Being prepared for mistakes

 "Everything that can go wrong, will sometimes go wrong"

That’s famous Murphy's law. What it basically means is that no matter how good you are or how much you have practised certain trick or the routine, you still should be prepared for mistakes because if you are performing a lot, you will encounter them at some point or another. Sometimes you will just end up losing your break, you false shuffle messes up and you lose your stack, you miss your force and so on. In close-up situations these sort of situations are actually rather easy to get out when you get good enough. What I mean by this is that when you have enough experience you just tend to also have the “tools” to get out of difficult situations by just “jazzing”. In worst possible scenario on close-up only few people will experience you “dying on stage” moment so it is not really end of the world.

However when you are on stage the things are somewhat different. On stage you are followed by larger audience and hopefully your act is much more planned. You now how to start, how to end, how each piece flows together and so on. However, there is still a risk that something goes wrong and on stage any error can totally mess up your rhythm and flow of your act. This is why you should be prepared for them. Someone once wrote that the difference between good and excellent magician is that when excellent magician makes a mistake, the audience isn’t even aware of it. Why is this? Simple, the excellent magician was prepared to the mistakes.

Let’s take Daryl’s Rope routine as an example. It or any other common rope routine can be found on at leasy 70% of most stage magicians act. However, how many of those magicians are prepared that one night, in the middle of the routine, you suddenly drop out the small “secret” piece of rope? Or how many are prepared that when you try to do bill switch or vanish cigarette and suddenly the thumb tip drops on the floor? Have you ever thought how you would react to situation like that? Often when we are rehearsing a routine and something like that happens we tend to start over from the beginning. However is that really the best way to learn? Instead I suggest that we should keep on going, try to find a way to recover from the mistake with as little damage done to the routine as possible. In the long run this might also help us develop something our own, something more creative than the original piece was. Also it will prepare us for those situations where the things go wrong.

I believe that you should have emergency plan to each of your routines. This plan would allow you to get out of most disasters that can happen and still get you some sort of conclusion of the routine. Close-up magicians for example tend to carry invisible deck with them just for those situations when they lose the card or some smart ass decides to lie about their card. This allows them to get out of those situations rather easily. Similarly invisible deck could be uses as pack up routine also on stage. Let’s assume that with the current boom in mentalism, you do tossed out deck. However one assistant is nervous and misses your force card or remembers the card wrong and isn’t sitting down. What do you do? Especially if you do Gazzo type routine, where the idea is that the last spectator stays standing up. However, he remembers your force card wrong… Invisible deck could save you in this situation as well. However, if you haven’t practised the use of the invisible deck in this situation, it will show on the audience and they might sense that there was a mistake. If that option is also well rehearsed and planned, it will seems to the audience that it might have been the plan all along.

Of course sometimes things will go so wrong that they simply can’t be saved. However, you should try to identify this sort of moments as soon as possible. If the situation is unsalvageable then don’t try to do it. Just end the routine, do not make a big deal about it or try to apologize. Just move on. We are just people after all, we are also allowed to make mistakes. By preparing for the errors you gain confidence and you can relax even on stage because you know that you are prepared in case something unexpected happens. This allows you to concentrate on having fun and entertaining while on stage and those are one of the most important things to do on stage.

The importance of pocket management

There is nothing worse than seeing a magician, and digging around in his pockets looking for something. On this article I will try to focus on the tool-side preparation before the gig or as it is known in our trade, pocket management

I believe that when ever you are performing, all your props should be exactly at the same place every time and you should have learned before hand to know immediately where each item is placed and where it goes after its use. This placement of props should not be haphazard. It should be as effectively as possible thought out in advance.  For example in my stand-up act I have jacket on.

In my jacket I have four inner breast pockets instead of  normal two. This is made possible by tailor made jacket as I told about last time. In the upper left breast pocket I have card to wallet with prepared envelope. Also in left side on the pocket underneath the wallet I have BLUE sharpie marker and dull knife. On the right side breast pocket I have a deck of cards in its case and in the pocket underneath I also have BLUE sharpie marker and second a knife. Depending on the routine I will do I also have 4 aces in my outside breast pocket. I try to keep my side pockets empty so the jacket doesn’t bulge too much.

