Thoughts on Creativity

Maybe it's just the people I hang out with, but so many of the other
magicians I know are hell bent on inventing their own effects and
routines. I also hear a fair share from people preaching that we should
all "be original." I think this is true to an extent, but not in the way
most of us are used to thinking. I think it is our responsibility to "be
original." But when I say that, I mean that we should all do magic that
is US, not magic that is someone else. Perhaps I'm still not quite making
sense, hopefully as you continue on, it will.

If there is one thing that's ever bugged me about instructional media
for magic, it's that it includes patter. It's not really THAT bad of a
thing, but for the beginner, it can be a bit of an obstacle. Beginners do
not necessarily know much about performing. A beginner reads an effect
and to perform it, performs it straight out of the cookbook. And speaking
of cooking... I think I smell an analogy coming on.
It is my belief that the general magic population goes through certain
stages in their magical evolution:

The first is the microwavable frozen food phase. It's simple, you
purchase the frozen food, pop it in the microwave, and you're done. It's
very easy to concentrate on the creation, but it lacks a bit of something
which I cannot describe... such is magic. It's very easy to purchase
microwavable frozen magic. You just bust open the package, read the
instructions and ta da! Instant magician.

The second phase would be the cookbook magician. You purchase a cookbook,
follow it to the letter, and you get the final product. I know when I
cook out of a cookbook, I am a bit... flustered to say the least. Such
is magic, you purchase a magic book, work through it, and you somehow pull
out an effect. A magician, yes, but now to a different sort of degree.

The third phase would be the variable cookbook magician. This is when you
start thinking "Oh, it doesn't need this much salt.... could use more
garlic, though... I prefer to use peas over the green beans... etc." A
magical example of this would be altering moves to accomplish the same
means because it is simply something you prefer. A personal example for
me would be my use of the pass as my control.

The fourth phase is the crappy original creations. This is when you start
creating things just because you want to create things. This might turn
against you because the creation is the motivation. This phase may or may
not be necessary. I'm not really sure.

The fifth, and final, phase is the original creations. This is when you
finally create worthwhile effects, etc... creating your own recipes so to
speak.

So what does all of this have to do with creativity? Simple... we attempt
to become creative because we don't want to be identified as simply being
a clone. This is very important, but I think most people miss the point.
I'd assume Triumph is in most any card man's repertoire. People attempt
to vary it and alter the effect a bit. I have no doubt that some of the
attempts are just so one can say "MY version of triumph." Not to belittle
some big names, but whenI read JC Wagner's handling of Triumph in his book
"Commercial Magic of JC Wagner" I was pretty much wondering where the
significant difference lay. (Triumph #999, I believe is the name of the
effect. Also, despite this slightly negative comment, Commercial Magic of
JC Wagner is one of my favorite books. Learn "The Assembly" and his
original T&R.) The Classic Magic of Larry Jennings has many versions of
Triumph, but there is one in particular (cannot remember the name right
now) that is barely different from the "standard" handlings. (BTW,
"Classic Magic of LJ" is very easily a modern classic. One of my
favorites... two words "The Visitor"... two more "Mystery Card.") Why do
I mention these? Because they are examples in print that I could
immediately think of. I am sure there are more, and I am not attempting
to single them out. I do have the greatest respect for both.

However, although I may have spoken slightly negatively about them, they
are also examples of what I mean when I say "be original." When I say be
original, I mean adapt an effect so that it is something YOU would
perform. If you WOULD perform it exactly as it is written, so be it. If
you would not, then change it, or never perform it. If it's not something
YOU would do, your audience will pick up on it.

I do not think magicians need to spend their time thinking of new
effects. I really think many of the good plots in magic are already taken
anyway. Think about how much magic is in print. There are so many books
and periodicals. Find something out there. Find a diamond in the rough
just waiting to be shined. Be original. And when I say that, I mean that
you should make an effect original for you. Make it so that no one else
would WANT to perform it the way you do.

Some of my favorite books in magic are Michael Close's Workers series.
They're also some of my most hated. Why? He left NO detail out. I read
his routines and they're wonderful! But they just seem TOO Michael
Close. So what do I do? I take the effect and throw out his patter. I
run through his handlings and find out what I don't like. I then make a
handling that is more me. I then find the patter that fits me. Did I
create a new effect? Of course not, I just found the handling for the
effect that I can deal with. Is it something I should climb mountains and
announce to the world? Probably not.

I think the fault in much of magic is that we spend too much time trying
to be Vernon, Malini, Wagner, Ammar, Jennings, or Close, that we forget
that WE are the ones performing magic. I am an actor playing the role of
a wizard. I am not a Larry Jennings impersonator.

To utilize one of Michael Close's favorite analogies to magic... imagine
we are musicians. We play our instruments, we will probably cover someone
else's songs. But when we do sing someone else's song, we try to leave a
bit of ourselves so that it cannot be confused with the other. The
impersonator on the other hand, attempts to make the audience feel like
they would be watching the same person.

We do not need to sit around creating magic. There is enough out there.
IF we take what is out there and adapt it to ourselves, the magic will
evolve on its own. We may have started out with something that was
originally an effect in Close-up Card Magic, but as time passes and we
develop our own tastes, the effect goes through change. And perhaps, the
effect will differ enough that it is essentially something new. This is
the process of creativity. I do not think creativity and originality show
up as we simply "decide" to be creative and original. We take an idea...
play with it... screw it up... maybe put it aside only to pick it up
later... and then, at some later point, a brief moment of insight brings
it all together.

We do not need to create magic. We simply need to help it evolve. Find
something... anything. And perform it the way YOU want to perform it.
Time will pass and it will eventually be yours.