Monday Mailbag #31
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I have a question about today's post (Canned Responses).
I've performed socially a number of times for a number of different friends, and there's always this moment where they realize that the whole thing is... a trick. Does that make sense? They realize that this very interesting conversation we've been having, this strange concept or folktale or whatever that they're learning about was just a set up for a trick.
And don't get me wrong; nobody's mad about it. Everyone enjoyed the experience. But something turns at that moment, when they realize it was a setup for a piece of magic. And then, when they ask, "How did you do that?" and I double down, "Oh it's my dead grandma," that's when I begin to lose them. That's when they say, "Okay, well you can drop that now."
Lately I've been getting sharp enough to just shift the conversation before they have the chance to start asking those questions, but I was wondering if you could speak to this at all. —LB
There are a few issues here.
The first is this: “The moment where they realize that the whole thing is a trick.”
That “moment” should be when you start the trick.
If you think something is a documentary and then 3/4s of the way through you realize it’s not, you will feel misled. But if you know you’re watching a work of fiction—and yet there are moments that seem like they must be real—then you are going to be even more engrossed and affected by what you’re watching. So there’s no reason to ever have the audience in the dark about the overall nature of the experience.
Second, I don’t really get into any immersive styles of performance until the spectator has shown themselves to be interested and accepting of that style. See this post for a discussion of the progression I use when performing for people and you’ll see how I ease people into it. If at any point along that process the person is like, “Hey.. wait… what? That’s not real. You don’t know a psychic baby!” Then I just pull off the throttle presentationally.
The purpose of giving people better presentations is to give them something of interest besides just the secret—besides just the “how it was done.” If they’re the sort of people who only want to focus on the “how,” then don’t waste a more interesting presentation on them. I’m not saying I wouldn’t ever show people like that magic, I just wouldn’t bother showing them anything that was doing anything interesting presentationally. If it’s only ever going to be a puzzle to be solved, then you’re not served by creating stories/experiences. You’re served by giving them the most difficult to solve puzzles.
Third, don’t hesitate to abandon a trick if the lead-in gets too real or too personal. While I want people to know it’s a trick as early as possible, there still may be a point where I transition into the trick from a real discussion. So, let’s say it’s a trick about luck. My plan might be something like this:
Nudge the conversation toward the subject of luck.
Bring up the concept of a Luck Test or a Luck Ritual or a Luck Formula or whatever.
Transition from that concept into the trick.
Now, my audiences know once #2 happens that they’re on the path to a trick. They don’t necessarily know if this is something I planned or if it’s a spur of the moment sort of thing, but they do get a sense of where things are going the moment I say, “There’s something really unusual I was reading the other day….”
So they know it’s a trick pretty early on.
You might say, “Yes, but aren’t they bothered by the fact that during the conversation at #1, they didn’t know what your intentions were?”
No.
It’s simple. If we’re just have a quick, casual conversation that leads into a trick, they’re not going to feel manipulated by that. And if we end up having a deep, intense conversation on the subject, then I’m not going to go into the trick. I’ll save it for another day, rather than undermine the interaction we just had.
The final issue to touch on is in this section of your email:
And then, when they ask, "How did you do that?" and I double down, "Oh it's my dead grandma," that's when I begin to lose them. That's when they say, "Okay, well you can drop that now."
This suggests they’re probably not the right audience for this type of presentation. If they’re disputing the notion that your dead grandmother cut the deck of cards, they’re not taking the presentation in the spirit in which it’s intended. In the future, just show them normal card tricks.
But if you get yourself in that situation, the only thing to do is lean into it 150%. “I swear on the lives of my children that my grandmother’s ghost cut that deck of cards.” By making it even more ridiculous you highlight how dumb it is to dispute it.
Another thing I’ve done a couple times in the past with some success it to hint at why I’m presenting the trick this way. So if they say, “Tell me how you did that. I know it wasn’t your dead grandmother.”
I’d reply with something like: “I’m not sure what you’re suggesting. You’re saying that wasn’t my dead grandmother who cut that deck? So then… what? Are you saying that I know some way to make a deck cut without anybody touching it? That’s fine if you want to believe that. I’m flattered, actually. But why wouldn’t I take credit for that?”
