when i was putting together my show i was comming from the pitch joint mind set.
when i was goin to the sidewalk pitch, in my mind i was goin to the office and i needed a table to make my self at home and hide behind.
to this day a real sidewalk performer in my minds eye, is, suit, tie, fedora,wand, cards,cups, and table....well i still got the wand and fedora anyway.
i spent most of my life doin close up. doctors bag, random routine improv stlye. walk around sometimes but i prefered stationary table close up [where the people come to you].
i remember david walker pokin fun at me when i told him i didn't like set shows, he said "yeh like all the greats you know copperfield,cardini,etc."
i also remember;
doing close up and people backing up to give me room to see what i got and i had very little.
people hiring me and trying to stick me on stage and confused why if i was a real magician why i couldn't work on stage.
working none stop show after show so everyone at the function could see what it is that i do.
people not wanting to be bothered while they were eating at their table....table after table.
people interupting in the middle of a routine and wanting to hold discussion with me or others or just heckle or what ever.
getting paid less then stage shows.
getting paid less then parlor shows.
understand i supported my wife and kids with close up magic.
i figured out how to over come all these problems. and yes i've heard of video screens.
and i still say close up magic is a waste of time. not completely but practically.
and yet there is always some young kid who tells me "well you just don't get it!"" you see i'm better" or "i know how to get paid more" or what ever else their ego has brainwashed themselves into.....and rarely are they even supporting themselves with magic. and sadly i think their gonna have to learn the same lesson i did the hard way.
i know i've hit some nerves already. so before you go looking for your gun. please hear me.
don't get me wrong close up is great for showing a few people, but thats just the problem you see?
close up is not just hard to see as a visual art its hard to market, i know i did it for years successfully. and it was an up hill battle all the way.
i believe parlor if done right can be done close up or far away effectively anyway with out close up.
the real magic of parlor or platform is that the above problems seem to all but vanish or at the very least become nonexistant.
and this just leaves time and energy to work on the show and figure out where to sell it.....and does it sell?....like a dream.
you see i feel close up is better for the mechanics{move monkeys} and very rarely benificial for an entertainer....don't believe me? stop by your local magic meeting where they are doing marlo or vernon card stuff and ask your self if i was a layman what would my reaction be?
do these guys at the meetings have any personality to go with their hands? and if so how big a crowd could they hold with it.and if not are they even doing magic or finger puzzles. how do we interpret what they are doing.
why does parlor pay more?
simple more people watching, more money.
don't blow that one off think about it!read it again.
but lets talk about art and expression.
i know why the close up performer likes close up its because he "FEEELS" in his hands the magic while he's doin it, its one on one intimate he and the layman can feel it together.....yeh,what ever ego.
problem is your limiting yourself to how you can express yourself...YOUR TRAPPED IN CLOSE.
THEY CAN'T SEE IT FROM ANY FARTHER AWAY.
the parlor performer is free to get small or get bigger and the skill comes in being without angles.
why are we all doing close up...simple the break down in teacher student relations back in the old days and magic dealers are making a killing i know i was one of them remember...hobbiests the bread and butter of the industry.
WHEN WE ARE WATCHING ANY OTHER FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT [INVOLVING PEOPLE PERFORMING] ARE WE JUST WATCHING THEIR HANDS?
all the famous magicians through out history are they know for color change w/ cards or a muscle pass....even blaines famous for levetation.
