“It is my belief that magic would be a greater power for inspiration and diversion in the future than it has ever been in the past, if we really wished to make it so. But do we wish to make it so?”
我相信魔术将会成为未来灵感和分歧的更大力量，只要我们希望如此。不过我们真这么想么？
—S. H. Sharpe
PARTONE
THINKING LIKE A MAGICIAN
“The value of theory may not be so much in telling you what to think about your magic, but that you should think about your magic at all, that there is a method, a process.”
理论的价值可能不在于告诉你很多你该思考魔术什么，而是你该彻底思考魔术，有一种方法，一个过程。
—John Carney
If we are to embark on a journey lled with theory, it seems to me that a logical starting point would be a discussion on why theory in magic is helpful at all. And who better to explore this issue than Tommy Wonder, who was until his last breath in 2006, a living treasure in magic.
The Limitations of Theory 理论的限制
By Tommy Wonder, with Stephen Minch
Tommy Wonder
Holland’s Tommy Wonder was the rarest kind of magician: he was equally talented up close or onstage, and equally in uential with regard to his work and his theories. His background was in dance and theater, and all his work had an element of theatricality to it. Wonder’s inspiring attention to detail is evident in every aspect of his performance. The Books of Wonder, from which we will excerpt several times in this collection, are his two-volume legacy, and worthy of careful study.
Thanks to Mr. Wonder, we now have a basic understanding of how theory can be useful. It’s almost time to start talking about our magic.
But before we do that, let us consider a more fundamental question: what is magic?
Magic means different things to different magicians. And the way you de ne magic will dictate the way you perform it.
Roberto Giobbi de nes magic as “the theatrical art of wonder obtained through complex means using natural science, psychology, drama, speci c principles, and digital dexterity.”
Nevil Maskelyne de ned it differently: “Magic consists in creating, by misdirection of the senses, the mental impression of supernatural agency at work.”
And Ferraris Folletto gave us this rather blunt de nition: Magic is “the art of @#$%ing with people without seeming like you are.”
But for me, Charles Reynolds said it best: “Magic is the theatrical art of creating the illusion of impossibility in an entertaining way.”
The way you de ne magic will, more than anything else, affect the way you perform it.
On A Definition of Magic 关于魔术的定义
By Charles Reynolds
“Magic is the theatrical art of creating the illusion of impossibility in an entertaining way.”
魔术是一种剧场艺术，创造不可能的幻想，用娱乐的方式。
—Charles Reynolds
“To my way of thinking, magic is not a term which one can define accurately. Like beauty, it is in the mind of the beholder.”
在我看，魔术不是一种能定义的词。就像美，他在观看者脑里。
—S.H. Sharpe
Charles Reynolds
Charles Reynolds (1932-2010) was a respected behind-the-scenes magical thinker. He invented several illusions for both stage and television, and is renowned for his long-time creative partnership with Doug Henning.
I had the honor of having the ne points of this essay explained to me across the table from Mr. Reynolds, in the library of his home in Greenwich Village. He spoke with passion on this subject, and rarely broke eye contact. “Here,” he said to me afterward, “I wrote an article on what I’m trying to tell you. So you won’t forget.”
I haven’t forgotten. And now, hopefully neither will you.
“There is a world of difference between a spectator’s not knowing how something’s done versus his knowing that it can’t be done.” This simple, beautiful turn-of-phrase forms the foundation of Simon Aronson’s de nition of magic—a de nition that points to an ideal of deeply impossible material that the spectator completely understands but cannot comprehend.
The Illusion of Impossibility 不可能的幻术
By Simon Aronson
Simon Aronson
Simon Aronson is a renaissance man in magic. An esteemed student of Ed Marlo, Aronson built a name for himself for his intricate inventions and concepts with a pack of cards, particularly the memorized deck. Aronson is also a philosopher of magic, as well as a mentalist.
Astonishment is Our Natural State of Mind 惊喜在脑的自然态里
By Paul Harris
“If you take any activity, any art, any discipline, any skill, take it and push it as far as it has ever been pushed before, push it into the wildest edge of edges, then you force it into the realm of real magic.”
如果你将任何行为，艺术，守则，技术推动到他从未过，推至边缘，那你就将他变为了真魔术。
—Tom Robbins
Paul Harris
Paul Harris has created some of the most revolutionary close-up plots in the last half- century. He has also consulted for stage and screen, and was a part of the team that conceived of David Blaine’s game-changing television career.
Paul Harris
The Art of Astonishment
1996
John Carney
John Carney is considered one of the nest living exponents of sleight-of-hand. A student of Dai Vernon, Carney has won numerous top awards in the industry, and has performed choice spots on major television networks. To counterbalance his straightforward performing persona, Carney created an alias, Mr. Mysto, a hapless mentalist who bungles everything he does yet still manages to amaze.
The previous essays by Messrs. Reynolds, Aronson, and Harris are lofty and abstract. The next passage is at turns inspirational and instructive, but at all times applicable. John Carney, one of the greatest living exponents of magic, reminds us of the timeless lesson that there are no shortcuts to mastery.
Approaches and Artifice 方法和诡计
By John Carney
Jamy Ian Swiss
Jamy Ian Swiss is an erudite cage-rattler. His writings are often in shocking contrast to accepted norms. His unwavering quest for ideals, truth, and perfection in magic is rivaled only by his passion for expressing those opinions. After years of performing in the trenches of the real world, we got a taste of Jamy’s self-expression, with several phenomenal television segments on “The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson.”—in which we saw Jamy’s theories in practice.
So far you have heard the silent voices of several magicians calling out to you, each one with a different answer to the question, “What is magic?” To conclude this chapter, Jamy Ian Swiss gives his input, and then asks this all-important question...to you.
The Search for Mystery 寻找神秘
By Jamy Ian Swiss
”Give me a mystery—just a plain and simple one—a mystery which is diffidence and silence, a slim little, barefoot mystery: give me a mystery — just one!”
给我一个奇迹，一个简单朴素的，一个羞怯沉默的，赤脚的机器，只要一个就好！
Mysteries,
Yevgeny Yevtushenko
Jamy Ian Swiss
Shattering Illusions
2002
PARTTWO
THINKING LIKE OUR AUDIENCES 像观众一样思考
“In the performance of good magic the mind is led on, step by step, to ingeniously defeat its own logic.”
在好的魔术表演里，思想被带领，一步步，打败自己的逻辑。
—Dai Vernon
In the rst section we explored how to think like a magician. Now we enter the headspace of our spectators. We begin with a more basic overview of the territory by Dariel Fitzkee, and then we jump into more complex terrain (courtesy of Derren Brown) on speci c techniques to help us think like our audiences.
Processes within the Spectator’s Mind 流程之于观察者脑中
By Dariel Fitzkee
Dariel Fitzkee
Showmanship for Magicians
1943
Dariel Fitzkee
Dariel Fitzkee (1898-1977) was a magical performer and author who authored three major works on magic, collectively known as the Fitzkee Trilogy. Comedian Steve Martin described Fitzkee’s Showmanship for Magicians (from which this essay is excerpted) as “more important to me than Catcher in the Rye.”
