Discourse in Magic

This week Jonah connects with Peter Samelson where he offers up three questions we can ask ourselves to make our magic scripts better. Something Theatre Couldn’t Do Peter Samelson originally focused on theatre with an intention to do something with his life that was worthwhile and mattered. After training to become an actor and moving to New York to make an impact in the theatre scene he realized he was going to struggle to make that impact. At first he was fed up with magic, mostly because he wasn’t attracted to the primary focus of deceiving or fooling people, but once he moved to New York and began seeing how magic could impact a theatre audience and the difference it could make to the theatre scene he began to view magic in a new light. With magic, he had an opportunity to reach people in ways that many people in theatre couldn’t do. Magic As A Moving Image Peter also offers up a master class in dissecting your script. He explains about the images of magic. Magic is a real-time moving three-dimensional image. It almost doesn’t matter what the script is around it, the image has a potency. In a script you need to not only have imagery but imagery that is not just personal imagery, you need universal imagery. Three Questions The best way to approach any bit of magic that you’re trying to find a script for is to ask yourself these three questions. Why, what, and who. Why am I doing this and why should anybody care about this? What is this about and what would it look like if it was real magic. Finally, who is your audience and who are you in relationship to them? Wrap-Up Endless Chain Christian Cagigal or Todd Robbins  What do you like about modern magic? What do you not like? Peter likes the fact that the focus on social media and on online performances has led to an exposure and driven magic forward to develop new effects and new solutions to problems.  Peter doesn’t like the idea that just publishing something doesn’t give you the right to perform it. There’s been a back on forth discussion on performance rights. Peter is of the mind that if you are publishing a book that the understanding of it is that the person who picks up that book is going to use it.  Take home point Keep asking yourself why. Why are you doing this trick? Why are you doing this routine? And, more importantly, why should anybody care? Plugs You can find Peter on Facebook (facebook.com/peter.samelson) and Instagram (@samelsonmagic) and on his website at Samelsonmagic.com   Jonah also recommends a wonderful masterclass on vanishing ink that you can find out by visiting vanishingincmagic.com/magician/Peter-Samelson The post Three Questions To Ask Yourself with Peter Samelson appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

This week Jonah connects with Doc Dixon to talk about comedy in magic and the work that goes into getting those laughs. If you’ve been in magic for a while then you definitely know the name Doc Dixon. He is a creator, a thinker, a performer, and a worker. He has appeared on Penn & Teller’s Fool Us twice (and fooled them once!) and you’ve probably seen him at a convention or you’ve seen something he has come up with.  In this interview, we learn about what he loves to do. We talk about being a worker, we talk about writing, we talk about creating magic, and so much more.  Comedy Is Simple, Deception Is Hard Making magic funny is pretty simple for Doc Dixon. Did they laugh? If they didn’t, then it’s not funny! Doc Dixon talks about how he builds jokes into his routines and how he discovers where the laughs will be from audiences on virtual performances to making Teller laugh out loud on Fool Us.  Do Good Magic Throughout his career, Doc Dixon has set out to do one thing. Do good magic. He’s a big believer that it’s not about the number of tricks you can squeeze into a performance but that it’s more important to know your timing and understand how long new tricks will take up in your act vs old tricks where the routine has accumulated jokes over time, “like barnacles on a ship”. Understanding your routine, it’s timing, and where the personality lies in your performance will always be more important than the number of tricks you have at your disposal. Never Too Late When the pandemic hit and every live show in the world was cancelled, Doc Dixon thought he could wait it out. And he kept waiting. And waiting. And pretty soon he was worried he had waited too long. So he reached out to Jonah and the Toronto Magic Company and signed up for the Upgrade Academy to polish up his business skills and launch his virtual magic business. He learned how to market his show as well as learned who to market to, as he soon learned that the audiences that attend virtual shows are different than the audiences that did, and soon will again, attend live in-person shows.  Wrap-Up Endless Chain Charlie Frye. He’s great at magic. He’s a great juggler. He’s a great artist. And he’s a kind person… he’s gotta be a serial killer! (Doc Dixon clarifies that he’s joking). What do you like about modern magic? What do you not like? It used to be that everything about magic was clouded in secrecy like a secret society. Now the information is available to everyone to learn and share, even if you have you weed through a lot of useless information. It’s sad to see performers that expose tricks just for youtube hits. Take home point If you want to have a piece that’s really good, you don’t have to keep looking for new magic. Take that piece you’ve been doing a long time and focus on it and work it. The jokes, the comedy, the bits, are going to expand while it gets smaller in some weird wonderful way. You’re going to take out the dead weight and you’re going to put on new stuff.   