Discourse in Magic

Jonah was invited to the Preconceived Podcast to talk about magic and understanding the craft and business of magic. This episode is a selection of that conversation that Jonah had with Preconceived host Zale Mednick. Check out the Preconceived Podcast for the complete interview. It’s a fun conversation with a magic layperson and a rare chance to hear Jonah talk about the introductory philosophies of magic in the magic communities. Magic Is Closer To Cooking Than Comedy In stand up comedy no two acts are the same. But in magic you can go and purchase a trick at your local magic shop and you will end up performing a trick that others have seen before. Instead consider that you’re cooking chicken soup. Lots of restaurants make chicken soup but you’re the only chef who makes your chicken soup. Just because your trick is the same as another performer doesn’t mean it can’t be unique.  Is It Cheating? Or Is It Magic?  It’s very hard to say that you only perform a magic trick a certain way before it becomes cheating. Sure there are some practices that are frowned upon, like planting stooges in the audience, but at the end of the day the most important takeaway for your audience is that for one moment they couldn’t look up the answer and they were confronted by something they couldn’t explain. It doesn’t matter how the magician has created that environment, and yes the method might involve being a cheater, but where do you draw the line? If your audience knows it’s not true but feels like it’s true then you’re doing something right. It’s Important To Know It’s An Illusion That said, some magicians do believe it’s important, especially in the hard to believe it’s true but it feels like it’s true styles of mentalism, to offer a disclaimer at the start of their show that what you are about to see isn’t real even if it feels like it is. Having someone like a lawyer actually believe that it’s possible to read someone’s mind could become really problematic and even when you’re creating a space for someone to experience the rug of reality being ripped out from under them in a safe and controlled environment it may also be important to remind the audience that nothing you do is, in fact, reality. The post Preconceived Podcast appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

Jonah is joined by Ken Weber to discuss his revised and expanded Maximum Entertainment 2.0. Ken Weber is a renowned mentalist and hypnotist who was named “one of the most frequently requested” performers on the college circuit by Newsweek magazine and was awarded the Dunninger Award for Excellence in the Performance of Mentalism by the Psychic Entertainers Association. Now, having almost completely retired, Ken Weber is a sought-after mentor and performance consultant, author of the acclaimed book Maximum Entertainment and Maximum Entertainment 2.0.  “Hey Kid, You Like Magic?” At the age of 10, Ken lived at a home for asthmatic children in Denver, Colorado. A chance encounter while walking the streets of Denver would land him in a teen magic club. By age 12 he had returned to New York with his business card ready. By the time he was in college he was a mentalist and after graduating and unable to find a job, despite two university degrees in theatre, he accepted a two week gig working on a cruise and from that point on he never looked back.  Magic and Money Ken has two hobbies. Magic and investing. In the late 1980’s Ken started up a newsletter to help other people avoid being taken advantage of by stock brokers, which led to him doing a good deed here and helping someone out there and one thing led to another and Weber Asset Management was formed. Now he advocates for the rainy day fund, especially among performers. At a time when he’s advising clients to have money saved away for the changes happening in the world he can see how many performers are not prepared for the hard times ahead.   There’s a lot of mistakes beginners make and Ken’s advice is to focus on the business and not rely on spending every dollar made on tricks and new products. Polish what you have and don’t kill yourself trying new material over and over.  Have You Heard It Before? Don’t Use It!  From music to jokes to phrases every performer has used the same lines or the same songs from other acts. Ken’s advice is to never use a line you hear another performer use. It takes away your creativity, instead ask yourself how you can get the same joke without using the exact same words. Ken’s warning is that eventually you’re going to work with agents and bookers and if they see you performing the same tricks with the same phrases to the same music then that is not going to help you. Classics are fun but Ken thinks you should make your own classics.  To Script or Not to Script For a long time Ken was a non scripter but he noticed that as soon as he began to write things down it forced him to ask himself if he really needed to say what he was saying or say it in that way. Now Ken is a strong believer in scripting everything you do and recording as often as you can. A script helps you identify when things aren’t clear and improve on the details of your performance in a way that adlibbing everything all the time simply can not achieve. Additionally, When it’s time to edit your videos, hire someone from outside your magic circles and let them bring their dispassionate objectivity to the editing and help you direct your videos without your ego getting in the way.  Wrap-Up Endless Chain Harrison Greenbaum (note: we’ve already talked with him in “A Masterclass in Comedy Magic with Harrison Greenbaum”) What do you like about modern magic? What do you not like? The level of magic and commitment is astonishing. And it’s gratifying to see the ingenuity and skill levels even among very young performers. But Ken does not like the advertising in magic. Every trick is “The Greatest Trick Ever” yet many of them are just tweaks on classics. The worst is when the advertisement is edited in such a way that you can’t see that you would have been able to see how it’s done if you had seen it performed in a magic shop.  Take home point Every day ask yourself, “what did I do today to move my career forward?” whether it be marketing stuff, learning a new routine, perfecting a routine, or taping something and then looking at it later but every day you have ask yourself what did you do? For the professional, Ken used to advocate that you have a three month rainy day fund but now that we know that there is such a thing as a pandemic Ken wants all of his professional show business friends to have six to twelve months socked away in a bank account. Investment is important, not just because of a pandemic but because you can also literally break a leg! You have got to have that rainy day fund and you have got to build it up as soon as possible because you never know what tomorrow is going to bring.  Plugs Maximum Entertainment 2.0 can be found in every major magic dealer. You can learn more about it at max-ent.info. The post Maximum Entertainment 2.0 with Ken Weber appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