Author Michael Chabon wrote, “Every work of art is one half of a secret handshake.” When we engage with an audience,they are the other half of the handshake. Questions arise in the minds of our spectators. We must learn to anticipate what these questions will be and how we can answer them through our material. Peter Samelson believes these questions to be three: What? Why? And Who?
Why, What, and Who? A Theory of Questions 问题的理论
By Peter Samelson
Peter Samelson
Peter Samelson’s performances affect me deeply because, at virtually every moment he is onstage, his words and actions connect with the audience on a personal level. His material deals with subjects important to him: love, his childhood, and even comic books. His shows are a lesson in just how much humanity we can communicate to our audiences.
In retrospect, we can look back at the early writings of Derren Brown with expectant approval. After all, he is the UK’s most famous and decorated mentalist, and an undisputed thought leader in our eld.
But I’m old enough to remember actual events quite differently. Pure Effect came out in 2000, just before his television career catapulted him into the public’s eye. The author of Pure Effect was a provocative unknown who espoused a decidedly different approach in both style and substance. He was just thirty years old when his writings were published.
His career is the rare inversion of the norm: he developed a crystal-clear theory on how he wanted is performances to look, and he achieved his goals through performance.
Working with the Spectator in Mind 表演，观察者于脑内
By Derren Brown
Derren Brown
Pure Effect
2000
Derren Brown
Derren Brown’s writings are, I believe, among the most signi cant of the last two decades. By his choice, Pure Effect and Absolute Magic are extremely hard to nd; Brown wishes to keep his many public fans from discovering these writings. I am forever in his debt for allowing us to republish some of his most poignant thoughts in this collection.
Derren Brown
Derren Brown’s writings are, I believe, among the most signi cant of the last two decades. By his choice, Pure Effect and Absolute Magic are extremely hard to nd; Brown wishes to keep his many public fans from discovering these writings. I am forever in his debt for allowing us to republish some of his most poignant thoughts in this collection.
The Big Lie 弥天大谎
By Michael Close
Michael Close
Semantic debates rage on as to whether or not magic is an art form. Magicians like Michael Close make it clear that the very best magicians are artists. One need only read his ve-volume Workers series to witness a man who creates personalized, autobiographical presentations, original magic effects and plots, and who thinks deeply about the potential of magic.
Michael Close
Workers 3
1993
Pit Hartling
Pit Hartling’s fantastic Card Fictions proves that you can’t judge things by their size. His work is cut from the nest cloth: every routine breaks new ground, has an integrated presentation, and a smart method.
To know what our spectators are thinking during a magic effect, we must train ourselves to think like our spectators. At the highest level, this means anticipating a spectator’s thoughts, words, and actions before they even occur to the spectator! It sounds more like a mentalism effect than a viable technique, but Pit Hartling shares with us several useful tactics on how we can in uence and control the very thought- patterns of our audiences.
Inducing Challenges 引战
By Pit Hartling
Pit Hartling
Card Fictions
2003
Eugene Burger
Eugene Burger’s in uence on the theory of magic is tremendous, and his presence greatly affected the way I viewed magic. When I rst saw him perform, I saw a magician who had different objectives than other performers I had seen. And, I’m not the only one in these pages moved by Eugene’s performance. Derren Brown relates a similar story on page 453.
Eugene Burger gives serious consideration to his audience’s thoughts and interests. Here he takes us on a journey that ends with a beginning: we are taken through the steps he followed to create his opening line—and I think it’s one of the all-time great opening lines.
Eugene’s essay operates on his assumption that “Magic tricks really are not very entertaining in and of themselves.” This is a notion also put forth by Dariel Fitzkee in Showmanship for Magicians. My experience—which falls thirty years short of Eugene’s—is that this is entirely conditional. (Darwin Ortiz also disagrees, and refers to this notion as “Fitzkee’s Fallacy” on page 247). I have encountered many people who, as Eugene points out, nd magic an “unwelcome intrusion.” But I have encountered at least as many people who are in nitely amazed by the visceral acts of magic tricks—with or without elaborate presentations.
Whether or not you make the same assumption Eugene does, every performance you give must include certain assumptions about your audience. These assumptions are predictions, really, about how your audience will perceive you and your material. Know what these assumptions are, and identify the outcomes of being right...or wrong.
Creating Interest 引发兴趣
By Eugene Burger
Eugene Burger
Intimate Power
1983
In the next piece, Sam Sharpe wisely points out that we cannot simply think of magicians and effects as “good” and “bad,” but in terms of the right t for the intended audience. I think this is a blind spot for magicians, and in magic writing. Few have discussed the topic Mr. Sharpe raises here, and he goes on to qualify what he believes the “best” situation for magic is: a sophisticated audience watching a sophisticated brand of magic.
Written in 1932, the essay’s message feels fresh and topical, even if the writing and examples are dated (you’re about to read a reference to the “fox trot” dance step).
Popularity 流行度
By S.H. Sharpe
S.H. Sharpe
Neo-Magic
1932
RenE Lavand
At the age of nine, René Lavand lost the use of his right hand in a car crash. The loss of a hand could have been a barrier to entry into magic; instead, it helps de ne Lavand’s style. He developed moves and routines performable with only one hand, yet this only accounts for a portion of his singular success. Lavand has also developed an autobiographical style in which he recounts stories of his life through his magic. In his native Argentina, he is revered as much for his stories as he is for his magic.
In this chapter we have explored strategies to help us think like those we wish to deceive. Let’s conclude on this subject with an essay by Argentina’s René Lavand, whose brief, poetic essay mirrors exactly his style of performance.
Spectators 旁观者
By RenE Lavand
René Lavand
The Mysteries of My Life
1998
PartTHREE
CATEGORIZING MAGIC 魔术分类
“Using words to describe magic is like using a screwdriver to cut roast beef.”
用文字描述魔术就像用螺丝刀割烤牛肉。
—Tom Robbins
For as long as magicians have been conjuring, authors have tried to categorize magic tricks. They are generally of three minds. The rst dissected magic with the impartial precision of a surgeon. The second has attempted to map the possibilities of magic the way an astronomer charts the constellations— with a mixture of what is possible and what we think might be possible. The third thinks the idea of categorizing magic is pure folly—that one cannot describe illusions the way we describe the anatomy of a frog or the contours of the Mediterranean Sea.
The father of modern conjuring, Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin will lead us into this discussion with what I believe to be the rst serious attempt to classify modern conjuring effects. He believed there to be six.
The Art of Conjuring 杂耍的艺术
By Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin
By Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin
Les Secrets de la Magie et de la Prestidigitation
1868
Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin
Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin (1805-1871) has given magic as much as any other gure, from the tux, tails, and top hat attire to classic effects like “Second Sight” and “The Light and Heavy Chest,” to the root of the most famous magician of all time (Houdin-“I”).
