Getting Real

I think a lot about being real. Coming across as genuine and sincere when performing magic. I think it's essential if you want your magic to be really strong. Of course some people have these "larger than life" characters. But to me that just means that their "character" acts in a way that's consistently both true to him or herself, and also true to whatever situation in which they happen to be in

Some of you may recall the stand up comedian, Emo Phillips. He has this really extreme, really "off", character, almost like some nearly psychotic, almost perverted, really strange guy. I worked with Emo several years ago, before he was all that well known. He was just as funny off stage as on. The character was toned down considerably off stage, and not the whack job he plays on stage, but he just has a "naturally" weird way of looking at the world. And he's comfortable with it. And I kinda think that's really who he is. Or if not, he's incredibly good at faking it.

So often performers are forced. And they don't quite know "how to be" in certain situations. And when they have to do some "move" or other in the context of a magic routine, it tends to get worse. I've gotten to the point that I absolutely can't stand to not be genuine when performing. I have to feel both comfortable and "appropriate" to the situation. We've all seen people who don't know how to be appropriate. So for me that means that whatever technique I'm doing in the context of a routine, has to somehow fit into a natural conversation or communication. All the body language and inflections and timing has to be congruent with my conversation. Otherwise it doesn't work. And the older I get, the more intolerable that incongruity becomes.

I've seen many magicians who are totally natural having a conversation, and then as soon as they start to do a routine, they go into "performing mode", and it's totally out of character with who they are normally. And it puts people off. It also makes the magic less believable and therefore gives it less impact.

A big part of the appeal of guys like David Blaine and Chris Angel, whatever you may think of them or their characters, is that when they're doing magic one on one, they're natural, like having a normal conversation. Of course, it's a normal conversation where supernormal things appear to be happening. Which is the power of it. That seems to be some of the appeal of the whole "street magic" movement that's become so popular. It's really just seemingly impromptu close up magic in a natural setting. But in order to pull it off, you've got to be natural!

One of my magic teachers once gave me the analogy of Clint Eastwood in one of those old cowboy movies. He saunters in, pulls out a match, strikes it on his shoe, lights his cigarette, and flicks the match across the room so it lands right in this little can sitting on the floor. And he can do it every time. But he does it like it's no big deal. As opposed to someone who can do the same thing, but he's like, "Check this out! I can do this every time!" And he makes a big show out of the whole thing. Which is more impressive?

Anyway, the whole experience of being genuine when performing has become the biggest focus in my magic over the past few years. Out of necessity, since I can't stand it to not be real. It just seems so fake and insincere. For me anyway. But I really do think it's one of the main elements to making your magic truly artistic.

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Hey, before I go, I just want to share a great line for anyone who does card on the ceiling. I do it at the restaurant I work, and one of the questions people often ask as soon as you do the trick is, "How does it stick up there?" One night I was doing it for a group, and someone asked that, and this little kid at the table, in this voice filled with wonder and enthusiasm, goes, "You have a really sticky ceiling!" We all just lost it. So I use the line whenever someone asks.

Going a Little Deeper

Inspiration is the foundation of any art, so I do so love sharing it whenever it comes up.

A few magicians have asked me on occasion to talk a bit about my deeper philosophies of art, magic, and life. I haven't written publicly about it all that much, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to share something that goes a little deeper than some of my other writings.

But first, I have some "other" inspiration to share. Someone recently sent me a link to a video of a really fabulous artist from France (I believe). His name is Jerome Murat, and he combines mime, magic, and some really creative characterizations for one of the most artistic acts I've seen in some time. He's an excellent example of so many of the things that I'm always talking about, such as having a well defined character and invisibly integrating magic technique with expression. He can be found both on YouTube as well as another similar site, DailyMotion. Enjoy!

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Now, let's get philosophical... This is something I wrote recently.

Here are a few thoughts...

ON BEING AN ARTIST

My attitudes and approach to magic tend to mirror my attitudes towards life. Or at least that's the direction I consistently attempt to pursue in my work. And to my mind, this is the essence of being an artist. Your work becomes an expression of, and a vehicle for, your deepest and most basic sense of both who you are, as well as your outlook on life and the world around you. This need not necessarily be consciously applied, but at some level, the artist integrates his most fundamental life perspectives into his work.