Plugs Dixonmagic.com where you can also follow Doc’s latest blog post. If you’d like to stay informed on Doc’s upcoming writing projects, the best thing to do is subscribe to his newsletter at dixonmagic.com/contact where you’ll also be included in special messages that he only shares with those who subscribe. The post Making Magic Funny with Doc Dixon appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

This week Jonah shares three success stories from the Upgrade Academy.  If you want to super-charge your magic business and equip yourself with the skills and knowledge you need to host successful virtual shows you can sign up for the Upgrade Academy by visiting discourseinmagic.com/upgrade Case Study 1: Doc Dixon Doc Dixon is well known, you might have already seen him on Fool Us, and is absolutely incredible. But he was very nervous about getting into running a virtual business. Which is understandable! There’s no way to know, when you invest in a new project, how it’s going to pan out. So Jonah told Doc Dixon about his two-week guarantee, which means you can try everything in the program and, if it doesn’t work for you, you can get a full refund and some tacos from Jonah so that even if you didn’t get anything from the program you at least get to walk away with some tacos. Doc Dixon ended up with amazing results and while he never got those tacos he does believe that the Upgrade Academy was worth every dollar. Case Study 2: Durgy Spade Before the Pandemic, Durgy Spade was making his income through performing and MCing at weddings. He’s arguably the best in the biz at what he does. And then, all at once, all of his infrastructure vanished. With no more big giant weddings, Durgy needed to reinvent himself. He needed to find a new way to get the magic going and he waited, and waited, and waited, and worried he had waited too long. But he decided to go for it and joined Upgrade Academy to get the wheels moving with incredible results. Case Study 3: Chris Wall Over the course of the past twelve months, Chris Wall has gone through a phenomenal transition. When the pandemic began he had a website with a handful of photos and nobody was booking him, which is probably a situation that many magicians can relate to. Over the last twelve months Chris has participated in many different Upgrade Academy programs and has gone from growing his business to now being a part of the Mastermind program, trying to scale his business past making three to five thousand dollars per month. Chris will share with you some of the biggest difference makers that you can steal.  Upgrade Your Magic Business If you want to work with Jonah and find out how he can help you add three to five thousand dollars per month in virtual magic income, or in in-person magic income, then go to discourseinmagic.com/upgrade.  In June, Jonah will be doing some live sessions all about the transition back to in-person performances.  UnConventional.fun Is Coming Up! The two-day eight-bit video game virtual magic convention is happening May 29th and 30th and you can grab your tickets to return to Magic Land at UnConventional.fun The post Upgrade Your Magic Business with Upgrade Academy appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

This week Jonah connects with Chris Cox to discuss his unique brand of mentalism, what it’s been like to go from touring every day to virtual shows at home, and why he loves magic but doesn’t find magic very interesting. Chis Cox is a mentalist who has performed on Broadway and on the BBC and toured as “The Mentalist” in the Illusionists. He’s also spent the past year crushing it in virtual shows, after thinking he would pass on it and enjoy the break after his grueling non-stop touring schedule was abruptly cancelled along with everything else.  Always A Performer  Chris has always been a performer and has always had a love for theatre. Unfortunately for him he can’t sing, can’t dance, and wasn’t funny enough for stand up. But he always loved magic and in his early teens discovered mentalism and realized instantly that this was the thing for him, as mentalism was all performance.  Loves Theatre More Than Magic A lot of people love magic and have no desire to be on TV or perform in front of a large audience. Chris is not those people. He loves theatre more than he loves magic and that has informed his presentation throughout his career. Watching a great play inspires him and investigating why it connects to him informs his thinking about everything he does. Consuming all kinds of theatre can inform you so much more about how the magic happens than watching the same tricks performed the same way over and over again. The goal is the performance and the presentation.  