tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989379038038417263.post3507047084994635393..comments2023-03-24T03:26:22.724-07:00Comments on Unexpected Wonders: Considering PresentationJim Coleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01880707960050910554noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989379038038417263.post-4294927761428048812007-11-12T09:19:00.000-08:002007-11-12T09:19:00.000-08:00Hey, thank you for the kind words. It's a mystery ...Hey, thank you for the kind words. It's a mystery to me why so many either present their magic with no presentation -- Hey, watch this -- or slap together a lot of tripe that makes little sense and think that constitutes a presentation. I truly believe that because the magic community is so focused on methods the subject of presentation has acquired an undeserved reputation as something mysterious and complex when it's anything but. <BR/><BR/>I can dig what you're saying about Eugene Burger. He has the presence and dramatic chops to pull off a story laden presentation but definitely misses the mark at times -- or at least loses me. Then again much of his magic is fitted with much more basic presentations. <BR/><BR/>I spent a lot of time early on writing fiction. Anyone who tries to write a story will tell you that writing one and telling one are completely different things. Telling a story -- not a joke or an anecdote, but a story -- and making it interesting and captivating is a difficult proposition. Successfully combining real storytelling with magic takes special skill -- which is why you see it done well so rarely. There's simply no reason to kill yourself trying to come up with and artfully tell a complete story when it's just not needed.Jim Coleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01880707960050910554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989379038038417263.post-43257086568539491742007-11-10T18:02:00.000-08:002007-11-10T18:02:00.000-08:00Jim,I think this is the most important thing you'v...Jim,<BR/><BR/>I think this is the most important thing you've ever written. There's so much crap perpetrated under the "be entertaining" mantra that it scares me.<BR/><BR/>A dumb premise or a stupid story make for dumb and stupid magic. While it may be true that it is not quite as dumb or quite as stupid in the hands of a capable performer, at the end of the day it is bad, bad magic.<BR/><BR/>Some magicians, such as Eugene Burger, can stretch the credibility limits more than others without looking like a total dork, be even there, I find him less than entertaining with many of his routines.<BR/><BR/>Thanks again for a thought provoking and intelligent essay.<BR/><BR/>Take care.....<BR/>i/mAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com