Are Your Magic Tricks Angry With You?

Present day…………

You have been practicing your new magic tricks for a good month now, and thoroughly enjoying the practice. You feel you have reached that point where you have cracked it. The trick is now second nature, and you feel confident enough to take it out into the real world. How exciting! They won’t know what hit them! Today is that day to release the beast!

Three months later……….

As you are sitting there watching TV, or reading a book, you hear a tiny pitiful voice from your bottom drawer. “Hey! You! Yes, you! Remember me? Yes, it’s me, the new, amazing act changing effect you invested so many hours and hard earned money on. We were getting on so well. I thought we had a long future together. You promised me so much, and now here I am, forgotten, unused and unwanted. I thought you liked me! You’ve changed. I deserve an explanation!”

Are your magic tricks angry with you?

I think we have all been there. I know I have. Another example was  when I decided to have a good clear out of magic tricks I didn’t  need anymore. 9 times out of 10 I found  myself revisiting each trick as I rummaged through my magic draw.  3 hours later I had made no progress whatsoever and had just  toyed  with each trick. I discovered tricks I had never even touched!

So in either case scenario, no progress has been made and all that resides are disappointment and frustration. Essentially, you have collected a box of magic tricks that will be unlikely to see the light of day. To put it another way, an expensive box jam packed to the brim with lots of nothingness. You had just as well pop down to your local convenience store and spend fifty pounds on all the items you will never eat and leave them in a bag in your cupboard to go stale.

If you only shop, you are just collecting.

So, how do we cross this barrier without the tricks falling by the wayside? Let’s go back to where we began. Essentially the crucial point, which can determine either success or failure, is a choice. And the first thing you need to be aware of is your style. That will directly affect your purchase choices. When you perform, what personality shines through primarily? Do you find yourself more comfortable joking with the audience, or do you feel more comfortable with the serious approach? Do you want your tricks to come across as puzzles or magic?

Your performing persona should essentially be a magnified version of yourself.

If you are struggling to establish your performance style, don’t panic! Your style should be natural. Ask your friends and family what  the main qualities of your personality are. Take note of what they say and then when performing magnify these qualities. You will feel more comfortable as this character, and enjoy the performance. Spectators will pick up on this instantly, and then feel better  watching you perform.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, it was built stone by stone.

Ok, so you now have an idea of what your style is. But you still have an overflowing box of unused tricks. Grab that box, take out one magic trick that you know fits your persona, and start practicing that one trick. Keep in mind as you practice, you need to emulate what you will be saying as you practice it. This is a huge step towards the actual performance of it, as it will then become a part of you. Practice it for two or three times a day over the course of a week, speaking out loud as you practice. It will begin to  feel like a glove (maybe slightly ill fitting at first, but a glove nonetheless). Then, quite simply, go out there and do it! And enjoy it too! This will sound like taboo, but the only thing stopping you now is fear of failure. This fear will always be there so long as you let it. One performance will change this, and remember……….. Enjoy and exaggerate your qualities! Don’t think of it as you performing the trick, think of it as performing for you, and then take full credit for it!