Magic - Is There Such A Thing?

If you ask most people this question, you'll probably get an answer something like, "What, are you crazy?" or just a plain simple "No". And most people hearing either of these two answers would almost agree 100%. But does that mean there is no such thing as magic?

That kind of depends on what your definition of magic is. No, we're not going to play a game of double talk here. We're going to show a side of "magic" that most people don't regard as magic but as something else.

That side is referred to as metaphysical science. Of course there will be people who will insist that metaphysical science is nothing more than bunk in itself, but just as we have no proof that a living god either exists or doesn't exist, we really have no proof that metaphysical science has any validity or not.

For those who are not quite sure what metaphysical science is, it's the science of unknown things such as ghosts, UFOs, etc. In other words, just about anything that we don't have a definite answer for. Magic may or may not fall into the realm of metaphysical science depending on your personal beliefs. Certainly, a person who believes in the existence of ghosts and UFOs, has more of a chance in believing in magic than someone who only believes what he sees with his own two eyes.

For those of us who are totally grounded in reality, magic is a trick. For example, pulling a rabbit out of an empty hat is accomplished by showing the false bottom of the hat. The rabbit is underneath this false bottom. At least that's what most people think. Other people think the rabbit is actually slipped into the hat from the magician's sleeve or some loading device. The point is, there is some trick involved that is no more magic than shooting Superman on TV and having bullets bounce off of him. It's all trick photography. And yet, there are those of use who truly do believe in magic. We see tricks that are so amazing that we can't possibly imagine them being tricks. In our minds the only logical explanation for pulling off such feats is that real magic, in some form, must exist and each magician is tuned into a different element of the magical world. That explains why most magicians specialize in certain areas.

Certainly if you were a child and went to a magic store to buy some tricks, once you brought them home and practiced them, you could see very clearly that these were indeed tricks and that there was no magic involved. An example would be the magical linking rings where one ring has a slit in it and that's how the rings link. No magic, just a specially made ring.

But this fact doesn't mean that metaphysical science is bunk. It doesn't mean that ghosts or spirits don't exist. It doesn't mean that there aren't creatures from other planets. And it certainly doesn't mean that somewhere in this world there isn't one person who truly has magical powers.

Magic. Is there such a thing?

We may never know.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Magic

Starting Out As A Magician

It's the dream of so many kids, to be the next David Copperfield. Magic is something that captures the imaginations of those young and old. We never tire of seeing even the same magic tricks over and over because we hope that each time we see them we'll come that much closer to figuring out how they work. So for children, who dream of being a great magician someday, the lure of magic is almost too powerful to fight. They're hooked before they ever do their first trick. So, what do you do with that young person who wants to entertain us with great illusions? How do you get him or her started?

The first thing an aspiring magician should do, even before he heads to a magic store to buy his first bag of tricks, is to read as much about the field as possible. There are many books and articles on magic. By familiarizing yourself with the world of magic, you'll be better prepared for entering that world and performing in front of a live audience.

The next thing is to look in the phone book and see what magic stores are in the nearby area. Unfortunately, there aren't as many magic stores in existence as there used to be years ago so your choices may be limited. Whatever ones you do find, you want to do as much research on them as possible. Find out how reputable the shop is. See if there have been any complaints. Ideally you want to find one that is run by a real practicing magician who can demonstrate the tricks for you.

Before going to the magic shop, make a list of the tricks you want to get. Hopefully, after doing your reading, you'll come up with a routine where one trick will flow into another. The type of tricks you do will vary depending on your audience and where you're performing. For example. In a small intimate setting you'll probably want to do a number of card tricks or small prop tricks. If you're going to be performing on stage in a big hall in front of a number of people then you're going to want to concentrate on tricks that are large enough for an audience, that is quite a few feet away from the stage, to see with no trouble.

While at the shop, present the owner with your list. Have him show you each trick so that you have a good idea of what each one is supposed to look like when being performed. Have him show you how the trick works so you understand it. Then ask him if you can try it yourself. You may not get it right away but you will get a pretty good idea if it's something you feel you can do in front of people. Some tricks require sleight of hand, which is not easy to master. These tricks will require a lot of practice.

After you have picked out the tricks you want to do, bring them home and practice them in front of a mirror. That way you'll know exactly what you look like doing them. Continue practicing each trick until you can do each one smoothly.

When you think you're ready to go out in public, rent a place and pick a date. Make it a free show. If you're really good, you're bound to get people who will ask you to perform at a party of some other gathering. Make sure you have business cards ready to hand out.

In time, you'll develop quite a following. With any luck, you may be on your way to becoming the next David Copperfield.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Magic

Magic - The Cardinal Sin

The one thing you always hear from a professional magician is you never tell your audience, or anyone for that matter, how a trick works. Once they know the secret, the mystery and fun is gone. It's kind of like finding out that there is no Santa Claus or Easter Bunny. But does the rule of never telling how a trick is done still hold water like it used to?

It kind of depends who you ask. Many of the old time magicians will cling to that belief no matter what the argument is against it. They've been doing magic for a long time and as far as they are concerned, to tell how a trick is done is nothing short of treason and anyone doing such should be shot at dawn.

But then there are those who belong to the new school. These are people who feel that it's not only okay to tell another person how a trick is done by to actually charge them for the honor. If you go online you'll find a number of sites that do exactly that. They reveal tricks, usually on a rotating basis and even have what they call a magic exchange. This is where people are allowed access to the site if and only if, they submit a certain number of tricks to the site's collection. The tricks have to be certified to work. In other words, they will take your tricks, try them out and then, if they work, they are added to the site and you are granted membership. Some sites have additional restrictions that the tricks you submit must not already be in the database. This can be quite a hard restriction to get by as there are only so many tricks in the magic world.

