Special Delivery
The old saying in magic is that “the hand is quicker than the eye”. In reality, though, speed does not equate to being “magical”.
If you have ever done anything in the “public eye”, whether it be making a speech, performing a song, or just saying a few words in order to take up time, undoubtedly you’ve experienced a level of nervousness common to all performers.
It’s a gut-level, stomach-churning feeling, often presenting with shaking hands, lack of eye contact, sweating, and body-wide fidgeting. But it also brings about an elevated rate of expressiveness.
If a musician feels it, he tends to rush tempo and sing lyrics rapidly, often to the detriment of the other band members or even the song itself. Radio personalities and podcasters display similar trends by speaking too rapidly, which makes their understandability decline. Their audience is repulsed, and the show suffers.
Magicians, too, can fall into this trap, which is actually nothing more than the body’s natural reaction to that deep-seeded fear of failing in full view of others.
The symptoms are obvious. Talking and moving fast suggests nervousness, while easy, smooth, and graceful actions appear more relaxed and professional. Speaking follows this same trend.
Such are extremely common among ALL Homo sapiens, and those of us in the Magic community are far from immune. Indeed, it can be argued that we suffer to a greater extent than any ordinary emcee or lounge singer.
When magicians become anxious, our very careers can be in jeopardy, and, for some, this “Performance Tension” can pose serious show-wrecking physiological problems. Shaking hands, labored breathing, slurred speech: all such manifestations directly impact performing, and can be quite difficult to overcome.
Fortunately it’s rarely, if ever, fatal!
If you struggle with setting consistent pacing and speed during your performance, know that you are in good company. It can be confusing that, while practice seems to go smoothly, as soon as you call the crowd or step into public view, the nerves take over. The tongue goes wild and the show races ahead, unintelligibly at warp speed. Then, just as quickly, it’s over.
So how does a guy get a handle on this problem? Well, the answer is simpler than it might appear, but can be far from easy to overcome.
While practicing and rehearsing magic, the magician has an audience of “one”: himself. The show’s pacing, therefore, falls into “the speed of thought”. Because a person can process inner thoughts at a much faster rate than speaking, the speed established during practice tends to be carried over into the performance.
Unless this fact is actively addressed when the rehearsal stage begins, the magician may find himself performing magic tricks way too fast during a live performance.
Examples of this phenomenon can be witnessed at events, such as during an audition for membership in a magic club, or by watching a new performer in a tag-team style show (such as a variety show lineup), or in a small open mic night for magicians.
In situations like these, a time limit is often set for each performer, and the routine or act will run perfectly within those time parameters during private practice. However, once the “stage fright” kicks in, performers are often shocked at how quickly time seems to fly by.
In situations such as these, nervous magicians may tend to run through their material too quickly, leaving a chunk of dead time remaining at the end. The anxiety levels begin to increase.
In order to fill this time-gap, they end up improvising more material; tricks often unrehearsed and “forced”. More anxiety builds. A loss of the rehearsed routine perspective is then brought about, resulting in the routine going over the performance time limit. Anxiety boils over.
We know what the problem is, so …….
Well, this section is going to fall under the heading “No Duh, Sherlock”, because solving the dilemma sounds so simple, but in reality can be tough to master. Basically, the magician’s gotta slow down his presentation. Simple!
Not so fast ! Rapid delivery has little to do with the mechanics of the trick itself, and everything to do with the psychology, experience, and the focus of the performer. However, in order to fully address performance tension, each magician needs to start with and master the basics. Only then can he move up to the next step.
As we all know (but it bears repeating), once you have learned and practiced the mechanics of a magic trick, it’s important that you take the time to rehearse the full performance (the entire routine) in natural time. This is going to include using a script.
Script? What script? I thought we were talking about anxiety and delivery !
The first rule of thumb regarding performance is this: Every act, every routine, every effect absolutely MUST be scripted. Knowing ahead of time what is to be said is like posting a speed-limit sign in your brain. The script forces the mind to synchronize the body with the learned mechanics.
Can the mouth still ignore the speed limit and “floor it”? Absolutely! But scripting adds a layer of complication for your mind, and it’s this complication of adding spoken words which brings about a better mental focus on the mechanics of each effect. This layer is vital for controlling the rate of delivery.
The ONLY exception to the script rule is if the act/routine/effect itself is a pantomime, or “silent performance”. A fantastic example of a magician who capitalizes on this style of magic act is David Kaplan. Click the picture below to see a sample his show.
Yet, even with a silent act, and because there are little to no spoken words, a script is still necessary. It’s more than a document that tells what words to say. A script gives the show parameters, and the magician guidance for transitioning from effect to effect. I’ll talk more about scripting in a future article.
The magician must learn to verbalize his entire script (yes! OUT LOUD!!) as he simultaneously rehearses the mechanics of each trick in his routine.
Speaking the script while rehearsing builds natural pauses and breaks. It helps the magician to mentally experience each effect from the perspective of the audience.
So here’s what ya do during a show …..
When those feelings rise up during the show, take a deep, deliberate breath IN through the nose, hold it a few seconds, then slowly exhale OUT through your mouth. Remember to keep breathing, never hold your breath.
Relax and be still for a few quick moments. Pause, then intentionally slow your movements as you enter into the next phase of your routine. As you turn your focus to your body and away from the crowd, things will start to calm down. It may seem like forever, but in reality it’ll only be a minute or so.
However, the true goal is to eliminate that delivery distraction before it even rears its ugly head. We need to arrest these nerves before the curtain opens, or before the crowd gathers.
How to short-circuit that tension before the show starts …..
With your script at hand, run through the full routine as you normally would. Use a stopwatch to track your delivery, and write down your timed results. Most cell phones today have stopwatch timers already installed, so find it. Use a video camera to document your performance and when you hit the end, go back and watch it. Save your recordings to compare with others coming up.
Next, run through the routine again, only this time at half-speed (half the speed that feels natural to you). Half-speed is probably close to the rate at which you should perform live in order to sound and appear natural and relaxed.
Instead of using a stopwatch, this time switch to a countdown clock (also can be found on most phones). Take your previously timed results number and double it. (If the stopwatch showed 3 minutes, then start the countdown with 6 minutes). Enter the doubled number into the countdown clock, and start your routine again. Don’t forget to video record yourself.
This time your goal is to extend your routine for the entire time of the countdown. If you finish before the alarm goes off, your timing and delivery was too fast. Start over and slow the delivery more.
Keep at it and be deliberate. Focus and force yourself to slow down. Video recording your progress and reviewing the footage helps you see exactly what the crowd sees. It’s vital, so don’t overlook watching it and reviewing yourself. Another powerful tool is to ask a fellow magician or two to watch your videos and give their feedback.
In the end, you may find that the countdown is just too long a time. Fair enough! But now you have created a tool that will always be there to help you regulate your performance timing.
The fact is that you can never be too prepared. Familiarity deadens nerves, so the more time you can spend rehearsing, reviewing, and tweaking, the more comfortable you will become (the better relationship you will develop) with your act, or routine, and the less impact performance tension will have on it.
So if you ever find the anxiety levels rising, the stomach tensing, or the nerves pushing you to sprint through part or all of a future show, take some time to apply the brakes.
It’s your body, after all. Don’t let it push you around !!
Cheers !!
Thanks Jimmy.
Brilliant, this article is much needed for the working pro as well as for the hobbyist.