.:Quite A Step Up:.
For the longest time, ever since I turned pro, I've generally been known for being a street magician, and people have come to expect that even if they booked me onstage, I would not be the type who would saw women in half or something of the sort. Whether in the realm of magic or mentalism, I was capable of cornering the close-up department, and held my own quite well in the parlor-for-stage setting, what with routines like the Shackles and Fiber Optics.
This is not to say I can't do stage at all. In fact, mentalism plays fairly well onstage, despite a clear lack of gigantic props and stuff. The recently concluded "Laughs And Gasps" featured myself and Jay Mata performing a full stage act, so we certainly knew our way around the stage, and we would work with it on a level we knew we were excellent at. We played to our strengths, after all.
Furthermore, I've had several shows for kids and/or adults that involved me performing onstage. I never had a problem with this as long as I knew that I was going to go onstage from the get-go. I've had people tell me how much they like my unique approach to performing, since I've really taken the raconteur bit of the business to heart, and it allowed me to spin a yarn about the most seemingly banal of routines, making it become significantly stronger than it normally has any business being. I'm sure any other magician worth their salt would know how to do something like that, but I inject a certain kind of flavor into my act, that, for better or worse, is unique to myself.
Having said that, I'm the kind of performer who wouldn't add something to my repertoire if it didn't fit into who I am and what I do. Having said that, this naturally means that I wouldn't go into illusions if it didn't make sense for the illusion to be something I would do, no matter how impressive it is.
This is why last December 13, my performances came quite as a surprise to those who have seen me before. You see, I had two shows that day, and while the first one was great, the second one, which I did for Filcosplay, was arguably even better.
My first show for a big client went really well, truth be told. The client loved the show, but of course, I had to perform with certain limitations in mind, particularly since I was going to be performing mainly for kids. My assistant for the day was helpful, especially with getting some great reactions from the Dream Bag joke. Sadly, a teary-eyed kid looked at us while we were performing and said, "Ganun pala yun?" Killing the fairy never felt *this* guilt-inducing...
By the time I got to the FC Christmas party, though, I was carrying my illusion by myself and didn't have my assistant with me anymore. Despite that, I knew that with a crowd like the FC people, the show I had in mind for them was going to go over pretty well.
Last year, I did a pure mentalism show for them. This year, I did a comedy magic show for them, and boy, did they enjoy it. Whether it be Lady And The Rope or Over The Head or some other routine, things just went marvelously that day. Of course, I traumatized Liz, but all in all, it was awesome. :)
Much thanks to the FC people for allowing me to have them as my guinea pigs, and of course, for being one of the first few people to witness the full-scale illusions I now use for my shows. It's taken me a while, but as I keep on striving for more in my performances, these new additions are definitely amazing, to say the least. Soon enough, you can expect to see more and more of these in my performances. :P
.:Afterwards...:.
... Awesome conversations, with terrifying revelations, were shared all around. An after-party dinner at McDonald's with some FC members really made for quite a night, what with them looking at me in shock as I unveiled the truth about... well, that's for us to know...
No comments:
Post a Comment