unparalleled instruction.
The Road to Riffsville is coming your way very soon.
]]>Magic conventions give us the opportunity to meet up with old friends and to make new friends. They also let us “rub shoulders” with big names in the magic world and watch dealers pitching their latest miracles.
The organizers of conventions try to pack the schedule with memorable shows and lectures. But for me, the things I remember most are the events that weren’t scheduled. Here’s one of them, a performance by Bob Read at the I.B.M. convention in Quebec City, Quebec, in 1995. (This story was originally included in That Reminds Me.)
This convention was an organizational disaster. The staff of the convention hotel had gone on strike just before the convention started. The dealer’s room (usually an area that serves as a social focal point of a convention) was hidden away deep in the
]]>The organizers of conventions try to pack the schedule with memorable shows and lectures. But for me, the things I remember most are the events that weren’t scheduled. Here’s one of them, a performance by Bob Read at the I.B.M. convention in Quebec City, Quebec, in 1993. (This story was originally included in That Reminds Me.)
This convention was an organizational disaster. The staff of the convention hotel had gone on strike just before the convention started. The dealer’s room (usually an area that serves as a social focal point of a convention) was hidden away deep in the bowels of the hotel. The stage shows were subpar, culminating in the flaming train wreck that was a performer named Mundaka. Mundaka had an avant-garde act that was almost immediately hated by the conservative, magic-hobbyist audience. He was frequently and loudly booed by the surly French-Canadian magicians. There was a moment, about two-thirds of the way through his act, where Mundaka could have bailed out, saving himself and the audience further embarrassment. But he blithely ignored this moment, and proceeded to crash and burn in a glorious fashion.
Bob Read was hired to do close-up shows at the convention. This was back in the day when a close-up performance was actually a close-up performance, not a television show. There were six close-up magicians, and each magician did six performances on three consecutive days. The audience was situated in six different rooms, and the performers rotated from room to room. Each performer was to do a maximum of twelve minutes in each room. This time limit was important, because if one performer ran long, it screwed up the whole schedule.
Bob Read, Michael Weber, and Michael Close in Las Vegas - Early 90's
Bob, of course, hated having to perform under a time constraint. He did the best he could, but he was extremely dissatisfied with his performances. To those of us who knew Bob well, it became obvious there was an enormous amount of pent-up creative energy waiting to burst free. On the last day of the convention, a crowd of people began to form outside the rooms where the close-up shows were held. I was part of that crowd; we were waiting to see where Bob was going to do his final show, because in that room there would be no time constraints. Once we determined his schedule, everyone piled into that final room. (And everyone included Jay Marshall and Jon Racherbaumer.) The room was packed to overflowing; had a fire marshal walked in – well, he couldn’t have walked in; there wasn’t any place left to stand.
We had all assumed Bob would be in rare form in that final room; we had no idea just how great he would be. When he walked into the room and saw it was packed to overflowing, a huge smile spread over his face. This is how he liked to work, with the crowd right on top of him.
He invited a man to sit at a table in the front of the room. And then, he let loose.
He did five minutes with a squeaky door. He showed us how the Invisible Man does karate. He riffed on a woman who couldn’t stop giggling. He worked for an hour and five minutes, and he hadn’t done a single trick.
He did five more minutes as he brought out a deck of cards. He took the cards from the case, handed them to the man sitting at the table, and asked him to shuffle them. The man, who was still shaking with laughter, panicked, and as he tried to shuffle the cards he shot them all over the floor.
Bob looked at him, horrified. “Jesus Christ!” he yelled. “What the fuck are you doing? I’ve only got twelve minutes!” Pandemonium.
I’ve never forgotten it.
I think it behooves anyone who holds an opinion (especially someone who publishes his or her opinions) to periodically revisit that point of view and reevaluate it. Times change, people change, and opinions change. After critical reexamination and reflection of something I’ve published, I see no dishonor in saying, “You know; I didn’t get that quite right.”
Earlier this year I completed work on The Paradigm Shift Volumes One and Two; consequently, the concepts of Action, Chaos, and Repose have been on my mind. I also revised and updated Closely Guarded Secrets. As I looked at The Luckiest Cards in Las Vegas (a memorized-deck routine), I realized the method for handling a memdeck I have espoused for years is not optimal. “Jazzing,” the term I coined twenty-two years ago in Workers 5 is inaccurate and misleading. In fact, many of the technical aspects of memdeck work I put forth in Workers 5 and subsequent books are simply incorrect in light of the guiding principles of Action, Repose, and Chaos.
Fortunately, I’m still on the planet; I have the opportunity to explain where I went wrong. Best of all, I can offer you ways of handling a memdeck that are far more effective and deceptive than anything I have seen in print. These techniques are especially useful when “improvising” with a memdeck.
I’m delighted with the discoveries I’ve made. I think you will be, too. Look for this new project at the end of July.
Feel free to comment below.
]]>Books for stage and stand-up magicians are few and far between. Even scarcer are books that offer practical, real-world advice – advice that can save the reader time, money, and heartache.
Lisa and I are pleased to announce the publication of an ebook that magnificently fills this void: The Real Deal – A Magician Prepares by Dennis Loomis.
Dennis Loomis was the real deal; he was a full-time professional magician for more than forty years. More than that, though, he was one of the very few general practitioners in magic. He did it all: stage illusions, escapes, stand-up shows, school assemblies, and close-up magic. He was also a magic dealer. Throughout all of that, he maintained the soul of a passionate amateur; he enthusiastically loved all forms...
