Magic

[Magician]

Here is a thread to talk about magic. I feel this vaudevillian and mildly-campy art form is a nice fit for the SZ aesthetic. I think SZers woudl especially appreciate the British performer Derren Brown, I'll have to scrounge up some good videos.


I happen to know a fair amount about this subject so feel free to ask any questions.

[Chinorlz]

M, I used to dabble in it as a hobby. Every so often I see what new developments have been made in the field.

Although there is something fun about big-production stage magic, the in-your-face aspect of closeup work is my favorite and requires the most skill. Always wanted to practice more sleight of hand but lost the patience after a while :(

Any particular simple yet effective carry-in-your pocket type tricks you have in mind?

[Servo2000]

I've always been tempted to buy a fake ID just to get into some of the shows at The Magic Castle. My father used to do quite a bit of sleight-of-hand type stuff and we have a couple of friends who are members who get us free tickets all the time but I can never get in as a result of being too young.

[Magician]

M, I used to dabble in it as a hobby. Every so often I see what new developments have been made in the field.

Although there is something fun about big-production stage magic, the in-your-face aspect of closeup work is my favorite and requires the most skill. Always wanted to practice more sleight of hand but lost the patience after a while :(

Any particular simple yet effective carry-in-your pocket type tricks you have in mind?

Is there a magic shop near you? Going to a brick and mortar magic shop is a lot of fun and the proprietor should be well equipped to help you.

For introductory sleight-of-hand I like the classic book Now You See it, Now You Don't by Bill Tarr. It may not be as comprehensive or "hardcore" as other magic books, but it is fun and easy to read.

PM me for a recommendation of a few "carry-in-your-pocket" tricks to buy.

[Magician]

I've always been tempted to buy a fake ID just to get into some of the shows at The Magic Castle. My father used to do quite a bit of sleight-of-hand type stuff and we have a couple of friends who are members who get us free tickets all the time but I can never get in as a result of being too young.

Haha, I happen to be underage myself. The Magic Castle is a very important institution in our community but it has been tarnished a bit by unfortunate things like politics and financial troubles. Not all the performers are quite at the caliber they should be and the cuisine is not very good for the price

Still it is well worth a visit. Often the performers are absolutely world class, and the architecture itself is a treat, featuring hidden passageways, "ghosts' and the like.

On Sundays the age requirements are dropped.

(My friend, an excellent magician from Philadelphia named Randy Shine will be performing there for a month or so soon. I highly recommend him and another Philly magician who will be there: Francis Menotti)

[therapysessions]

Wow. Surprised to see this here.

I was heavy into magic up until about 2 years ago. I still do it from time to time. Originally I wanted to be a stage magician (card manipulation) but started going japanese and stripping it down to as minimal as possible, doing mostly mentalism and trying to use as many natural looking objects as possible. I like things that have a sense of prossibility.

My favorite magicians are derren brown and richard osterlind.

[Magician]

^ It sounds like we took a similar artistic trajectory. I also started with Jeff McBride style manipulation and have moved towards mentalism/hypnosis. In the meanwhile I have accumulated a lot of sleight-of-hand knowledge and the majority of my performances are now close-up sleight of hand.

I am essentially dividing my focus between a stage mentalism/hypnosis show and a close-up sleight of hand show. No kid's parties or community fairs for me, thank god!

I am a huge, unabashed Derren Brown fan boy and Osterlind is one of contemporary mentalism's great thinkers. I would say that I draw upon Banachek, Andy Nyman and Luke Jermay quite frequently as well.