Magical Reflections #24 · 29/09
Sometimes the Problem Is the Question
I was with Pedro, my former business partner at La Varita Mágica, at a magic congress in Caravaca de la Cruz.
By the way, we’re still friends. He’s my former business partner because he retired.
Not because we ended up throwing cards at each other. 😂
We were sharing a hotel room.
And at the back of the room there was a small television. Really small. From the beds, the TV looked like a postage stamp.
We both wore glasses.
I needed mine to watch the movie.
At one point, I looked at Pedro and noticed he had taken his glasses off.
I started thinking.
I looked at the television.
I looked at Pedro.
I looked at the television again.
And I asked him:
“Can you see the movie properly without your glasses?”
Pedro looked at me and replied:
“It’s in colour, isn’t it?”
The laughter could probably be heard in the next town. 😂
But afterwards, I thought about something.
The question was mine.
And Pedro did whatever the fuck he wanted with it.
Because I was expecting a specific answer:
“Yes.”
“No.”
“More or less.”
Whatever.
But Pedro had no obligation to give me the answer I was expecting.
And, interestingly enough, this happens a lot in magic.
We ask the audience questions thinking we know exactly what answer we’re going to get.
“Is that your card?”
“Yes.”
“Do you remember it?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see it?”
“Yes.”
Perfect.
Everything under control.
Until one day someone gives you an answer that wasn’t in the script.
And then the magician gives you that look:
“What the fuck do I do now?”
Maybe the problem isn’t the spectator.
Maybe it’s the question.
When you ask something, you’re opening a door.
And you don’t always know who’s going to walk through it.
That’s why I think it’s worth looking at some of the questions we ask during our routines.
Do we really need to ask them?
Does the answer add anything?
Or are we simply asking because that’s the way we’ve always done it?
And there’s something even more important.
If the spectator’s answer can fuck up your effect, maybe you shouldn’t have asked the question in the first place.
You don’t need to control every word that comes out of the audience’s mouth.
You need to build the situation so that, whatever they say…
the magic still works.
Because one thing is directing.
And something completely different is trying to control.
And luckily, the audience…
doesn’t come with a remote control.
P.S. Yes, exactly the link above.