Magic on the (Coronation) Street
Twenty three years ago (while still a teenager), one of my first professional jobs was working at the Granada Studios Tour in Manchester. It was a great experience and I performed magic for visitors on the Sherlock Holmes Baker Street set for a year. Just a few yards away was the set of Coronation Street, which I walked along almost daily and, since I had grown up watching this iconic soap opera, it was quite surreal. Last weekend, I was back at ITV on the new Coronation Street set performing at an open day for ITV staff. It was great to be back and, although the new set was a few miles away from the original and only a year old, it looked practically identical. Of course, the names of a few shops have changed, but it’s practically the same – a great piece of work from the ITV set department. Walking behind part of the set reveals a facade – scaffolding supporting a two-dimensional wall, which from the front appears to be a full row of houses. It occurred to me that set designers do a similar job to that of a magician. One could say we both deceive the public for a living – as, in a slightly different way, do actors. But it’s all done for entertainment and if my magic can bring half as much enjoyment to my clients as Coronation Street does to households up and down the land, then its all been worthwhile. Please be sociable and...
read moreThe Resurgence of Magic
In the 90’s it appeared (at least to me) that magic was almost looked down upon; much of the public thought it cheesey and merely for children. Even though many magicians were evolving and doing their best to escape the rabbit & hat stereotypes, to the public magic was something performed at children’s parties by elderly gentlemen wearing velvet jackets and oversized bow ties. More recently magic has been the subject of novels, prime-time tv programmes and many Hollywood movies (more of this in a later post). It is now generally accepted as a popular entertainment that can be sophisticated and engaging, suitable for almost any event! David Blaine, Penn & Teller, Derren Brown and of course Dynamo can take a lot of credit for causing this resurgence, by presenting magic in a modern, different and in some cases, exciting manner, bringing magic out of the dark ages and firmly into the 21st century. These days, it seems like the public can’t get enough! You can follow Iain on Google+ and Facebook. Please be sociable and...
read moreCustomising Magic
When I first started out in magic, the people I used to perform for were my fellow magicians. The kind of magic that appeals to them is very different to the effects that normal people seem to enjoy. Magicians are intrigued by complicated sleight of hand and clever methods, while to an audience of laypeople, it is (quite rightly) the effect that counts. One thing that I’ve become increasingly aware of the past few years is that even with the general public, not all audiences are the same. People such as scientists, mathematicians and engineers have by necessity a very different way of thinking – they have been trained to analyse everything that comes before them and they seem unable not to treat magic in the same manner. They want to dissect it and find the solution. Performing for this kind of people who think very much “outside the box” can be an extremely challenging, yet rewarding experience. Of course the effects I perform for them are quite different to the ones I would show most people: the trick has to appeal to them and their analytical way of thinking – and of course be utterly unfathomable, even when they never take their eyes off my hands. Sometimes they don’t even blink! It’s my job to find the right effects for the right audience and over the years this has proved a very useful skill. It’s something that I’m now able to do instinctively and fortunately most of the time I get it right. You can follow Iain on Google+ and Facebook. Please be sociable and...
read moreLeave them wanting more
One of the secrets of effective magic is to leave the audience wanting more. No matter how good something is, overdoing it is never a good thing – anyone who’s eaten an entire box of Lindor chocolates in one sitting will know what I mean. Yet sometimes a booking makes this unavoidable. Surprisingly often when I’m talking to a client about a gig they will say that they want to book me for a “couple of hours”. My next question is always to ask them how many guests they’re expecting. If they reply “about a dozen”, I’m forced to explain the concept of less is more…. One of my worst experiences of this was a quite a few years ago, when covering for another magician. It was a booking for three hours in the client’s back garden. When I arrived I was horrified to see just three tables. I tried to explain (tactfully) why this was a bad idea, but the client was having none of it. The original magician had agreed to do three hours and that was that! To make matters worse, he insisted I carry on performing while the guests were eating and even more uncomfortably while a singer was doing her act. So I did about an hour per table, and looking back, I don’t know how I did it. Luckily I have a LOT of material but it was not a pleasant experience at all and although I got away with it, I know his guests would have appreciated it much more if they’d seen a few tricks scattered throughout the evening, instead of being bombarded with magic for the entire party. You can follow Iain on Google+ and Facebook. Please be sociable and...
read moreMagic and the next generation
When I first joined a magic society at the age of 16, I was the youngest member by probably a decade. I got the feeling that some older members didn’t take me seriously and it was quite some time before I was accepted. Twenty three years on, things have changed a lot, with many societies even having junior sections to allow younger enthusiasts to learn their craft in a nurturing environment. I’m sure messrs Blaine and Dynamo are at least partly to thank for this, as indeed is YouTube and the like, but don’t think for a second that all these youngsters are merely hangers-on. In many cases they are making impressive contributions to the art of magic and it’s refreshing to see magic created from a different perspective. A couple of weeks ago I was presenting my lecture to a society where at least a third of the members were teenagers. I hoped they would enjoy the effects I was going to present, but feared they’d find my thoughts on finesse and theory uninteresting. Much to my delight, not only did they understand the points I was making, they also contributed to the discussion and asked several interesting questions that showed a real understanding of the subject matter. If these young people are anything to judge by, the future of magic is in safe hands. You can follow Iain on Google+ and Facebook. Please be sociable and...
