Theory, Articles & Reviews: page 2

The average magician focuses on tricks, moves and method. The really good ones know that acting is an even more important aspect of a magic performance, regardless of if you are standing on a stage or close-up next to a cocktail table.

Richard Tenace is one of those performers who urges all magicians to take acting classes, to develop a character or persona, to script your effects, to treat our audience with respect, to go beyond fooling somebody to achieving astonishment and entertainment.

Tenace describes these methods and practices on a very accessible and practical level. This is not...

This subject and the information covered is vital to every performer. That is if you want to improve. If you think you're already the best in the world then stop reading this now. But if you want to know more about how to stand on any stage with more presence, personality, and professionalism then don't miss this recording. This could be the best you spend this year to improve your professionalism and show. But more than that it will prove that you really want to improve your talent and not just sit on the sideline.

1. Introduction
2. Open Up
3. Open strong or die fast
4. Climbing the show mountain ...

There is no argument about the dilemma faced by many newcomers to mentalism. Are mental effects best presented as natural phenomena of the mind, or as examples of rare paranormal or supernatural abilities?

Most of today's mentalists use the "mental skill" as opposed to the "psychic gift" approach, but only rarely are they particularly consistent about it. Even Joseph Dunninger, the pre-eminent mentalist of the twentieth century, sometimes made conflicting claims. While he stated that his thought reading skills were "scientific" and not those of a fortune-teller or psychic, his promotional materials often...

If you believe that either somebody is creative or not and that there is nothing you can do to increase your creativity then this is not an ebook you want to read. However, if you do believe that you can improve your creativity, or if you are at least curious of how one would go about doing that, then I highly recommend you read this ebook by Brian Richards.

This ebook is not a generic self-help book. It directly addresses the magician and the specific needs and questions a magician has. It is also a very honest and down to earth book. Brian does not promise you that by simply reading it...

In 1997 The Art of Deception - The Affinity between Conjuring and Art was published. The 407-page, hardbound book was a limited edition of 500 signed and numbered copies. It was well-received and quickly went out of print. The book has never been reprinted, and probably never will be, because the cost would be too great. The Art of Deception originally sold for $110. Now you can have a copy of this fascinating book for a fraction of the original price. An errata page and addendum are also included in this ebook.

The book contains hundreds of illustrations, with many of them in full color....

This was the first booklet I published way back in 2002 and it was born out of a lecture I did in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where I ended by discussing The Art Of Performance In Magic And Mentalism and answering questions on the subject.

It's a brief manuscript with strong messages to reflect upon concerning principles that will enhance your rounded approach to becoming a respected performer.

In this manuscript I touch on the following questions:

• Is There a Quicker Way To Become a Better Performer?
• How Do You Keep Spectators From Messing You Up?
• What Is The Most Important Aspect of Performance? ...

Compiled and edited by Neil Foster. Illustrated by Sid Lorraine with an introduction by Robert Lund who says, "in his field, as the professional dissenter and commentator on the foibles of magicians, he is the most original entertaining writer on conjuring today." He was talking about Clarke "The Senator" Crandall and his ebook contains the following chapters:

• INTRODUCTION
• DEDICATION
• It's a Mystery to Me ...
• Let him who is without sin ...
• Panties, Falsies and Lolly-pops
• The Egg and I
• Criticism should be a reward
• ... and with much less effort
• Those who watched ... saw an artist
• Barbecueitis...

This bibliography collects about 2000 works that deal with tricks and illusions, and with the varied deceptions that are usually presented as part of a conjuring entertainment, including automata, chapeaugraphy, chemical and electrical tricks, escaping, fire handling, gamblers' tricks, hand-shadows, juggling, lightning sketches, optical illusions, pseudo-spiritualistic manifestations, second sight, thought reading, thought transference and ventriloquism. The list includes languages other than English in particular German and French books. Excluded are books on the so-called occult arts, but...

The real secrets on how to become the greatest magician in the world. Dedicated to the discerning conjurors, the cheaters, the liars, and all other lost souls - whatever age, who want to impress, manipulate, and magish other people for profit, fun, or just entertainment.

Included is a very clever and creative book test, for all of you who require a strong effect to justify the purchase.

The truth is delivered as a satire, which makes it a fun read, but at the same time delivers a profoundly deep and true message.

• About the Author
• Part One
  • Introduction
  • The Basic Principles
  • The...

Do you know the correct temperature for your library? What should the humidity be? Can you save rotting leather? What's the best method of storing playing cards? How do you recover computer disks that have been drowned? Just one reading of The Conservation of Magic will save you years of research and study in order to care for your artifacts so future collectors will find them in the best possible condition. Each chapter gives you the basics of understanding your magic collectibles, and then, step-by-step, how to care for them. You will learn how to look at your treasures like a professional,...

Unless you are exclusively performing for friends and family, you should have a contract for each engagement. Of course, the best is to have a lawyer in your home state write up a contract specifically tailored to your needs and circumstances. But before you contact your lawyer you should sit down and read this ebook to learn more about contracts. The better prepared you are and the clearer you can present your needs to your lawyer the less time it will take and the less money it will cost. Your lawyer will also respect you more if you have a better understanding and know what you want and why...

With 1000s of magic routines available, why do many magician's perform the same routines, without any change, modification or effort to make those routines unique?

The Creative Mind is simply Don Bursell's ideas for creating new routines, brainstorming new variations, and keeping track of those ideas.

The 2nd half are tricks that Don has created over the years, and based on advice from Jon Racherbaumer, wrote them down so as not to forget them. One of them, Headmover, has been an odd signature piece of Don's programs for over 20 years. Another routine, The Needles, is Don's solution to the East Indian...

