Discourse in Magic

This week, Tyler and Jonah sit down to discuss their past month’s projects, advertising, their views on ethics in magic and Shin Lim.  Catching Up Tyler has continued with his studies into media creation. His focus has primarily been on video production, and he is looking to branch out his video into magic related areas. Jonah’s month was full of magic between his show at Dave and Buster’s starting up, two Art of Magics since the last catch-up, and a performance at TIFF. Advertising Alongside his performances, Jonah has been delving into the world of online marketing for his shows and has discovered that it is a nuanced process. He has had to not only consider the audiences he wants to be targeting, but how to balance the cost of the ads versus the revenue coming in from the sales. Ethics in Magic In response to a fan question, Tyler and Jonah spend time discussing the ethics surrounding magic. Their discussion centers around the audience’s perception of the magician and their performance. The two tackle the question of: is the context of a magic show enough for an audience to know it’s not real? Or does the magician need to be explicit in their presentation that it’s a trick and outside forces? Shin Lim With Shin Lim’s recent America’s Got Talent win, Tyler and Jonah are excited about how magic is being perceived in the public eye. The two see Shin Lim as elevating the art and performing a different kind of stage magic compared to what people are use to seeing. He pushed the limitations of card magic, and has moved the performance and creation of magic forward. Referencing the Garret Thomas episode, Tyler and Jonah note that people are consuming magic without feeling the need to perform it. People are interested in experiencing the magic, not just deconstructing how it the trick was done. Shin Lim has had a noticeable effect on this transition alongside Penn and Teller’s Fool Us. Resources: If you’re interested in video production and editing software like the ones discussed on the episode, here are some programs to look into: Adobe Creative Cloud (Tyler’s recommendation, and used by professional editors) Hitfilm Express (a free alternative to Adobe, perfect for people starting out) Avid Media Composer (paid and free versions, industry standard) The post Ads, Ethics, AGT appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

We are very excited to have Axel Hecklau join us. He is an award-winning magician, taking second place for parlour magic at the 2018 FISM World Championship, who brings his unique insight to improving existing methods this episode. Axel took up magic when he was 12 years old after deciding he wanted to perform a magic show for his grandpa’s birthday. Alongside a group of young magicians and the support of a magic club, Axel continued learning and practicing magic. The club eventually put on a competition which Axel competed in. From there, he focused on perfecting his routines for competitions rather than the public. Creativity and Originality Axel believes that to bring the art form further, we need to be creative in many ways. However, inherent creativity and talent is not something you can work on, so you should play to your strengths. If you are a talented performer, then it is fine to perform tricks developed by other creators as there are some magicians who cannot perform. He is never satisfied with a trick, as satisfaction means there is no chance to develop further. His approach to improving his magic is to identify the problem, the moments in his routine he’s unsure of, and find the solution. He makes it clear that if you find yourself thinking “oh, nobody noticed” about a particular part of your performance, people will notice. The audience will feel the offbeats in their gut, breaking them from the moment.  Approaching Magic The little moments in our lives is where the magic lies, Axel explains. It’s about looking at the relatable human moments in your life and telling these stories through your routine. He refers to Dai Vernon when he says “be natural” when performing. Your moves and story need to be believable for your audience to experience a moment of life when the strange and unbelievable begin to happen. Disturbing your magic with artificial elements will cause the audience to notice, breaking the atmosphere. In recommending the Book of Wonder by Tommy Wonder, Axel explains how you have to work on every little detail like Tommy Wonder. There needs to be a willingness to not simply be satisfied and to push yourself to create and perform better magic.  Magic Influencers Magicians’ performances and views of magic are influenced by the other magicians around them. In terms of the German style approach to magic, Axel highlights Alexander de Cova and Eberhard Riese, author of Foundations, as the two biggest influencers. Magic PSA Axel says to be unsatisfied with your things. But be satisfied with the success you had also. It’s always two things. Not only be satisfied but keep creating. Who Should we have on the Podcast? Tim Trono. Take Home Points Tyler liked Axel’s explanation of magic in everyday life. Jonah liked the idea of asking how far are you willing to go to make something possible. Axel liked the part about taking a routine you’ve performed for years and improving on it. Where to Find Axel Email: mail@axelhecklau.com Website: www.axelhecklau.com Instagram: @axel_hecklau The post Innovation and Being Unsatisfied with Existing Methods with Axel Hecklau appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

