It’s an unfortunate but common fact that many magicians perform magic tricks that don't make sense. When watching their performances, the crowd feels (albeit unconsciously) a lack of connectivity between the effects.
Why would someone turn a blue card box into a red card box, push a coin inside a bottle, carry several Rubiks Cubes around, or produce a silk handkerchief out of thin air?
Dartagnon, Canadian/Cajun magician, dedicated an entire book to addressing, and encouraging magicians everywhere to solve, this quandary.
In “The Secret Gate”, his book’s focus is helping magicians identify and establish purpose in their performing. This same theme is also a continual topic of discussion on his podcast, “Magic From Wherever I’m At”. I highly recommend both the book and the podcast.
Many of the props that magicians use only exist simply because they are used by magicians. Strange fake (and not even realistic-looking) flowers that appear out of nowhere, or soft little red balls that multiply in the spectator's hands.
More often than not, no explanation or justification is given for the existence of these strange objects, other than as a tool for something odd to happen.
So what exactly is a “Prop” ?
A “prop” is the name given to anything used during the performance of a magic trick. A prop is an aid that helps in producing an effect.
Often this word can easily be confused with another word of unusual definition: “gimmick”. Magicians sometimes think that these two mean the same thing, but in actuality, they are very different.
Look at it like this: all politicians are liars, but not all liars are politicians. It’s a simple fact having contrasting points. This same contrast holds true for props: all gimmicks are props, but not all props are gimmicks.
The distraction props can bring
Using props is necessary and their effects should be recognized. However, because they are unusual and unconventional devices, the audience’s initial interest will gravitate towards them. This can morph into a problem if it causes them to focus on the props rather than on the magic.
Without the magician exercising a measure of caution, the audience can switch from magical entertainment, to watching the magician solve a “puzzle”. They can mistakenly attribute all of what is presented to the props.
That doesn't mean they aren’t entertained, but it does mean that they may unconsciously see the magic as having come from the props themselves versus from the performer
“No matter how astonishing a trick may be, it suffers from one major fault - it has no point.”
- Henning Nelms, “Magic and Showmanship: a Handbook for Conjurers”
This change in perception is subtle. It’s akin to a movie audience watching Star Wars episode XXXIV and ending up paying more attention to the film’s special effects than the performance of the actors or the depth of the storyline.
The large spotted domino, the three lengths of rope, or other pieces of equipment used should not be the star of the show. If an unusual prop is used, the magician should, as much as possible, keep himself and his presentation the centre of attention.
The magician should never hide behind his tools, or solely depend on them to amaze the audience. The crowd needs to remember the magician more than the effects.
Let’s keep “the Main Thing” the main thing …
The goal of any performance is for the audience to experience something impossible and be amazed, not to be shown and left with with a series of “puzzles” to ponder. The crowd should be surprised, spellbound, and emotionally captured, and every witnessed impossible event should stem from the magic…..
….. and THAT’S what the entertainment source should be.
It’s all about the magic !
Using props without purpose risks the crowd switching from amazement and awe, to analytical wonder and bewilderment about how the trick was done. Having intentional purpose in each trick and throughout the act eliminates audience distraction.
Everyone enjoys a good mystery, and that’s what puzzles are - mysteries. These puzzles, in some ways, can (and should) be incorporated into a magic act. Many magicians only present their tricks as puzzles, but it's possible to blend magic and puzzle together; to take almost any prop and adjust the way you present it, so that it stops making the puzzle-aspect paramount and, instead, invites the audience to see the magic. The magician who can master that masters the crowd.
How to justify magician’s props
Okay, props are fine, and if a magician is going to use one, he needs to justify its use through his presentation and storytelling. If it isn’t made clear why a prop is used, the audience may assume it's there because the prop itself is how the magic trick is done.
What other possible explanation could there be for anyone to even possess a sponge ball, much less a red one, let alone a whole hand full of them? Why are they even made of sponge in the first place? Why aren’t they rubber, or glass? And why are they shaped like rabbits?
The performer must think of a justification for using them in his magic act? Perhaps the crowd would be best served by a funny scenario:
"Have you noticed that, ever since BATMAN came out, or IT hit the screen, that you don't see many clowns? They used to be everywhere ….. Frightening most of us! It's been a little known fact that, for years, clowns have been hunted ….. by magicians! It’s a dangerous job, protecting humanity from those, those ….. CLOWNS! But we, magicians, take pride in our work. See? We take their noses as trophies.”
Overall, it boils down to three things that every magician should ask himself about his magician’s props and how to justify their presence in his show.
He should take a look at each magic trick that he is planning to perform and ask himself:
“Why do you perform it?”
“Why should the audience care about seeing it?”
“How could a story be built around these objects in order to give them more significance and meaning?”
Only after careful contemplation and analysis should props be included into any show, and then only with a specific direction and reason for their inclusion. Once it makes sense to the magician, it will make sense to the audience.
…… then they’ll remember the Magic!
Cheers !!