Coming Of Age

You know you have come of age with magic and that you now look upon ways to improve it from a purely entertainments viewpoint, when, upon being asked how many card tricks you know you say;

"Two"

It's true though. They serve me extremely well too. Don't ask what they are. You've never heard of them. You'll have to come and see me somewhere. I don't even do Triumph anymore and that's a ball tearer. There just isn't time.

Variations On A Theme

About five years ago I developed a routine called Cash Flash. I use it all over the place, close up walk around to platform gigs. It's a real workhorse. It's a very decent way of getting a borrowed note into play tooand has a very nice comic build that I have always been proud of. The long and short of it is that I am including this routine in my new set of magic lecture notes, 'Dean's Routines'. I wanted to call them 'Extreme Dean' but my name sake Dean Dill has already taken that.

Last night, whilst working an hour of roving, I tried out something new with the basic concept of Cash Flash. Instead of using money I simply use a signed playing card. As I was approaching the end of the routine I realised that the perfect climax would have been a Mystery Box. Luckliy I had mine on me at the time. It was too late to finish with it on that particular performance though because, as most of you are aware, The Mystery Box needs to be in play from the outset of a routine. Upon approaching the next group and after doing a few gags and my classic opening rope routine, which is also going in my new notes heaven help me, I belted out the full version of 'Card Flash'

Here it is.

1 the Mystery box is placed upon the table. When working rooms that have no tables I place it on the floor in the middle of the circle of people I am performing for. I also do Matrix on the floor sometimes. I got this idea years ago from my friend Chris Shing who actually does Shadow Coins on the floor.

2 A card is signed and the rest of the deck can be put away as it will not be used again.

3 As you are placing the deck away you steal a TT with a silk inside it from your pocket.

3 Do the old silk from card bit.

4 Place the silk and TT in your top jacket pocket or shirt pocket if working in Australia during the Summer months.

5 Fold the card into quatres and hold in the right hand.

6 Reach back into the jacket pocket for the silk and hold that at the left fingers.

7 Pretend to place the folded card under the silk but actually retain it in the right hand. A fake corner piece would work really well here as you could have the spec hold on to it. It might hold youuponbeing able to get the silk into the TT though.

8 Go into your pocket for a lighter and dump the card in there for a second.

9 Heat up the silk to create a bit of magic. Place the lighter back into the pocket.

10 Pull the silk away from the hand to reveal that the card has vanished.

11 You now draw attention to the Box. You say I will now push the silk inside my hand and change it back into the card. The silk will appear inside that box.

12 What you have to do now is get the TT. I have no logical reason for it (which is abummer as my magic usually has very good flow to and from the pockets) last night I just reached in and got it. whilst I was fumbling for the lighter again. You and I will need to work on this some more.

13 Vanish the silk in the TT and ditch whilst using the lighter again. At the same time palm the folded card back into play.

14 You say "ahhh no card" That's Ok at least the silk will have travelled to the box. Then you explain that to discover a red silk in the box would not be that impressive as there could be two silks that loook the same.

15 Instead you reveal that the missing card inside the box. Thispart is easy as you already have the folded card in your right hand for the MB Shuttle Pass move.


NOTES

Most routines that us ethe KMB do not involve the card being folded openly from the outset so teh effect of thisclimax is somewhat weaker than other routines that use the prop.

The Work

For the past three nights I have watched Jeff Dunham's DVD 'Arguing With Myself' twice through each night. Once as per normal and then once with commentary. Sitting and watching ventriloquism DVD's (and I have plenty of them) over and over again Is not unusual for me. For me, research has always been part of the work and watching movies has alwasy been the most enjoyable research. It's also the easiest. As an actor, magician OR ventriloquist I have always found that watching other practitioners of the artform is the most beneficial of all research. More than reading a 'how to' book on comedy, for example, one would be better served watching as much comedy as possible, not out of any interest in stealing material but rather to see how it's done. To learn how timing works etc.

In watching GOOD practitioners over and over one becomes a better performer oneself. I don't exactly know why this happens, all I know is that the improvement happens gradually and through a subliminal process. In any case I have found it a very enjoyable and useful form of pratice that is at least a break from sticking on a puppet and going over your lines at full energy.

This brings me to my next point. How does one practice ventriloquism?

Well, firstly the practice is forever ongoing, at least the rehearsal of new characters and dialogue is. It's like sleight of hand in that sense. You canalways be better. Even if you focus on the same 15 minutes for five years as I am trying to do.

For me about 2 hours of each day is spent doing the very sort of prctice I mentioned at the end of the second paragraph. I spend 2 hours a day with a puppet stuck on my hand going over and over the dialogue at speed. I also tape these sessions on a little recorder and listen to them back before I start again. This is an old trick I use to employ when I was doing a lot of theatre acting. It helps you to remember your lines that's all. After I have gone through the final run of the night. I leave the last recording on the recorder and listen to it several times the next day while I am going about the more mundane business of normal life. I also run the lines when I am walking to the shops, to and from the train station, with the dog or on the way to gigs etc.

