Monday Mailbag #69
/Heh-heh… 69.
Did you ever listen to the This American Life about when Improv Everywhere held a huge sprawling surprise birthday party for a random stranger in a bar, and left him scarred with anxiety and paranoia? (See act two of https://www.thisamericanlife.org/286/mind-games-2005 )
I feel like Just For You would do that same thing, but instead of to one person, to every one of your friends (or every person at the party). Leaving them convinced all of their friends were lying to them. No matter how hard they begged, how much the pleaded or cried… their wife wouldn’t admit she was in on it.
And yet I’d still love to try it. It would be an interesting experience for sure. —AD
Yes, I'm familiar with that story. I wouldn't be too worried about it messing people up too bad. Whereas the Improv Everywhere thing was designed to affect that one person specifically, and everyone’s focus was directed towards that one person. With Just For You, they have to choose to really see themselves as the focal point of the routine. Yes, “this was all done for you” is the premise of the routine. But it’s done in a way where they have to “opt-in” to choose to believe it. The presentation is—I think—nicely designed so there are no holes in the logic of the premise, but they still have to willingly suspend their disbelief to fully engage with the premise. And if they’re doing that, then it’s because they want to.
That’s considerably different than 30 people coming up to you in a bar, insisting your name is Ted, and that it’s your birthday.
I read the Just For You effect yesterday [last Wednesday] morning. Last night I performed it at a dinner/talent show my office was putting on. I used your script almost verbatim. I won first place and $400. I guess I should start supporting the site now. Thanks! —SC
Nice job. You can PayPal me my 20%. I’ll split your fee and your thanks with Joe Mckay for sending along the original idea.
I'm totally new to your site, and I'm looking for resources that might help me finesse my way into approaching complete strangers in public places so as to magicsh them.
I'm not interested in this because that's how I prefer to perform. It's just because I need to practice, and this is the most efficient way I can think of — to do essentially "strolling magic" without an invitation.
Can you point me to the right articles? —G
“Strolling magic without an invitation” is just about the most terrifying way I’ve heard of describing what I’m focused on with this site—that being magic in casual and social situations. I’m also not a fan of the word “magicsh,” but I’ll let that go for the moment.
“Approaching complete strangers in public places,” is not something I do and not something I recommend.
There are certain situations where I’ll perform for someone who I don’t really know.
Those situations are things like this:
For someone who is near me at a cafe or a bar.
For someone sitting next to me on a train or plane or bus.
The rare occasion when I’m standing in line for an extended period of time (Camping out for them Yeezys). Or in some other extended “waiting” situation.
At a wedding, party or other event where I may not know many people.
What do these situations have in common?
They’re all situations where it’s acceptable to engage with strangers. I’m not randomly walking up to a couple at a park bench. I’m not sitting down next to a woman sunbathing alone at the beach, “I want to show you something.”
Get comfortable interacting with people in these types of situations. If you’re uncomfortable asking stranger in these types of situations how their day has been going, then you’re not prepared to show them a trick either. That might not sound true to you. You might think, “Actually, I’d be more comfortable showing someone a trick than having a casual conversation with them.” I understand that. But the type of magic I write about is built on top of casual/social interactions. It is not a substitution for them.
People will be able to sense if your little trick is the only thing that’s allowing you to interact with them. And they will be put off by it, I promise you. If you met someone and they immediately started speaking to you through their ventriloquist dummy—and could barely interact with you otherwise—you’d be weirded out by them too regardless of how good their ventriloquism is.
Use the right material for these sorts of situations. If I’m waiting in a two-hour line for a roller coaster, I’m not going to do a card trick for the guy behind me. I’d probably do something propless or something that uses my phone. At a bar (where there is a surface nearby) you have some more options, but you’d still want to use objects that are natural to the environment. At a cafe I’m perfectly fine using anything I might be carrying with me, even a deck of cards if the layout of the cafe allows for it.
On a train or plane, at a party, in line, or at bar, there will almost always be at least a few minutes of conversation before I transition into a trick. At some point in that conversation they will have learned of my interest in: magic, psychology, gambling, supernatural phenomena, games, fortune-telling, rituals, or whatever the case may be. (These are all real interests. I just might stress one or the other given what I think the person I’m talking to might be interested in and/or what trick I’m thinking of performing.) I don’t just bring the subjects up randomly. I don’t just say, “Hey, I like magic!” But if someone is asking me how my weekend is, I can say something like, “Good. I met up with some friends for a poker game Saturday. Lost a bunch of money. I’m trying to steer the group towards some different games that I think I have a better shot at.” Or whatever. It’s perfectly normal when talking with someone for the first time to hit on hobbies, work, and activities you’re involved in. All of these give me the opportunity to transition into a trick, if I want.
The only place I come close to going directly into a magic trick is in a cafe where people are sitting and working for an extended period of time. I’ll make eye contact with the people near me as I sit down, or as they sit down. If one of them seems particularly friendly and open, I may ask at some point later on, “Hey, can I get your help real quick?” In that circumstance I would do something that’s under a minute, and legitimately requires their assistance. You don’t want to ask for their help and then make them watch a two-minute coin routine.
That’s the closest I’ll get to performing for strangers with zero preamble.
Performing for pure strangers is not something I put much effort into. I don’t really consider that casual or social magic. Social magic is generally done with friends, family, or at least acquaintances in mind. If you don’t have a lot of people to perform for, then your goal should be to grow your social circle, or at least lean into your comfort zone so you’re having more low-level interactions with people. That will give you more opportunities to perform without having to assault some total stranger.