Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Breaking The Cliches

How many times have we watched a Cups and Balls routine that DIDN'T begin with the magician stating "This is the oldest trick in magic"?

I can only think of one routine I've personally seen (granted I haven't seen every routine in existence) that DIDN'T include such a line. Yes, it's an interesting line... it gives the trick a bare significance, at least historically, that in theory raises interest. I'm guilty of using the line myself. But I stopped... as soon as I really started to see just how many magicians use it. It's tiresome. Imagine the spectator who sees a lot of magic... don't you think they'll notice and grow tired of the same old Cups and Balls lines?

Magic is riddled with cliches... whether in stock lines, routining, or even persona. I've been considered, in some regards a performer very much like Jay Sankey... while I personally don't see this in my work, Sankey WAS a large influence on my earliest years of studying magic, so perhaps he rubbed off a bit onto me. Aside from that, I've tried to break free of magic cliches, to some degree.

Some magicians tried too hard to break free of cliches. Results are, bluntly put, disastrous. Consider Criss Angel. He tried to push what David Blaine sort of pioneered to the extreme and the results were far from spectacular.

We can't be pushing ourselves too far off track here... don't become the extreme opposite of the cliched magician or performer, just try to raise yourself above what's considered standard. If you follow the magical standards, you become just like every other magician... nothing makes you stand out. If that's how you wish to conduct yourself as a performer, that's fine. But in terms of success, I can't think of anybody who wouldn't want to stand out.

The next time I see a magician with a top hat on, I'll shoot myself. I'd rather not see magicians fulfill the public's hokey perspective of our art. People that dress in capes and perform with Change Bags and Mirror Boxes are exact examples of what makes the public look down on magic as though it's the silliest waste of time.

If you have such a hard time being different, unique, creative, you're simply in the wrong artform. Magic's about doing the impossible... so how hard could it possibly be to be unique?

So, to the standard magi out there... burn your top hats, set your rabbits free into the wild, and trade in your Change Bag for a prop that's YOU. Choose your work according to who you are, what your performing persona is. And if you're going to do the same stuff as everybody else, please, for the love of God... do it differently.

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