For me the main practice sessions come when I am actually in front of real people. I dont wait to get booked for a vent gig either. Ido lot's of walk around and always MAKE myself doa short tenminutes at the top of these booking with vent. It doesn't alwasy work out because of the structureof the nightbut at most private functions it's fine.The mainplace topractive iskids shows. Most people spend a year in their bedroom developing an illusion show and then expect it to work it first time out. Many begginers with a performance goal have no idea that most of their practice SHOULD be taking place in front of real people. In the case of a big magic act or a vent act the most obvious example of this is kid's parties. I am lucky enough to count this as a very primary source of income and one that I enjoy intensly. I relish the vent practice that I get at kid's shows. Every tiny bit counts and whereas the routines are totally different to those one would use for an adult audience it doesn't matter. When I get home form a Kid's show and Joanne asks me how it went the first thing I always tell her is how well the vent went over. I am also constantly surprised at how comfortable I am with vent at kids shows. A huge leap fromthe first days of doing it. This is a combination of practice and balls. BTW balls really help in showbiz. I never use to have them but I do now. I don't know where they came from I just had to get them soIgot them......about three years ago. I think It was Dante's and the MS that caused this.

Anyway, as I have said in the past. Performance does not exsist in your bedroom. You have to do it for real people. I also think that you have to do it for real people about two weeks sooner than you think you should. This is the complete opposite of my friend Eugene Burger's attitude towards magic. I'm sure my friendship with him will survive it though. You have to get it out there. To revisit the Dunham DVD, Jeff admits to the paint being 'still wet' on his Bubba J figure, A hard character he had never used until that point. So the smarter to are and the bigger the balls and his are big, the easier it is to simply launch into something. I have also seen Dunham doing Melvin The Superhero for a BIG stadium crowd whilst reading the jokes. It didn't matter. It didn't effect the separation or the illusion of reality at all.

As well as watching good ventriloquists I watch loads of bad ones. I love it. I do not do this out of any sense of sadism you understand but rather to see what (absolutely) does not work. When I say bad ventriloquists I don't just mean kids on you tube but some pro's who just don't do it for me. Most of these guys are really famous.

I'm rambling now. I'll shut up.

I will say one more thing about vent routines and it starts at the rehearsal stage. If you don't have a GOOD laugh every ten seconds you need to reduce the length down to where you do. Unless you have a very funny puppet or some very funny sight stuff or a conceptual thing happening like Taylor Mason or Jim Barber you should pull it back. You have to put yourself in the shoes of the people watching. Most of them are not as interested in it as you are. most of them do not share your fascination with puppets. Ecpecially sesame street style puppets. It took me a year to realize that Fetch did not work for adults. Although his dialogue was funny and a little risky. It took too long to get ito it. As soon as the audience see the muppet they see a pupet show. This is why Dunham starts with Walter. I'm hoping that my Vulturefits the bill...so to speak. In time I can certainly see myself doing an old man to. It'sjust a formula that seems to work. I have the character already. Finding the puppet is the next thing.

Food for thought anyway. even if, in reading this bac, I did kind of give you the courses in the wrong order.

Photos

The photograph of Kevin The Vulture in the previous post was taken by my very good friend Kamal Bhushan. Excellent photography is one of his many skills (he keeps it quiet) and over the next week or so I hope to have more shots of my characters for you all to look at.

Kevin The Vulture

"I need a holiday!"

"Where would you like to go?"

"The Canary Islands"

"You'll need lot's of sunscreen"

"Stick it on my bill........get it?"

If you want to catch Kevin's PUBLIC debut please join Glenn Hamilton, Micky Wyld, myself and others at the next Magic Monday's at Dante's on Gertrude Street in Fitzroy. You can call The Magic Store on 9682 0153 for more details or to book tickets and reserve seats.

Ventriloquists

One of my favourite ventriloquists (actually THE favourite) Jay Johnson was talking on his blog last month about the backstabbing nature of "vents" He also makes reference, somewhere in there about an old "vent" saying that goes something like

"Get two magicians together and you've got a convention, get two ventriloquists together and you've got a fight"

I know what he means but it seems the same negative aspect of the way "vents" conduct themsleves could ACTUALLY be applied to magicians TOO. Similarily , magicians might employ the same adage the other way around.

As Jay points out most of this backstabbing comes from the internet forums. I personally don't look at the magic forums anymore. The negative tasete those sites eventually leave in my mouth have made them impossible to look at. I have NEVER looked at the ventriloquist forums. I suppose I have been lucky in the sense that I have only ever looke upon ventriloquism as a way to entertain an audience andnot tried to use it as a way to gain respect from piers. With magic on th eother hand, I have gone through phases where acceptance from the larger community seemed attractive. These days I don't give a monkey's. I try my best to stay away from the mindless, boring conversation that one usually sees on these forums.

I suspect that Jay doesn't give a monkey's either....or rather a monkey's joke.