Robert-Houdin’s most famous contribution to the literature of magic is the following quote: “The magician is really an actor playing the part of a magician.”
Next up is an essay that has fallen into disfavor in the last two decades. In 1944, Dariel Fitzkee famously attempted to classify all magic tricks into 19 categories. In The Trick Brain, he went so far as to offer a systematic method for creating new effects, based more on lists and formulas than on critical thinking. On the whole, The Trick Brain fails because it treats the delicate act of creating magic like painting by numbers.
But Fitzkee gets credit (at least from me) for his valiant effort to compartmentalize all effects into nineteen categories, expanding upon previous work by Robert-Houdin and S.H. Sharpe. I dispute how and where Fitzkee divides his list, but you would likely dispute any list I might create as well. You might even reject the notion that classifying effects is useful at all.
Tom Stone (represented with his own clever writings on pg. 185) had these words for me when we discussed the inclusion of The Trick Brain essay:
Fitzkee went wrong when he reduced all magic to 19 “basic effects” because he did it by removing all dramatic and emotional aspects from them. Why stop at 19, by the way? If reductionism is the game, the number could just as easily be 26, 177, or 8. Well, I know very well why he stopped at 19—because had he continued the reduction, it would have exposed how silly the whole idea was. At the end of any reduction of this kind, there will be only one single, basic effect left, which would be: “Something strange happens.” Now, try to use that for anything productive!
Tom is harsh in his criticism of Fitzkee’s essay (you should read the emails I haven’t reproduced here). And his point is well taken. But I believe Tom overlooks one important use for lists of this kind. When I read essays like those sandwiching these words, my thoughts move immediately into problem- solving mode. My mind races, trying to identify effects that might not t so neatly into these categories. And on the luckiest occasions, I come upon a useful idea. Not all the ideas are in a “new” category, but they came about by the mere act of trying to think “outside” the list.
Sometimes, to create something beyond the borders of what is thought possible, we must know exactly where those borders are.
Classification of Effects 效果分类
By Dariel Fitzkee
CARD EFFECTS CLASSIFIED
By T. Page Wright
- Production
- Vanish
- Transformation
- Manipulative
- Memorization
- Guessing problems
- Transposition
- Location and revelation
- Productions from cards (as water)
- Indestructible card
- Prophetic
- Arranging of cards (as spellers, dealing hands, etc.)
- Naming cards
- Discovery of number selected or moved
ANALYSIS OF CONJURING FEATS
By S. H. Sharpe
Productions (From not being to being)
Disappearances (From being to not being) Transformations (From being in this way to being in that) Transpositions (From being here to being there)
Natural science laws de ed
a. Anti-gravity
b. Magical animation
c. Magical control
d. Matter Through Matter e. Multi-position
f. Restoration
g. Invulnerability
h. Rapid germination
- Mental phenomena a. Prediction
b. Divination
c. Clairvoyance
d. Telepathy or thought transference e. Hypnotism
f. Memorization
g. Lightning calculations
SEVENTEEN FUNDAMENTAL EFFECTS
By Winston Freer
- Production
- Vanish
- Change in position
- Change in material
- Change in form
- Change in color
- Change in size
- Change in temperature
- Change in weight
- Magnetism
- Levitation
- Penetration
- Restoration
- Remote control 15. Sympathy
- Divination (Comprising all feats of mental magic) 17. Prediction
THE NINETEEN BASIC EFFECTS
- Production (Appearance, creation, multiplication)
- Vanish (Disappearance, obliteration)
- Transposition (Change in location)
- Transformation (Change in appearance, character or identity)
- Penetration (One solid through another)
- Restoration (Making the destroyed whole)
- Animation (Movement imparted to the inanimate) 8. Anti-Gravity (Levitation and change in weight)
- Attraction (Mysterious adhesion)
- Sympathetic Reaction (Sympathetic response)
- Invulnerability (Injury proof)
- Physical Anomaly (Contradictions, abnormalities, freaks) 13. Spectator Failure (Magicians’ challenge)
- Control (Mind over the inanimate)
- Identi cation (Speci c discovery)
- Thought Reading (Mental perception, mind reading)
- Thought Transmission (Thought projection and transference) 18. Prediction (Foretelling the future)
- Extra-Sensory Perception (Unusual perception, other than
mind)
By Dariel Fitzkee
The Trick Brain
1944
Henning Nelms approaches this topic differently, and attempts only to argue the distinction between a trick and an illusion.
Tricks vs. Illusions 把戏 vs 幻术
By Henning Nelms
Henning Nelms
Showmanship for Magicians
1969
Henning Nelms
Henning Nelms (1900-1986) had a secret pseudonym that he wrote two acclaimed novels under: Hake Talbot. Talbot’s Rim of the Pit is considered one of the nest “locked-room mysteries” ever written.
Juan Tamariz has written much on the theory of magic, yet precious little has been translated into the English language. I’m pleased Juan has allowed me to publish this essay in English for the rst time.
It was written in part for the public, but the information is valuable to the serious student as well. I picked up on a few key details of the piece during translation. For example, when speaking of misdirection, he uses the word “deviate,” as in deviating the spectator’s attention. That word says a lot about how he views misdirection itself. He also refers to magic as “illusionism,” and elegantly describes its de nition. My favorite sentence is this:
Finally, in knowing the function of memory, a magician can create lagoons in the spectators’ memories in order to make them forget whatever we wish for the magical effect, or to make them believe they remember things that in reality never existed.
The word “lagoons” is a powerful metaphor for those unperceived glitches in logic that the best magicians create in the minds of their spectators.
Fundamentals of Illusionism 幻术基础
By Juan Tamariz
Juan Tamariz
Secretos de Magia Potagia
1973
Juan Tamariz
Juan Tamariz has been called the greatest living magician. He has astounded Spanish and international audiences on television, in large theaters, and up close. He has in uenced a generation of magicians with his style, writings, and performance.
PARTFOUR
EFFECT 效果
“Take a simple idea and take it seriously.”
用简单的想法，认真对待。
—Charlie Munger
We spent the last section exploring various ways to slice, chop, separate, and dissect magic effects. Now we will look at “effect” itself, and the underpinnings that make great magic great.
We begin this chapter with one of the most notable twentieth- century contributions to magic literature: Rick Johnsson’s celebrated essay, “The Too Perfect Theory.”
Many of the notable minds included in this collection have defended (Carney, Swiss, Close) or challenged (Ortiz, Wonder, Stone) this theory, and the debate will rage on. Eugene Burger took an insightful, oblique angle: “Man, when in an analytic state of mind, must have an answer or solution to those things that bewilder him.” Perhaps the context of an effect will determine how “perfectly” it will be perceived.
The “Too Perfect” Theory 太完美理论
By Rick Johnsson
Rick Johnsson
Hierophant
1971
Rick Johnsson captured the imaginations of magicians with the essay you just read. In the ensuing forty years since its rst publication, many magicians have come to accept the words as truth. But not Tom Stone. In this biting but balanced counter-attack, Stone takes issue not only with the proposed solution, but also with the very analysis of the problems Rick Johnsson attempted to solve.