This week Jonah talks about one of his favourite obsessions, virtual magic shows. How do you sell a virtual magic show? What are the factors that are really enticing for someone looking to book a virtual magic show? And what are some of the factors working against you? Key Strategies Jonah will go over his key strategies and break down the specific things he does when booking a virtual magic show (hint: it’s the same strategies he’s been using for years to book in person shows) and then follow up with a demo sales call. What You’ll Learn After this short lesson you’ll learn why it’s so important to Be Wonderful, to Listen, to Crush Any Fears, to Problem Solve against what you’ve heard, and to never forget the Flying Monkey Principle! Wait, You Have A Flying Monkey? Looking to learn more about what Jonah touched on this episode? Sign up for Jonah’s free webinar on August 26th at 8pm EST where he’ll show you his exact strategies for pricing virtual shows to maximize income The post Magical Appetizer #16: How To Sell a Virtual Show appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

Jonah is joined by Rafael Benatar to discuss his translations of magic masters into other languages, the secrets to memorization, and cultural differences in magic performances. Rafael is a prolific writer and has played a pivotal role in bridging the language gap between the magic community at large and legends such as Darwin Ortiz, Juan Tamariz, Ascanio, and Roberto Giobbi. His list of writing credits can fill a small library and he has translated a wide selection of books from Spanish, English, and German origins.  Magic and Music Hailing from Venezuela, Rafael was more into sports than magic. His father was the magic enthusiast and it was during a visit with his father to Magic Castle that showed Rafael that magic was an art-form he couldn’t ignore. From classical guitar to the lute Rafael’s studies were in ancient instruments which took him to London and a magic shop where he self-taught himself the basics. His studies would take him across Europe until he settled into Switzerland and his first magic club with Roberto Giobbi. Armed with a discipline for studying and practicing, once he discovered the information one could find in magic books, nothing could stop him.  Translating the Masters Having studied music in London and Switzerland and fluent in Spanish and English, Rafael was uniquely suited to translate the nuances of magic practices in different countries. Developing his own style he is quick to point out that a direct translation is rarely a good idea, even when the translation is technical in nature, you sometimes have to rephrase and say it as you would say it in the translated words. Rafael also notes how different the styles are between different countries. For example, Americans are good at practicing but a Spanish magician will be good at a covering move. Rafael has lots of stories to tell about the magicians he has translated from Arturo de Ascanio and his spin on the magic lecture to Roberto Giobbi’s theory of “The Critical Interval”, the precise moment when magic happens, and the “crazy genius” of Juan Tamariz. Rafael’s translations go well beyond simply translating the words. He needs to understand the context of every trick and confirm that they can be performed as they have been written, no matter how complex they may be. Mastering Memorizing Rafael applies many of the things he learned in music towards his magic. The most important is his system of practicing. Learning anything from beginning to end has its own issues which usually means you remember the beginning much more than the end, having practiced it more than the rest. But Rafael knows that memorizing a stack is something anyone can do, if you put in the work. Rather than learn from beginning to end Rafael recommends you learn the stack backwards in groups. And the secret trick? Practice memorizing right before you go to sleep! Your brain will keep working on the practice while you sleep and internalize the patterns.  Wrap-Up Endless Chain Camilo and Mark Mitton What do you like about modern magic? What do you not like? People are not happy to just read the instructions and do the trick. Good magicians are always going a step further. Now people are changing things around and giving them good twists. This leads magic down an artistic past. But there is an excess of information and not knowing what to do with it and how to handle it. Not everyone can read every book coming out and the most recent trick gets mixed up with the fundamentals. The fundamentals are always more important than the latest cool thing.  Take home point If you learn a technique from a sleight or a book, don’t be happy to just do what the book says. Be concerned about the cover. Try to put yourself on the side of the audience and try to imagine that you’re doing a more difficult move and cover it.  Plugs Penguin Magic: https://www.penguinmagic.com/magician/rafael-benatar Vanishing Inc: https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/magician/Rafael-Benatar/ And more in the works! The post Translating Magic with Rafael Benatar appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

