Discourse in Magic

Thank you to Javier Naterra for providing translation assistance this episode. Jonah is joined by Dani DaOrtiz this week to discuss the power of muscle memory, the right way to utilize chaos, and communicating through magic. Dani is a Spanish magician known for his chaotic magic style, psychological card work, and is 1/3 of the Fat Brothers. Dani can’t recall how he got into magic, save for receiving a magic kit as a child, but magic has always been apart of his life. His learning was self-driven starting out which, to him, was a blessing and a curse. Juan Tamariz. Ascanio. Lennart Green. These are simply some of the magicians who inspired him in the early years and still influence his style to this day. While he didn’t have the benefits that come with having direct mentors, he was able to define his own style and approach to magic based on his interpretation of the masters. Muscle Memory  If you watch Dani perform, you might believe that his show is improvised. To a degree, you would be correct, but Dani explains that his material isn’t truly improvised. While he may not go into a performance knowing the content of the show, he is able to rely on muscle memory to explore what he’s saying at that moment. Overtime, Dani will add different aspects to his muscle memory based on the reactions of the audience. His confidence in his abilities and tools has allowed Danny the freedom to explore emotions in his show as he can become comfortable at any table. Writing & Sharing Discoveries  Dani only writes what he discovers.  Rather than researching and learning about things like psychology, Dani is focused on uncovering and analyzing the information for himself. He wants to watch his audiences over and over again to dissect how they react to his new effects. Only once he has performed hundreds of times and polished them down, on top of understanding what it is the audience is experiencing, does Dani sit down to write out his effects or theories.  He makes it clear that he is not writing for himself but for the community; he knows that some of the ideas he uncovers are not meant for him, but other magicians who can take the concept and improve it. This is why Dani believes in the importance of writing and sharing your knowledge with the community, but, of course, only after you have worked it out and know the material is polished. Finding Your Rhythm Rhythm is the effects you decide to use in your show. The way you structure their place. Your relation to the audience and their attitudes. Every aspect of your show affects the rhythm, and the rhythm is what makes your show. While Dani’s show is generally unstructured, he still breaks his show down into sections and explains his process for why he selects certain tricks at specific points in his act.    Wrap-Up Endless Chain  Miguel Gea What do you like about modern magic?  Even if he doesn’t enjoy everything he sees, Dan is excited when he sees different styles and conceptions of magic. Take Home Point We’re talking about magic! That’s the most important thing.  Plugs Dani’s Website Dani’s Facebook  Dani’s Instagram 

To get us back into the swings of things, Alex Boyer joins Jonah to discuss visual magic, following your interests and becoming a successful content creator. Alex Boyer is an Ottawa based magician with 26.6k subscribers and 635k+ views on YouTube. Create, Create, Create The only way you’ll start to post is when you start to post.  When he was first starting out, Alex aimed to post multiple videos each week just to get into the habit of posting. Creating that much content was overwhelming, but the work and results fueled him. As he continued to post more to YouTube, he learned how to streamline aspects of the process to make everything simpler. Alongside just having the content out there to establish himself online, Alex also managed to find and refine his style.  Quality vs. Quantity Alex has shifted away from constantly posting to occasionally posting; his focus has been on creating high production value magic videos that he can release every few weeks. These videos feature original magic, snappy editing and killer visuals.  With each video, Alex is aiming to deliver a high production value magic experience. Creating Visual Magic  When Alex sits down to work out his videos, his thoughts are on what will look best on camera. What can he make float? What object will be visual on camera? If you want an example, look no further than his floating ribbon spread video.  With that in mind, he reminds the audience that they need to determine what their style is. Be true to yourself and start exploring the ideas that interest you; you’ll find your audience. Wrap Up Endless Chain  Chris Ramsay  What do you like about modern magic? Alex likes that there are so many great magicians and magic tricks that we get to see because of the internet. He also enjoys seeing the innovation of upcoming performers.  He isn’t a fan of the oversaturation of people doing magic just for the clicks; he believes that if you’re going to do magic online, you should put the effort into the effects. Take Home Point Step out of your comfort zone. Plugs Alex’s YouTube Alex’s Instagram Alex’s Website