Too Perfect, Imperfect 太完美 不完美
By Tom Stone
“Some tricks, by virtue of their perfection, become imperfect. Conversely, some tricks by virtue of their imperfection, become perfect.”
有些伎俩因为完美而不完美，相反一些不完美而完美。
—Rick Johnsson
Tom Stone
Nordisk Magi
2000
Tom Stone
Sweden’s Tom Stone is a deeply passionate, artistic performer. His work is a mixture of classical effects with practical methods and whimsical new plots with methods as outrageous as they effects they serve.
Eugene Burger begins the next piece with a meditation on the merits of magic theory in general—a topic quite appropriate for this collection. But it takes a surprise turn halfway through, when he uses the same logic to analyze the magic effect. And it boils down to this: not every moment of a magic effect must contain magic, but every single moment must be fascinating.
On the Structure of Magic Effects 魔术效果的结构
By Eugene Burger
Eugene Burger
Mystery School
2003
PARTFIVE
METHOD 方法
“A magic performance consists of a collection of tiny lies, in words and deeds, that are stacked and arranged ingeniously to form the battlement for an illusion.” 魔术表演包含一些小谎言，通过口头和行为两种方式，他们堆积结合形成了成就幻想的屏障。
—Jim Steinmeyer
Part of completely understanding what something is begins with de ning what something is not. Jamy Ian Swiss begins our “method” conversation with a warning: the method is not the trick. The method should be considered when choosing material, but it cannot be the only consideration, and it should not be prioritized above the effect.
The Method is Not the Trick 方法非把戏
BY JAMY IAN SWISS
Jamy Ian Swiss
Antinomy
2005
With Darwin Ortiz we delve deeper into the process of selecting a method. Jackson Pollock once wrote, “Method is, it seems to me, a natural outgrowth of need.”
Here we look at speci c pitfalls magicians fall into when evaluating methods. Chief among them: the misguided idea that making a method easier to perform is the same as simplifying the method.
Picking the Best Method 选择最好的方法
By Darwin Ortiz
Darwin Ortiz
Designing Miracles
2006
Tommy Wonder’s “The Three Pillars” is, to my thinking,one of the greatest passages ever written on magic. Tommy manages to take us through the thought process of developinga method for a trick. He points out three “pillars” of method:psychological, mechanical, and manipulation. Use just one or two and the trick risks being out of tune: a harmony of all three approaches will yield the strongest magic.
The Three Pillars 三大支柱
By Tommy Wonder, With Stephen Minch
Tommy Wonder
The Books of Wonder
1996
Let’s put theory into practice, as Pit Hartling explains a speci c way in which we can use “accidental” mistakes, a bit of confusion, and presentation as a methodological tool.
Method and Style and the Performing Mode 表演模式的方法和风格
By Pit Hartling
Pit Hartling
Card Fictions
2003
Let’s end our discussion in this section with Milt Kort’s comically brief take on method. But in the spaces between these few words, there is great wisdom to be found.
Milt Kort
I met Milt Kort (1917-2003) when I was a boy. By that time he was older, and his sleight-of- hand faculty had left him. Yet he astounded me with his unassuming but powerful magic. He recounted many funny and insightful stories about his interaction with other luminaries in our eld. And he had a dry, abbreviated wit, as evidenced by this terse essay.
Kort’s Cardinal Rules of Magic Kort的基本规则之魔术
By Milt Kort
Rule 1: It’s the little things that count. 小事管用。
Rule 2: Always take every advantage you can. 占尽地利。
Milt Kort
Kort
1999
PARTSIX
TECHNIQUE 技巧
“Everyone knows the difficulty of things that are exquisite and well done—so to have facility in such things give rise to the greatest wonder.”
每个人都知道难度之事物之精致成熟-所以拥有利器之于这类事给于伟大的奇迹。。。。
—Baldassare Castiglione, 1528
In the essay that follows, Darwin Ortiz makes this claim:
The magic is not there to validate a dramatic premise, the dramatic premise is used to add impact to the magic, to make the experience of the impossible that much more powerful.
Ortiz goes on to make the case that showmanship is a viable part of technique, but we must remember that it cannot take the place of technique, or make up for a de ciency in skill. These words are also the only caution in this book against over-presenting. The only thing worse than a magician who offers no presentation in his work is the magician who offers too much presentation and too little magic.
Showmanship as Technique 表演力作为技巧
By Darwin Ortiz
Darwin Ortiz
Strong Magic
1994
Darwin Ortiz
Darwin Ortiz is known as an authority on both magic and gambling, and his creative output with a pack of cards has been staggering. In 1994 he raised many eyebrows with Strong Magic, and in the ensuing time it has taken its place in the pantheon of the very best magic books ever written. Ortiz challenged many classic theories in magic, and codi ed many new ones.
The Spanish master Arturo de Ascanio divides the execution of magic into three areas in this article: timing, misdirection, and technique. He breaks down technique further into lightness, beauty, and breadth of movement. As you will soon nd out, Ascanio was an aesthetic magician: his movements were slow, uid, and elegant, and this informed his vision of magic.
Performing Principles 表演原则
By Arturo de Ascanio
Arturo de Ascanio
Arturo de Ascanio (1929-1997) is considered the Father of Modern Spanish Magic, and this title has become all the more signi cant as Spain rises to the apex of cutting-edge magic. Ascanio’s in uence is prevalent in the work of his star pupil, Juan Tamariz.
We will let Ascanio’s previous essay set the curriculum for the remainder of our discussion in this section: he talks of three elements: timing, misdirection, and technique.
Let’s shift our focus to timing. Ascanio already discussed timing as it occurs during a sleight or trick. What about the timing of a trick’s plot? Darwin Ortiz explores new theoretical territory with his seminal essay on what he calls The Critical Interval, which follows.
The Critical Interval 关键的间隙
By Darwin Ortiz
Darwin Ortiz
Designing Miracles
2006
“The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.”
眼只能看到心能理解的。
—Henri Bergson
Misdirection. For a thousand years magicians have come to de ne misdirection in basically the same way: making a spectator look away from a particular place. The following essay is revolutionary; it reimagines (and renames) the concept of misdirection. “Direction,” Tommy tells us, does not start and stop with a secret move, but is a continuous, owing strategy used in every moment of performance. And we must train ourselves not to think of misdirection as shifting attention away from something secret, but instead toward something of interest.
Getting the Mis out of Misdirection 从錯誤引導中找到道
By Tommy Wonder, with Stephen Minch
Tommy Wonder
The Books of Wonder
1996
We return once more in this section to Maestro Ascanio, who picks up where Tommy Wonder left off in our discussion of misdirection (sorry, Tommy, I meant Direction). Ascanio coined the term “In-Transit Action,” and here he takes us through his most famous insight into magic theory. This speci c technique incorporates all three elements he outlined previously, and puts them to harmonious work: timing, misdirection, and technique.