]]>Lisa and I are pleased to announce the publication of an ebook that magnificently fills this void: The Real Deal – A Magician Prepares by Dennis Loomis.
Dennis Loomis was the real deal; he was a full-time professional magician for more than forty years. More than that, though, he was one of the very few general practitioners in magic. He did it all: stage illusions, escapes, stand-up shows, school assemblies, and close-up magic. He was also a magic dealer. Throughout all of that, he maintained the soul of a passionate amateur; he enthusiastically loved all forms of conjuring.
I met Dennis in the late 1970s or early ‘80s. Our paths only crossed occasionally; he lived on the West Coast, and in those days I lived in Indiana. I think I helped to pump up his enthusiasm for memorized-deck work, which I was known for from convention appearances and lectures in the mid and late 1990s. At those conventions, I had suggested to Dennis how valuable it would be to preserve the astonishing amount of practical information he had acquired during his years of performing. He agreed, but said when it came to writing, he procrastinated too much.
More than a decade later, I was able to persuade Dennis to write a magazine column for me. He did so for four years, contributing two columns – A Magician Prepares and The Skinny Kid with the Overbite (reminiscences about Doug Henning). It had been Dennis’s desire to assemble these columns into a book; unfortunately, he left the planet before that goal was accomplished.
Through the kind cooperation of Dennis’s brother, Kim Eppard, this ebook is now available, and it is a treasure-trove of useful, valuable information.
The book begins with three chapters of practical suggestions – “Preparing for the Show,” “Sound Advice” (information on microphones and sound systems), and “Mark Your Way” (how to use crib sheets, notes, and identifying marks to avoid mistakes). There are eighteen chapters of routines for stage and stand-up, including The Twentieth Century Scarves, the Full-light Spirit Séance Breakthrough (Dennis’s method allows for a more convincing handling of the cloth), The Simplex Salt Pour (three methods), Making All of the Alcohol in the World Disappear (a unique use of the Multiplying Bottles prop), Neil Foster’s Miniature Indian Rope Trick, Improved-Improved Jumbo Jest, The Balloon Show, the Wellington Magic Switchboard, The Double Penetration (of a scarf through a cane), Loomis’s Himber Ring Routine, the Ron Leonard/Doug Henning Livestock Production, Tri-color Ropes and Knots, Jumbo Three Card Monte, Seven Keys to Baldpate, The Engagement Ring Production, Histed Heisted (plus suggestions on mastering a memorized deck), the Tip-over Box, and much more.
But that’s not all. You’ll also find great stories of life and work on the road, a Foreword by Gene Anderson, an interview I conducted with Dennis in 2012, and a big chapter of stories about Dennis’s friendship with Doug Henning. (Even though this is a chapter of reminiscences, Dennis tips some great work on one of magic’s most popular illusions.)
This is an ebook you will return to again and again. As with our other recent publications, The Real Deal – A Magician Prepares comes to you in both EPUB and PDF formats.
Even if you never perform any of the routines in this ebook, you’ll find ideas you can apply to your own material. This, of course, is the great gift an experienced professional can bequeath to the magic community. Dennis did the work; he identified the problems, solved them, and shared the solutions. I wish he was still around to continue that process, but I’m grateful for what he left behind. As you work your way through this ebook, I know you’ll feel that way, too.
There is already a substantial interest from magicians interested in participating in season six. If you have a routine you’d like to submit to the Fool Us producers and you live within driving distance of the Greater Toronto Area, here’s an offer you can’t pass up:
I will be holding a six-hour coaching session in Richmond Hill, Ontario, on July 21, 2018. This will be strictly limited to six performers. The cost is $400 (Canadian) and includes a continental breakfast and a lunch. Even if you don’t plan on auditioning for Fool Us, but you have a routine you’d like to workshop, this session is for you.
If you are interested, you can register HERE.
]]>Bob Farmer has a new long-term strategy for combating the piracy on Chinese websites. To accomplish his plan, he needs the participation of magic writers, creators, publishers, and distributors. If you fall into one of those categories (and only if you are in one of those categories), please contact Bob at bobfarmer@maipco.org. He will tell what’s going on.
It is important that this message gets to as many of the people who are affected by these piracy sites as possible.
Here is the bulletin (Read More link below) from Bob. You can download a PDF version of it here to share with anyone you think should see it.
]]>It is important that this message gets to as many of the people who are affected by these piracy sites as possible.
Here is the bulletin (below) from Bob. You can download a PDF version of it here to share with anyone you think should see it.
]]>THE MAGICAL ARTS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY COALITION
c/o Bob Farmer, Box 1262, Brockville Ontario, Canada K6V 5W2
BobFarmer@maipco.orgFebruary 13, 2018
As you are probably aware, there are numerous Chinese magic sites selling illegal downloads of magic books and rip-offs of magic tricks and props.
Mike Close and I had a discussion about this and we decided something had to be done, so here’s the plan.
I believe in starting at the top and working my way down. The top is the Chinese government in Beijing.
It’s a complete waste of time to go through PayPal, the ISPs, etc., because these sites will simply open up somewhere else. Back in September of 2016, the Chinese government passed a new copyright infringement law. I don’t know what “law” means in China (“Comrade, the Court of the People’s Revolution sentences you to death by being beaten with chopsticks and noodles.”), but I do know that one of the reasons for the new law was the international outcry over IP infringement in China. See now:
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/78xnwy/chinas-piracy-crackdown-is-working-chinese-government-says
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=f718075c-2ab0-4b12-a42a-5ab51c66cb38
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-01/16/c_136899865.htm?platform=hootsuite
Governments, ours and theirs, don’t pay any attention to individuals (one individual = one vote); they do pay attention to organizations.