Feeling lucky? This week Jonah sits down to talk about the four types of luck, and how you can leverage luck to work in your favour. We’ll be back to the regular interview episodes in two weeks! The Discourse in Magic Team has been working on some exciting projects during this break that we can’t wait to share with you. If you would like to explore the concept of luck and the resources Jonah mentioned during the episode, you can check out the following links: Naval Podcast  Marc Andreessen Article Chase, Chance & Creativity  As always, we would love to hear from you! Have you been exploring virtual shows? Working on anything new? Give us a shout or join the Discourse in Magic Facebook group to share what you’ve been working on!

Just started performing virtual shows? Have a few under your belt? Looking to improve your setup? This week, Jonah sits down to give you some simple tips on how to improve your virtual and physical performing setup. Looking to learn more about what Jonah touched on this episode? Sign up for Jonah’s free webinar on July 8th, 2020 at 8pm EST where he’ll lead you through using ECamm Live. Note: ECamm Live is only available for Macs, but Jonah will touch on alternative software.

This week, Jonah sits down to give you a tip on how to practice your material for virtual audiences. With only an email and some simple to use software, you’ll have a system in place that will help you schedule time to test your material in no time. Of course, if you have any questions, you can always reach out to Jonah through email. If you’re looking for the software Jonah recommended in the episode: Zoom Calendly The next two episodes will be magician appetizers as the Discourse in Magic team is currently occupied with some major projects. If you would like to keep up to date, consider joining the mailing list or joining our Discourse in Magic Facebook page.

Jonah is joined this week by Chris Pilsworth to talk about collaboration, appreciating your audience, and creative processes. Chris is a magician based out of Ottawa, Ontario, and is known for his creative ability and engaging performance style. At 11 years old, Chris’ interest in magic was sparked by magic books his brother brought home from the library. Fascinated, he began to learn simple tricks, but it would take him a year to work up the confidence before he put on a show. Soon, however, he was working the birthday party circuit and experimenting with what magic could let him accomplish. Although he knew he wanted to become a magician, his parents recommended he go to University to back his knowledge. Having experience and interest in design, Chris would go on to attend Carleton for Industrial Design. Being Creative There isn’t an answer to how to be creative immediately, Chris explains, but you can get stronger at overtime. Everyone is different, some people are stronger, but Chris reminds the audience that you shouldn’t compare your creativity to others for that reason. Recognize your strengths and remember that creativity is not about being original. It’s about not getting stuck. Throughout the episode, Chris breaks down his creative processes and how he overcomes roadblocks. Appreciate the Craft  One of the things that shows in Chris’ magic is his appreciation for his audience. Not only are they spending money to see him, but they’re spending his time. A currency, that he explains, is one that you cannot get back once spent. So, when you step on stage, you should do so with the acknowledgment that these people took the time out to come to see you and experience your magic.  When we share the magic, we need to remember that what we do affects other magicians down the road. If you’re hired, don’t put the effort into your performance, and perform badly, you’ve probably ruined magic in the eyes of your audience, possibly preventing further gigs for you and others. Step on stage prepared and rehearsed to give your audience the show they deserve.  Adapting to Virtual Shows When the world went into self-isolation, it felt like the entertainment industry had completely shut down. Or at least, that’s how Chris felt at first until he realized that it was simply the platform he performed on that disappeared. People still wanted to be entertained and see magic, they just now are experiencing it online.  With a creative limitation, he was excited to play with, Chris has been adapting and rescripting his magic to the virtual screen. Suddenly, tricks that were angle sensitive or props that couldn’t be examined have become viable options, opening up a new field to explore.  Wrap Up Endless Chain  Gene Anderson  Rick Wilcox  What do and don’t you like about modern magic?  Chris likes that magic is constantly reinventing itself and exploring new platforms. Seeing the younger generation taking advantage of technology inspires him.  What Chris doesn’t like are performers who don’t appreciate the time of their audience nor the craft they practice. Take Home Point  Don’t be afraid to be creative. Your ego may be fearful of your trick going wrong, but you shouldn’t be afraid to explore what you think magic should be for you.  Plugs  Chris’ Website Chris’ Products

