Project 365 (91/365): Penn And Teller

It's April, so we start a new month, hot on the heels of a very exciting escapology-themed month. I'm not one to play any April Fool's gags this year, so let's just theme April as the "comedy month", which I do believe suits our purposes very well.

Without further ado, I'm republishing with a few minor tweaks a piece I wrote about the magician duo that I've admired and respected the most over the past couple of years...

.:91/365: Penn And Teller:.

Made for each other.

Who They Are: The Origins

According to Wikipedia, Penn Jillette and Raymond Teller have been at it since the early to mid-80's as a duo magic and comedy act. They were initially a trio act in the 70's along with Weir Chrisimer, but it was Penn and Teller as a duo that really made waves in the world of magic.

Known as "the bad boys of magic", as well as "the tall, loud guy, with the short guy who never talks", Penn and Teller took the magic world by storm with their cutting edge act. You see, unlike most other magicians, they are unabashedly opinionated (Penn and Teller are libertarians and atheists.), and when they're on TV, they're not always doing magic. Penn is a raconteur (A storyteller.), an accomplished juggler, and even knows how to play bass. Teller is a master of sleight of hand, and mime performances. There's something about Teller's amazing facial reactions that draw you to his performance despite his never having to say a single word.

Penn and Teller have had numerous TV specials, and lots of guestings. They are headliners in Las Vegas, and have an act comprised of amazing feats like the two-man bullet catch, cups and balls with transparent cups, and a host of other effects they've managed to tailor for their show. I'd love to link you to clips of these acts, but I think you should look for them yourself, because they are just splendid things of beauty.

What They Mean To The Industry: Polarizing

As opinionated and as high profile as these two are, they have earned the respect and ire of the magic community, insofar as their acts have garnered a lot of attention for its inherent shock value, and cruel humor, as you will see below. I'm merely reposting a video I put up for your amusement the last time, but I do believe it bears repeating.

This, along with acts where they would actually expose magic secrets for some of their routines, have earned mixed reactions from people, who either think they're geniuses or think they're attention-starved hacks who need cheap thrills and shocks to impress people. They've taken shots at other magicians like Paul Daniels, and are very opposed to quacks like John Edward, going as far as to exposing certain methods other performers also employ in their performances just to discredit him. The fact that they are very good friends with the Amazing Randi should tip you off that they're prone to that.

No matter how polarizing the opinions may be when it comes to Penn and Teller, one thing can't be denied: they have made their mark on the history of magic, and few tandem acts can ever approach the kind of energy and dynamism Penn and Teller inject into their performance, no matter how mundane an effect may seem to be. As a duo act, they are one of those quintessential yardsticks by which other duo acts must peg themselves against, and among comedy performers, they are quite amazing in that department as well.

What They Mean To Me: Tandem Par Excellence

As a performer, I believe that I have a long way to go in the realm of comedy. I may be a member of the Comedy Cartel, but I recognize that my yearlong body of work in standup comedy is just a miniscule drop compared to what the likes of a Mike Unson or a Tim Tayag have accomplished. I can and do inject humor even during some of my magic routines, but it's never been the other centerpiece of my act (The first, of course, being the routines I do themselves.). I can talk, given my experience in radio and in debate, and I can hold my own for a bit in improv, but I really don't think of myself as a comedic genius, especially not since mentalism has to have some realism and seriousness attached to it, and I do a lot more of that than magic, since I'm more adept with sleight of mind than sleight of hand, more so now than ever.

As magician comedians, this duo act sets the benchmark, in my opinion. There may be wittier or funnier acts out there, but Penn and Teller broke the mold. Their clash of personalities, their harmony as mouthpiece + performer, and their overall stage presence plainly adds up to one of the most impressive acts I've ever witnessed. Watching them, I never fail to laugh at Teller's physical comedy, and Penn's ability to just keep rattling off at a hundred miles an hour. They're a perfect team, and nobody ever outshines the other, by sheer dint of their role division, although of course, being the silent one means Teller didn't get a radio show when Penn did. Heh.

If I ever had the chance to be a part of a permanent duo act, I wanna be Teller! There's just something so cool about not having to say a single word and yet holding the audience in the palm of your hands with your riveting performance. These two are among my personal heroes in magic and mentalism, and though this piece was originally written two years ago, my sentiments about Penn and Teller have hardly changed. I still hold them in very high regard, and I believe that they really put magic at a different level that is both low-brow and high-minded at the same time.