Happiest on Stage Chris is happiest on stage. He loves it, it’s exhausting, and he misses it terribly. When the pandemic started Chris avoided adopting any kind of virtual show performance. He was burnt out from two years of touring and thought he could just wait it out. Eventually it got to the point where he couldn’t avoid it anymore and he found his background in radio helped get him excited about virtual show producing. Since launching his virtual shows he’s learned lots of lessons about what to exploit and how to make it fun with his audiences.  Wrap-Up Endless Chain Here comes a list of people that Chris gets a lot from when he talks to them: – Mark Cailen Mark Kalin Jonathan Goodwin Andy Nyman Tyler Wilson  Noel Qualter Young & Strange And also Paul Dabek! What do you like about modern magic? What do you not like? What they like What they don’t like Take home point Who you are now isn’t who you were or who you are going to be but who you are now is what you’ve got to work with. Finding out who you are as a performer is more important than anything else. Plugs Everything Chris Cox can be found at MagicCox.com Or Facebook at facebook.com/ilovecox Or Twitter @bigcox And also, fingers crossed, Wonderment will be returning soon to the London West End and if you are able to attend you should drop Chris a message and let him know so you can say hi from a safe distance. The post Not Taking Magic Seriously with Chris Cox appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

Ben and Jonah are back with the latest from the Toronto Magic Company. This week they’re returning to MagicLand and they want you to return with them.  UnConventional.fun is returning for its third convention, Return To MagicLand, and is happening May 29th and 30th.  New Experiences If you’ve been to previous UnConventional.fun events you’ll be excited to hear that Ben has been spending the last three months building up MagicLand to be even more immersive with more secret rooms and puzzles that will allow attendees to work together to unlock real-world prizes.  And if this is your first time you’ll be able to log in and hang out with magicians from around the world, where you can attend lectures and also walk around a virtual magic themed amusement park and meet with other attendees and jam with them just like you would at an in-person magic convention in the real-world.   Exciting Events and Headline Lectures Make sure to visit UnConventional.fun to see the complete list of all the amazing guests who will be appearing at Return To MagicLand. On top of the lectures, Ben has been working closely with Kevin Ho to create The Museum of Cardistry to show off the most beautiful creations in cardistry. If you’re a fellow cardist you’ll be able to appreciate all the hard work that Kevin has put into curating this special event and if you’re unfamiliar with cardistry you’re going to have your mind blown by the exhibits on display.  Get Your Tickets Now There’s still time to get your tickets to UnConventional.fun: Return To MagicLand and Jonah is very excited to see this event grow and bring in more magicians to form an engaging community sharing their love for magic and virtual magic events. Find out more by visiting UnCovnentional.fun  The post Toronto Magic Company Returns To MagicLand appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

This week Jonah connects with Trigg Watson where they break down how he quit his corporate job to perform in magic full time, how he developed his reputation as the “tech magician”, and his advice for you when developing magic for a video camera lens. The Perfect Vessel Trigg was four years old when one of his friends performed magic for him for the first time. He doesn’t remember what the trick was, only that a mint disappeared in his hands and that experience stuck with him ever since.  Trigg always enjoyed making stuff and a lot of preparation and learning magic means a lot of arts and crafts and constructing your own equipment and so magic became the perfect vessel for his love of performance and his love of creation. Starting With The Backup First Trigg has always lived in two worlds, with his more academic side conflicting with his creativity edgy side. Being both a business and a theatre major in college meant that he was having to be wearing a tie in one moment to putting on leotards in the next. Finally Trigg decided it would be easier for him to do his backup job first. So he left magic behind and went into becoming a business consultant.  Starting with his backup job first meant that when he was finally in a position to quit his corporate life and move into magic full time he wouldn’t have his backup anymore to fall into, it would be a total commitment with no room for error. It also meant that he had spent years developing professional relationships with key people in the corporate world who know very well his charisma and his personality and even before he was a full time magician Trigg would always make sure to work in his theatre training into his presentations and networking so that he would always leave an impression in the minds of the people he met.  Finding His Place Trigg is keenly aware that the best magicians have a unique angle and a persona that is very definable. And being a comedic nice-guy magician was very hard to define. They all wore the same smiles, and the same sports coat, and were all kind of fun but it was hard to distinguish one from the other. But one strength Trigg has always had is being able to see into the modern world and notice trends and potentials and his years spent in the corporate world meant that when he first saw an iPad he immediately saw the potential it represented for unique and refreshing new takes on magic. Recognizing his talent for working with modern equipment he doubled down to market himself as the “tech magician” which has set himself apart from his contemporaries and allowed him to continue his craft with his love of crafting.  