Some reader might have started to wonder the amount of sharpies and knifes I am carrying. In my act I need the markers two times so of course I try to carry my own marker. But why one wont do? What if the ink is dry? What if I dropped one of the markers or misplaced it by accident. As Murphy's Law stated: Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong at some time.  Although I try to test that my markers are working before the gig, over the years I have been surprised that ink was tried out in the sharpie twice. The first time it happened I was not prepared… Now I am wiser and I am prepared.

I also like to have the markers in both side breast pockets because I usually take marker out with my right hand from the left side pocket but sometimes my right hand might be occupied or I am not on top of my game and without thinking I reach for marker with my left hand instead. I don’t have to worry, I will still find a marker from the pocket immediately and I don’t waste time looking for it. I have two knives for the same reason. I can take knife out on what ever hand I choose to and what works best at that moment.

In fact, this might be over doing it but I actually have three knives with me when I am performing. I have third extra one inside my briefcase and I never ever take it out or even use it. I don’t wash it or something similar.  The reason for this was also developed when performing. In my youth I once had to borrow a knife from the table so that I could cut open the Kiwi and reveal the bill inside. Also I once had to cut the lemon open scissors because I forgot to take the knifes with me because I had washed em up.  I am not the only one who had to do something like this. I know at least two Finnish magicians who told me that they had forgotten the knife from their pocket and at the end of the show had problems with the Lemon Game because they didn’t have anything to cut the lemon open. This is worst possible time to mess something up.  If this should ever happen again to me at least I know that I am prepared and I have that extra knife in my briefcase.

Although by now I have learned where I put everything by heart I still don’t trust my memory. Included inside my briefcase I also have a notepad. In my notepad I have made a small form. It contains every routine that is on my repertoire as separate item. Under each routine it lists all the things I need in the routine and their respective places. Each detail is then followed by around 30 empty squares. On the top line I can mark the date and place of the gig. The list might look something like this:

CARD WALLET

Wallet in the left breast pocket x x
Envelope loaded into the wallet x x
Sharpies in inside pockets x x
Deck of cards in right inside pocket x x
Four aces in outer breast pocket x x
Force card shorted and in the deck x x
  

A few minutes before I am introduced I go thru the list with a pen. I check the boxes after I see that the details described in them are in order. This takes about 30 seconds, but it works as the last minute check-up that as ensures that I have made all preparations correctly and I won’t find any surprises on the stage.  It also smoothens out my act because I know where everything is.

A prime example of good pocket management is Mac King. At the moment of writing this there is about four clips on You Tube on Mac King where he is doing the same card trick with the assistant. All the videos are shot from different shows. If you watch them all you notice that he will take the cards every time from the same pocket, puts the case in same pocket, takes the marker from the same pocket and places it back there and so on. Most people don’t even realise the things like this and they shouldn’t but this wouldn’t be the case if he had to dug around his pockets to find what ever he is looking for. He can completely concentrate purely on performing because he knows where everything is.

Magician: What do you wear?

Steps to take to be a better magician

Magician's job is much more than doing just tricks. At professional level it is full work.  My intention in these writings is to point out things that many people do not necessarily even think or consider to be a part of being full time magician.

WHAT DO YOU WEAR? 

What should magician wear? This is an issue that rises steadily up in magician’s net communities. There are numerous opinions on this. The main factor responsible for this however is the performer himself and the character which he wishes to present.  Wilder younger person may very well dress in jeans when another older person may deliberately try to wear something eye catching that contains even sparkly glitter that makes him/her to stand out from the crowd.  They are both approvable choices. I don’t want to get tangled up in this sort of details, but instead I try to focus on few highlights and universal things connected to dress well.

