The Experiences Part 3: Front Porchers
/[Note: There is one more post scheduled for this month. Not sure exactly when I’ll get it up. Sometime before Christmas, I think.]
Since about half of my readers are not from the U.S., I feel like I should first describe what a front porch is. Not just as an architectural feature, but the meaning it has in American culture. Forgive me if this sounds condescending, I just genuinely don’t know how well understood this is.
The front porch is this part of the house…
In America, the front porch has long been a symbol of community and connection. It’s a threshold between the public and private. In nice weather, people will sit out on the porch and pass the time away, interacting with neighbors and others who pass by in spontaneous meetups that can last a few minutes or late into the evening. There is a version of front porch in rural, suburban, small-towns and urban neighborhoods alike.
There’s often a rocking chair or a porch swing. It’s frequently the part of the home that gets most decorated to celebrate the seasons and the holidays.
The most historically charming aspect of the front porch is in its openness and informality. Unlike the seclusion of a backyard or the walls of a living room, the front porch blends the intimacy of home with the inclusivity of community.
Of course, what I’m saying now is somewhat antiquated. This description is definitely more true of the front porch 75 years ago than today. But there are still plenty of places where there is a big “front porch culture.” And the front porch still stands as a reminder of slower, more connected times.
A few months ago, I heard some friends of mine described as having “Front Porch Energy.”
The phrase was true of my friends, but I also realized it was true of what I was seeking for with the Vibe I wrote about this summer. The Carefree Vibe.
Quickies are intended to be a concentrated, stunning moment.
Tantric tricks are intended to be a time-consuming, immersive, deep dive into a magical scenario that genuinely messes with people’s minds.
Front Porchers are designed to be mysterious and amazing while creating a fun, easy-going and welcoming vibe.
Front Porchers Should:
Feel casual and relaxed
Not seem overly planned out or scripted
Have a role for the spectator other than being there to glorify you
Be leisurely paced. Maybe 2-15 minutes.
Often have elements of storytelling or nostalgia.
Feel like there’s some aspect of conversation or discovering something together.
It should have the vibe of a front porch conversation on a summer night.
A Bad Example
Think of the Cups and Balls. This is a trick with no Vibe. No Front Porch Energy.
It’s overly scripted and choreographed. Here is where I do the Vernon wand spin. There are too many magic moments which all seem just like each other. The spectator is just a bystander.
A Good Example
Genuinely, almost any trick that:
A) Has an interesting premise
B) Is fooling
C) Takes a few minutes to perform
D) Is not overly scripted
E) Involves the spectator
Front Porchers aren’t really trick-dependent (in a way that Quickies are). It’s more about how the trick is delivered.
Take, for example, a plastic gimmicky Tenyo trick. That type of trick is homeless in my “Three Experience” categorization.
It’s not a Quickie visual surprise that comes out of nowhere.
It’s not something that can support an hour-long Tantric presentation.
And by itself, it doesn’t have the charm we would want for a Front Porcher. “Here’s this mass-produced magic trick. Now I’m going to show you what this mass-produced magic trick does.” That’s how most Tenyo performances come off. It’s fine. And it can fool people. But it’s vibe-less. Soul-less.
The Yento presentation creates a Front Porcher from a standard Tenyo trick. A charming, captivating thing that we’re discovering together. It doesn’t re-write the rules of the universe. But it’s well worth the small investment of people’s time, in a way tricks often aren’t.
Throughout the years, you’ve seen me write up tricks starting with, “Can I get your help with something?” Or, “I was reading about this thing, I wanted to try it out with you.” Or, “Oh, I’m glad you’re here. You’re the perfect person for this.”
These are all ways to get into a trick with a Front Porch Energy vibe (before I had learned the term).
What Front Porchers Are Good For
Entertaining people
Creating a greater connection with people
Establishing a pleasant memory. They might not remember the exact details of the trick. But they’ll remember having a good time if the vibe is right.
What Front Porchers Aren’t Good For
Blowing people’s fucking minds.
Yes, you can certainly find 100s of tricks that you can perform in a few minutes that will absolutely destroy people’s brains.
But if I have a trick that is sort of “perfectly fooling”—a trick that is almost unsettlingly fooling—then I will usually want to save it to create a bigger experience for people. A Tantric Magic experience. I save my strongest tricks and methods for Tantric tricks. If I’m going to ask someone to invest an hour in an experience that suggests we’ve gone back in time, then I need to build that experience around a flawless trick. A trick so mind-blowing that they feel forced into the only explanation I’ve given them (time-travel).
Front Porchers are not for that purpose. They’re casual, fun, moments of magic that prioritize vibe and connection (of course with a fooling trick and intriguing premise at the heart of it).
And they help establish a baseline of good-to-great magic for people to enjoy and get comfortable with as you plan for your next tantric experience to open a rift in their reality.
These three experiences I’ve written about the past few days are the best uses of magic—at least for me.
A quick, unimaginable, visual surprise.
An immersive story.
A friendly, interactive, mystery.
The problem is, most tricks in magic are not designed with one of those experiences in mind. They’re designed to make the magician look clever or powerful or talented. That’s the “magician-centric” approach I’ve had an issue with, even before I could fully articulate the type of magic I thought should replace it. These three experiences are my approaches to audience-centric. Not because their role is always central, but because their experience is.