Magicians, in my opinion, are supposed to be conjurers of magic and wizardry, disguised as normal everyday people. There is something truly amazing about a normal everyday person doing something extraordinary. The best example I can think to give is with superhero movies! I think what makes us so intrigued by superhero movies is that these heroes look like everyday people, yet possess extraordinary abilities, and use those abilities in a world where those abilities are not normal. It is much more interesting to see superman fighting a bank robber than to see him fighting an alien in space.
The other day I had the amazing pleasure of performing at a rooftop college pool party (My job is great I know). I was performing my close-up walk around magic which consists of Cards, cell phones, mentalism, and coins (in this case beer bottle caps!). I am very experienced and skilled in card magic, because it is the standard most magicians learn from at first. I can control any playing card to any position in the deck, I can manipulate your choices to give you a full house - but still that is not the embodiment of a wizard in a world of muggles.
I was getting pretty decent reactions and amazement from the pool guests from my card magic, but the trick that absolutely set everyone off was one I hadn't performed in a while. I noticed an empty beer can on the side of the pool and I asked if it belonged to anyone. Someone raised his hand, and I had him wave over the dents of the can - suddenly: the dents had healed!
Next, i waved over the opened portion of the can, and the can sealed back into a brand new can of beer! I opened it, and poured the beer into a cup and gave it to my awesome volunteer. He did not care so much how it was done, he was amazed and thankful he had just been given a beer for free by magic! He even referred to me as Jesus a few times.
Just using this photo again, just cause.
To me, I think that is an example of a nearly PERFECT magic trick. Imagine this scenario: You are walking with a friend and you tell him you could really go for a Snickers. He reaches into the air, and with a puff of smoke, a snickers bar appears in front of you! Now you might be curious of how it was done, or you may be concerned for your friend wondering why he walks around all day with a candy bar in his sleeve, but you are not going to feel like you were "tricked" or "fooled".
Compare that scenario to this one: You are sitting down at a party relaxing having a great time! A guy walks up to you and asks if you want to see something amazing. Ignoring the creepy vibes that were given off with that comment, you agree and watch. The guy pulls out a fancy looking pack of cards and starts manipulating them in every way possible - one handed cuts, flips, giant fans, spinning packets going fast (the point is, this guy can do ANYTHING with cards!). You pick a card, and it goes back into the deck. You shuffle them, and deal down a random number of cards. Once you've dealt down a random number of cards, you memorize a second card that you've dealt to. You square up the cards and shuffle them, and then VOILA! The magician has those two cards in his pocket!
I won't deny that card trick was cool, but despite its complexities and years of skill it would take to master, it will never live up to the snickers trick. From the moment the magician pulled out the fancy magic cards and juggled them all around you knew he could do ANYTHING, and where's the magic in that?
I think we as magicians think too much about what WE want to perform that we don't take enough time to think about what our audience wants to really see! Sometimes it isn't about adding more details, but taking it away.
Magic is about sharing a moment of wonder, not deceiving and showing off. I am not hating on card magicians - I still love my fair share of them :). And I think audiences genuinely enjoy them. But nothing will truly live up to the snickers trick!
-Hayden
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