In-Transit Actions 变化中的动作
By Arturo de Ascanio
Arturo de Ascanio
The Magic of Ascanio
2005
“An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.” 一盎司的练习值成吨的说教
—Mahatma Gandhi
Ascanio spoke of three elements: timing, misdirection, and technique. In this section, we have covered timing and misdirection in great detail. All that remains is a thorough discussion on technique, and there is no magician alive more quali ed to speak on the subject than John Carney.
Carney achieved excellence in magic by focused practicing. And this is no surprise. Aristotle wrote, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.”
Yet practice is an art unto itself. Everyone tells us to “practice,” but nobody tells us how. Until now.
Practice and Technique
By John Carney
John Carney
Magic by Design
2009
Let’s return once more to the sage advice of Darwin Ortiz, who offers yet another applicable strategy for technique: manipulating the way actions in a trick are remembered.
Manipulating Memory 操控记忆
By Darwin Ortiz
Darwin Ortiz
Designing Miracles
2006
We conclude our discussion of technique with a concept vital to the magician: the spectator’s assumptions. We spent an entire chapter (Section Two, page 69) on thinking like a spectator. We build on those concepts here, as Michael Close explores seven assumptions spectators make when they view a magician. But now we take a step further, as Michael offers advice on how we might design our miracles with these erroneous assumptions in mind.
Creativity becomes slippery when you try to pin it down and describe how it works. I’m skeptical about most authors who claim to be able to teach it. Yet I have returned to this essay countless times in magical development, and reading through Close’s “seven assumptions” often proves helpful when I am developing a method.
Assumption 假设
By Michael Close
Michael Close
Workers 5
1997
PARTSEVEN
PRESENTATION 呈现
“Any trick can become a masterpiece, but it has to have a presentation that holds people enthralled and fascinated.”
任何把戏都可成为大作，但必须有一个呈现方式，将人炸飞。。。
—Dai Vernon
David Regal poses a fundamental question to open our discussion on Presentation: he asks what qualities separate the greatest magicians from the rest? “This is not a detail,” he warns, “this is it.”
“Presentation” is an easy answer to the question, but let’s dig deeper.
Presentation begins before we utter our rst word or set up our rst effect. Presentation is an attitude, an emotion. And although Mr. Regal humbly claims not to know the answer to the question he poses, we know that he knows more than he lets on. For him, the answers are a bit all-over-the-map. So, too, is his beautiful essay. Yet if you can nd true north as you navigate the seemingly unconnected advice he offers, you will nd yourself sitting very, very close to the answers you seek.
The Other Half
By David Regal
David Regal
Constant Fooling
2002
David Regal
David Regal’s view on magic has been shaped by his work experience as a television writer and a member of the prestigious improv group Chicago City Limits. He has won numerous awards for his work outside of magic, as well as the prestigious Lecturer of the Year from the Academy of Magical Arts.
Doug Conn
Doug Conn’s Tricks of My Trade is full of practical, real-world material from a busy magician who earned his stripes through years of street performing. I always remembered the theory section of his book, because it offered three lines and six words. But as Spanish author Baltasar Gracian said, “Good things, when short, are twice as good.”
While we’re on the subject of good advice on presentation, here are six more words, courtesy of Doug Conn.
Doug’s Theory Section
By Doug Conn
Be Nice. 耐撕
Be Interesting. 耐玩
Be Amazing. 耐妹子嘤
Doug Conn
Tricks of My Trade
1999
Rarely do those who teach us via their books leap off the page and into our lives, but that is exactly what happened to me with Ken Weber. His Maximum Entertainment has become a modern bible on how to improve magic presentations. When I relocated to New York City, I found myself in close proximity Mr. Weber, who came into my life at just the moment I most needed a director.
Whenever I ask Ken for help on a presentation, his response is always the same: “Email me the script and I’ll take a look.” He knows, by now, that he expects every serious magician to script their routines on paper, where they can be most easily pared down and edited.
Nevil Maskelyne wrote of paring down presentations—of “cutting the fat,”—but he did not offer explicit suggestions on how we might do that. Here, Ken offers lines of dialogue we should eliminate from our vocabulary, and strategies to make our presentations tighter and stronger.
Language Skills
By Ken Weber
Ken Weber
Maximum Entertainment
2003
Ken Weber
Ken Weber spent the rst part of his life as a professional mentalist, gaining notoriety and success on the college circuit. He scaled back his performing career to pursue outside interests and raise a family. He returned to the scene in 2003 with Maximum Entertainment, a life’s work in magic theory and advice.
The vast majority of authors in this book practice close-upmagic. Some lean toward mentalism, and a few appear on large stages. I’m very glad that we are also able to include theperspective of kid-show guru David “Silly Billy” Kaye.
David’s advice was written expressly for children’s magicians in his Seriously Silly, but I have long adored his book because the advice is so universal. And when we get right down to it, entertaining children is similar to entertaining adults because watching magic makes children of us all.
It’s Not the Destination, It’s the Ride 旅途才重要
By David Kaye
David Kaye Seriously Silly 2005
David Kaye
David Kaye is widely considered the foremost authority on children’s magic, and he has made a career entertaining the children of New York City’s most elite families.
Remember that all the way back on page 331 we began our discussion of Presentation with a question posed by David Regal: what qualities separate the greatest magicians from the rest?
In his essay “The Other Half” he asks this question and follows it with some exceptional advice. Yet he doesn’t attempt to answer the question there. In this essay, I believe he does just that. So what are his answers? Sharing your humanity and having a point-of-view—both outgrowths of “character,” the last topic of this section.
Perhaps Abraham Lincoln was right: “Ability will take you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.”
Character 个性
By David Regal
David Regal
Approaching Magic
2008
PARTEIGHT
CONSTRUCTION 构造
“What is perceived as product by others is process from the artist’s perspective.”
被骗的作为礼物之于他人是过程之于表演者的角度。
—Joyce Carol Oates
Before we get into a discussion of how to construct a magic effect, David Regal expresses a sobering realization: that the impact of a strong performance is determined mostly by choosing the right trick for the right time.
The Horrible Truth
By David Regal
David Regal
Constant Fooling
2001
Strengthening an effect can be reduced to this: strengthening the convictions of a spectator. If we can solidify a spectator’s belief in what transpires, the effect is stronger. If she is convinced of the conditions before and after a trick, the effect is stronger. If she is convinced that you caused the effect to occur without technique, the effect is stronger.
How do we go about this? I have given the largest amount of space in this collection to Darwin Ortiz’s seminal essay on Conviction. It is, to date, the rst, last, and de nitive work on the topic.