Jonah is joined by Steve Valentine this week to discuss acting while being a magician – and the dangers of not being taken seriously, uncovering the lost history of magic, and the importance of a presentation that transcends the trick being performed. Steve was introduced to magic thanks to the prescient powers of the gift of a magic kit from his mom, who also predicted the future careers of his siblings with her gifts to them! Steve’s life has taken a lot of twists and turns from working as a DJ in nightclubs in Yugoslavia to acting on television and in videogames to lecturing at Magic Castle and touring with the Illusionists. Steve certainly believes that nobody should ever feel tied to only being stuck doing one thing.   A Chance to Be Bad The most surprising fact about Steve’s history is undoubtedly his start as a performing magician, if you don’t count his failed shows in his parent’s garage, was on the stage at the nightclubs we was hired to run in Yugoslavia in the 80’s. What made it so great for him was the change to be bad and fail terribly and have the chance to keep going back out and try again. The chance to find a place and go be bad, where failure was an option, was a blessing in disguise to developing his early skills as a magician. Always an Actor Steve has always lived in both worlds of acting and magic and one always informs the other for him. He advocates for every magician to consider acting classes, if only to help you know how to make your voice strong so your voice will survive a long run of performances. It’s all part of the same art form of entertainment. The difficulty of not being taken seriously as an actor who also performed magic meant that for much of his early acting career magic had to be put to the sidelines, that was until a fortunate break on House which saw both of his worlds blended together again. Steve’s biggest advice for magicians who are aspiring actors is to stick it through and focus on their longevity, a lesson he learned personally after waiting three years for his first speaking role. Teaching Magic Steve has also been named Lecturer  Magician of the Year (2013 & 2014) by the Academy of Magical Arts and recognizes that a good magical lecture is not just about the tricks but also the history, the performance, and story. Through his research he’s discovered a wonderful hidden history, of magical acts that were never recorded entirely and whose mysteries have been lost through time. By piecing together different accounts, and a little reading between the lines, he’s been able to recreate 19th century secrets and help understand more about the history of magic and it’s performances. That passion has extended to his latest endeavor with Magic on the Go, an online resource and repository of magic history. What’s most important for Steve is to preserve the history of magic so that the incredible magic secrets of the 1900’s aren’t lost to history and  create an easily accessible database for future magicians. Wrap-Up Endless Chain Keith Fields What do you like about modern magic? What do you not like? The level of skill is phenomenal. A lot of that has to with video and being able to learn by seeing and not just reading. But the proliferation of exposure means that the presentation has to transcend the trick. Take Home Point We’re in a world that is a world of deception. But the one person who should never be deceived is the magician. We want to deceive the public, not ourselves Plugs Magiconthego.com Stevevalentine.com Stevevalentinelive.com IG: @SteveValentine Twitter: @SteveValentine The post Acting, Magic, and the Importance of Performance with Steve Valentine appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

This week, Jonah joins Graeme “Graemazing” Reed on an episode of his podcast, Magicians Talking Magic. The two discuss pivoting to performing virtually, and how to build relationships during these uncertain times. Graeme is an Ontario based magician with a background in media and broadcasting. With the shifting atmosphere, it is now essential for people to shift their personal and business lives online to continue interacting during these uncertain times. For all of us to do this successfully, we as magicians need to share and support each other as we move forward into this new normal for performing.  While this is only a section from the episode, Graeme will be releasing the full episode over on his podcast. So, if you’re interested in learning more about producing shows online, I recommend stopping over and giving the full episode a listen.  Plugs Graeme’s Website  Graeme’s Instagram  Magician’s Talking Magic Podcast  The post Virtual Restaurant Magic with Graeme Reed appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