Advice For Magicians Trigg will share with you some of his advice for performing on TV, or in front of a camera lens, and some of the lessons he’s learned about how different magic is when it’s performed in front of a camera. The camera looks at magic differently and it’s really tough to learn but just throwing yourself in front of a camera and trying to figure it out. Trigg’s biggest advice for aspiring magicians who want to know what it takes to perform on TV is to find someone who is already performing in front of a camera and support them and help them create content.  On top of learning how to perform in front of a camera Trigg also strongly believes every magician could work more to learn how to be more engaging and dramatic actors. Having acting training is the one key element that Trigg can point to for his success. Understanding the importance of a script and creating emotionally engaging moments is what will hit your audiences powerfully. Acting is about listening and responding. It’s not about just showing your emotions but being affected by people that those emotions manifest. Acting makes you more present and more of a listener and that makes you seem more real. And that’s really good because it covers up the fact that we’re also lying. Wrap-Up Endless Chain Stewart Macleod What do you like about modern magic? What do you not like? I love that I can create magic moments for people that aren’t in the same room as me.  I don’t like how hard it is to create authentic moments of astonishment and control people’s focus. Take home point If we can just listen to our audience and be more present then that will take our magic further than any trick we could buy. Plugs You can find Trigg on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and many other locations @TriggWatson The post Developing Magic Through Technology with Trigg Watson appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

Ben Train returns to join Jonah in another check in with the Toronto Magic Company where they discuss the changing dynamics of the magic industry during the pandemic, the launch of their YouTube programming, and their fears about the future of virtual magic. The Plateau The global pandemic changed everything when it came to live events for magic and Ben and Jonah break down the different stages that they’ve observed the magic community going through since the start of the pandemic. First there was panic, then followed optimism, and finally opportunity. And as magic has, by and large, shifted to virtual events they’re noticing another stage creeping in. The plateau.  At first, virtual magic was new and untested and there was a lot of anxiety mixed with anticipation. Nobody had attempted stuff like this before! Now one year later you might be performing seven shows in a row every single day and with that routine comes a restless sort of boredom and a sense of being stuck in auto-pilot. What Ben and Jonah talk about is how they throw each other “for a loop” to change things up and keep their performances fresh, if only just for themselves, so that they don’t fall into the trappings of routine and everyone gets more accustomed to virtual shows becoming the new normal.  Take The Tarbell Challenge Ben and Jonah have also launched their YouTube channel where they’ve started documenting more of their work and putting on fun shows and testing out new ideas. One of those ideas has been the Tarbell Challenge, where they each challenge the other to go through one of the Tarbell magic books and learn a trick from it and see who wins in a faceoff against each other. It’s been a lot of fun and because the Tarbell books are all in the public domain you can easily get a copy for yourself online and join Ben and Jonah in the Tarbell Challenge yourself! Unconventional.pass Hot off the heels of Unconventional.fun: Magic Land, Ben and Jonah have since announced three more Unconventional.fun events happening in 2021, with the next one coming up in May. You can also upgrade your experience by signing up for the Unconventional.pass where Ben and Jonah promise that you will be able to play Magic Land like it’s a real video game complete with points and prizes.  Snag your pass now and check out the Unconventional.fun site for all the details on the events happening and the guests who are attending. The Future of Virtual Magic Finally, Ben and Jonah break down their predictions about the future of Virtual Magic as parts of the world slowly start returning to in-person events. Will there still be a need for virtual shows as halls and theatres begging to open up? Do magicians even want to return to gigging on the road now that they’ve had a taste of what virtual events have to offer them? Only time will tell but both Jonah and Ben believe, and hope, that virtual magic isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.  Stay Connected If you’d like to learn more about what the Toronto Magic Company is up to be sure to check out their youtube channel at youtube.com/torontomagiccompany  And don’t forget to snag your Unconventional.pass today at Unconventional.fun The post Toronto Magic Company: Is Virtual Magic Ending? appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