We start episode 127 by catching up with Tyler and Jonah. While Tyler hasn’t been performing much practical magic, he has been developing his video and editing skills. Meanwhile, Jonah’s month was steeped with magic. He recently finished his summer tour and had the chance to visit L.A. to perform some intimate closeup shows. Jonah also had the chance to visit the Magic Castle where he saw Laura London, Rob Zabrecky, Nick Paul, Jon Armstrong, and Karl Hein perform. After returning from L.A., Jonah performed at another sold-out Art of Magic show. Picking up from where they left off in episode 125, Tyler and Jonah continued to answer listener questions.   Getting Gigs and Followers Listeners had an interest in learning how to land their first few magic gigs. Jonah recommends finding the kind of gigs you want to do and performing at them for free. Whether you want to perform on stage or in an intimate closeup environment, Jonah says to focus on collecting photos, videos, and testimonials that you can send to potential clients. From there, you should focus on building a website and ordering business cards. One listener asked about how to gain followers on social media. Tyler and Jonah both agree that you need to post interesting content every day, referencing Glenn West’s 365 challenge as an example of how one can grow their following with limited resources by posting once a day. Loving your Art The next question involved how to keep magic a joy and not a job. Jonah says to keep magic a joy, you have to enjoy what you’re doing. If performing and getting people to laugh is where you find joy, maximize that. If learning and creating new tricks is your joy, then being a creator or consultant may be a better route. Tyler adds that you should take time to explore your other interests. If you find yourself being drawn back to more magical things, then pursue them. Tyler continues with the idea that you may just be tired of what you’re currently doing, and should look into new experiences with the art. Another question asked about what pushes Jonah and Tyler to continue practicing, performing and thinking about magic. Jonah sees magic as a hobby he loves and would move on it if he lost the passion completely. He goes on to explain that his love for magic is constantly changing based on his current motivations to perform. Tyler sees his passion stemming from his puzzle-solving mentality and being able to show people what he wants them to see. Where to Begin with your Magic Some listeners had an interest in learning where to begin with getting into magic. Jonah recommends finding tricks you want to perform and discovering the moves you need from there. He recommends attending your local magic store, looking at free resources, and following Youtubers like Alex Pandrea and Jay Sankey. Tyler reflects on when he was learning and wishes that he had spent more time learning how to perform alongside sleight of hand. In answering a question about finding a mentor, Jonah reminds listeners that not everyone wants to teach. You can reach out to someone and be a great fan, but ultimately it’s up to the person. Tyler recommends making a connection and making your interest clear. For books on scripting, Jonah refers to Maximum Entertainment by Ken Weber and Strong Magic by Darwin Ortiz. The State of Magic In response to a question about the seeming lack of magic in magic due to social media, Tyler sees magic as undergoing a change that relies less on a character and more on people creating the online content that initially inspired them. Jonah mentions that there such is a rich diversity in magic nowadays that you can find the kind of magic you want to see. Jonah sees people as carving out their own versions of what magic is to them. To anyone who feels like they’re focusing on the end rather than the moment, Jonah suggests slowing down to stretch out that magical moment. We love getting your questions and plan to do more Q&A’s in the future.  Send us your questions or message to discourse@discourseinmagic.com or contact us through Instagram.     The post Summer Catch-Up and Remaining Q & A appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