So, I’ve formed the Magical Arts Intellectual Property Coalition (MAIPCO). To become a member, send me an email (unless you’ve already done so). There are no dues or meetings (but suggestions for the secret handshake are welcomed).
I have already had discussions with the government of Canada on this issue (I’ve got good political connections there). They are putting me in touch with the intellectual property attaché at the Canadian embassy in Beijing. A submission from an embassy is much more effective.
Once I get the Canadian person onside, I’ll have him/her contact their U.S. and U.K. counterparts. I want to have a combined Canadian/U.S./UK submission to the Chinese government. My experience in this area is that once you get one person onboard it acts as leverage to get the next one on board.
In doing this, we’ll need a good list of international members of MAIPCO and I need as many high-profile magicians as I can sign up.
David Ben and Julie Eng of Magicana are assisting with a website and other logistical details. More about that later.
In the meantime, we have to spread the word and sign up as many people as we can in the three countries, so please pass this email on to anyone you think would be interested. I’d prefer authors, inventors and performers, that is, people who have had their stuff ripped off.
I know there will be arguments about whether or not there can be intellectual property in magic tricks, but I don’t intend to make this a fine-line legal discussion about what is and what isn’t covered. The people we’re going after are scum and their customers are worse than scum. They will not get the benefit of any doubts.
This is a long-term project, so don’t expect an instant miracle.
Best regards,
Bob Farmer
Recently, on the Genii forum, there was a discussion of what I have referred to as Darwin Ortiz’s Rules (Cardshark, page 11). Darwin wrote: “To justify its existence, I feel a new trick should be different from what has come before. And, to the extent that it resembles any previous tricks, it should be superior to them either in plot, method, or presentation (or in more than one of those categories).”
What then followed (on the forum) were posts from people agreeing or disagreeing with Darwin’s suggestion. Although one post referred to Darwin’s Rules as “nonsense,” I have been a proponent of it for many years. I’d like to explain why I think it is a useful guideline, particularly now, when the magic marketplace is flooded with products.
With the advancement of technology, anyone can self-produce any book, ebook, video, or prop. This, of course, was not always the case. In the 1960s, if you wanted a book of your magic routines to be published
]]>Recently, on the Genii forum, there was a discussion of what I have referred to as Darwin Ortiz’s Rules (Cardshark, page 11). Darwin wrote: “To justify its existence, I feel a new trick should be different from what has come before. And, to the extent that it resembles any previous tricks, it should be superior to them either in plot, method, or presentation (or in more than one of those categories).”
What then followed (on the forum) were posts from people agreeing or disagreeing with Darwin’s suggestion. Although one post referred to Darwin’s Rules as “nonsense,” I have been a proponent of it for many years. I’d like to explain why I think it is a useful guideline, particularly now, when the magic marketplace is flooded with products.
With the advancement of technology, anyone can self-produce any book, ebook, video, or prop. This, of course, was not always the case. In the 1960s, if you wanted a book of your magic routines to be published, you went to someone who had the funds and the resources to do that: a Louis Tannen, a Jay Marshall, or a Lloyd Jones. In making the decision whether to publish or not, those men were basically following Darwin’s Rules; they decided if the material was original enough to warrant publication. Was their decision subjective? Of course it was. But it was a decision based on years of experience bringing magic to the marketplace.
Today, that editorial board can be bypassed. With desktop publishing and video-editing software, products can flow directly from the creators to the purchasers. This allows a staggering amount of mediocre products to vie for your attention.
Darwin’s Rules are simply an attempt to stem the tide of mediocre products by suggesting that the creators explicitly explain why their tricks are worth the attention of magic buyers. In other words, if you’re publishing a variation of an existing plot or effect, what have you improved, what have you strengthened?
Is this a subjective assessment? Yes, it is. Let’s look at an example. One of the great effects in magic is Charlie Miller’s Dunbury Delusion (Expert Card Technique, page 319). It is completely impromptu, and can be performed with a shuffled deck in use at any time, without any preparation. It also corresponds one-to-one with the magic ideal. (If you had the power of a real magician, Charlie’s method is exactly how the trick would look.) However, it is not easy; the method relies on perfect second deals. If you can’t second deal, this effect is of no use to you.
Since the publication of the Dunbury Delusion, magicians have offered variations that eliminate the second deal. (One example is Dave’s Delight by Dave Lederman in Frank Garcia’s Super Subtle Card Miracles, page 31.) Are these improvements? This is where the “subjective” aspect comes in. Whether you think Dave’s Delight is an improvement depends completely on your definition of magic. (For more on my definition of magic, see The Paradigm Shift Volumes One and Two.) Dave’s Delight eliminates the second deal and adds a kicker of the production of four Aces. To accomplish this, you need a five-card setup, and the trick is no longer impromptu. You also lose the convincing nature of Charlie’s procedure; in the Dunbury Delusion, you need only control one card – in Dave’s Delight, you must keep track of the selection and the setup. By my definition of magic, Dave’s Delight is not an improvement and I would never perform it. But if you can’t do a second deal (and you don’t want to invest the time to learn to do one), Dave’s Delight may be exactly what you’re looking for. But in my opinion (and based on my criteria), it is inferior to Charlie’s trick.
Here is the challenge to would-be magic producers: First, as a consumer, I need to know what your definition of magic is. I need to know how stringent your criteria are. Second, I then need to know exactly what flaws you believe exist in the original effect (or plot or routine). Third, I need to know why you believe your variation improves the effect, the method, or the presentation. If I am presented with that information, I can make an informed purchasing decision.