Then there are some sites that you pay a membership fee to become a part of. It may be a one time fee or a monthly membership. Once you become a member of a site like this, you gain access to their entire magic database. Any trick that you want to know how it's done, all you have to do is just look it up. New tricks are usually added on a regular basis by the site itself. Some accept member's submissions but for the most part, they are in charge of what gets posted.

Most people feel that these online magic exchanges are okay because you are sharing your tricks with fellow magicians, which is the one exception to the rule. But how does one know when a new member is a magician or just a curiosity seeker? For that matter, should it even matter? Isn't magic something that should be shared by everyone?

The argument as to whether or not magician secrets should be shared will no doubt go on for as long as people are still entertained by the art of magic itself, regardless of whether or not the thrill of that entertainment is in not knowing, or in ultimately figuring out the unknown.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Magic

Magic - Developing A Stage Routine

Developing a magic routine for a large hall or stage is not easy. The reason is that most magic tricks, especially for beginning magicians, are designed for small intimate gatherings because the tricks themselves are small and can't be seen from far away. This makes doing a routine for a large hall or stage a little more tricky. But it can be done. Here are some tips in putting together a good half hour routine for a large hall or stage.

You can actually start this routine off the same way you would for a small gathering with the hanky turned into a cane trick. The only difference is, when you bring the hanky out on stage it is going to have to be a lot bigger and much more colorful than the one you would use for a small gathering. This way, everyone can easily see it, even those in the back of the room or theater. After you produce the cane, take your magicians top hat off and place it on a table that is already set up. Show everyone in the audience that the hat is empty. You have to make sure that you move the hat around from left to right, slowly, so that everybody can see it is empty. Then, place it on the table, wave the cane over it and begin pulling things out of it. You must make sure that each item you pull out of the hat is large enough for everybody to see. When doing this, don't stand at the side of the hat. Stand in back of the hat and slightly to one side so that everybody can see the items coming out and your body isn't blocking the background. If you do this it may be difficult for people to see the items, especially if you are wearing a black tuxedo.

The remainder of the tricks need to all be large. This is where you're going to have to bite the bullet and spend some money. Card tricks are not going to cut it in a gathering like this. You're going to have to spring for things like the vanishing box, where you place your assistant in the box and make her disappear and then bring her back. Yes, you are going to need an assistant for almost all these tricks. Make sure she is dressed nicely so that the guys in the audience will enjoy looking at her. This will add to the overall enjoyment of your performance.

If you're having problems finding large magic tricks, there are a number of places on the Internet where you can get these. Some of the more common ones that are great for stage are the Jumbo Rabbit or Production Die Box, The Super Sword Through The Neck (sells for about $800), The Fairy Tale Rabbit House (a very elaborate and beautiful trick), The Houdini Shackle Escape (a real bargain at $30) and The Needle Through Arm Illusion.

As with the small gathering, you want to keep your tricks flowing and make sure that everything is set up on stage ahead of time. It's okay to have to wheel something center stage from the back or the sides but you don't want to be dragging things onto the stage from off stage. Your audience will start to get restless. Speed is very important. You don't want them thinking about the last trick, but always concentrating on the next one.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Magic

Magic - Developing A Small Gathering Routine

When you're a magician, you don't want to just throw a bunch of tricks together with no continuity between them. The performance will be disjointed and your audience will become restless. Each trick must flow smoothly into the next. Also, you want to mix your tricks up so that they audience doesn't get bored. In other words, you don't want to have too many similar tricks consecutively, like several card tricks one after another. So just how do you put together a routine? Well, a lot of that will have to do with where you are performing.

Let's take the small intimate gathering first. This is where you are playing something like a small birthday party at somebody's house. In this kind of setting, you're not going to have a lot of room to work, so you don't want to bring tricks with you that are going to take up a lot of space. You want to bring things that mostly can fit in your pocket and can be seen up close. At the same time, you don't want to do tricks that if people are too close they can tell how they are done. This is a very tricky balance to try and reach but it can be done.

For such a routine you may want to start out with the handkerchief that turns into a cane. This is always a great show opener. The cane can then be used during the rest of the performance as some kind of a wand. One thing you want to do, when you're performing tricks that are compact and up close, is to keep the tricks flowing. You don't want to do a trick and then stop to think about what you're doing next. You need to keep a smooth flowing performance. So immediately after the cane is produced, you may want to walk over to your magicians hat that you have set up and wave the cane over it, after showing your audience that the hat is empty. After doing this you can then begin to retrieve a number of items out of that hat that you had preloaded prior to set up. After the hat is empty, you can then put it on your head and wear it for the remainder of the performance. See how the tricks flow? You've produced a cane and a hat that are now part of your wardrobe. These are great openers.

You may then want to immediately pull out a deck of cards and ask for a volunteer from the audience. Audience participation is very important in small gatherings. After you get your volunteer, do just one card trick with that person. Then ask for another volunteer and do one more card trick with that person. Don't do more than the two card tricks. If you can tie the two together by producing the card chosen from the first trick during the second one, that is always a great tie-in trick and the audience will love it.

Other great tricks that work well in a small gathering are cups and balls, linking rings, vanishing water in a paper cone and of course mentalist tricks. For those you're going to need an assistant.

Keep the tricks varied and flowing and your audience will be in your hip pocket throughout the whole performance.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Magic