How do you turn a good trick into strong magic? There’s is probably no quick answer to that question, but there’s a great book out there with a lot of ideas, rules and even “laws” how to accomplish just that. As such, it is by no means a work on “theory”, but of highly practical value to any aspiring majishun. That book is – you guessed it – Strong Magic by Darwin Ortiz.
I could probably quote at least 30 great lines and insights from that book, but here are just a few to get you started:
Magicians are obsessed by method.
The average ‘magician’ is just a layman with a bunny rabbit on his business card.
In magic, creativity in fashioning presentations has never been as recognized and valued as creativity in devising effects and methods.
Magicians like to pretend that method, effect, and presentation are unrelated subjects.
I do, however, believe that method only matters in regard to how it affects the effect.
The bulk of what is published in magic books and magazines will always reflect what is easiest to invent, not what is most effective to perform.*
Simplicity is an aspect of plot.
The best advice I can give you about working magician audiences is don’t.
Darwin Ortiz (*1948)
*Guilty, your Honor!
ZZZAUBER 