Thoughts after Blackpool

Another fantastic convention at Blackpool this year. It's always interesting to see the different ways different magicians think and to be exposed to a wide variety of attitudes and approaches to magic. For example:

Rudy Coby has made himself into a cartoon character. His magic is wacky and off-the-wall and amazing. As part of his lecture, he showed us some clips of TV shows he's starred in and he's done all sorts of wonderful things (many of which you can see on YouTube). The real Rudy seems to be a straightforward, generous guy and I liked him a lot. How many other magicians will give you stuff for free if you can't afford to buy it?

Rick Merrill's character is a contrast to Rudy's. He wears a business suit and presents himself as a preppy type who spends his life making Sharpies and coins appear, disappear and behave randomly. He sends himself up too but in a quite different way from Rudy. Rudy, the mad scientist, is cool, in an over-the-top style. Rick is more of an accountant than a superhero and his magic is with everyday objects - and yet he's cool because he's funny and he's SO good at what he does. I love his act and could watch it all day.

Arthur Trace is a more serious character and a deep thinker. His lecture was well honed and I loved the way he gave it a premise (that magic should generally have a premise and then illustrate it) and then illustrated it. Of course, it's not a new idea that tricks should have a story and a point, rather than just being a demonstration of the magician's skill, but Arthur takes this to a new level.

Jeff McBride is a fabulous magician, who has taken magic into his soul. In his lecture, he quoted Shakespeare - All the world's a stage - and said this is why he's always the magician; he's never off stage. His huge energy and enthusiasm for magic and for life are inspiring. Jeff is a larger-than-life character who tells the world he's a superstar and the world believes him. This, in my opinion, is the way to behave.

The power of the mind

As mentioned in my first post on this blog, in some cultures the power of suggestion can be strong enough to kill someone. Even in Western society, where we like to think of ourselves as sophisticated, developed human beings, a figure of authority can wield a great deal of power.

I'm talking about this because the reason I've been a bit slow off the mark commenting on the Blackpool convention (see next post) is that I spent most of yesterday at the hospital. As it turns out, what I'm suffering from is relatively trivial, if uncomfortable and disfiguring. But the first nurse who looked at me expressed alarm and gave me the impression I could be in mortal danger. A pall of gloom instantly descended on me and I began to think of how I might cope with having the sort of unexpectedly dire illness that carries people off in 24 hours. OK, I may have over-reacted but you see it in the news and you know it happens. And the point is, it hadn't occurred to me I might have anything serious until the nurse put the wind up me. When, after a few hours, I saw a doctor who told me I was going to be fine, I instantly felt much better, long before I started taking the medicine.

As magicians, we need to remember that people may respect our opinions and/or be afraid of our powers (not mine, obviously, but those who have significant magical skill). Don't underestimate the effect you can have on other people's lives. Use your powers for good.

Magic and superstition

Well, here we are on Friday 13th and I, for one, have had a really good day. Thirteen is actually one of my lucky numbers, though I don't know why.

There are close ties between magic and superstition, as alluded to in my last post: one person's religion is another person's superstition and another person's magic show. If I sound like an atheist, I'm not, but I do find this area interesting, the intersection of magic, superstition and religion.

Although Richard Leigh's magic shows are the purest conjuring fun, it was notable that the shows he presented on Hallowe'en sold out very quickly. Is there something about prestidigitation that appeals to the primeval part of us?