Episode 126 is with Slight of Hand magician Karl Hein who is known for WOWing audiences with amazing and original magic and routines. Jonah has seen him perform both at the Magic Castle, and at a Toronto Magic Company show he produced in Toronto. Karl started in magic at an early age, learning and performing tricks first from a Disney Magic book. Once he started buying tricks from a local magic shop, he started finding out about clubs and conventions, learning about sleight of hand from there. Finally after college he wanted to go pro. So in those 4 years of college he found many odd magic jobs (birthdays, walk around etc.) and gained enough referrals and money to earn more than his professors were at the time. Making the move from science to magic. From there, he focused more on performance rather than creation, gaining a read on entertainment and strong magic. Karl then goes on to talk about context – in terms of character, audience and venue – and how to figure out your type of magic (who am doing this for and who will appreciate it?). Also figuring out how to best express yourself to the correct kind of people. Then, Jonah asks Karl about how he can make magic stronger. He recommends, performing to an audience, but being present and aware to how they’re reacting (mostly on the sceptical and analytic types, and getting them to react) – either by originality or surprise. We want to impress all 100% not just 95% of the audience. Performing in a variety of environments helps, intentionality is important to craft your own show and character (and then changing that over time). This moves the discussion over to the problems with creativity, noting that there’s an importance to it, but a lot of what you do is based on other people. Don’t be persuaded by what you hear about originality. He says that the more of yourself you put into it then the more creative you become. Finally, Karl hits on some big piece of advice that he talks about throughout the rest of the podcast. The amount of creativity needed depends on the context you’re performing in (talking again about character, venue and audience). With publishing, allow more time to focus and refine what you’re releasing so that in 5 years’ time it will consistently be relevant, and also just enjoy it! Creativity is a cool currency to spend. Do you think that a prop can be overused in magic, so that it goes out of style? “It can be, but if its more creative in a different way, then it may not matter” Karl says that with Rubik’s Cube magic, it was being done in the early 80’s and as poplar during its’ come back in the early 2000s. There was innovation then, and there is popularity now. What would you like to tell the audience? Start doing the Vanishing Bandana What do you want to ask the audience? How accurate is your awareness of the audience’s perception of you? And how do you act on it? Who would you recommend to next be on the podcast? Cody Fisher Find Karl Hein Website: http://www.karlhein.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/karlheinmagic      The post Magic Goals and Winning the Crowd with Karl Hein appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

Today’s monthly episode is a 1 am Q&A Episode, with Discourse in Magic: Nights. There was a lot of questions this time, mostly from the mailing list, sorry if they didn’t get to your question. Get on the Newsletter by clicking here, to be in contact with Jonah and get your questions answered next time In this episode they talk about the state of magic, their favourite magicians, incredible recourses, advice and getting better, secrets to booking gigs, character advice. They’ve received over 35 questions, and many even came in after the episode was recorded, and we will get to those questions in the next episode with Tyler and Jonah. Then, in an amazing twist, the boys ask each other questions. Tyler wants to know What the best way to have all the secrets and not be an ass for not sharing them? Jonah feels very torn, but if he makes it more about the character, method and experience, then it doesn’t matter. He then asks Tyler what he does when he doesn’t feel like he’s progressing fast enough, where he obviously replies that he uses the handy Discourse in Magic Website whenever he’s stuck in a rut (but he’s also cool with growing at his own pace) and hanging out with magic friends helps. We love getting your questions, so keep asking them for future episodes! Also leave a comment somewhere if we got to your question… Let’s keep up the Discourse in Magic The post Quarterly Q & A appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

David Peck is a Toronto magician who specialized in manipulation. He is now a speaker, a writer, and a mover and a shaker in the world of social change. You may recognize him from his Face 2 Face podcast. His introduction into magic involved being astounded by strange tricks from the community and his uncle. He became extremely intrigued by it all and once he received his first magic kit from his parents and he started to spend a lot of time in the magic stores around Toronto. David then went on to become a kid’s magic performer and becoming a real member of the community by joining magic clubs. He learned magic from all parts of his community, including the customers and owner of the magic store he worked at, developing his manipulation technique from Herb Morrisey of Morrisey’s Magic He then went on to learn – and later teach – philosophy, writing papers on astonishment and captivation. Moreover, he started using magic in his lectures to further develop his abilities, preferring to bring emotion and story to his performances. This then starts the conversation on how magic affects people, and what makes it inspiring. “Is it magic, or is it just card tricks?”. Our put differently, is there any way to use this wonderful thing we have called magic to make a difference in the lives of the people around us. The answer is YES, and David Peck has done it! Many hears ago he and Matt Disero created the Mosquitos Suck tour, to raise money and awareness on malaria, and he talk sall about the process in this episode. His podcast, Face 2 Face (which is in its 385th episode!), also helps by being a “Weekly podcast about wonderful people doing wonderful things”. Promoting the importance of making every moment count. What do you want to ask the Audience? What assumptions are you currently making that need to be simplified? And what are you reading? What do you want to tell the audience? Find someone who you can trust and listen to their advice, and work together! Who should we get on the show next? Jay Sankey, Richard Sanders or Greg Freeman The post Using Magic to Make an Impact with David Peck appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