Conviction 确信
By Darwin Ortiz
The Expository Phase （trans:like this style?）
Degrees Of Conviction
Emotional Memory
Deteriorating Conviction
Conditions
Identifying Important Conditions
The Must-Believe Test
The No-Contact Condition
Dramatizing Conditions
Convincers
Darwin Ortiz
Strong Magic
1994
Construction of magic seems quite technical when you attempt to articulate it on paper. The truth is, these constructions begin in our mind, often with a dream. Next, Tommy Wonder urges us to embrace this dream-like visualization technique, and learn to harness its power.
The Mind Movie
By Tommy Wonder, with Stephen Minch
Tommy Wonder
The Books of Wonder
1996
PARTNINE
GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER 编排你的表演
“Those people wishing to be the best at something generally need to have one foot planted in that area of interest, but another rooted firmly in the rest of life.”
那些人希望在某方面成为最棒一般需要有足够兴趣，另一方面热爱自己的生活。
—Derren Brown
Roberto Giobbi begins our discussion with an analysis of how to assemble several effects into a routine or act.
Construction
By Roberto Giobbi
Roberto Giobbi
Card College 2
1996
Roberto Giobbi
Roberto Giobbi is one of magic’s most decorated and erudite scholars. In addition to an illustrious performing career, Giobbi has written himself into the annals of magic with his Card College series of books. These ve volumes, collectively, are the most widely translated books in the history of magic literature. Giobbi himself speaks ve languages uently, and he performs and lectures all over the world on his unique brand of card magic.
How I wish that just before my rst show, Eugene Burger had been looking over my shoulder, imparting this advice for my rst performance.
Secrets
By Eugene Burger
Eugene Burger
Secrets and Mysteries of the Close-up Entertainer
1982
Eberhard Riese
Eberhard Riese is a German magic director, and has coached nearly a dozen FISM-winning acts. In Foundations he teaches precisely how he goes about working with magicians to bring out themes, a focus to their magic, and their personalities.
Eugene’s invaluable advice to us is to narrow our focus and avoid the pitfalls of over-saturation. With that in mind, we’re ready to start thinking about putting together an act. But as Eberhard Riese tells us, this is not a solitary endeavor: it must be a group effort.
The Team
By Eberhard Riese
Eberhard Riese
Foundations
2006
Working with a team means, above all, giving honest feedback. Magicians are notoriously bad at this. Mike Caveney authored this brilliant parody on what to say to a terrible magician after a show.
Top Ten Back-Handed Compliments to Use After Watching a Horrible Magician
By Mike Caveney
10. I loved the nish.
9. Were you ever good.
8. If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have believed it. 7. You took my breath away.
6. Nobody does that kind of magic like you.
5. You certainly have grand illusions.
4. You’ve got talent you haven’t even used.
3. You should have been in the audience.
2. I expected the magic to be good but you really fooled me.
1. You were never better.
MAGIC Magazine October, 1994
We have spent a great deal of pages and time exploring all the variables in our show that we control, but what about outside forces? David Kaye views these outside distractions through the lens of a children’s magician—where these forces are at their most extreme. But between the lines, we can gain valuable insight into how to avoid similar distractions for any audience in any venue.
Distraction Progression Theory 干扰程度理论
By David Kaye
David Kaye
Seriously Silly
2005
So far, you have narrowed your focus to just those effects you believe will be strongest in performance (thanks Eugene!). You assembled a team of about six people to help bounce ideas off of, or at least consult with (thanks Eberhard!). And as you begin to assemble your act, you remain mindful of all the distractions that you have to avoid during performance (thanks David!).
But above all, we must keep one simple goal in mind: with every show, our goal is to impart wonder.
Making Contact 交流
By Derren Brown
Derren Brown
Pure Effect
2000
We end this section with ruminations from a seasoned teacher of magic, extolling the limits and virtues of having a mentor, and some insight into how this teacher—Mr. Jamy Ian Swiss—works with students on developing their magic.
Lessons and Learning
By Jamy Ian Swiss
“He who heeds the voice of his own heart, rather than the cries of the marketplace, who has the courage to teach and propagate what his own heart had taught him, will always be original. Honesty is the source of genius, and man would be more inventive if he were more moral.”
那些能留心到内心的声音，而不是市场的叫卖，有勇气去教，传播他内心教他的东西，将总是原创的。诚实是天赋之源，人将更别出心裁，如果他更有道德。
—Ludwig Borne
Jamy Ian Swiss
Shattering Illusions
1994
PARTTEN
ORIGINALITY
“The imagination is a necessary ingredient of perception itself.”
想象是意念必备的部分。
—Immanuel Kant
One of the greatest obstacles we face as magicians is time; there is just never enough. For many, magic is but just one variable in a complex life equation. How much time should we expect to spend on magic? And more importantly, how should we spend that time? Eugene Burger offers a daily plan for those beginning in magic, and then warns us of the deadliest waste of time: the tyranny of the “new.”
The Tyranny（暴政） of the New
By Eugene Burger
“How hard I find it to see what is right in front of my eyes!”
太难了，发现眼前正确的东西。
—Wittgenstein
Eugene Burger
The Experience of Magic
1989
The passing down of wisdom from teacher to student is usually a private affair, guarded by the teacher and coveted by the student. We can only imagine the legendary exchanges throughout magic history, and what the greatest masters of one generation had to say to the next.
In this extraordinary exchange, we become ies on a digital wall, witnesses to a profound correspondence between a young Brian Brushwood, seeking advice from his hero, Teller. In desperation, Brian reaches out to Teller for advice on nding his own persona.
In a profound act of generosity, Teller responds to Brian in earnest, with an equal measure of style, encouragement, and advice. What was presumably a forty- ve minute donation of time for Teller is, for Brian, for me, and generations to come, one of the most compelling letters in modern magic.
Brushwood/Teller Correspondence（Brushwood/Teller（人名）的一致）
Brian Brushwood and Teller
In the next essay, Whit Haydn writes, “I prefer to see classic or familiar magic done well, than original magic that fails to fool or to entertain.” I heartily agree. Whit brings up the all- important lesson that we must learn from those magicians and tricks that bring with them age and experience. If we take our magic off the beaten path, we must know why. Whit also says, “There is nothing wrong with a magic act that lacks originality but is professionally and competently done.” I disagree. Whit believes (and he is probably right) that there is a place in entertainment for the vanilla magician who does standard effects in a standard way. They are, as he puts it, the cover bands of magic. I optimistically, naively believe that every magician has the ability to do more, and that those who do not value originality or creativity choose not to do so. I would argue further that armies of magicians who perform the same tired tricks in the same tired way are as harmful to magic as those who perform bad, original magic. But as I have mentioned before, the point of this collection is not that you or I agree with each other or with each essayist; the point is to present well-reasoned arguments from seasoned magicians (like Whit Haydn). What you believe is up to you.
Against Originality In Magic 对于原创之于魔术
By Whit Haydn
Whit Haydn
Chicago Surprise
1999
Whit Haydn
Whit “Pop” Haydn has won numerous awards from the Academy of Magical Arts, including Stage and Close-up Magician of the Year.
