Jonathan Levit's acting principle -- if a bagel lands in your scene, you have to react to it -- transformed how I think about magical moments. Too many performers treat their own miracles as procedural checkpoints instead of events that demand genuine response.
Read MoreThe first rule of improv is 'Yes, and...' -- accept what is given to you and build on it. When I started applying this principle to audience interactions during magic performances, everything changed. Especially at corporate events where the unexpected is the norm.
Read MoreUta Hagen's nine questions for actors -- Who am I? What time is it? Where am I? -- might seem like elementary acting theory. But when I started answering them before every corporate keynote, they became the most powerful preparation tool I have ever used.
Read MoreYour performance does not begin when you reach center stage. It begins the moment before you step into the light. Three questions -- Where am I coming from? What just happened? What do I want? -- can fill that first second with energy that sets the tone for everything that follows.
Read MoreEvery magician knows the Robert-Houdin quote about being an actor playing the part of a magician. Most treat it as a philosophical definition. It is not. It is the most practical piece of advice you will ever receive -- and it took me far too long to understand it.
Read MorePretending is surface-level imitation -- putting on a face of surprise when you are not surprised. Acting is genuine emotional engagement with imaginary circumstances. Audiences detect the difference instantly, and the distinction matters more in magic than in almost any other performing art.
Read MoreA vocal coach told me to stop thinking about what I was saying and start thinking about how I was breathing. The exercise of focusing on the breath before the words -- singing on the inhale -- changed my vocal delivery from competent to commanding.
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