Kayla Drescher is a … magician, who recently performed on  Pen & Teller’s “Fool Us” and has a new podcast, called Shezam chatting all about women in magic. She got into magic by accidentally walking into a magic shop with her dad, became very curious at what was happening and started from there. She then started to take lessons and joined a magic society, headlining her first magic show very young (Kayla is also the first woman to MC the Magic Society for American Magician’s Stage Contest). But she also wanted to focus more on performance and go professional after not liking her work after finishing her degree, so she quit her job and tried hard to get there. Kayla Drescher shares her knowledge on learning character, acting, and comedy She talks about the importance on taking improv classes, studying character acting for all magicians and ways to make the audience comfortable. This means making the overall performance run more like a movie. The discussion then goes to women in magic, her new SHEZAM podcast and why there aren’t enough women in magic. She gives a beautiful metaphor about laying bricks that will help you understand the limitations in magic for women, and what we can do in 2018 to help more women into magic. Plus Her Shezam podcast that she launched with Carissa Hendrix  is all about this subject exactly, and the need to stop asking the question “What’s it’s like being a woman doing magic?”, by making a magic podcast for women. How important Is it for your character to be an extension of yourself? “As long as you play it well and have it enough, it doesn’t have to be anything to do with you. You need to understand that your bringing to the performance” What do you want to ask the audience? Why are you doing a certain trick in your performance? What do you want to tell the audience? Be better, damnit! Who do you want to be on the podcast? Ondrej Psenicka Plugs: Shezam Podcast: http://www.shezampod.com/ http://magicinheels.com/ http://championsofmagic.co.uk/ The post Becoming an Amazing Performer with Kayla Drescher appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

It’s time for the Discourse in Magic boys to have their monthly get together episode, but this time they’re separated as Jonah has been touring Ontario and Quebec. Tyler, meanwhile, has been shooting more videos for his work and Instagram, while also watching other magician’s live performances. Some magicians that they’re both excited about is Shin Lim with his spot on America’s Got Talent and Jay Sankey’s YouTube videos (which are great for starting magicians). In the new season of Fool Us, they’re particularly enjoying all of the Canadians on the show and the potential for more Canadian magicians to fool Pen & Teller. Jonah has been touring camps non-stop, and almost finished with 100 shows – and another secret LA project (if you live there, please send me an email). Although all of this time away from other magicians has been hard, it’s also helped him think of more ideas both good and bad (some of which he’s excited to try once Newest Trick comes back in September). He’s also going to Magi-Fest in Ohio (and the Juan Tamariz Workshop) and if you’re going you should come and say hey. While the boys have been refining each of their styles, Jonah might be finding out the hard way that too much exposition and getting too meta are a bad thing, he also tried the Baguette and Silk trick (but many campers have learned exactly what it is because of the internet). This starts the conversation around weather or not tricks go out of fashion. They also want to know: Can you make your tricks too intellectual? Or do you “just wanna see the goddamn rabbit come out of the goddamn hat”. Finally, the boys want to know if it would be a good idea to get non-magicians on the show? And who if so? What do you want the magic world to know? Tyler wants you to put your ego aside, its about the love and talk to people more Jonah says you should get in touch with the people you need to know The post Internet Exposure, AGT, and Other Magic Updates appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