Magicians are always in search of shortcuts and holy grails. They look for easier ways to do things, faster ways of performing, and cheaper ways to buy magic. And in the back of their minds, they always believe that the perfect magic trick is the one they are about to buy. This seems like a harmless eccentricity, but it can (and often does) become the very weakness that holds you back. In my favorite passage of the essay, Darwin offers advice that is good generally, and particularly appropriate given the spirit of Magic in Mind: “...accept the fact that no book can change your life or even make you a better magician. Only you can do that through hard work. The best book can only provide some tools and some direction.”
Next Book Syndrome 下一本书综合征
By Darwin Ortiz
Darwin Ortiz
MAGIC Magazine
March 2006
The majority of our discussion on originality has been cautionary—not to be original at the expense of being good, not spending our formative period trying to be too different, realizing that the next book isn’t always the best.
But there is, as ever, another side. Nevil Maskelyne writes, “So long as an appreciable contingent of magical performers can remain content merely to buy, beg, borrow, or steal from others—to do nothing beyond that which others have done, to aim at nothing higher than a slavish imitation of original work...so long will magic remain condemned to unmerited disrepute.”
It’s time to think about the bene ts of doing magic in your own way—and the hazards of blindly following those who came before us.
Perspective on our Personal Planets 在我们个人星球的视角
By John Carney
John Carney
Carneycopia
1991
Let’s end our discussion with an outlier essay—one that would not t neatly into any category except its own. Like Mr. Carney’s previous musings on the magic community, Max Maven records an observation of his own: that amateurs and professionals ought not to mix equally. My guess is that when Max wrote this piece in MAGIC Magazine nearly twenty years ago, one of his intentions was to ruf e feathers. In that he greatly succeeded. People are still talking about it, pro and con.
In one of the many letters to the editor in the months that followed, T.A. Waters tempered Max’s message nicely: “If you don’t walk the walk, you can talk the talk with somebody else.”
Divisive（分裂） and Illusion
By Max Maven
Max Maven
MAGIC
1992
Max Maven
Max Maven is a distinguished performer, lecturer, creator, author and historian on magic and mentalism, with an impressive list of television credits, awards, and honors. He is currently the star of a reality magic series in Israel.
EPILOGUE 尾声
ART IN MAGIC
“Art is a form of magic designed as a mediator between this strange, hostile world, and us.”
艺术是一种魔术的形式，当且仅当他被设计为一种调和者，于这奇怪的敌对的世界，以及我们。
（保留名词顺序你能怎么翻。。。）
—Picasso
Is magic art? The world’s greatest magicians have pleaded their cases that magic belongs alongside theater, dance, and the visual arts as a viable means of expression. And if you have read this far into a book on magic theory, I trust that you, too, believe that magic—in the right hands—can become art.
Of that there is little difference of opinion. But where this topic becomes fascinating is in the proofs. Sure, we can all point to moments of powerful magic—we know it when we see it. But how can magic become art in our hands?
Ever the pragmatist, Darwin Ortiz wrote, “My own feeling is that, if we can improve the generally low level of craft in magic, the art aspect will take care of itself.” I love that line. And this one too, by art critic Simon Schama: “Art is craft plus imagination.”
So, what makes magic art? Henning Nelms believes the key is an emotion—drama.
Drama as Magic 喜剧作为魔术
By Henning Nelms
Henning Nelms
Showmanship for Magicians, 1969
In the next piece, Ken Weber motivates us to aspire to more than just puzzles or tricks, and to give spectators an extraordinary moment. When we achieve that, we nd ourselves in the midst of an artistically pure moment.
The Hierarchy of Mystery Entertainment 层次之于神秘艺术
By Ken Weber
All magic, at its core, is a Puzzle. Presentation—presentation only—is the lever that elevates a Puzzle to a Trick or a Trick to an Extraordinary Moment.
所有魔术底层都是谜题。呈现方式是一种杠杆，将谜题变成诡计，或者诡计变成伟大时刻。
Raise your level.
提高逼格。
Ken Weber
Maximum Entertainment
2003
Lest you think a conversation about art in magic must belofty and abstract, I have opted to include a rather speci c,practical piece by Tommy Wonder. Here he demonstrates a technique we can use to heighten the drama of a presentation, and move it in closer proximity to the realm of art.
Secondhand Drama 二手戏剧
Tommy Wonder, WITH STEPHEN MINCH
Tommy Wonder
The Books of Wonder
1996
As we near the end of our journey, we revisit the sage words of Nevil Maskelyne, who makes one of the earliest (and best) cases for magic as art. It is because of this essay that I have called this nal chapter “Art in Magic” rather than “Art of Magic.” As you will soon see, there is a signi cant difference. The “Art of Magic” speaks to the effect of magic on people. The “Art in Magic” speaks to the effect of the magician on magic.
The Real Secrets of Magic
By Nevil Maskelyne
Nevil Maskelyne
Our Magic
1911
Nevil Maskleyne
Nevil Maskelyne (1863-1924) was the son of famous magician John Nevil Maskelyne and the father of Jasper Maskelyne. Like his father before him and his son after him, Nevil performed his illusions at Egyptian Hall in London. In addition to being a renowned magician, Nevil was an early pioneer of radio communication.
Our last essay exempli es in written form what our magic must strive for: a clear vision, aspirations to deeply engage and mystify our audience, and a personal point of view.
Meaning and Vision 意义和视野
By Derren Brown
Derren Brown
Absolute Magic
2001
Final words
JOSHUA JAY
“He who wonders discovers that this is in itself a wonder.”
奇迹之于本身也乎为奇迹
—M.C. Escher
Bibliography 文献目录
Part One: Thinking Like a Magician
“The Limitations of Theory,” by Tommy Wonder, The Books of Wonder: Volume 1, 1996, pgs. 1-5.
www.hermeticpress.com
“On a De nition of Magic,” by Charles Reynolds, Mystery School Anthology, 2003, pgs. 143-146.
www.miraclefactory.net
“The Illusion of Impossibility,” (Originally titled “Postscript”) by Simon Aronson, The Aronson Approach, 1990, pg. 172. www.simonaronson.com
“Astonishment is our Natural State of Mind,” The Art of Astonishment: Book 1, 1995, pgs. 5-8. www.paulharrispresents.com
“Approaches and Arti ce,” by John Carney, Carneycopia, 1991, pgs. xii-xix.
www.carneymagic.com
“The Search for Mystery,” by Jamy Ian Swiss, Shattering Illusions, 2002, pgs. 265-275.
www.honestliar.com
Part Two: Thinking Like our Audiences
“Processes within the Spectator’s Mind,” by Dariel Fitzkee, 1943, Magic by Misdirection, pgs. 78-85. www.vanishingincmagic.com
“Why, What, and Who,” by Peter Samelson, Mystery School Anthology, 2003, pgs. 149-151.
www.miraclefactory.net
“Making Contact,” by Derren Brown, Pure Effect, 2000, pgs. 19- 24.
