Neil Simon's definition of drama -- somebody wants something but can't get it -- is the simplest and most powerful framework for making magic compelling. Without conflict, a trick is a demonstration. With conflict, it is a story the audience cannot look away from.
Read MorePete McCabe's retelling of Cinderella in Scripting Magic is not a fairy tale analysis -- it is a blueprint for multi-phase routines. Each obstacle must be harder than the last, each triumph more unlikely, and the final revelation must come at the moment when all hope seems lost.
Read MoreThe 'magician in trouble' plot creates jeopardy and tension that audiences love -- but the resolution must feel earned, not like a trick played on the audience. When concern turns to resentment, you have lost the room. I learned this the hard way.
Read MoreThe offbeat is where magic lives -- the moment when expectations shift and the impossible occurs. But you can only have an offbeat if you have first established a beat. My early performances had no consistent rhythm, which meant my surprises had no contrast. Building the beat first changed everything.
Read MoreClassic effects carry primal, universal themes that predate their modern presentations. Destruction and restoration is death and rebirth. Levitation is transcending physical limits. When you connect to these deeper themes, the performance resonates at a level that no clever patter can reach on its own.
Read MoreThe ideal magical moment is when the audience realizes what is about to happen just a fraction of a second before it happens. They gasp not because they were ambushed by the unknown, but because they just realized the impossible is about to occur. Learning to create this anticipatory window changed my performance timing completely.
Read MoreAristotle argued that great drama must end in a way that is inevitable yet not obvious. Applied to magic, this means the climax should feel like the natural culmination of everything that preceded it -- not a random surprise or a predictable conclusion. Analyzing my best and worst climaxes through this ancient lens.
Read More