Discourse in Magic is pausing this week to give way for the voices that need to be heard. Jonah would like to help amplify these voices by handing over the mic to black magicians who have a message for magicians. We want to help educate. To help grow. To help make magic a more inclusive environment. If you are a black magician and would like the Discourse in Magic audience to hear what you have to say, write or send a voice message to the podcast at: discourse@discourseinmagic.com. We ask that you take a moment, in lieu of this episode, to think about how you can contribute. Reflect on your actions. Have difficult conversations. Ask questions. Seek to understand. Be open to hearing other people’s experiences, and be willing to change your understanding of the world. The magic community shouldn’t continue to fall behind in the conversation. If you don’t know where to start, I suggest checking out Ran’D Shines episode where he speaks passionately about inclusion.  Felice Ling also released a fantastic article that examines the damage of Asian stereotypes in the magic community. 

This week Greg Rostami joins Jonah to talk about creating, performing, and utilizing app magic.  Greg is a prominent app magic creator, known for creating apps like ReaList and Inject. A Svengali Deck was Greg’s intro to magic. He was fascinated by the concept and was pulled into magic because of the clever nature of the art. Closeup magic became the style he loved and would perform it wherever he could.  With a background in electrical engineering, Greg started out with the idea of creating magic hardware. His focus shifted from hardware to software with the release of the iPhone; Greg became focused on using features fundamental to technology and exploiting the tech for magical effects. In 2009, this would lead to the launch of his and Randy Croucher’s app iForce. Technology Fears There seems to be a hesitation among magicians to use app magic. People think it’s too complicated. Others are afraid that people will see right through the effect and immediately know it’s the app. For those who find apps complicated, Greg understands. The issue with feature-rich apps is that they can be overwhelming, so focus on finding one aspect to learn. What part of the app can you adapt to your performance now? What intrigues you? Don’t focus on mastering everything the app can do.  If your afraid people will know the method, think of it like learning about a thumb tip. You can be fooled by someone making a silk disappear into a thumb tip, but when you learn that it’s just a fake thumb for the method, you might wonder how it would fool anyone. Even though you were just fooled. Apps are similar. Greg recommends finding the apps that don’t smell of technology and then building presentations around the ones you like. You’ll soon find that performing app magic is as seamless as borrowing a spectator’s phone.  Swiss Army Applications Acknowledging that presentation wise he’s creatively limited, Greg sets out to create apps that are tools rather than single effects; he wants to create versatile apps that magicians can play with and adapt to their style. With this in mind, Greg focuses on speed and ease. He doesn’t want there to be long-winded presentations inherently designed into the app because strolling magicians want a tool that is ready to go and let them move on to the next group.  By offering a myriad of features that act more as a foundation than as single effects, Greg invites performers to play and experiment with his app.  Motivation Everything you do in magic needs to be motivated. This doesn’t stop when your magic tool is an app. You have to figure out why your spectator is accessing Google or even pulling out their phone. If you want the spectator to completely dismiss the idea that you were using technology to pull off your effect, you can’t draw a line from A to B.  Wrap Up Endless Chain Gui Del Frate What do you like about magic? What don’t you like? Greg loves that magic is an evolving art form that takes existing premises and pushes the boundaries of presentation and method. The current innovation amazes and excites him.  He isn’t a fan of how we tend to take things for granted nowadays. It took us years to get to where we are, yet we can dismiss these innovative thoughts by swiping away without a second thought.  Take Home Point  If you can find motivation in your repertoire in including something that requires the internet, then app magic is amazing. Your spectator walks away with a souvenir on their device. Greg also reminds you that motivation in your performance is key.  Plugs  ReaList [Android] [iPhone] Inject 2.0 [Android] [iPhone]