Not available
“The Big Lie,” by Michael Close, Workers 3, 1993, pgs. 178-180. www.michaelclose.com
“Inducing Challenges,” by Pit Hartling, Card Fictions, 2003, pgs. 60-64.
www.pithartling.de
“Creating Interest,” by Eugene Burger, Mastering the Art of Magic, 2000, pgs. 125-128.
“Popularity,” by S.H. Sharpe, Neo-Magic Artistry, 2000, pgs. 24- 27.
www.miraclefactory.net
“Spectators,” by René Lavand with Richard Kaufman, Mysteries of My Life, 1998, pgs. 130-131. www.kaufman.geniimagazine.com
“Working with the Spectator in Mind,” by Derren Brown, Pure Effect, 2000, pgs. 19-24.
Not available
Part Three: Categorizing Magic
“The Art of Conjuring,” by Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin, The Secrets of Conjuring and Magic, 1868, pgs. 29-30. www.miraclefactory.net
“Classi cation of Effects,” by Dariel Fitzkee, The Trick Brain, 1945, pgs. 21-31.
“Tricks vs. Illusions,” by Hennings Nelms, Showmanship for Magicians, 1969, pgs. 5-9.
www.vanishingincmagic.com
“Fundamentals of Illusionism,” by Juan Tamariz, Secretos de Magia Potagia, 1973.
Not available
Part Four: Effect
“The ‘Too Perfect’ Theory,” by Rick Johnsson, The Heirophant, January 1971, pgs. 247 - 252.
www.jonracherbaumer.com
“Too Perfect, Imperfect,” by Tom Stone. Vortex, 2010, pgs. 241- 246.
www.tomstone.se
“On the Structure of Magic Effects,” by Eugene Burger, Mystery School Anthology, 2003, pgs. 43-46.
www.miraclefactory.net
Part Five: Method
“The Method is Not the Trick,” by Jamy Ian Swiss, Devious Standards, 2011, pgs. 3-17.
www.honestliar.com
“Picking the Best Method,” by Darwin Ortiz, Designing Miracles, 2006, pgs. 17-19.
www.vanishingincmagic.com
“The Three Pillars of Magic,” by Tommy Wonder, The Books of Wonder: Volume 1, pgs. 316-321.
www.hermeticpress.com
“Method and Style and The Performing Mode,” by Pit Hartling, Card Fictions, 2003, pgs. 30-32.
www.pithartling.de
“Kort’s Cardinal Rules of Magic,” by Milt Kort, Kort, 1999, pg. 3. www.hermeticpress.com
Part Six: Technique
“Showmanship as Technique,” by Darwin Ortiz, Strong Magic, 1994, pgs. 15-28.
www.vanishingincmagic.com
“Performing Principles,” by Arturo de Ascanio, The Magic of Ascanio, 2005, pgs. 60-65.
www.vanishingincmagic.com
“The Critical Interval,” by Darwin Ortiz, Designing Miracles, 2006, pgs. 45-47.
www.vanishingincmagic.com
“Getting the Mis out of Misdirection,” by Tommy Wonder, The Books of Wonder: Book One, 1996, pgs. 9-15. www.hermeticpress.com
“In-Transit Actions,” by Arturo de Ascanio, The Magic of Ascanio, 2005, pgs. 65-67.
www.vanishingincmagic.com
“Practice and Technique,” by John Carney, Magic by Design, 2009, pgs. 39-45.
www.carneymagic.com
“Manipulating Memory,” by Darwin Ortiz, Designing Miracles, 2006, pgs. 179-192.
www.vanishingincmagic.com
“Assumptions,” by Michael Close, The Complete Workers Series, pgs. 431-436.
www.michaelclose.com
Part Seven: Presentation
“The Other Half,” by David Regal, Constant Fooling 2, 2002, pgs. 132-135.
www.davidregal.com
“Doug’s Theory Section,” by Doug Conn, Tricks of My Trade, 1999, np.
www.connmagic.com
“Language Skills,” by Ken Weber, Maximum Entertainment, 2003, pgs. 133-138.
www.vanishingincmagic.com
“It’s Not the Destination, It’s the Ride,” by David Kaye, Seriously Silly, 2005, pgs. 53-56.
www.sillybillymagic.com
“Character,” by David Regal, Approaching Magic, 2008, pgs. 197- 199.
www.davidregal.com
Part Eight: Construction
“The Horrible Truth,” by David Regal, Constant Fooling 1, 2002, pg. 125.
www.davidregal.com
“Conviction,” by Darwin Ortiz, Strong Magic, 1994, pgs. 50-75. www.vanishingincmagic.com
“Mind Movie,” by Tommy Wonder, The Books of Wonder: Volume One, 1996, pgs. 53-54.
www.hermeticpress.com
Part Nine: Get Your Act Together
“Construction,” by Roberto Giobbi, Card College 2, 19996, pgs. 426-432.
www.hermeticpress.com
“Secrets,” by Eugene Burger, Mastering the Art of Magic, 2000, pgs. 21-30.
www.kaufman.geniimagazine.com
“The Team,” by Eberhard Riese, Foundations, 2006, pgs. 22-24. www.vanishingincmagic.com
“Distraction Progression Theory,” by David Kaye, Seriously Silly, 2005, pgs. 121-122.
www.sillybillymagic.com
“Making Contact,” by Derren Brown, Pure Effect, 2000, pgs. 13- 19.
Not available
“Lessons and Learning,” by Jamy Ian Swiss, Shattering Illusions, 2002, pgs. 229-240.
www.honestliar.com
Part Ten: Originality
“The Tyranny of the New,” by Eugene Burger, The Experience of Magic, 1989, pgs. 45-48.
www.kaufman.geniimagazine.com
“The Brushwood/Teller Correspondence,” by Brian Brushwood and Teller, 1995, unpublished.
“Against Originality in Magic,” by Whit Hadyn, Chicago Surprise, 1999, np.
www.vanishingincmagic.com
“Next Book Syndrome,” by Darwin Ortiz, MAGIC, March 2006. www.magicmagazine.com
“Perspective on our Personal Planets,” by John Carney, Carneycopia, 1991, pgs. xix-xxii.
www.carneymagic.com
“Divisive and Illusion,” by Max Maven, MAGIC Magazine, May, 1992, pg. 60.
www.magicmagazine.com
Epilogue: Art in Magic
“Drama as Magic,” by Henning Nelms, Showmanship for Magicians, 1969, pgs. 2-3.
www.vanishingincmagic.com
“The Hierarchy of Mystery Entertainment,” by Ken Weber, Maximum Entertainment, 2003, pgs. 39-46. www.vanishingincmagic.com
“Secondhand Drama,” by Tommy Wonder, The Books of Wonder: Volume Two, 1996, pgs. 32-34.
www.hermeticpress.com
“The Real Secrets of Magic,” by Nevil Maskelyne, Our Magic, 1911, pgs. 3-19.
www.vanishingincmagic.com
“Meaning and Vision,” by Derren Brown, Absolute Magic, 2001, pgs. 39-47.
Not available
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