If you are wondering if anyone actually goes to all that trouble, yes there are many magic creators who do. If you examine the effects in The Paradigm Shift Volumes One and Two, you will see how I apply Darwin’s Rules. You’ll find out what I wanted to fix, why I wanted to fix it, and how I went about doing it. Whether or not it is in an improvement will still be your subjective conclusion, but you will understand my motivation for publishing it.
]]>Here's an unusual thing that happened at the Ring 129 Workshop convention in St. Joe. During my lecture on Saturday, I somehow got on the topic of ethics, and I mentioned that every now and then someone would contact me with an ethical question. When that happens, I always respond, "You don't have an ethical question; you just want me to say that what you're about to do is okay."
So here's the unusual thing. That evening, one of the presenters told me that some time after my lecture one of the attendees came up to him and told him he had stolen an item from the lecturer's table. He said he felt bad about it, and then gave him
Here's an unusual thing that happened at the Ring 129 Workshop convention in St. Joe. During my lecture on Saturday, I somehow got on the topic of ethics, and I mentioned that every now and then someone would contact me with an ethical question. When that happens, I always respond, "You don't have an ethical question; you just want me to say that what you're about to do is okay."
So here's the unusual thing. That evening, one of the presenters told me that some time after my lecture one of the attendees came up to him and told him he had stolen an item from the lecturer's table. He said he felt bad about it, and then gave him thirty bucks. Wow.
I thought about this because of the following article, which is about piracy. I just finished my final edits on Part One of The Paradigm Shift ebooks. It is 75,000 words long. As with everything I've ever sold, it will not be copy protected. I'm simply going to ask purchasers to do the right thing. I hope they will. Feel free to comment your ideas or comments about this issue below.
Here's the link: https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2017/02/23/piracy/
We live in a time of unprecedented access to information. The Internet is the genie that answers all questions with the click of a few keystrokes. Unfortunately, that genie is indiscriminate about the nuggets it offers; often what you seek is buried in a sewer full of garbage.
If you think I’m kidding, try it yourself. Type “Elmsley Count Tutorial” into a Google search bar. (For USA readers, you’d better do this now while it’s still free.) Under “All,” you’ll find 40,700 hits; under “Videos,” you’ll find 15,400 hits. Of those thousands of options, which ones give you the correct technique? Which ones explain that, if you think about it logically, the Elmsley count actions don’t make much sense if you are trying to establish some fact about the condition of four cards (all face down, all blue-backed, etc.)? I don’t know the answers to those questions. Which one of those thousands of options will
]]>If you think I’m kidding, try it yourself. Type “Elmsley Count Tutorial” into a Google search bar. (For USA readers, you’d better do this now while it’s still free.) Under “All,” you’ll find 40,700 hits; under “Videos,” you’ll find 15,400 hits. Of those thousands of options, which ones give you the correct technique? Which ones explain that, if you think about it logically, the Elmsley count actions don’t make much sense if you are trying to establish some fact about the condition of four cards (all face down, all blue-backed, etc.)? I don’t know the answers to those questions. Which one of those thousands of options will correct you when you practice the Elmsley count technique incorrectly? I know the answer to that one: none of them will.
In addition to what is available on the Internet for free, the magic marketplace is buried under an avalanche of products. Dozens of new items appear each week; each holds the promise that, if you just buy this new thing, you will become a magician. (The idea that owing a thing will fulfill a need is, of course, the driving force behind all advertising.)
There is plenty of information (and sequences of words that purport to be information) and plenty of new stuff out there. What is lacking is guidance. A magician who is serious about improving his or her magic needs the guidance of a more experienced, more knowledgeable magician. Speaking generally, this expertise comes in two forms: a teacher (mentor) or a coach (consultant). The one that would serve you best depends on your needs and your goals.
What the enthusiastic hobbyist needs is someone to provide focus and expert instruction. This is best provided by an experienced teacher or mentor. By the time I was in my early twenties, I had acquired a lot of “book-learning,” but there was a scattershot approach to my magical studies. Meeting Harry Riser, who became my mentor, shaped my thinking in profound ways. I could not have achieved what I have without his guidance.
If you have ever studied a musical instrument, you know the importance of finding a good teacher, one who is an expert in your area of interest. (If you want to learn jazz piano, a teacher who only knows classical piano won’t get you to your specific goals.) It is no different when studying conjuring. If you really want to improve, you should find the best teacher you can afford. And remember, whatever the cost, you will get far more value and return for your dollar from a great teacher than you will by blindly throwing money at the latest one-trick DVD or download.
If you are making money from the performance of magic (as a full-time or part-time pro), or if you plan on making the jump to professional, it might be more important to you to refine one or more routines from your act. An experienced coach (or consultant) can spot problem areas that, if corrected, can make a routine appear just that much more magical, commercial, or entertaining. In addition to working out technical problems, a consultant can help with blocking, audience management, scripting, and many other aspects of stagecraft. In my work as a consultant on Penn & Teller: Fool Us I have helped both pros and less-experienced younger magicians improve their performances.
A knowledgeable consultant can also help a performer bring unfinished ideas to fruition.
Generally, a consultant will be more expensive than a teacher, but if the help you get improves your act, that translates directly into money in your pocket. Having a fresh set of eyes evaluating your act is something every pro needs to do on a regular basis.
I hope you find the above information useful. Whether you are in the market for a teacher or a consultant, don’t be afraid to seek out someone who can address your magical questions and needs. You may find that the experience is life-changing.
