FOUR POINTS: Reasons magicians get more mileage from practice
We’re pretty sure Allen Iverson has never been, or will be, a magician. His legendary rant spells out exactly why.
And yes. We talkin’ ’bout practice.
We don’t know a single magician who doesn’t like to train. Unlike musicians, athletes, artists, writers, gamers or anyone else who pursues some sort of art or skill, magicians have no problem with the discipline of practice.
In fact, magicians seem to embrace the art of practice more than any performer we’ve encountered — and we’ve encountered a lot. All the magicians we’ve worked with, every one of them is always picking something up, working a move, even when we’re talking in business meetings. As every magician grows, they learn the joys of performance AND of practice, to the point that the practice becomes just as important as the performance.
As it turns out, there are four things about magic that gives us a better chance for successful, productive practice. These things help us plow through setbacks, deal with failures and conquer practice fatigue. People could learn a lot about practice from us, but our art gives us an advantage.
We practice techniques unknown to many. Considering the fingering pattern of a guitar piece, or the position of the heel in a martial arts kick. The method is just as known as the end result. But not in magic. The things we do lead to surprisingly different things that laymen would never know about. That thrill of the arcance fuels us. The knowledge of knowing how to do something filled with ruse and subterfuge charges us up to take action and do those things over and over — even if it’s just in front of a mirror.
Progress in failure is easier to see. Though magicians are artists of subtle moves, our mistakes are much more glaring to us. That means we reap many more benefits than the keyboardist does from hitting the wrong key, or the basketball player gets from a proper follow-through with the wrist. That further hones our ability to self-critique and analyze. And because magic is all about details, practice helps us hone our ability to be thorough.
Our methods unlock many more creative options. An actor who plays around with material might discover a new insight to a character. An artist might discover a new sort of mark with a pencil, and utilize it to draw something completely different. But a magician, when playing around, might discover something that unlocks a whole new effect. And that benefit comes during many more times than practice sessions — the act of shopping at a flea market might lead to an incredible new effect or presentation.
The payoff is much bigger. As practitioners of the only art form that challenges an audience to maintain disbelief, our reward is the perfect reaction, where someone goes crazy from having seen something impossible. Every magician craves that moment when they really blow someone away. That moment is so valuable — it goes beyond the thrill of simple appreciation of a performance. It reaches deep into people and affects them profoundly, and so affects us. That’s why we do what we do; why we practice our passes, our palms, our cuts and clips.
What did we miss? Think there’s another way magicians get more out of practicing than other artists? Let us know in the comments.
FOUR POINTS is a regular feature that celebrates magicians’ favorite number by highlighting four critical bits of importance, awesomeness or otherwise. Send your suggestions to joe@ellusionist.com.
You’ve seen the Carter the Great posters in magic stores, but Glen David Gold brings the great one to life. Centered around the mysterious death of President Warren Harding, Carter is implicated and investigated by the FBI. What follows is a grand historical fiction featuring a number of well-known names, from Francis Marion “Borax” Smith to TV inventor Philo Farnsworth. Houdini and Howard Thurston also make appearances. And Gold’s writing is golden: The escapes he spins for Carter grow more and more impossible with each chapter.
Known for “The Princess Bride” and “Marathon Man,” Goldman is no stranger to writing Hollywood-worthy stories, and “Magic” is no different (it was made into a movie starring Anthony Hopkins). After learning sleight of hand while bed-ridden in a hospital, Charles “Corky” Withers sought training by a top pro, but still lacked the courage to jump on stage. After finally summoning the courage to perform at an amateur night, the resulting response triggers a breakdown. That’s when the mannequin starts talking to him, and things spiral from there. Though reviewers don’t think of it as highly as his other works, “Magic” is a dizzying horror story that chills as much as it thrills.
How about some love for the assistants? Ann Patchett tells the story of Sabine, assistant to the magician Parsifal. The relationship is complicated, however — though her love for him is unrequited, he still marries her shortly before his death. In his death, Sabine discovers a world that he kept hidden from her. Though not as action packed as others on this list, Patchett gets a nod for weaving an interesting tale where an assistant is able to watch her magician grow young.
Trust an expert card mechanic to figure out how to get his main character to play poker with Doc Holliday and S.W. Erdnase, and not seem the least bit weird. Turner is well known for his excellent sleight of hand and his specifically-details Bicycle decks. But his fiction story about Matt McCain and his encounter with the angel Miss Guided shows he’s just as creative with a story as he is with a deck of cards.
Ever wonder why Christopher Nolan’s movie was so good? He had great source material. The mysteries and double crosses reveal themselves slowly in “The Prestige.” Written as diary entries, the battle between Angier and Borden stays intense and solid, long after it is explored by the magicians’ offspring.