Magicians can be seen a lot in badly fitting suit. Especially young magicians seem to suffer from this problem. I have often seen that 17-19 year old magicians are still using the suit they got for their 14-15v confessional parties or bar mitzvahs and such. That suit might have been a perfect fit back then but that has gone hopelessly old and small in few years. Similarly its normal to see magicians who dress well but their posture is completely ruined by the amount of stuff they put into their pockets. Confess to been directly guilty of both of the above. That was however years ago…

For years I tried to find good suits and clothes from my favourite clothing stores directly and although I sometimes got lucky, most of the time it was waste of time. Most suits are made for standing in place and looking smart. They are not designed to be wear by performer who moves and really uses his pockets and such. So Dressman or similar mans clothing shops may sell basic black and gray suits at quite low price and in Finland you can even find discounts from them that sell suits for about 100euros... In addition, they have been made in mass production and finding a suit that fits you well is pain in the ass. Therefore I recommend you to contact directly the tailors of your area.

Tailor made costume is not as expensive as you might imagine. The prices vary depending on the location and supply. Few years back I asked a tailor of big mans clothing wear shop how much it would cost to get me made Bonjour-style long silk coat. The price I was gives was 400euros and fabrics. Of course I felt that the price was quite high but the other clothing in that shop was in same sort of price range as well so it didn’t really surprise me. Therefore I asked around from some local tailors and students or tailoring and I found out that an average price of my wonderful suit would be about 100-150euros + fabrics. That was about 200-250euros of perfectly fitting suit. Not bad if you ask me. Of course, this price depends a lot where you live.  for example in Asia or old Russian countries the prices of tailor made costumes is ridiculously cheap.

The tailor made suit has many advantages. First is of course the fit. It is made entirely around your body measures and your body structure. Also it is made for performer so it can take into account all sort of special things you might want to add into it. For example sleeves may be extended or enlarged if they happen to be used by the magician. Sleeves and shoulders take into account the fact that the performers hands will move around a lot, for example magician will keep his hands a lot at chest-height. Jacket may contain specific number of pockets of your choosing. Also their size and location can decide by you. They can also help a lot in maintaining your suits posture. For example several small pockets inside your jacket allows the jacket to maintain the shape even though the pockets have lots of stuff in them.  Actually, when it comes to pocket management Tommy Wonder sometimes emphasized that magicians should not carry anything larger or heavy in their jacket pockets, but instead they should wear a west under the jacket and the pockets would be made into the west. Other way to ease your pocket management is to get small leather carrying cases that can be held on your belt.

The importance of the positioning of the pockets should not be underestimated either. For example as magicians we tend to use often jacket inner pockets. Traditionally the placements of these inside pockets is relatively high and moving them down inch or few will already make substantial difference that can be noticed when loading a card inside a wallet in the pocket for example. Also the precise placements of sidepockets allows you to do number of different steal and ditches. Just see any work by Patrick Page or Guy Hollingworth. For example Hollingworths book has a whole chapter on how to download cards into different pockets of the jacket.

What about the other parts of the suit then? Shoes is something which men do not usually think of when it comes into dressing but you will not believe how many woman believe that the shoes make the man! First thing many woman will look for in a man is shoes! I have no idea why they do this or find it important but they do. If you know any real women you know most of them looooove shoes.  That is why also magicians should pay attention to their shoes. Are they clean and do they look otherwise polished? Are they comfortable and can you stand or walk long periods of time in them without hurting your feet. Just try to stand whole day at tradeshow in bad shoes and you will know how big difference a good shoes can make.

What about the other things we wear; watches, jewellery, hat, tie and so on. All these are instruments we can use to develop our character and use to build our image. If your character tries to be wealthy you can’t be seen with plastic Mickey Mouse watch on your wrist.  Bill Malone said in an interview that when he began to work for millionaires the first things he bought were Rolex and a good Armani suit. Successful people want to do business with other successful people. Can you tie a tie properly and neatly?  Do you use a tie clip or wear a belt?  What could your belt buckle tell about your character? How about wearing a three-piece suit with a vest?  What about the hat? Would it enhance your character somehow?

When acquiring a costume a good tailor should not be underestimated. So, new time your thinking of  buying a new trick how about investing into a decent suit instead?