]]>The December 2017 issue of M-U-M brings to a close my tenure as editor of that magazine. When I took the job, Lisa and I lived in Las Vegas and my daughter was two years old. Over the next nine years we moved three times, across the United States and into Canada, and produced 108 issues – which is a pretty good magic trick all by itself. In the beginning there were steep learning curves. Lisa became a wizard at Photoshop and InDesign, and (after editing almost seven million words) I finally understood more about writing.
From the start, I knew what my editorial slant for the magazine would be. I wanted to emphasize books (and the importance of reading them) and practical, real-world advice from working professionals. Fortunately, I was able coerce many of the world’s top pros and part-time pros into...
]]>From the start, I knew what my editorial slant for the magazine would be. I wanted to emphasize books (and the importance of reading them) and practical, real-world advice from working professionals. Fortunately, I was able coerce many of the world’s top pros and part-time pros into joining the M-U-M writing staff. If you go back through the past nine years of M-U-M, you’ll find expert information on just about every branch of magic.
Nothing stays the same, and the world has certainly changed over the past nine years. One heartbreaking change has been the loss of some of magic’s best and brightest people. Of those who contributed columns to M-U-M, we lost Charles Reynolds, Aldo Colombini, Dennis Loomis, Larry White, Paul Osborne, and Ken Fletcher. Happily, most of our past and present columnists are still on the planet: Alan Wassilak, Ariann Black, Ian Kendall, Christian Painter, Nathan Kranzo, Norman Beck, Pete McCabe, Rod Danilewicz, Steve Snyder, Tim Sonefelt, George Schindler, Steve Marshall, Phil Milstead, Michael Perovich, Norm and Lupe Nielsen, Tom Vorjohan, Daniel Herron, David Seebach, Larry Hass, Bruce Kalver, Roger Blakiston, Chris Wasshuber, Joshua Jay, R.D. Michaels, James Munton, Levent Cimkentli, Harry Anderson, Tom Ewing, Bob Farmer, Scott Alexander, Mick Ayres, Norm Barnhart, Charlie Siebert, Christopher Carter, George Parker, Tony Cabral, Sara Crasson, David Oliver, David Corsaro, Gary Plants, Paul Stone, Martin Lewis, Max Maven, Peter Samelson, and David Haversat. Several of these fine folks wrote for the magazine for years, often contributing several different columns. It has been a pleasure and an honor to work with all of them. They have my deepest appreciation.
Just so you understand what it means to commit to a monthly column, sit down and write two thousand words on any subject, each month, every month for the next twelve months. This will help you appreciate the generosity of the people mentioned above. The next time you see them, say thanks. (By the way, here’s a hot tip: if you ever have a writing deadline and you’re stuck on what to write, you can always pad out your article with a long list of people, places, or things.)
There were three people whose involvement was critical to the success of M-U-M during the past nine years. Bill Duncan has done an impeccable job coordinating the Informed Opinion review columns. Each month, Bill received the products, distributed them to the reviewers best qualified to discuss them, assembled the Word docs from the various writers, and sent them to me like clockwork. This was a big job, and Bill never let me down. (Having written product reviews for MAGIC magazine for ten years, I can tell you from personal experience that it is a thankless job. Bill’s reviewing staff is the best in our field. Every month they provided insightful and useful reviews. My heartfelt thanks to all of them.) Lindsay Smith’s days as proofreader for M-U-M go back to when John Moehring was editor. Even when the schedule was a little crazy for one reason or another, Lindsay persevered; his keen eye and knowledge greatly improved the quality of the magazine. Lisa Close not only provided an eye-catching, easy-to-read layout each month, she was also an invaluable collaborator, whose ideas and suggestions always made the magazine better. It is impossible for me to imagine producing this magazine with anyone else. To Bill, Lindsay, and Lisa I offer my deep gratitude. You made a tough job much easier.
Now that everything has been completed on the December issue of M-U-M, you might wonder how I’m going to spend my time in the months ahead. No thumb-twiddling is in my future; I have many projects that will be moving from “back-burner” status to completion.
Heading your way first are my new ebooks, tentatively titled The Paradigm Shift Parts 1 and 2. I have been working on this project for almost ten years. I have demonstrated some of the material to a select group of magicians in the past couple of years, and the response has been enthusiastic. (Quentin Reynolds said The IKEA Card Trick is the best routine he’s seen in years.) The focus is on card magic, but you will also find effects that use other objects. There are contributions from Harry Riser, Bob Farmer, Mick Ayres, Roy Walton, and Simon Aronson. In addition to the effects, there are some groundbreaking essays that will help to take your magic to a new level. Each ebook will contain more than thirty chapters. Lisa and I are working furiously in order to have the two ebooks out before the end of year.
In addition to the ebooks featuring my material, Lisa and I plan on releasing several new ebooks from other authors. We have already started this process with Christian Painter’s Magic in the Real World: What You Need to Know before You Quit Your Day Job. If you have any desire to make a living from performing magic, you need Christian’s ebook. It will save you time and money. Watch for more ebooks in the months ahead.
Lisa and I hosted two workshop/retreats in 2017. The first, in May, featured Johnny Thompson as the special guest; the second, in October, featured Jason England and Michael Weber as the special guests. Both gatherings exceeded everyone’s expectations. Lisa and I plan to host more of these events and are fine tuning our business plan to ensure the best experience possible. We will keep you updated.
With my M-U-M responsibilities completed, I have more time for teaching and coaching. With the explosion of magic on the Internet and the avalanche of new products hitting the marketplace each week, it is more important than ever for a magic enthusiast to have someone with knowledge and experience to guide his or her progress. I will be uploading a blog post on this subject shortly, so stay tuned.