Tim Hannig sits down with Jonah this week to talk about performing for kids, upping your production value, and the power of knowing every step of your show. Tim is a magician, author, and motivational speaker who tours schools in the States with his children and family shows. One of Tim’s early childhood magic memories is of the time his father took him to see Blackstone. Both amazed and inspired, the two began to reverse engineer the show together, building mini illusions of their own from the show.  By the time he was 17, Tim was performing magic at Six Flags. The theme park was the perfect training ground as he was not only performing the same 20mins six times a day, but he had to learn about maintaining the interest of the audience. Families were there to have fun and would gladly walk away from his show if Tim didn’t engage them. By his sophomore year in University, Tim was performing at schools and has been ever since.  A Different Approach to Kid Shows Respecting the kids and their intelligence is Tim’s number one thing when he’s performing a show. He wants to come across as their friend and be on their side. This is why Tim isn’t a silly character on stage. And, through his years of performing, Tim understands how to get the children on his side. Tim champions the idea of knowing every beat of your show, especially for kid’s performers, because it won’t give them a chance to misbehave.  During the day he might be performing primarily for kids, but at night the families are invited back. Children sit with the parents they made come out, and the whole family leaves having enjoyed the show together. Tim explains that he knows the parents don’t expect to enjoy it, but he has designed the show with content for the adults. He doesn’t want them to enjoy it through the eyes of their kids but on the show’s own merits.  Professionalism Through Production Value From the moment you reply to an inquiry to following up after the show, you should know what’s going to happen at every step of the process. A week before the show, Tim has automated messages that are sent to the school so that they know what to expect for the show. These are in addition to the pamphlet he sends out explaining how to set up for him. His goal is to make the lives of his clients easier which in turn makes his job simpler.  Tim also ups his actual onstage production by incorporating music into his shows. Theme songs. Stingers and bumps. Intro and Outro music. Songs behind stories. Music adds an additional element to his show that elevates the experience of his magic. While Tim’s music is custom and designed specifically for his show, he encourages performers to explore royalty free options as music can’t hinder your show (unless used inappropriately). Virtual Magic When Zoom shows were starting out, Tim didn’t jump right into doing one. He wanted it to be a strong product, so he spent his time watching others and developing a show that played to his strengths as a stage performer. After assembling a show, Tim performed three weekends of shows, charging $15 for a ticket. With confidence in his material, Tim has begun to offer the show to his past clients who are interested in keeping the family shows going.  Tim explains that your virtual show needs to be different from your regular show. You can’t treat them the same because they’re two very different formats. If you need a viewer to select a card, what is your plan to deal with the lag? Much like in person, you need to carefully consider your options.  However, there’s also advantages to performing virtually. Everyone has a front row seat, so you can do close up magic for 100 people. Things that are angle sensitive are now viable options.  Wrap Up Endless Chain Terry Ward What do you like about modern magic? What don’t you like?  Tim loves that no matter how old you are, there’s an entrance ramp for you into magic. He’s also a fan of seeing the older generation empower the younger generation.  Tim doesn’t like when a magician doesn’t know how to be a good audience. He also isn’t a fan of magicians who treat his Facebook wall like a forum. Take Home Point Love your audience. Give them your best every single show. Plugs Tim’s book, Perform Tim’s Website

While it might be a short one this week, Jonah has packed this episode full of advice on how to continue growing your business during these times. If you’ve been stuck on what to do for your business, Jonah breaks down what you should be doing right now to succeed later. He explains how you know what everyone is thinking and how you can start building connections based on this knowledge.