This week Jonah and Kayla Drescher team up for a crossover episode with Discourse in Magic and Shezam! In it they talk about producing magic podcasts, hosting virtual conventions, and the challenges facing the magic community today. Podcasting With Magic Jonah and Kayla break down the differences and similarities between their two shows and ask each other what they would like to see done in the world of magic podcasting that hasn’t been done before? They also talk about the different purposes that their shows serve and Kayla shares with Jonah the lessons she’s learned from interviewing her guests on the tougher subjects of representation, sexism, and cultural appropriation and the importance of talking to people with opposing views and holding them to account.  Virtual Conventions Both Jonah and Kayla are producing virtual conventions and they get into the behind the scenes of what goes into planning, booking, and hosting these live and virtual weekend events and why Jonah and Kayla both believe they’re not going to be going away anytime soon. Representation Matters The magic community still has a lot of challenges ahead to face including better representation and giving platforms to diverse guests and tackling the uncomfortable reality that cultural appropriation is woven into many classical magic acts that may not be appropriate to replicate today in front of a modern audience. Having these discussions and challenging these assumptions help the magic community grow, lead to better shows and develop better acts that are more inclusive and representative of the people sitting in your audience. And Jonah and Kayla are quick to point out that this doesn’t just affect the older generation of magic performers, that younger performers also have their own challenges to address that may not be as easy to spot as an overtly racist act.  Plugs Be sure to check out Kayla Drescher on the Shezam podcast at shezampod.com And for more information about the Online Wonder Gala check out shezampod.com/owg You can also check out UnConventional.fun to find out more about the next three UnConventional.fun events and there’s still time to sign up for the UnConventional.pass by visiting unconventional.fun The post Virtual Shows, Virtual Conventions, and Magic Podcasts with Kayla Dreshcer from Shezam! appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

Is virtual magic ending? Are virtual magic shows going to go away? Jonah doesn’t know but he will tell you one thing, he doesn’t think they’re going to disappear because he think that’s going to be hard to get the toothpaste back in the bottle. If virtual employees keep existing, at least in some regard, so will virtual magic shows. So, you must be thinking the question, how much longer do we have for virtual magic? What else can you do to squeeze the lemon of virtual magic and then also, what do you do to be part of the transition back to in-person events?  In today’s Magical Appetizer, Jonah is going to tell you the answers to those questions. How Much Time Do We Have Left? We are now entering one year in the world of virtual magic and we don’t know how much longer is left. So, whatever thing you were thinking about doing, such as reaching out to your family, reaching out to your peers, doing some posts on social media, Jonah would recommend that you do those. Those are the low hanging fruits. And now is one of the best times for anybody who needs this kind of entertainment and needs this kind of support. And it all happens over Zoom so you’re in a really, really good boat to be the person to serve them. What Can We Do In The Remaining Time? There’s only a little bit of time left and the answer to that question is to put on a ticketed virtual magic show. As somebody that put on paid virtual magic shows in person, Jonah can tell you two things. Number one, they’re an amazing lead generator that also makes a lot of sales because people see you live and then they want to hire you. The second thing is it’s really expensive to four-wall a theater in person but virtually it costs nothing. You’ve probably already paid for the pro Zoom account, which means it doesn’t really cost you anything to four-wall your own theater. It’s fun, it’s awesome, and it generates leads for your email list. It generates actual sales because people see your show and if you’re good, they want to hire you for their company, for their family, for their birthday parties, for their teams. Jonah promises you, if virtual shrinks and these kinds of things go away, you are going to regret not putting on your own ticketed virtual magic show. If you were looking for a sign. This is that sign.  How Do We Transition Back To In-Person Events? How do we make the transition back be seamless and not be challenging and frustrating. And the answer is to be part of our clients conversations about the transition. Here is one sentence that you can use for the next three or four months with every single client: “Are you doing your event virtually or in person?”  