If it’s true that “you’re only as good as your last show”, then I’ve been a reasonably respectable young man for almost a whole day now.

Last time I was commenting on that missing ingredient when comparing me vs. a consumate professional comedian. Here’s a little anecdote that served as another kick in the teeth.

It’s amateur night at the comedy club, and it’s an unusually small crowd. All night long the laughs are scattered. I fared about as well as the (much more experienced) MC… while we were getting laughs, they weren’t reacting as a group. Along comes the fourth guest that night, who happens to be last week’s headliner. About twenty seconds in, he gets his first laugh. It’s a solid, hearty response… all together… unified. The rest of the night remains that way.

Again, I can’t put my finger on why or how that happens.

My last post on this issue got a response from Jim Maloney. Part of his comment…

But, I should also point out to you something that my wife has said to me, when I complain about how much I suck at magic. You can’t expect to be great at the beginning — those guys you look up to (Steve Martin, Bill Cosby, Mac King, etc.), that’s been refined and honed over YEARS and YEARS of work. You they were as funny then as they are now? Not a chance. Don’t worry about not being up to those standards — don’t try to make that big of a jump. Baby steps: make little improvements here and there, try different approaches, but build it up little by little.

I understand that 20 years of experience is going to make that difference. I can handle that. BUT… the frustrating part is that I have no comprehension of what is gained in those 20 years. What is the difference between the performer of 1 year vs. the 20 year veteran? I feel that if I could figure out what the difference is it would give me a tangible goal to work towards… wouldn’t that speed up a person’s development?

The Ultimate Magic Convention: Part One

Lectures are pretty much the main focus of any magic convention. So what does it take to make them remarkable? I’ll start with a quick (personal) outline of the good and bad.

Bad Things At Lectures
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• Travelling magic shop lectures - Where everything is “available at the back of the room”.
• Filler tricks - D-grade material that the lecturer would never perform if not for lectures. (exception: it might contain a good idea… aka: Half-Baked)
• Rambling - (pet peeve) - Lecturers are presenters. Get organized you bum! Don’t waste my time!

Good Things At Lectures
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• Actually teaching something that attendees can walk away with
• Addressng important issues beyond the technique (Why do this instead of this? Back story of the development)
• Offering lecture notes (under $20 bucks) that actually contain the stuff covered in the lecture
• Entertainment value. (It’s not easy staying awake at a 9 AM lecture)

But the real question… What can make a lecture go above and beyond. Make you say WOW! Here’s some ideas…

• True lecture notes. Not a lecture book like we have today. Go back 30 years in magic (or today in any real lecture) and we had actual note form overviews of the material. This oughtta be provided to all attendees for free.
• A/V Support. Especially at conventions with big groups… you absolutely have to be able to hear and see the presenter. Basic fact… sometimes overlooked. Michael Close took it to the next level when he toured with a PowerPoint presentation.
• Ideally you can take in a lecture after you see that person performing for a real audience. It puts everything into context. And if the presenter is open to it, taking questions about thier show can be a great education. (Shawn Farquhar took this approach when he hosted PCAM 2005. I’ll talk about another highlight idea of his later.)
• What if we could schedule more than an hour or two? Have you ever seen a lecture end on time or early? No. They only have time to share three or four tricks, and rush through them to make sure they give something for everyone. Surely thier experience can fill up two or three sessions over a weekend. (If not… why are they lecturing?)
• Speaking of rushing to share something for everybody… why should lectures have to play to the lowest common denominator all the time? What if lectures were rated beginner/moderate/advanced so time could be more appropriately spent? List pre-requisites in advance for what you need to know before you get there. Offer a “basics” session before the official lecture for those who want to brush up.

But the number one way to improve lectures…

• Pay higher fees. Expect better lectures.

If it’s true that “you’re only as good as your last show” then I’ve been a bum for 1 week, 2 days, 7 hours. Since my last appearance at the comedy club’s open mic. It’s this personal justification based on laughs-per-minute that, I’m beginning to see, explains why many comedians I meet are neurotic and bitter.

A real chum would tell me that it wasn’t that bad. I have it on tape. There’s smatterings of laughter in the right places, but not up to snuff with my delusions of grandeur.

It’s what keeps me awake at night. Asking questions of myself. Am I doing this right? Should I change my approach… again? Comedy is hard.

I listen to the albums of the greats… Steve Martin and Bill Cosby… scouring for moments of brilliant revelations. There are no answers there. Not even hints. It’s actually more frustrating. Thier jokes are not great. They don’t have an extra dose of wit. So what’s the difference? Why do they get laughs for saying unfunny things?

So frustrating. So mysterious.

Magic is easy. Comedy is hard.

(Fast forward 6 months… and Hello again!)

Call me crazy, but I think it’s really important to be improving as a magician on a regular (constant) basis. Otherwise, you’re stuck. Being stuck is no fun.

For me, the greatest un-sticker possible is meeting with other magicians. The degree of magical buzz I get from a get-together depends on the passion of the people involved, of course, but also the surroundings and events.

Here’s my question for the day… (and hopefully, with your feedback, it can be the question for the month)…

What does it take to make a magical gathering (convention, club meeting, etc) REMARKABLE!

By defenition, that means it’s something that would force you to hop online, and tell the world, “I just went to the best convention ever!” It has to put a fire in your belly to enter a Golden Age of personal inspiration for the next week.

The opposite of remarkable… is “good enough”. I’m asking for all-your-dreams-come-true ideal happenings. Your perfect magic convention. Tell me about it.

Comment here, or email ryan at brainpoke.com

P.S. My answers (coming in the next day or two) mostly revolve around that idea of improving as a magician.

I’m in my zone, baby! I love this part. The last days before a new performance challenge are, for me, the most fruitful. The choices are flying fast.

Yesterday I asked the proper question to solve my hang-up. It was a subtle distinction. I had been stuck on how to iron out the wrinkles in what I thought was the natural progression for the routine plotline. However, I took it a notch back and asked, instead, what else would flow with the routine and went in a different direction.

It turns out, I get to bring the idea from my post Blindfold Stud to life! I’ll see what I can do about posting a video of that next week.

Also, under that lovely pressure, I’m workng on streamlining the routine because every few seconds I can save will make the show producer oh so happy. (I already have an alternate, shorter, middle for the routine to perform in show 2 of 3… as it’s particularly time sensetive) Now here’s the neat part… the pressure to make the opening that much tighter forced me to come up with a newly scripted intro that, I believe, will earn a place in all my performances of the trick.

Just another example of making a choice about a moment that had otherwise passed without much thought. I was just doing things how I’d always done it. Business as usual.

Well… business as usual is boring, dull, obsolete, and ineffective. Get to work!