The Dress-Rehearsal Performance Style
/AFC, writes:
I was wondering what presentation you’d end up with, for the trick: cylinder and coins by John Ramsay.
I was thinking about it, and I found it difficult for these reasons:
It’s magician centric, there’s no participation on the persons part other than watch lol, and the traditional props involved are strange. Leather cylinder, cork, 4 old dollars, a wand. […]
What would you do out of curiosity? Or is this trick just so contradictory to your style it’s dead in the water? —AFC
You’re correct in guessing that I’m not a fan of this trick and wouldn’t really ever perform it. I know Joshua Jay is a big fan and recently released his version. Usually I trust his judgment, but this trick is a snooze. It’s like the Cups and Balls. Something meaningless happens multiple times. Nobody cares. But it’s fun to practice so we inflict it on people.
You know it’s not a good trick just based on the name: Cylinder and Coins. Again, this is like the Cups and Balls or Ring and String where the effect is so bland they’re like, “Hmm… what should I name this trick? Ah, shit. I can’t think of anything. Well, let me just look at the objects that are on the table.” That’s not how you name a trick. That’s just lazy. Crazy Man’s Handcuffs… now that’s a fucking name for a trick!
At any rate, in his email, AFC actually hit on how I would perform this trick if I was going to. I edited that part out because it would have been somewhat anticlimactic if it was in there.
Basically what I would use is…
The Dress Rehearsal Presentation Style
The DRPS puts a layer of pretense between you and what you’re demonstrating and adds a context to what would otherwise be a meaningless exhibition of skill.
Essentially it involves telling the audience that what they’re about to see is a “rehearsal” for a future presentation. It’s similar to the Peek Backstage Style of performance.
You might say, “I’m working on a routine for a magic competition. We all have to do our version of a classic effect called Cylinder and Coins. Would you mind watching a run-thru of it? I want to get a couple reps of it in with someone watching to make sure it flows right.”
You might say, “I’m working on a version of a trick for my uncle’s birthday. He was the first one who showed me this trick 40 years ago—which originally got me into magic. Could you take a look and see if it all flows together well from your perspective?”
Or, “I’m working on a trick for a talent show at work. They’re running a vintage talent show, where everyone has to demonstrate a talent someone might have had 50 or more years ago. Singing old songs. Telling old jokes. Or, in my case, demonstrating a classic magic trick. Could I get your opinion on it?”
The thing about tricks like the Cylinder and Coins or Cups and Balls is that they tend to be impersonal and long. So you want to have a rationale for why you’re taking their time with something so utterly disconnected from them (and from you). Without a rationale, an extended, impersonal effect is going to feel awkward in a social setting. By giving people the context of a “rehearsal,” it frames the effect in a way they can more easily appreciate.