The Director's Eye

Choosing and Evaluating Material

20 posts in this series

Reading Order
3
3 of 20 — 9 min read

The Trick Trap: A Cool Method Does Not Equal Good Entertainment

I once spent months mastering an effect because the method was brilliant. The method was everything I wanted it to be -- elegant, deceptive, technically satisfying. The audience reaction was nothing. Darwin Ortiz calls this being method-driven instead of effect-driven, and it is the most expensive mistake a performer can make.

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4
4 of 20 — 9 min read

Why Simple, Direct, Immediately Understandable Effects Always Win

The most powerful magic I have ever witnessed -- live and on screen -- shares one quality: the audience instantly understands what happened and why it is impossible. No conditions to track, no procedures to remember, no work required. Simplicity is not the absence of sophistication. It is the highest form of it.

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14
14 of 20 — 9 min read

Dust Off the Classics: Why Egg Bag, Linking Rings, and Cups and Balls Still Kill

Three of magic's oldest effects continue to devastate modern audiences. I dismissed all three as relics. Then I performed them. The egg bag's charm, the linking rings' visual clarity, and the cups and balls' timelessness taught me something fundamental -- including why Adam and I decided to bring a four-thousand-year-old effect into the twenty-first century with our Amazing Cups and Beans.

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15
15 of 20 — 9 min read

Mining Old Books for Effects Nobody Else Is Doing

Scott Alexander and his collaborator Puck systematically mine classic magic texts for forgotten effects and give them modern presentations. The principle: 90% of a world-class show can come from old books. I started exploring magic history and found overlooked gems hiding in plain sight.

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17
17 of 20 — 9 min read

How Puck and Scott Alexander Modernize Classic Effects for New Audiences

Scott Alexander and his collaborator Puck have built a systematic process for taking forgotten effects from classic magic texts and rebuilding them with modern presentations. Their approach reveals a repeatable framework that any performer can apply to transform dated material into contemporary showpieces.

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19
19 of 20 — 9 min read

How I Test New Material Without Risking a Paying Show

Every new effect needs to be tested on real audiences before it earns a place in a professional show. But testing raw material at a paying corporate event is reckless. I developed a system for testing new pieces in low-stakes environments, and the process taught me more about my material than months of hotel room rehearsal ever could.

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