I just wanted to see your opinions on where/when are you practising at your most efficient level? And why.

Please use these words to aid in your answer:
standing, sitting, fully-clothed, not fully-clothed, in public, at home, in front of the mirror, in the toilet, in the bus, at a bus stop, in the taxi, in the MRT, in school, under the table during class, in the canteen, on the computer, on the bed, on a table-top, with one-hand, with both hands, listening to music, with long hair, with short hair, during the day, during the night , with friends (magicians), and.....
whatever else you can think of :D

Standing, Fully Un-clothed, in public, in the middle of expressway, no hair, listening to classical music, during the night, with strangers.

At SMC meetings.....

standing in front of a group of magicians while trying my best to construct some sort of patter without mumbling....

and with hands shaking.

:ph43r:

No kidding. B)
Everything will move in slow motion. And after your effect, you will remember a thousand things you did wrong.

And i think it's the best place to get rid of the shakes and test the nerves.

Rather at a meeting where everyone else is also shaking than in front of some chick i'm trying to impress. B)

Gah, you just reminded me of my last experience performing. <_<

Standing on one hand in a MRT doing one-hand XCM for as long as i can last :lol:

haha poor you paradoxt. but you were so innocent that i think everyone forgived you. :P

i agree with aloy, performing in front of other magicians is the only way though you must perform in front of hecklers too. ^_^

Aaron

:lol:

Don't worry about it Paradoxt. Trust me when I say, a lot of us were very impressed with your nerves to go out in front and start so coolly. B)
Looking forward to see you complete that effect at the next meeting. ;)

im totally going to.

yep it has to be performing to a crowd.

Perhaps it doesn't answer the topic, i guess. (skip down for answers to topic) Probably what he wants is when/where/how we practise before starting to perform as practising and gaining experience. We can't possibly tell him: hey, only practise at next meeting.

For me, i usually cannot practise. My granny is forever at home and only when she sleeps or take a nap i can practise, provided my parents and brother aren't around. Oh, as my family matters as it is, it's quite impossible for me to close up in my room. Besides, i share my room with my bro.

So, to answer the question.

Initially, sitting down, clothed, at home, day and night, looking at myself. Then same conditions, but looking away. Then same conditions until it becomes a habit. As in i don't have to put in a thought on what, how. It's like when you play playstation, you don't have to look at your controller to see where's the O,X,triangle,square buttons.

Next, standing up, with same other conditions, in front of mirror, looking at myself. Turn on the fan and under light bulbs for those magic that might not survive in those. Check for angles. Do it until you are VERY comfortable with angles. Add patter (talk to your reflection).

Next, same, but with the clothes i'm gonna perform in. Practise in mirror for few times, head out and go get them.

My case might be a bit special:
After learning something, I'll go busking (try out), that's my practice session. Most of the time audience will be able to tell you're doing a new effects (practicing) and will give comments to help you improve on your skills. I'll "practice" to a point where I can wow my audience and they "pay" for my effort w/o much comments. So I'll say the best practice is on the street, fully-clothed, can try as much as you can, accept comments to improve and keep trying on the streets. if really can't earn anything: try stripping show! :P

-Alan-

Multi-Talent, isn't practising in front of the general public a bit of a risk in terms of flashing? I feel that unless I got the move down and practised before-hand the patter involved I won't have any confidence in performing it.

And btw like nyx said , I kinda meant route practice of a routine and when and where is it most effective. For example practising the sible cut, and in which conditions do you find that you've improved the most after practising.. so yeah that was kinda what I meant.

I see... my mistake, I thought your "most efficient level" is after mastering something and wanted to find ways to improve in terms of using it for performance.

For me I'll use mirrors to aid my angle, sometimes close friends or fellows magician (e.g. during SMC meetings) will be a good chance to improve.

-Alan-

Mirrors are a magicians' best friend. B)

....it is only bettered by an Honest Opinion.... :g:

.......which is second only to the Humility to accept them. ^_^

Actually, the best is to use a video cam.

Mirrors can be helpful to some extend. If you rely too much on a mirror, you'll find it difficult to actually do the move without the mirror. Try practising the retention vanish infront of a mirror and without the mirror and you'll see the difference.

I have a 3 way mirror that covers all angles... its not on relying on it or not. I think those things are helpful, like what dow said...vid cam is helpful also...especially when you start filming again and again...and you start noticing which line you forgot to talk about....I won't say what is the best but vid cams, mirrors...these are staff aids that helps you before you go into a proper performance...

theres a limitation to how much you can practice ....going out showing stuff is also another way of practice.

but its still best to get whoever is out there.. a bunch of friends or..your family members?? to show it to?? cos real life audience are always the best...cos you are doing it LIVE..

I don't do magic for a living so...i do it when i feel like it during parties, when friends request...during overseas....when i meet some strangers that i talk to?? ( did i say i talk to strangers?? I'm just joking...)
Anyhow...getting out in the open or "public" sorta pushes your limit in a few ways.

1) you get to know different groups..wat kinda hecklers are out there...what do people look for when you approach them..how unfriendly people can get...which age group response to which type of stuff you do? your self image portrayed to people...facial expressions....

2) what tricks are you more comfortable with?? what routine can you come up with? Under pressure and taken by surprise how can you back yourself up in the middle of a routine? What are the variations?

3) how to open and close a session? How to rouse interest...

all these are just a few stuff that you can get best out in the streets.

Then again if you are not so open and confident...you can always try with friends...but theres a liimitation to what you get and theres a good and bad side to it.

For me...i just do it when i feel like doing...for a purpose...

:off: a little off topic...i think watching performance videos is quite important

I feel the best practise place is in front of a full length mirror..

a good tip is to know that seeing your reflection, u gotta know that the intended audience when practicing is actually 2x the distance between u and mirror.

plus when practicing in front of mirror, if your effects are angle sensitive, u gotta remember that u may be performing to shorter or taller people also..

tilting the mirror can actually help to simulate the required angles of view..


fyi, full height mirrors are quite ex..

if there are any cheap ones u can find[tilt-able], kindly let me know.

most i see are in the range of 800 - 1000 SGD.