You know a trick – how it works – and don’t find it interesting any more.
I often hear people at conventions tell me that they have already seen a trick or a version of it. To me this means they know how it works and don’t want to buy it.
My question is: who are you performing the show for? Are you out there to make the audience happy or your performance is for your own therapy? I hope you are performing the magic the audience likes best otherwise you should let someone else do the job.
Example: The Zombie Ball. Blackstone Jr., used to call it “The ball on the stick trick” and in most cases he was right. The exception to the rule was for people who had a background in theater…. or better yet puppetry. These people know how to make the ball act as if it was a separate entity as thought it has a mind of it’s own.
While I perform the Zombie Ball occasionally. I would rather perform the floating ball like Okito, using two assistants, but many of my shows are on platforms at convention halls or schools where the correct curtains don’t exist…. so I perform the Zombie Ball. Yes. I’ve seen the trick before, many times but does that mean my audience should not? Just because you know how a musician plays his guitar or piano does that mean they should not?
The question I’m trying to ask is “Do you do this magic to make yourself feel good or because it’s an art form and you are making the audience feel good?
