A Little Magic Experiment

"Acting is a masochistic form of exhibitionism. It is not quite the occupation of an adult." - Lawrence Olivier

What does it mean to bring feeling to an effect? Does it mean to weep as you demonstrate your Faro Shuffle? Laugh hysterically as you push a lit cigarette into your fist? Or moan with sexual pleasure as you cause the Four of Clubs to rise to the top of the pack again and again? Though I am a completely untrained actor, I am going to hazard a guess and say, no. Such large expressions of emotion, if authentic, would certainly make for memorable moments, but they are not necessary in order to inspire an audience to feel. The performer however, must feel something about what he or she is doing and this feeling must in some way be communicated to the audience.

With that in mind, let us try a little experiment. Grab a pack of cards and execute a Double Lift. What do you feel? My guess is, not much. Not surprising, considering it is a sleight you have done a zillion times. But now, I would like you to try to imagine how you might execute the move if you were feeling really sad about something. To acquire some emotional fuel for the experiment, take a moment to imagine a sad event, either something that has happened in your life or something you can vividly imagine happening. Spend a few moments visualizing the sad event and when you sense that you are in touch with whatever feelings come up, try to express some emotion through the execution of a Double Lift. Or rather, do not so much 'try to express' but instead stay in touch with those feelings as you execute the move.

Of course, accessing emotional fuel while executing a sleight is probably going to be a lot more difficult than while delivering an especially moving line of script or interacting with your audience, but I wanted to suggest an experiment you could try right now, just on your own. For much more exciting and satisfying results, I suggest you try performing one of your favorite effects for several different audiences and each time try to perform it while being in touch with different feelings. Try an 'angry version,' a 'sad version,' a 'joyous version,' and more.

If these experiments feel more than a little contrived, don't be surprised because the themes and scripts of your effects are probably pretty lame emotional vehicles. Real actors usually explore/express their emotions through scripts rich in emotion while playing characters who find themselves in emotionally charged situations playing off an entire cast of emotionally expressive characters! This is very different from your typical 'Copper/Silver/Brass' routine.

But does that mean we cannot have feelings about our effects or even script our routines so that they are more emotionally engaging for both our audiences and ourselves? I think not. In fact, I think that should be our ultimate goal. And as we come to feel more about what we do, and express those feelings, our audiences will respond emotionally in turn. A far cry from mere 'fun and games.'

To learn more about the art of acting, I urge you to read "Sanford Meisner On Acting." It makes for a marvelous introduction. After that, you might want to consider reading one of the bibles of modern acting, "The Actor Prepares" by Constantine Stanislavski.
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