That’s the short list of what’s coming your way at www.michaelclose.com. Thanks for reading.
]]>If a magician performs for a layman, and if he can figure out ten percent of how the trick works, but ninety percent of the trick puzzles him, the layman will say that the trick didn't fool him. But if a magician performs for a fellow conjurer, and he can figure out how ninety percent of the trick works but ten percent of the trick puzzles him, he will say he was fooled. Because the Cylinder and Coins is a classic effect, Eric conceded that ninety percent of it
]]>If a magician performs for a layman, and if he can figure out ten percent of how the trick works, but ninety percent of the trick puzzles him, the layman will say that the trick didn't fool him. But if a magician performs for a fellow conjurer, and he can figure out how ninety percent of the trick works but ten percent of the trick puzzles him, he will say he was fooled. Because the Cylinder and Coins is a classic effect, Eric conceded that ninety percent of it wouldn’t fool P&T. He then challenged them to decide if being fooled by the remaining ten percent was good enough to receive the highly coveted FU trophy.
Eric’s ploy worked, and he walked away with the prize. But that gaudy piece of plastic is absolutely not the point of my comments, nor is it the reason magicians got excited by what they saw. Eric’s performance excited everyone because it exemplified everything an audience consciously (or subconsciously) expects a magician to provide: a great effect, a superb handling, an intriguing presentation (expertly delivered), and virtuoso chops.
Eric is, of course, an exceptional talent, one of the best in the world. But even with his gifts, he has still put in the hard work to develop that talent. No matter our position on the spectrum of talented people, it is imperative to hone the abilities we have. So, what can we learn from Eric Mead’s Fool Us performance?
First, pick a strong effect, one that can be clearly understood. The first half of the Cylinder and Coins can be summed up in one sentence: Four coins vanish and appear under a cork inside a cylinder. The second half can be similarly described: The four coins vanish from inside the cylinder and reappear in the hands. Remember, if the spectators can’t follow what’s going on, there will be no magic.
Second, develop the best method you can for the effect. This involves research, experimentation, and personal creativity. Eric’s handling is based on Tim Conover’s method, which is one of the best. But I know Eric has studied this effect for many years. What makes Tim’s method so impressive is that it closely correlates to the “magic ideal.” That is, if you had the power of a real magician, who had the power to make coins vanish and reappear, this is what a Coins and Cylinder routine would look like. The handling is natural. At the end of the routine, all a spectator can say is, “But he didn’t do anything!”
Third, write an interesting script. During the body of the effect, Eric’s patter mainly emphasizes what is going on, and to that extent is not particularly memorable. However, the emotional/intellectual hook he uses at the opening of the routine is exceptional; it provides a motivation for the spectators to pay close attention throughout the routine. His “hook” gives the spectators a reason to care about the outcome of the effect. This is a wonderful example of intelligent scripting. You must have something interesting to say. You must write a script. And you must rehearse that script until it is firmly ingrained and can be delivered clearly and competently.
Also note that a bit of Eric’s personality/character is revealed during that short introductory speech. Establishing that in the brief time period television allows is a difficult task. Eric nailed it.
And this brings us to point number four: practice. There is only one way to achieve the level of expertise demonstrated in Eric’s performance – hours of concerted, thoughtful practice, rehearsal, and flight time. Unfortunately, there is no shortcut; you have to do the work. But, as this performance demonstrates, the result can be glorious.
So, bravo to my old friend Eric; I hope his performance inspires you to work hard. Laymen can appreciate great magic when they see it; the pity is, it too seldom that they have the opportunity to do so. - October 3, 2017, The Great White North
]]>I was pleasantly surprised to find that the lecture was sold out; it was standing room only in the shop. I was even more pleasantly surprised that almost everyone stayed for the entire talk, that they were absorbed by the subject matter, and that they asked good questions. I send out my heartfelt thanks to all of you who attended.
]]>I was pleasantly surprised to find that the lecture was sold out; it was standing room only in the shop. I was even more pleasantly surprised that almost everyone stayed for the entire talk, that they were absorbed by the subject matter, and that they asked good questions. I send out my heartfelt thanks to all of you who attended.
For me, the best thing about this lecture was that it forced me to return to some of my earlier essays on magic theory and revise and rethink them. Doing this opened my mind to connections between various aspects of theory that I had not previous discovered. Making these connections gave me a roadmap for imparting the information with clarity. I think it was my best attempt so far at showing how the disparate facets of magic theory are interrelated.
If you weren’t able to make the lecture many of the topics I discussed will be included in my new ebook. I did mention at the end of the lecture (and I’m happy to pass along to you) that an excellent way to become familiar magic theory texts is to download the PDF, Magic in Mind, from the Vanishing Inc. website (http://tinyurl.com/y8v7kn5h). Its 500+ pages contain essays from the major players in the magic theory world. The best thing is, it’s free.
(By the way, one of the great things about the Browser’s Den is that Jeff stocks an extensive selection of magic books. Magic theory is rarely discussed on videos – or by fifteen-year-old magicians on their YouTube channel, go figure. If want to learn about magic theory, you’re going to have to read a book.)
From Canada's Magic Blog about the lecture: https://is.gd/5p2nIU
]]>Current Magic Conventions vs Our Workshop/Retreats....
Current Magic Conventions
At Our Workshop/Retreats
You don’t have to be an advanced practitioner to benefit from our workshop/retreats. You only need the desire to be a better magician. You’ll relax, you’ll laugh, you’ll have fun, and you’ll learn more than you ever thought possible. These workshops are unique opportunities. They will speed your progress in magic and, in the long run, will save you time and money.