Hypnosis, Business, and Producing shows Dave Curran is a Ontario based Hypnotist known for his Las Vegas-like shows. He’s a friend of Jonah’s (who’s seen his shows over 200 times). Dave was horrible with magic at first, but after buying and practising magic-shop tricks at the age of 11, he begun doing close-up and walk-around shows. He then took improv lessons and, after seeing Terry Stokes live, decided to pursue Hypnosis. After carrying tricks with him and performing for his friends at bars, he built a network of bar-owners to quickly start doing shows for free. This then enabled him to start betting on himself and take risks with snap decisions, for quick results. Also, this introduced him into the world of production, as he taught himself tasks that would be typically hired to save on costs and time. One of the secrets to successful live shows is making it seem like each performance is special and unique  to that night. Dave learned from watching live acts that the beauty in scripted performance is that he can let his mind wander, and still carry on with the show. He learnt a lot about promotion and what not to do when advertising a show, no matter the size of venue. One of his most popular shows was based around a male strip group, and after seeing the popularity of similar shows, he produced this until it became so popular that it ran for 3-4 years. With this, Dave shares how to get into a good production mindset, taking educated risks and scaling prices to popularity. He does a lot of 4-wall shows  and has enough of an education in watching the scene to know how to produce all shows from comedy to magic. How to go about 4-walling, how do you go about selling a show? “The best markets are small towns, near to bigger cities to sell more and have lower costs” What do you want to tell the audience? “Stop carrying a deck of cards with you everywhere you go” What do you want to ask the audience? “Do you believe in hypnosis? And is it real?” Who would you recommend we get on the podcast next? Shoot for the stars, David Copperfield Plugs: Watch him ay Dave & Busters (Oakville) every Saturday night Website: https://davecurranlive.com/ Instagram and Twitter: @HypnotistDave   The post Hypnosis, and the Business of Show Business with Dave Curran appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

Jason Ladanye is a world-class sleight of hand magician and card cheating expert, known for his latest book “Confident Deceptions”, his studies with Darwin Ortiz and knowledge in the major topics of theory, practise, scripting and tension made him a great addition to the podcast. Jason first started magic when he was 5 through his brother showing him a simple magic trick and his parents giving him magic books from the library they lived above. He then watched the David Copperfield special and was instantly hooked, so he bought as much magic stuff as he could. What attracted him to the cards were how many tricks you could perform with one pack, and there not being any evidence when asked how you did it. After saving up money from performing at parties, Jason bought his first Darwin Ortiz VHS, and asked if he could be a mentor to him after a surprise phone call. This, among other things made it clear that card magic was for him. Jason learned about breaking tricks down, learning them as in-depth as possible and how to trust your mentor. From here, Jason went into his own magic theory all about the importance of character, premise, effect and – most importantly – progression. Scripting was also a big deal, as it helps him keep consistent with each show (which he’s still developing to this day). Ortiz is a huge inspiration to the DIM boys, as both of his most popular books “Strong Magic” and “Designing Miracles” are in their Theory Resource Guide. A huge lesson that Ortiz taught Jason was figuring out “why” exactly a trick works and is performed that way. He then talks about the benefits of tension vs surprise, and how to keep the audience in the palm of your hand for as long as possible. One of the tricks in his latest book shows how to do this in 60 seconds! What was the biggest things you took from mentoring with Ortiz? “He taught me that character, premise, effect and progression are the most important things in any performance” What do you want to ask the audience? Who are you and is it consistent to the work you’re doing? What do you want to tell the audience? Watch your online criticisms of another people’s work, unless you can helpfully show a better version of it What was your favourite part of the podcast? Jonah liked applying Hitchcock’s tension theory to your magic. Tyler liked putting in an obstacle to extend the final suspense of a trick. Jason says it’s all about premise and effecting character Who should we have next on the podcast? Darwin Ortiz and Michael Vincent   Plugs Website and Book: cardmagicbyjason.com The post How to Perform Card Magic with Jason Ladanye appeared first on Discourse in Magic.