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Magician Acting, or an Actor Performing Magic...
(Dose
the actor performing magic become a magician by default?)
Both,
is the answer to the above question. It is a trait of most people to have a
'this or that' point of view, however a more useful 'point of view' to have
first is one of always looking for a third option, then maybe a forth and more,
before making any decision.
People
who have taken the time to learn how to act can move into performing
magic, this is possible and does happen. Just as magicians can and, really
should, move into the arena of acting, especially while performing their magic.
Accepting that magicians' act (we do after all have our script (patter) don't
we?) then a style of acting must be chosen to fit with the outcome that the
magician is aiming to achieve. Consider the stage illusionist, the large-scale
stage illusions shown on T.V. and stage can be amazing when done right.
Most
stage magicians perform to an audience without talking to them and so to convey
any kind of engaging quality they rely on a number of factors from young dancers
in tight costumes, dramatic music, lighting, smoke etc and of course the acting.
A stage magician will engage a non-verbal set of actions when pushing a sword
through a box that contains an assistant. The acting in most stage magicians'
performances are punctuated by the music's cadences and so the acting is in turn
accentuated to fit the dramatic music. Striking dramatic poses in time with the
music while pushing a sword through a box that contains a person, whose
protruding toes and hands (both wiggling) and smiling face maybe with a
'surprised expression' can end up looking cheesy!
When
words are not the primary form of communication with the audience the message
that is communicated has very little real drama if this dramatic and overly
cheesy acting style is used; this style seems to have been the norm for a lot of
stage magic during the past decades. Just as David Blaine took the world (the
spectators world) by storm presenting a fresh new angle on close-up magic and
Derren Brown, likewise, with his Television and live shows as a mind reader,
maybe it is time for a very new kind of large-scale stage performer of magic…
maybe you can do for stage magic something similar to what David Blaine
and Derren Brown have done for magic and mind reading? While doing so remember
to act the part well.
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