Know Thyself (with a little help from your friends)

Magicians are often at a loss when it comes to “finding” their character. Much ink has been spilled in an attempt to advise, partly because so many magicians are perplexed, and partly because it is a difficult subject to tackle. Here is my contribution.

In an earlier post I mentioned several archetypes for magicians (courtesy of Bob Sacamento), but how does one know which archetype one should play when creating their role as a magician?

The most sure-fire way I know is to find a director that you trust, and ask.

That’s easy to say coming from a theatrical background, but for most magicians, this opens up a whole other can of worms, as most magicians are fiercely independent and aren’t interested in taking direction from someone else. It is a foolish attitude to take, because — if you think deeply about it — you’ll realize that you cannot see how you come across to others. Only someone other than you can know what it’s like to see you as a performer.

A simple example is this: Do you know how your voice sounds to others?

Most people don’t know, because the sound you hear when you speak is different than the sound I hear when you speak. This is due to the fact that your voice is carried to your ear through the air and through the bones of your head. Whereas, your voice is carried to my ear solely through the air.

If you’ve ever heard yourself on a tape recording, you probably thought that the recorder had distorted your voice. Well, the recorder was fine. You just don’t know what you sound like to others, because you can’t hear yourself objectively.

Jason Alexander (aka George Costanza from Seinfeld) tells that as an acting student he was obsessed with playing Hamlet, yet every director he auditioned for would instead cast him in a different role. This infuriated Jason because he knew he could be a great Hamlet, but he finally came to realize that directors (and audiences) would never be able to see him as Hamlet. And when he understood this, it freed him to begin developing his talents as a comic/character actor.

Magicians who are courageous enough to subject themselves to the unflinching eye of a director can learn a lot about themselves (and the characters they can play) in a very short time.

But let’s assume that you can’t bring yourself to work with a director. What can you do?

Try this: Ask a dozen of your closest friends to participate in an anonymous survey. Ask each of them to list 10 things that he or she really LIKES about you. (A more insightful exercise would be to ask them to list things that they dislike about you, but your friends might balk at this, and your ego would most certainly take a blow.)

Then take all the lists and compare them. Can you identify any themes? What do people like about you? Do people like you because you’re gentle, humble, and thoughtful? Or because you’re mischievous, daring, and playful? How about assertive, outspoken, and sarcastic?

Whatever the case may be, this insight into how others see you is pure gold. You can begin to base your character on this information. Go back to the list of archetypes; do any of them resonate with what your friend say about you?

Then go back and evaluate each piece of magic that you do. Does the magic support, emphasis, and evoke the things that people like best in you. Or (as is often the case) does the magic undermine, stifle, and retard your best assets?

Look though your repertoire and root out anything that doesn’t allow you to showcase your strengths, or that tries to remake your image in a way that runs counter to how you are perceived by others.

I know a magician who (when he’s not on stage) makes us laugh with his self-deprecating humor. He always delights us with stories about his failures and shortcomings. He’s the epitome of the “lovable loser.” But when he gets on stage he wants to portray himself as an elegant and sophisticated gentleman.

The result is a disaster.

Because he is unable see himself as we see him, he’s using his magic to create a character that no one would ever believe, while at the same time abandoning the character that could make him famous.