If Life Is So Short...

.:Life Could Be So Short Sometimes:.

Though I knew you briefly, I cherished your friendship dearly…

Last Monday, I attended a wake for a friend after going to Spicy Fingers. The somber mood in the air sort of affected things, but the show must go on, and I’m sure our friend would’ve expected nothing less of us.

So we got to Heritage, and the comedians just caught up with each other, albeit we were all together just last Friday. It was quite a shift in tone, considering how people were grieving, but they were trying to not let it overwhelm the entire evening.

My friend lived a short but meaningful life. I know I’m not perfectly qualified to judge her, but in the few months I have known her, she was nothing but a wonderful person who reminded me and everyone around her that we were all great people. She was the one who was always perceptive, always intuitive, and knew just what to say at the right time, with just the amount of sass and class so as not to come off as preachy or overbearing.

Out of respect to my fellow comedian, I’m holding off on mentioning her name. It seems a little too soon for me to speak of her in this manner, not because I have anything offensive to say about her, but because for me, she died too young, and I wish my fellow comedian didn’t have to go through what I know he’s going through right now.

.:Farewell, Ma'am Edna:.

Everything I do today, I can’t imagine having done them all without you. You were my mentor, you were my friend, you were like a mother to me. I know I never failed to thank you, and to let you know I loved you, but I still wish I could’ve done more…

Last Saturday, in the middle of the alumni homecoming, I was dumbstruck when Luis told me the news: my English teacher in first and second year, Ms. Edna Rivero, passed away at the height of Ondoy. Apparently, complications took its toll on her, and she didn’t make it through.

Like Teacher Glo, Ma’am Edna was one of the teachers in my life who really made an indelible impression on me. She never failed to encourage me in everything I did, and always made me feel that I was doing something worthwhile as a student. She was the one who taught me how to take over a class and made me an unofficial student teacher of sorts. In fact, in freshman high, I won in the student teacher contest they launched for that year. She also fought for me, practically crawling over a bed of hot coals, when it turned out I wasn’t going to get the Communications Award during graduation. She refused to allow me to not be recognized for my efforts in high school, and lobbied to have a Special Award for Journalism made specifically for me to win.

Some might deride that as a “consolation prize” of sorts, but to me, that was the most special award I received, arguably even more than the Cum Laude I received in college. To me, that was not just a recognition of my work: it was a testament of Ma’am Edna’s love for me. As a student, I never felt more loved, more special, than when Ma’am Edna fought to have that award created and given to me. In succeeding years, the award ceased to exist. Effectively, unless someone decides to revive it, I was the first and last recipient of that award.

Ma’am Edna was always full of life and very passionate about what she did. I remember how much she loved preparing for Intramural openings, always steering her house’s presentation towards a tribal theme, no matter what the theme was. We even joked that even if we had a future-themed intrams, she’d probably premise her presentation as tribal because a nuclear holocaust has sent everyone back into a primitive lifestyle.

She also picked me to be the editor-in-chief of my batch’s yearbook. To my recollection, my batch was arguably the fastest batch to receive its yearbook, as we worked very hard on it and had the whole thing ready shortly after the next schoolyear began. We graduated in 2000, so unless I’m mistaken, we got our yearbook in 2000. The batch before us had to wait another year before they got theirs. =P

She was my mentor and I’ll never forget her. It didn’t matter if she never corrected my enunciation to the point that I’m realizing on a daily basis how many common words I actually mispronounce. It didn’t matter if I didn’t win the spelling bee she relentlessly drilled me in (I got one mistake in the difficult round. The winner got one mistake in the easy round. Crazy, huh?). All that mattered is I’d like to think I turned out an okay person, and someone who has managed to impart that kind of passion Ma’am Edna had in the time I was teaching. Maybe I’m not yet done teaching, right? Who knows? All I know is if I could only be half the kind of teacher Ma’am Edna was, I’d have been nothing short of a great teacher.

Thank you, Ma’am Edna. I know I wasn’t there to pay my last respects to you (I wish I knew. I certainly would’ve had I known.), but I hope that somehow, this message, with all my love and gratitude, could go out to you.

A New Post On Magikel...

.:The New Magic-Related Posting Series...:.

I decided to make various tributes over the coming weeks or months to the people who have influenced me as a performer, and you can see it on my Magikel site. It's a very interesting read, and it should tip you off about the immediate future for me.

Check the post out here!