Jeff christensen
MAGIC
IS
EDUCATION
"Anytime magic is performed, whether it is on
a stage or in an informal setting with friends,
it is the performance of a piece of theater.
Whether you like it or not, whether your
interested in it or not, good theater or bad, it
will always be theater.”
TOMMY WONDER
I
love this quote from the late great Tommy
Wonder because it reminds us that magic
is something that just doesn’t happen
by accident. You don’t just get up and do
something. Hopefully there’s a vision, a
plan, or an idea to be shared. If not, then
why bother? So where to start? There are so
many places to start and so much to consider
particularly when you also want to add an
educational component to your work.
In his book Tangled Web Eric Mead provides
what I believe is an excellent starting point.
He shares a story of visiting a famous author.
During the visit he finds himself sitting behind
the author’s computer keyboard and is
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VANISH Magazine
fascinated with a handwritten note he sees.
It reads: “What is the desired effect?” and is
underlined 6 times. He never speaks to the
author about it but then goes on to describe
how he now applies this question to all of
his magical performances. He asks himself
a number of questions such as; what will the
audience take away after the show is over?
What do you want your audience to think or
feel? Such great questions and an amazing
framework to consider when planning a
magic experience that is both theatrical and
intelligent. He notes that every decision we
make about our magical performances either
adds to or takes away from our desired effect.
He ends his thinking on this by asking how we
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