You can send that to every single past client and you can send that to prospective clients. It is an easy question for people to answer because they are planning their event. And if you play your cards right you have options to serve them for both. So if the companies or teams or schools planned a virtual event, because they didn’t know where the legislation was going to be, you’ve got a virtual event for them. If they planned an in-person event, great, you’ve got an in-person magic event for them and you can be part of the transition. Be part of your client’s transition, ask them if they’re doing the event this year in person or virtually and ask them if you can help. Now is the time to do favors for people directly in your target market because they are going to be going through a challenging time, re-transitioning back to things being in person. Be part of the conversation and be part of the transition. Don’t wait for them to reach out to you. They’re going to be thinking of a million other things. You reach out to them and support them in the transition. That is how you’re top of mind. What If I Need A Little More Help? If you need a little bit more help, such as help getting bookings, growing your virtual magic, exiting virtual magic, running the systems, marketing, pricing, all of that good stuff, then feel free to send me a message to info@discourseinmagic.com with the word “UPGRADE”. That way he’ll know that you want to know about working together. And he’ll send you all the deets. The post Magic Appetizer: The Pivot Back appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

Jonah is joined by virtual magician extraordinaire, Harrison Kramer, to discuss all things virtual magic and why it’s here to stay forever. Harrison started off 2020 like most other professional magicians, with a ton of bookings and a bright future ahead. And when the pandemic hit and everything got cancelled he originally hated doing virtual shows. But not soon after he came to realize that virtual is not a substitute for in-person events but rather something entirely different. It’s exciting, it’s new, it’s lucrative, and it’s here to stay… forever. From Juggling to Magic Harrison Kramer started juggling when he was eight years old and first got to see magic being performed by his dad when he was ten. For the next decade Harrison describes himself as someone who knew about magic but wasn’t a magician but after college he connected with a magician over craigslist who started setting him up with small kids shows. After that his career in magic has continued to grow.  The Great Cancellation  At the start of 2020 Harrison’s calendar was booked with events and, like everyone else, was faced with every gig he had cancelled. His first virtual magic show was for a kid’s birthday party and after that show he remembers telling his wife how much he hated virtual magic and thought it was stupid. But by April and early May he started getting contacted by more and more corporate clients and getting referrals and soon he realized he was earning more money than he was making the year before with in-person events. Realizing the earning potential of virtual magic, and embracing the differences that virtual events represent, Harrison has come around on virtual magic. It’s Not A Substitute And It’s Here To Stay Some of the great strengths that Harrison has noticed with virtual magic include the proliferation of close-up magic that would never make sense in a live stage show, as well as the ability to be able to practice and rehearse your performance in the exact same space you will be performing in. Harrison doesn’t believe that virtual magic is a substitute for in-person shows but rather it’s something completely unique to in-person events. The shows he hosts on Zoom, and the people who attend those events, can’t be compared to live in-person shows and even as the pandemic ends and the world reopens and live events start back up again Harrison is convinced that the growth seen in the rise of virtual shows will continue forever. Harrison is so convinced in the power of virtual events, and it’s earning potential, that he doesn’t foresee a future where he will ever return to full time live in-person shows.  Wrap-Up Endless Chain Gary Ferrar. He’s a more advanced, smarter version of Harrison and is also doing as much as Harrison is doing virtually. And Devonte. He’s a talented magician who is good at connecting with people, especially in the virtual space. What do you like about modern magic? What do you not like? What Harrison loves is that anybody can do it. Anybody can get a website and buy a deck of cards and start a youtube channel. If you want to be a magician you can go out and be a magician. There is no barrier to entry. The thing that Harrison doesn’t like is the trend of social media magic. There’s a certain portion of magic these days that has nothing to do with entertaining people with magic. Harrison is really only interested in getting in front of people and getting them to enjoy themselves. It has to be about the people you’re interacting with or it’s just not interesting. Take home point I told you so. This is just the very beginning of virtual magic entertainment.  Plugs Visit harrisonkramer.com and check out his instagram @harrisonkramermagic The post The Future of Virtual Magic with Harrison Kramer appeared first on Discourse in Magic.