I realised nowadays there are less and less posts here. Exams, everyone?

Yea, me too.

Anyway, here's a magic theory thingy I want to ask - what do you think should be the role of the magician? Problem-solver? Entertainer? Mystifier? Trickster?

Welcome comments, especially if it comes with good explanation.

- harapan ong

Hmm, to me, it actually breaks down to what kind of routine i am doing. Let say Cards, i will be the entertainer in magic, telling them tales and doing weird and funny stuffs, but the magic element will still holds.

Secondly, if i doing a blindfold routine, i will be a person that can see thru things by imaginations and create a ambie of mystic in the area.

So to me, its really subjected to what kind of magic i playing at them moment that i will change my roles.

yep, definitely exams.

To me, a magician is definitly not a problem-solver. It's more of a mathematician.

We are also not tricksters, tricksters are more of conmen(conning young kids into chatrooms to... ^_^ ), people who cheat during a card game.

Entertainer and mystifer are a definite YES! We entertain through mystifying. We leave people with sleepless nights, trying to figure out the trick. Most magicians now aim at spreading joy(and picking up a few girls) without being paid. We are self-sacrificing people, spending all we have on magic only to be rewarded by that few seconds of misbelief on the face of a spectator. ^_^ Occasionally though, we do get some numbers. ;) We also help to relive stress and pressure often brought about from the 4 walls of a cubicle or a classroom. :wacko: In recent days, we can also help to entertain the delegates for the IMF-World bank meet, :lol: boosting Singapore's image as a global city.

Alright, there are too many roles to type out, so yeah. :g:

Aaron

Not exams. Just new school, new school term -- heavy workload. :mellow:

Anyway, to get on with the main topic.

My take is that a magician's role should be a hybrid of entertainer plus mystifier (if there's even such a word).

He/she should be entertaining by mystifying. Mystifying without entertaining is not magic. Entertaining without mystifying is all the more NOT magic.

No matter what type of magic the magician is doing, be it cards, or money or stage, or whatever, the magician should be entertaining. It doesn't have to be entertaining in a "ha ha ha" kind of way, but it has to be something that can engross the audience.

In fact, sometimes, i feel that the "ha ha ha" kind of entertaining when doing magic distracts the audience from the main focus: magic. But then, that's another topic altogether...

A.

Personally, I think magicians are all of the above. Or rather, a magician CAN be one of the above, and therefore, magicians are all of the above + much more. I don't believe there is an absolute role that magicians must play.

well, magicians can be tricksters, but not in that sense. Tricksters are those who ex. balance an egg on their nose. Penn and teller, the hilarious magic duo, can be considered under the trickster category (and they are pretty amazing).

Oh yeah, exams... :ph43r: Sure sounds familiar. :P

Anyway, don't different magicians play different roles? It depends on what they do, too. So it all boils down to individual styles. Again.

You might be able to categorise the different TV magicians into the different roles... Think Mondo Magic or David Blaine. They aren't that similiar, if you get what I mean. :g:

The role the magician plays depends on the character he wants to portray, which will also determine the kind of effects he will do.

However, that is not to say that any role can be played, and many agree that there are some characters that magicians should not try to display (for example, the trickster character or puzzle man character).

In any case, the primary role of the magician is simply to do the impossible (which will by itself entertain), and next, especially so for commercial reasons, he has to entertain well.

I agree with Zomaziz, it really depends on the individual style of the person regarding what role he/she wishes to take.

With reference to the 'Presentation' chapter of 'Expert Card Technique' by Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue, there is the magician who creates spontaneous laughter; there is the magician who presents his magic in a mystical and somewhat serious manner, and then there is the light-hearted and friendly magician who creates the impression that his/her feats are a result of plain luck and pure magic.

You should never try something that your not. Like if your not a humourous person but you go all out to be funny, it'll some across as unnatural and probably not entertaining at all.

In my opinion i think that most magicians here would find the third style of presentation to be the most popular simply because its easy and you don't have to act like David Blaine or Criss Angel.

The best advise I've ever been told about this is "The role of a magician is an entertainer who happens to use magic as his means of entertaining".

Entertainment first, magic second.