This logic is particularly hard to debate. Why would you not take credit for something? Especially given magic’s usual reputation as being a battle of wits. The hope being that if they consider why you’re presenting it this way, they’ll realize you’re not looking for praise or validation, and in turn they don’t need to look for “the secret.” I think subtly pointing this out to people can change their attitude a little. But it’s not something I do too often. I prefer to just perform for the people who get it instinctively.
I was wondering whether you had any thoughts about presenting a trick similar to a long joke with low payoff. It would be akin to Norm Macdonald’s moth joke.
I haven’t bought the haunted deck trick by Jeki Yoo yet, but I was thinking along the lines of presenting it by going to an older house and saying something to the effect of being able to contact the dead by playing music that particularly resonates with them. Because it’s an older house, we need to make sure that anything that happens is specifically in response to what we’re doing, hopefully justifying the selection procedure. In everyone’s heads we’re thinking of lights going out, doors slamming, and the like. We could light some candles, chant something in Latin, and finally, with everyone watching the deck, have someone press play on my phone. Immediately, “Down with the Sickness” comes out of the speakers, and executing the trick. It’s *something*, but far below what anyone was hoping for.
I know that, structure wise, it isn’t very strong. It’s the opposite of what we generally want from a trick. The thought process behind it would be to set up an interaction with a low bar that any follow up tricks would exceed easily. Do you think this is an idea worth pursuing?—AR
I think the basic premise here is great. In AR’s full email he talks about maybe incorporating this trick into other performances later on. But I wouldn’t do that. I would just keep it as a “shaggy dog” magic trick. I’d want it to feel like a clear joke, not part of anything else I’m doing with them. Making it part of a larger routine actually takes away from the experience in a way, because the purpose of a shaggy dog story is that the payoff is so minimal and the story was so purposeless. So I would try and keep it that way.
I used to do something similar, which I think I wrote about previously somewhere. I had one of those coin vanish boxes where the drawer slides into a sleeve.
I would have that on the table along with an old, ornate wooden box, about the size of a shoe box. I’d borrow a coin, put it into the plastic thing, and close it. Then I’d take a key, and unlock the wooden box and open it up. I’d slowly unfold several layers of fabric that were surrounding what was in the box. Then I’d get to a long velvet bag, that was tied shut with some string. I’d unknot the string from the bag and I would pull out two parts of a magic wand that screwed together like a pool stick. I’d twist the two pieces together until the magic wand was complete. Then I’d remove another small bag from the box. Untie the knot holding it shut, and remove a small piece of fabric which I’d use to polish the wand. After all this I would take the wand and tap the plastic box. Then I’d do it all in reverse. Fold up the polishing fabric, put it in a bag, and knot the top. Unscrew the wand, put the pieces in the velvet bag, tie it back up. Place the bags in the box and one-by-one, fold in the corners of the fabric pieces in the box. I’d close the box, lock it up, and set it aside.
This all took minutes to achieve. Then I would slide the plastic drawer out to show the coin was gone.
I considered not having the coin disappear and saying, “Oh wait, I was supposed to tap it twice,” and then start in on the process all over again. But I can’t remember if I ever did that.
I wouldn’t be too abusive with this sort of thing. I wouldn’t take up hours of someone’s time for a trick that didn’t really go anywhere. But 20 minutes? Yeah, I might do that.
Ideally this wouldn’t be one of the first things you show someone. If it is, they won’t get the joke. They’ll just think it was underwhelming, like most magic tricks. Instead you should perform this sort of thing for people who have enjoyed some longer, immersive tricks in the past.
The idea of setting up some gothic, ritualistic effect and ending it by playing Down With the Sickness and having something very minor happen is a fun one.
The hard part will be finding an effect that’s minor enough to make the joke work. The fact of the matter is, with enough build up, even the smallest effect can feel significant to people. Maybe the way to go is to light the candles, do the chants, sacrifice a stray cat, draw a pentagram in blood… then pull out a Criss Angel magic kit and do something from that.
