“It usually takes three weeks to prepare for a good impromptu speech.” – Mark Twain
You work on a magic tricks, master the techniques, get the pace and tempo perfect, and the sleight of hand effortless, now what are you going to say as you do the trick?
You have two basic choices:
‘Wing it’ and just make it up as you go along or use a script
If you look at ‘world class’ public speakers, comedians and even politicians, they tend to just chat informally to their audience, moving from point to point as the speech flows.
In reality, they are usually highly prepared, rehearsed and scripted on stage. They work hard to understand which words they should use, and which words they should not use.
A simple way to understand right away about the power of magicians using scripts, is to see Derren Brown perform live next time he is appearing in your area. Make an investment and buy tickets to the same show on two different nights. Noticing when the parts that seem to be ‘ad-lib’ or ‘off the cuff’ are repeated. They are carefully built into his performance to look completely natural. He’s an expert at this and you will learn a great deal from just the price of an extra ticket.
I will discuss the ‘winging it’ approach in a future post, but right now I want to look at the following common objection to using a script:
I don’t want to sound scripted!
You really don’t have to at all. The secret is an additional step, often overlooked when magicians work on their magic tricks. It’s the extra work that professional actors and public speakers use to set themselves apart from the competition.
Magicians Using Scripts – The extra step:
Rehearse your script until you sound very ‘canned’
Then rehearse and tweak it until you sound natural and organic giving the lines.
Once you have the script memorized, the real work starts. Listen to how you sound when you say the script. Record yourself reciting it and play the recording back repeatedly. Note the pace and the tone of your delivery. Ask yourself what you could adjust to make each part sound natural and organic. When you say something funny, does it sound forced? If so, how could you deliver that line better?
The payoff for putting in this extra work will show in your performances almost instantly. It may seem like a lot of hassle when it’s far more exciting to start learning the next magic trick instead. However, that’s the whole point. This work on your presentation is part of the process that will set you apart from the average performer.
If you would like to learn more about creating a script for your magic, we recommend the following book Scripting Magic by Pete McCabe
I hope this helps you in some way
Best wishes
Dominic Reyes
Please let me know your thoughts about by leaving a reply below:
Thanks for that input dominic!
I'm struggling with a good script for a routine I like to perform more often.
Since it's based on a trick thet John Archer performs I tend to copy him but like to avoid this. I'ts kind of hard to come up with a different script if you like to mimic his routine:)
Any advice on that?
I don't copy his effect to be clear. Actually I have no idea how he does it but I have a gimmick that achieves the same effect as his miracle.
I'm talking about his performance on Penn and Teller Fool Us with the five envelopes:) I got rid of his fifth envelope with sex on it because I usually perform this for my family. Banana seems to work just as well. But the other four are so tempting to re-use. Do you think that's uncreative or am I allowed to mimic his other four words?
Something, Nothing, yours, MINE.
Of course I translate them to my nativ language:)
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I really like that routine Blank Night by John Archer. It's perfect for a corporate gig if you want to do a cabaret spot after a meal, or for a stage magic spot. John has released this item commercially, so you are 100% OK to perform it just as John teaches. He charges a fee to magicians for just this service when you buy it from him. So from an ethical point of view you are 100% fine to perform it just as he teaches.
I think an issue only arises when a performer tries to add an effect together with it's original presentation style even though that doesn't suit his or her persona or the rest of the material in the act/set it will be presented within. It sounds to me that you were attracted to it because it fits with your clients and your style ( Excluding the 'sex' bit) so all is good for you to use it.
Have you watched Johns performance on Penn and Teller, then realised that you have your own method for the mechanics of the routine? If so, I think you should probably buy a copy of Blank Night from John, so that you have compensated him for the idea and what you have learn't from him. That make sense?
Dominic
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Thanks I didn't even know how the routine was called. I'll try to get my hands on a copy for sure. I really like to give him something back for the idea and the laughs I got out of it!
You have to know I don't really perform professional. I like to perform a small routine for just my family and friends and sometimes on our own company events.
Really not to get paid but to have fun with magic and people around me.
Some time ago I bought a lock with 7 keys that all open the lock or all do not open the lock. You probably know what kind of effect this is.
So after seeing the routine of John Archer I thought I can achieve the same goal with that gimmick. It would not need any kind of force or manipulation since I'm in control the whole time. For magicians this would be very boring but when I did a short testrun with my girlfriend and another friend they were pretty amazed.
I could change the words and even the object I put my keys in and tell a diffrent story but I just liked how he did the whole routine and like to try it out.
This is probably still violating copyright so I'll try to get his routine for my inventory.
The catch-22 is that I don't even want to know how he did it, haha.
It is kind of hard to know if something is original or not anyways.
Cheers
Eric
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