Close Up Magic
When people think about professional magic tricks, they picture stage magicians. Picture if you will, A strange, Faustian looking man in A dark robe lined with red felt performing conjuring tricks on stage. Think about his lovely assistants, his strange slights of hand, his fantastic special effects involving smoke and bright flashes, and his suspenseful music. It all goes together to make a quite elaborate and over-the-top production, doesn’t it? That is not the kind of magic I do at all.
As a close up magician, I have to rely on almost completely different skills. Although close up magic does rely on some of the same techniques such as sleight-of-hand, misdirection, and things like that, the way they apply it is completely different. For close up magic to work, you need to establish a rapport with your audience. The stage magician creates aloofness and distance. He courts mystery, assuming an otherworldly appearance as a way to be more impressive to the people who are watching him. With close-up magic, however, being down to earth is sometimes your best ally.
You see, you learn close up magic not on stage, but in parlors and bars. You learn to perform not for wealthy and jaded patrons, but for drunks and people out for a good time. Most of all, you learn to abolish the disconnect between performer and audience. With close up magic, you are there in the moment, bring something extraordinary to everyday conversations.
In terms of its staging, close up magic is usually pretty simple. You really don’t have a lot of room for special effects or elaborate planning because you always have to wing it. All you have have is your hands, the props you need for the trick, and whatever incidental tools the room provides for you. Still, paradoxically the simplicity makes the magic conjuring much more difficult. You can’t resort to special-effects or planned stage shows. You need to use your wits, your voice, your hands, and the gullibility of your audience. Fortunately, for most magicians this is plenty.
The great thing about close up magic is that you start off with what you have. You observe yourself and how you talk to your friends. Know your own personality and how you can use it to do close up magic. You may not naturally be a show off, but you can just as easily use A shy or restrained persona to make your magic tricks impressive. You can be the master of all illusion, or a jester somehow conjuring miracles despite his own ineptitude. It really doesn’t matter as long as you can make it work for you. Ultimately, that is what magic shows of all types are about anyway.
Tags: Magic, Men, Music