Hope you'll join us in The Great White North. – Michael Close
]]>I met Daryl in the late 1970s or early ‘80s. Our paths crossed at magic conventions. Later, when I joined the ranks of the performers/lecturers, we found ourselves performing on the same close-up shows, often in some far-flung place.
At one of the Joe Stevens Desert Magic Seminars, I sat next to a well-known card man as Daryl performed in one of the close-up shows. (This was back in the days when close-up magic actually resembled close-up magic and the performers moved from room to room.) Daryl was doing a super-duper card location, full of moments that destroyed any possible way that Daryl could find the selected card. The patter hook that ran through the routine was, “Believe it or not, there is one way, and one way only, that I can find the card...” The card guy next to me was getting toasted; he had no idea how Daryl could find the card. At the start of the routine, I noticed that Daryl was using a deck of Bicycle League Back cards. Once I saw that, and heard the patter hook, I couldn’t stop laughing. The more the guy next to me expressed his astonishment, the harder I laughed. It was a wonderful moment.
In Australia, in 1992, I discovered what a tremendous magic salesman Daryl was. During this trip I learned Daryl’s method for deciding what items he would sell at a magic convention: profit per pound per square inch. He brought a suitcase packed to capacity with product; the only other thing you could have fit in it was loose sand. He left that convention with the suitcase similarly packed with money.
Lisa and I spent time with Daryl and his wife Alison when we lived in Las Vegas. On one visit to their house, Daryl showed me the map on which he had outlined their two-year, around-the-world lecture tour.
When that tour wrapped up, Alison stayed in England to visit with relatives and Daryl returned to Vegas. The day he got in, he called to say he was back. I suggested he come over to our house for a home-cooked meal, something I thought he’d appreciate after such a long time on the road. He came by that evening.
Lisa and I prepared a pasta dish, with salad, bread, and red wine. We ate, talked, and listened to stories of the life of a lecturer. It was obvious Daryl was jet-lagged and beat to hell, which made him the perfect foil for a practical joke.
We finished dinner and continued talking. Our dining table was next to the kitchen. At the time, we had two Chihuahuas – Murray and Pablo (some of you may remember them from lectures I gave in 1998 and 2005). I began to clear the table. I picked up a plate and a salad bowl and walked them toward the kitchen sink. Instead of putting them in the sink, I bent down and let the two dogs lick the plate and bowl clean. Then I opened the cabinet above the sink and put them away with the other tableware.
I did this without comment, continuing whatever conversation we were in the middle of. It wasn’t until the third plate and bowl that what I was doing began to sink in. Daryl watched me take the plate and the bowl, and he watched the dogs lick them clean. And then I put them away. He didn’t say anything, but his facial expression said everything. We laughed until the tears ran down our cheeks.
I’ll conclude this with what I posted on Facebook the Sunday after Daryl died. All of us were looking for a coping mechanism. If you’re still looking, this may be helpful:
“Two days ago, on Friday, Abby, the Close clan dog, was under the weather. I volunteered for downstairs duty, sleeping on the couch so I could hustle her outside if she needed to relieve one end or the other. I was up several times during the night. About three in the morning, I read on Facebook that someone had died at the Magic Castle. The question of who that was kept me from sound sleep the remainder of the night. On Saturday morning, I had the wind knocked out of me when I found out it was Daryl.
“I had to work a private party on Saturday afternoon for a client for whom I have done several events. The combination of a severe lack of sleep and my emotional state did not put me in the mood to do magic. But I did so.
“I was not in top form, but the effects were successful and everyone laughed and had a good time. As I performed, I was reminded of the real power of conjuring. For a moment, my audience’s reaction of ‘How is that possible?’ produced by a trivial, insignificant piece of magic drowned out my outraged, unanswered shout at the universe, ‘How was this possible?’”
“When the party ended several hours later, everyone’s spirits were buoyed, mine included. I felt better than I thought I could feel under the circumstances. And this is why it is so important to be the best conjurer you can be, presenting miracles that are driven not by ego, but by the desire to produce a shared experience of astonishment. Performed in this way, everyone (including the magician, who is well aware of how these little tricky tricks are accomplished) can experience wonder.
“And that is what I did yesterday, to honor my friend, whose performances buoyed the spirits of so many.”
]]>While I have attended my share of big conventions, my preference now is for smaller gatherings. In Canada, two gatherings have been particularly impactful. The first is a small, invitation-only gathering in Toronto. Thirty-one magicians perform, share information, and socialize over a weekend. There are scheduled events, but there is also time to just talk.
]]>While I have attended my share of big conventions, my preference now is for smaller gatherings. In Canada, two gatherings have been particularly impactful. The first is a small, invitation-only gathering in Toronto. Thirty-one magicians perform, share information, and socialize over a weekend. There are scheduled events, but there is also time to just talk.
The other gathering is the Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp, which came to a close last year on its twentieth anniversary. Three things made camp special for me. 1. Being in nature (this was a real camp), away from the physical and mental noise of everyday life, allowed for a recharging of batteries and a cleansing of the mind. 2. The counsellors and invited guests were always accessible to the campers. You couldn’t lecture and then hide in your hotel room until the convention was over. (And believe me, at the large conventions a lot of well-known magicians do just that.) 3. There was substantial small-group and individual interaction. The campers left with their brains filled to capacity.
I decided I wanted to provide that same experience: a quiet venue in a natural environment; a small group of attendees to ensure personalized interaction; and teachers who could offer expert training and coaching.