This can be very simple and basic, or it can be complex and profound.

For me personally, I believe that life is about service. Serving my fellow human beings and humanity as a whole in whatever small way I can. It's also about peak performance: becoming all you can be and striving to reach your personal potential. Peak performance, however, must be for the purpose of service. If this personal potential is not shared, and put directly to the service of others in some way, it is pointless, myopic, selfish, and largely wasted. And thirdly, I believe in the overwhelming power of the experience of wonder to inspire and transform.

So my approach to magic, essentially, is to first of all become the best I can be at what I do, and to then share this with others in such a way as to, hopefully, touch their hearts and minds with that experience of wonder, thereby creating inspiration, joy, and perhaps even a feeling of mutual respect and interdependence.

That doesn't in any way mean that I need to speak of any of these things in my performances, though occasionally I do, when I feel it appropriate and helpful. But it does mean that they are an undercurrent, or to put it in acting terms, the "subplot" in all my work.

The techniques of magic are for me merely the means to express all of this and share it with others. But that means that these techniques must be so skillfully utilized and applied that they are invisible in the performance. They work "behind the scenes" to create the experience that I wish to share. If the "techniques"—whether I mean by that a double lift, or my timing and phrasing in my delivery of a line of dialogue—are apparent or obvious as techniques, they will distract and detract from the experience of wonder, joy, and goodwill that I am attempting to share. This is the "peak performance" side that must come into play.

So what is your outlook? Everyone has a philosophy of life, regardless of whether they admit it, or whether they've identified it consciously. I like to say that if there are 6 billion people living on the planet, that means there are also 6 billion different religions, and necessarily so! If you expand the definition of "religion" to simply mean "your beliefs about the nature of life and your approach to it", then everyone has a completely unique perspective on this, because we are, each and all, completely unique individuals, with completely unique vantage-points on the world. In this sense, even an atheist has a "religion". And it's absolutely necessary to honor this, in my view. Free will and freedom of thought are not optional, they are essential. And of course, herein lies both our greatest power, and our greatest potential for conflict.

One step in honoring this individual outlook is by honoring your own, for only then can you allow yourself to honor that of others. And we must honor this in others, if we hope to survive as a species on this planet. Just because my outlook is different from yours, and perhaps even apparently contradictory to it, doesn't mean that either of us is wrong. It simply means we each have our own unique way of seeing the world. This is the beauty of life. How can we not honor that? For an artist, that means allowing your own life perspective to shine through into what you do.

It also means, to me at least, to do so in such a way that it honors the life perspective of others. We're talking here about respect, goodwill, cooperation. And so, most often unconsciously, but nonetheless quite unmistakably, these attributes have become an increasingly essential aspect of all my performances of magic. I could no more be deliberately rude or offensive to an audience than I could cut off my own finger. It would be that personally painful and against my nature.

What is your life perspective, conscious or unconscious? Just because you're not aware of your personality traits doesn't mean they don't shine through (or perhaps in some cases, come glaring through!) in what you do, for good or ill. What are the subliminal messages you are sending? And does it matter?

I think so. I think it matters a great deal.

Welcome to the Art of Magic Series Web Journal

Greetings!

Well, I'm excited to begin this, my first Art of Magic Series blog post. This is where I'll keep you abreast of my current thoughts, experiences, news, and information about approaching magic as an art form.

I hope you'rll find something of interest and stay in touch as we begin this journey together. If you have comments, questions, or snide remarks (as my friend, Johnny Ace Palmer would say), please feel free to share them. I'll do my best to respond to questions as time allows.

If you're a returning visitor to my website, you may notice I've just recently done a complete overhaul of the site, with a new look and feel. I also hope to be posting some new articles in the very near future, so stay tuned.

One upcoming event I'm excited about is the release of my new book test through Black's Magic Group, as well as my involvement in the new Street Magic Magazine. Thanks go to my new friend, James L. Clark for giving me the opportunity to work with him on these projects. I'll be sharing more about both of those as they develop.

In the meantime, keep in touch, and stay inspired!

Mitch