This ebook is published with Dani DaOrtiz' permission and blessing.

Card magic is evolving. Card magicians are no longer looking for the latest "moves" and "techniques", no longer are they caring for more ways to deal seconds and bottoms. What they are looking for are psychological ploys and techniques that will allow you to create impossible magic.

Dani DaOrtiz is a new force in card magic. He revolutionized it. But how many times do I hear: "I would do that... If I were him". Many magicians feel that DaOrtiz' spontaneousness and carefreeness is not a match of their personality.

In this report...

Subtitle of the book is: A series of artistic conjuring experiments fully explained in detail and supplemented by a preachment upon the art in the form of original essays upon the subject, The Actor Magician.

• PREFACE
• PROLOGUE
• PART I. MAGICIAN'S OPENING, PAR-EXCELLENCE
  • The Gloves And Pigeon Transformation
  • Chameleon Balls
  • The Astral Billiard Ball
  • The Phantom Billiard Ball
  • New Vanishing Billiard Ball. No. 1
  • New Vanishing Ball No. 2
  • The Travelling Balls No. 1.
  • The Travelling Balls No. 2
  • New Handkerchiefs And Balls
  • New Vanishing Handkerchief
  • The Multiplying Handkerchiefs
  • Handkerchief...

Originally entitled Artifice Ruse and Subterfuge at the Card Table, is probably the most cited and referenced book about card gambling moves - a classic in the history of magic literature. A must read for any card magician or aspiring gambling expert and an indespensable reference book. While the authorship of this book is hotly debated we are convinced it was Edward Gallaway. (For a detailed work on the search for Erdnase see Hurt McDermott's Artifice, Ruse & Erdnase.)

[A copy of this book is also included in Michael McDougall's Card Mastery. This ebook is also available in a German translation.

Paul Fleming wrote:

In this second manuscript in Fogel's Top Secrets series, he explains his system of how to develop a new routine, what he calls "The Fogel Formula". It is a system of how to structure and proceed with your training and development towards a particular goal. Fogel is using his success system for things he wants to achieve in general not just magic.

Fogel demonstrates how his formula operates by applying it to a question he often received after his shows: "Can you tell fortunes?" To address this frequent question he developed a particular routine involving a zodiac chart. The chart, the routine,...

In this book about all of Dr. John Nicholls Booth's (1912 - 2009) books the reader is treated to find information on many topics of interest written between 1929 and 2009 - 80 years! Ben Robinson and Dr. Booth worked on four books together from 1985 to 2009. Robinson indexed the first twenty-five years of Booth's celebrated Memoirs (the index published in 1990). The John Booth Reader gives a wonderful insight into Booth's multifaceted life of Unitarianism, preaching, stage and close-up magic, mountaineering, adventuring, filmmaking and travel to one hundred and forty six countries. The personalities...

If you are looking for answers about what we see, but not necessarily observe, you can do no better than to read this ebook, The Magical Mind, brought to you by two masters of perception.

With a new introduction by Ben Robinson, the expert on John Mulholland. From the introduction:

Mulholland had battled the use of propaganda during WWII, the Korean War and the Cold War. He knew that the work of those who sought to "brainwash" masses used the same tactics magician's use for entertainment – to lead the mind on ingeniously, step by step, until self-logic is defeated. Gordon had taught thousands of...

I believe that Dennis Barlotta will soon be known as the foremost teacher of Slydini's system of misdirection. There have been others before that have tried to explain and teach Slydini routines, but nobody could capture the essence of what made Slydini the master of misdirection the way Barlotta has been able to.

Dennis has studied eight years under Slydini and has spent a lifetime mastering the Slydini method. Dennis told me: "While many magicians admire Slydini, they don't understand what made him unique or how his approach can be employed by them." This is the ebook that will help you...

Patrick Page had a monthly column in Pabular. This is a compilation of all those articles. You will hear the stories and anecdotes that make magic such a fascinating pursuit. You will also learn a lot from Patrick's incredible mastery and knowledge of magic. And if you like the more juicy gossip then you can read why Patrick Page was expelled from the IBM...

Martin Breese writes in his foreword:

My oh my is this a great ebook! If you intend to earn a living doing magic or if you simply want to make your performances more professional then do yourself a favor and read and study this ebook. There are decades of experience bottled up in its wisdom. And on top of this it is fun to read.

The ebook starts with a superb introduction by Kirk Charles reproduced with kind permission of the Linking Ring. The ebook is edited and illustrated by David Britland with extra illustrations by JAT. And Martin Breese was the publisher. It was also Martin who recorded on tape Billy's recollections from which this book was largely...

This study identifies deep lying instincts and impulses of the psychic life are the basic elements in conjuring. Its aim is to show the psychological reasons of deception of a magic effect. It also provides an extensive classification of magic tricks.

Contents:

1. Origin of Conjuring.
2. Classification and Typical Examples of Modern Conjuring Tricks.
3. The Training of the Conjurer.
4. Psychological Justification of the Rules and Practices of the Conjurer, treated under
   1. Attention
   2. Perception
   3. Suggestion and Association
   4. Suggestion and the Law of Economy
5. Sociological and Pedagogical Observations. ...

Jastrow explains the various types of deception and discusses in particular how conjurers as well as spirit mediums make use of them.

1st edition 1888, PDF 10 pages.

This is an interesting analysis of how a magic trick works in terms of psychological processes. A better understanding of the underlying science does help the performing magician.

Translated from the German by Mrs. Emily S. Boyer. The original German essay appeared in Psychologische Skizzen by Edmund W. Rells, which was a pseudonym of Max Dessoir.

1st edition 1893, PDF 21 pages.