That was my goal. And guess what...it is happening!
Lisa found a luxurious lodge out in nature, a few hours north of Toronto (Owen Sound, ON), and I invited my old friend (and living legend) Johnny Thompson to join me on May 5-7, 2017, as co-presenter in a weekend of performing, teaching, coaching, mentoring, and sharing great stories.
Unfortunately all the spots have been reserved. If you would like to be notified in case of a cancellation, please join the waiting list here.
Michael Close
]]>“All great things must come to an end!”
To all campers, friends, and family of Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp:
After twenty amazing years of Magic Camp, it is with heavy hearts we announce that our amazing ride has come to an end.
From the bottom of our hearts we want to thank all our staff, artists, sponsors, and special guests who made camp such a success. Please be proud of your contributions; together we fulfilled the dreams of many young magicians worldwide!
We want to give a warm thank you to Camp Tamarack, Camp White Pine, and Camp Northland for being our gracious hosts over the years.
]]>“All great things must come to an end!”
To all campers, friends, and family of Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp:
After twenty amazing years of Magic Camp, it is with heavy hearts we announce that our amazing ride has come to an end.
From the bottom of our hearts we want to thank all our staff, artists, sponsors, and special guests who made camp such a success. Please be proud of your contributions; together we fulfilled the dreams of many young magicians worldwide!
We want to give a warm thank you to Camp Tamarack, Camp White Pine, and Camp Northland for being our gracious hosts over the years.
Furthermore, we send a huge thank you to all the parents who gave us a chance and chose to send their children to Magic Camp. We are grateful every day for the positive impact Sorcerers Safari continues to have on the lives of so many.
It’s been an honor and a privilege to have facilitated such special experiences. As we built our camp family together, we created something larger than life. Over the years, we have watched strangers become lifelong friends, and then lifelong friends become family. Without a doubt, the past twenty years have been nothing short of magical.
We hope and expect that the relationships forged up at camp will continue to thrive and we look forward to following the successes of all of our campers and staff in the years to come.
Finally, as this chapter in magic closes, a brand new one begins. The pages are blank; we’re excited to see what the future generations of magicians will write. Having spent time with many individuals included in those generations up at camp, we’re guessing it will be even more amazing than the last!
And so we know that Sorcerers Safari will live on, forever. With all our love, Mike and Jen Segal
I’m very happy that the Segals gave the Close clan the opportunity to participate in camp. It was a transformative experience for both the campers and the staff. The ability to share information and to challenge ideas and preconceptions in the natural beauty of the Canadian northland was invigorating and inspiring. I looked forward to camp every year, and I’ll miss that camaraderie. Thanks, Mike and Jen, and best wishes for all your future projects. – Michael Close
]]>I’ve never experienced anything like magic camp. It is something I wish I could have attended when I was young. Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp can be a life-changing experience. If you know a young magician who would benefit from this experience, please consider sponsoring him or her.
]]>I have a vivid memory of one moment during that first visit. Lee Asher asked me if I would discuss the faro shuffle with the campers in his card class. I was happy to do so. I talked about the shuffle and explained a method to learn how to do it. This turned into a hands-on workshop as everyone tried the shuffle while I offered suggestions and tag-team help.
]]>I have a vivid memory of one moment during that first visit. Lee Asher asked me if I would discuss the faro shuffle with the campers in his card class. I was happy to do so. I talked about the shuffle and explained a method to learn how to do it. This turned into a hands-on workshop as everyone tried the shuffle while I offered suggestions and tag-team help.
After everyone had a chance to play with the shuffle, I asked if there were any questions. Someone asked me about the tabled faro shuffle, and I talked about that for a bit. (Mostly I just explained that I don’t do that shuffle, because I perform standing and I didn’t want to invest the necessary practice time, which is considerable, on a move I would never use.)
Then someone asked me about the anti-faro. This remarkable move was created by Christian Engblom. The cards are sprung from hand to hand; when they hit the left hand, they alternate into an in-jogged/out-jogged condition, looking just like a deck that has been given a faro shuffle. Although I don’t do this move (it is really difficult), I had a story about it, which I related to the campers.
In 1997, I visited Finland and I met Christian Engblom at a convention there. During the convention he took me aside and said, “I’d like to show you something, but you can’t tell anybody about it.” He then demonstrated the anti-faro, and I was astonished. I told him I would never talk about it with anyone. And I didn’t. I never mentioned it to my friends (or anyone else), until sometime in the early 2000s, when people started to tell me about it. I assumed that Christian had decided to go public with the move, and it was no longer a big secret.
When I finished my story, a camper said to me, “You never told anyone?” I replied that I had not. He said, “But it was so cool!” “Yes,” I said, “but keeping secrets is one of the most important parts of magic – especially keeping those secrets that someone has trusted you with.” This was a message no one had ever imparted to this young man. He and I discussed it further during time I was at camp.
And that’s why I love going to camp: I have the opportunity to interact with these young magicians and offer viewpoints that they are not getting from their other sources of information. And in turn, they challenge my perceptions. (Incidentally, I spoke with Christian Engblom about this at the combined convention. He thanked me very much for keeping his secret.)
]]>The first of our titles to be updated is Learn the Faro Shuffle, which first came out in 2001. Purchasers receive both the PDF and the EPUB versions. Other titles (including my new ebook, which will be released shortly) are in the process of being converted.
You can find the faro shuffle ebook here. While you’re visiting, please sign up for our newsletter so we can alert you when other publications are released. Hint.... one is coming out soon.
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