read moreMagic: An International Language
While teaching and performing my magic in Italy last week I was reminded of the fact that magic truly is an international language. The night before I was due to fly home, I presented a short show at a dinner party – all of the guests were native Italians and few spoke any English at all. While I have lectured in Italy in the past, it’s been a long time since I’ve attempted to speak the language, so fortunately I had a friend at the party who was happy to translate. When the time came to do my show, I was also reminded that having to pause after each sentence, for the translation, completely breaks the flow and the timing of some of the effects and, as the cliché goes, timing is everything! Several of my routines make use of an über useful strategy, known as the off-beat, but this simply does not work when the pacing is directed by someone other than the performer. After a couple of tricks, I signalled to my friend to stop and I carried on in English and some simple Italian phrases that I could remember. It worked much, much better. I was able to finish the show successfully and I could tell from the reactions that everything was pretty much understood. Next time I’m in this situation, I’ll try to remember that while some tricks require narrative to make the effect or meaning clear, many do not – the magic simply speaks for itself! Please be sociable and...
read moreFun to be Fooled
Since the last blog post I’ve attended two wonderful magic conferences – in Blackpool and South Tyneside. It’s a great opportunity to see some of the best magicians in the world perform and teach some of their own effects, as well as catch up with friends I only get to see at these conventions. One of the featured performers at Tyneside was the brilliant Spanish card magician Dani DaOrtiz (pictured) – a student of the legendary Juan Tamariz. Dani, like his mentor, has an incredible knack of fooling his fellow magicians and some of the things I saw him do I simply can’t explain. Having studied magic for over 25 years, this doesn’t happen very often these days – but when it does, it reminds me of why I became a magician in the first place: to be able to create a sense of amazement and wonder. There are many people who don’t like not being able to explain something and they find magic extremely frustrating. But to me, when I see an effect that I can’t reconstruct, it’s a pleasant, almost child-like experience. A couple of weeks later, while filming a new DVD with Big Blind Media, I met Ryan Schlutz, from Orlando, Florida. He’s a very clever card magician whose work I really enjoy. Shortly after I arrived, he proceeded to fool me with several of his own magic creations. Like a couple of weeks earlier with DaOrtiz, I was astounded. Ryan is a very nice guy and kindly shared the routines with me later that evening. Not only is it nice to experience astonishment, as a working magician, it’s actually quite important to be reminded what it feels like to be a non-magician and remember why I started doing magic to begin with! You can follow Iain on Google+ and Facebook. Please be sociable and...
read moreYou’re like Dynamo!
If I had a fiver for every time someone has mentioned the popular TV magician to me in the past couple of years, I’d be very wealthy indeed – perhaps almost as much as the Bradford-born star himself. Unlike the general public, many magicians seem to treat him with derision at best and I’m not entirely sure why. While I may not be completely comfortable with some of the series content, I think he has done much good for magicians – not only by bringing magic to the masses, but also showing that it’s not all sawing women in half and pulling rabbits out of hats. Some magi have suggested that he’s just a David Blaine wannabe, but Dynamo is (to me) eminently more watchable. If I view a magic show I want to see, well magic – not some utterly pointless feats of endurance. And who can forget Blaine’s incredible (for all the wrong reasons) interview with Eamonn Holmes on GMTV? If you’ve not seen it, it’s well worth a look on YouTube! I personally think his success is much deserved – he has worked hard at his craft and has created a style that clearly resonates with his audience. I think all UK magicians owe Dynamo a tremendous debt of gratitude. Now, where’s my baseball cap? You can follow Iain on Google+ and Facebook. Please be sociable and...
read moreNot Just a Job
In just under a couple of weeks’ time I’ll be attending the world’s largest magic convention for the 26th consecutive year. It’s something I always really look forward to. I get to watch lectures by some of the leading exponents of this fabulous art, view the latest tricks, books and DVD’s that have been released and see some fantastic magicians perform their acts in the biggest theatre in Europe. Some of my professional magician friends attend too and it’s great to catch up with them – but there are lots of them who don’t go. Some are jaded, others can’t spare the time, but I have to go, I really do! This is my job too, but it’s also an obsession which has never waned for over a quarter of a century and I strongly suspect it never will. Only 10 more ‘sleeps’ to go! You can follow Iain on Google+ and Facebook. Please be sociable and...
read moreMagicians should be seen…and heard!
Magicians face many challenges while performing, such as drunks, crowded rooms where guests are basically on top of you, know-it-alls, low lighting, waiters with trays of drinks, huge table decorations, etc, and there are ways around these issues. However, the worst situation is very noisy environments, where you simply just can’t be heard! It’s our job to grab people’s attention and wow them with some magic. It’s about connecting with the guests and giving them an experience they will hopefully remember. But if they can’t hear us, its simply impossible. I was recently booked for a corporate event to perform during the drinks reception when the guests first arrived, as an ice-breaker. The client said there would also be a “crooner” providing a little “background music” during this period. Of course what I wasn’t expecting was for this person to have his PA System set so loud, it practically registered on the Richter Scale! This was a performer who clearly didn’t understand his brief and as a result not only were the guests unable to appreciate what I was doing, they couldn’t even talk to each other. So if you’re booking a magician for your event, make the most out of them – allow your guests the opportunity to enjoy what they do by not drowning them out with loud music! You can follow Iain on Google+ and Facebook. Please be sociable and...
read moreAbout Iain
Iain Moran is a leading UK close-up magician, performing at corporate events, weddings and parties all over the world.
