One final push to victory!

Just eight days to doomsday!!!

I am performing my very first lecture for Magicians and I have never felt more alive and petrified in my life. When you love magic as much as me it can be both joyous and painful on a daily basis.

But if it were easy, everyone would be doing it, right?

Why a lecture?

I thought doing a lecture would be a good learning curve (I truly could never have imagined how steep that arc would be). Through all the challenges I have managed to complete every task I set myself to bring this lecture to life. And a few extras thrown in for good measure.

• I tackled InDesign.
• Drew my own images.
• Wrote up my effects with some help from others.
• Made homemade products to sell.
• I learnt how to make a monkey fist. Evidently learning this skill gave me something else to focus on other than writing my lecture notes.
• Prepared my act and created an order to the lecture I wish to present.

After what feels like an age of preparation the only thing left to do is to perform it.

What will my first lecture entail?

In ‘The Chaos Within‘ Lecture I will explain how I created a 20 minute close up show by breaking down my Magic Castle performance.

I will dissect 5 effects. Explaining why each effect works.

• Why I created the effects I did?
• Why I placed them in the particular order?
• Why I performed some with music and some not?
• Why I think it’s important to be theatrical?
• Why I like to create emotion alongside the actual effects?

I’m also aiming to integrate magical techniques that help achieve strong misdirection. Or ‘Direction’ as Tommy Wonder called it. Hopefully after seeing my effects working you might consider using the tools I discuss to make the magic you perform stronger. And more importantly, unique.

The price to pay for originality

My goal was to create a performance that was original. My own take on effects and I even tried to invent new combinations of tricks.

I find it hard performing tricks as their creator made them. And patter that isn’t mine just sounds wrong. So I always try to be original. It may not always be original and good but it sure is fun to develop.

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Last week, whilst raiding some card magic boxes, my boyfriend Tom decided to show me a load of old tricks he used to perform. One effect stood out for me and I asked him to teach me it. As you can imagine, he made it look super easy. A winning FISM routine, performed by Tom Stone, no wonder I was inspired!

The effect he presented was based around Colour Changing cards.

A little Arkane aside thought

I’m putting this out there. I believe having the ability to change an objects colour is one of the strongest effects we can perform as magicians. No matter what age we are we all relate to colour and respond to it.

I’m not sure why. Chemically in my head the sight of something changing colour gets me all giddy.

And throughout the history of magic, colour changing effects keep on popping up. Colour changing decks, Colour Changing Sponge Balls, dye tube tricks, paddle effects the list goes on.

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Back to the effect Tom showed me. The trick was Daryl’s ‘Cardboard Chameleons.’

No wonder I immediately fell in love with it. From my magical birth I have adored Daryl’s magic. I even won my first club competition performing ‘The Hole Thing.’

A man and magician I wish I got the chance to meet.

Daryl had a style that I quite enjoy. His magic is really well thought out. His tricks begin strong, pack a punch throughout and he is able to deliver a surprising end to all his effects I’ve seen. Some of Daryl’s tricks though are sleight of hand heavy. Hey! He was talented guy.

So you won’t be surprised when I tell you that it took Tom about an hour to break the effect down. Whilst I made notes and practiced each bit individually.

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When thinking about the performance of his effect. The same problem I have every time I learn a new trick presented itself. The need to find my own interpretation of it to make it my own and feel comfortable performing it surfaced.

Usually these performance ideas come to me in the middle of the night. Just one of the reasons why I stash a notebook beside my bed for scribbling.

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My interpretation of the chameleon cards would involve me confessing to a serious addiction…it’s not what you’re thinking. I would admit that I’m addicted to a card game.

I related the plot in the Daryl’s piece to playing the game Snap. I absolutely LOVE playing it but over the years people have not wanted to engage in the fiendish game of pairing cards with me. As least after they’ve tried once. Perhaps this is because I’m hellishly good at it. Or they end up with broken fingers from my enthusiastic slapping!

Daryl’s colour changing card effect now made complete sense.

Two very important things for me as a performer are finding the logic and the reason why I am doing something.

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It is not there yet but here is a link if you wish to watch a rather raw version of this very difficult card trick.

https://vimeo.com/390367056

Learning to use what is already within yourself!

I want to use this lecture to inspire people to use all the information within themselves to create stories they can relate too. Then the emotions felt by the audience will be real. I have learnt to use everything within me to bring this project to life for you and I truly hope if you purchase this work you enjoy its contents.

I’m so passionate about magic and I thoroughly enjoyed creating this Close-Up act. I hope these feelings come across in my notes and in my presentation on the 18th February at The Pentacle Magic Club in Cambridge. I will keep you posted.

Onwards!