Thank you to Javier Naterra for providing translation assistance this episode. Jonah is joined by Dani DaOrtiz this week to discuss the power of muscle memory, the right way to utilize chaos, and communicating through magic. Dani is a Spanish magician known for his chaotic magic style, psychological card work, and is 1/3 of the Fat Brothers. Dani can’t recall how he got into magic, save for receiving a magic kit as a child, but magic has always been apart of his life. His learning was self-driven starting out which, to him, was a blessing and a curse. Juan Tamariz. Ascanio. Lennart Green. These are simply some of the magicians who inspired him in the early years and still influence his style to this day. While he didn’t have the benefits that come with having direct mentors, he was able to define his own style and approach to magic based on his interpretation of the masters. Muscle Memory  If you watch Dani perform, you might believe that his show is improvised. To a degree, you would be correct, but Dani explains that his material isn’t truly improvised. While he may not go into a performance knowing the content of the show, he is able to rely on muscle memory to explore what he’s saying at that moment. Overtime, Dani will add different aspects to his muscle memory based on the reactions of the audience. His confidence in his abilities and tools has allowed Danny the freedom to explore emotions in his show as he can become comfortable at any table. Writing & Sharing Discoveries  Dani only writes what he discovers.  Rather than researching and learning about things like psychology, Dani is focused on uncovering and analyzing the information for himself. He wants to watch his audiences over and over again to dissect how they react to his new effects. Only once he has performed hundreds of times and polished them down, on top of understanding what it is the audience is experiencing, does Dani sit down to write out his effects or theories.  He makes it clear that he is not writing for himself but for the community; he knows that some of the ideas he uncovers are not meant for him, but other magicians who can take the concept and improve it. This is why Dani believes in the importance of writing and sharing your knowledge with the community, but, of course, only after you have worked it out and know the material is polished. Finding Your Rhythm Rhythm is the effects you decide to use in your show. The way you structure their place. Your relation to the audience and their attitudes. Every aspect of your show affects the rhythm, and the rhythm is what makes your show. While Dani’s show is generally unstructured, he still breaks his show down into sections and explains his process for why he selects certain tricks at specific points in his act.    Wrap-Up Endless Chain  Miguel Gea What do you like about modern magic?  Even if he doesn’t enjoy everything he sees, Dan is excited when he sees different styles and conceptions of magic. Take Home Point We’re talking about magic! That’s the most important thing.  Plugs Dani’s Website Dani’s Facebook  Dani’s Instagram  The post Improvisation without Improvisation with Dani DaOrtiz appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

To get us back into the swings of things, Alex Boyer joins Jonah to discuss visual magic, following your interests and becoming a successful content creator. Alex Boyer is an Ottawa based magician with 26.6k subscribers and 635k+ views on YouTube. Create, Create, Create The only way you’ll start to post is when you start to post.  When he was first starting out, Alex aimed to post multiple videos each week just to get into the habit of posting. Creating that much content was overwhelming, but the work and results fueled him. As he continued to post more to YouTube, he learned how to streamline aspects of the process to make everything simpler. Alongside just having the content out there to establish himself online, Alex also managed to find and refine his style.  Quality vs. Quantity Alex has shifted away from constantly posting to occasionally posting; his focus has been on creating high production value magic videos that he can release every few weeks. These videos feature original magic, snappy editing and killer visuals.  With each video, Alex is aiming to deliver a high production value magic experience. Creating Visual Magic  When Alex sits down to work out his videos, his thoughts are on what will look best on camera. What can he make float? What object will be visual on camera? If you want an example, look no further than his floating ribbon spread video.  With that in mind, he reminds the audience that they need to determine what their style is. Be true to yourself and start exploring the ideas that interest you; you’ll find your audience. Wrap Up Endless Chain  Chris Ramsay  What do you like about modern magic? Alex likes that there are so many great magicians and magic tricks that we get to see because of the internet. He also enjoys seeing the innovation of upcoming performers.  He isn’t a fan of the oversaturation of people doing magic just for the clicks; he believes that if you’re going to do magic online, you should put the effort into the effects. Take Home Point Step out of your comfort zone. Plugs Alex’s YouTube Alex’s Instagram Alex’s Website The post Becoming a Content Creator with Alex Boyer appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

Feeling lucky? This week Jonah sits down to talk about the four types of luck, and how you can leverage luck to work in your favour. We’ll be back to the regular interview episodes in two weeks! The Discourse in Magic Team has been working on some exciting projects during this break that we can’t wait to share with you. If you would like to explore the concept of luck and the resources Jonah mentioned during the episode, you can check out the following links: Naval Podcast  Marc Andreessen Article Chase, Chance & Creativity  As always, we would love to hear from you! Have you been exploring virtual shows? Working on anything new? Give us a shout or join the Discourse in Magic Facebook group to share what you’ve been working on! The post Magician Appetizer #15: Four Types of Luck appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

Just started performing virtual shows? Have a few under your belt? Looking to improve your setup? This week, Jonah sits down to give you some simple tips on how to improve your virtual and physical performing setup. Looking to learn more about what Jonah touched on this episode? Sign up for Jonah’s free webinar on July 8th, 2020 at 8pm EST where he’ll lead you through using ECamm Live. Note: ECamm Live is only available for Macs, but Jonah will touch on alternative software. The post Magician Appetizer #14: Improving Virtual Production Value appeared first on Discourse in Magic.