The Genii Forum

Jonathan Townsend

Everyone in a con knows their part. Acting.

Mark, anyone, would you explain the basic short con? Understanding the how-to of the three card monte seems to get lost the moment the cops come to break up the game. Help?

Jonathan Townsend

DennisLisi wrote:...convincing an audience that you are sincere.

Your "on(stage)" character.

Jonathan Townsend

Paul Harris's Solid Deception from 1976 "Intimate Secrets".

Jonathan Townsend

@Tom, understood, as the grey slab appears cast in one piece with countersink design work. Would you or Richard have an email for H. Kato? As Richard mentioned; if mishandled the inserts will unseat and reveal the geometry (indecent exposure). For those who have worked in a machine shop which uses p...

Jonathan Townsend

@Tarotist, yes agreed that is sad. Impression of an anamatronic magician? :D There is something about audience dynamics which is missing in those cut and dried recitals. Though, had they been taught Hamlet; they would have learned let your own discretion be your tutor: suit the action to the word, t...

Jonathan Townsend

I'd be interested in reading what Neil Patrick Harris or Jason Alexander have to say about performing magic on occasion and playing a part which involves performing magic. I have a hunch they are not so likely to rant about precious thespian training and may offer insights we can use to grow our ski...

Jonathan Townsend

About magic? About tricks? About learning to perform magic?

Jonathan Townsend

It's quoted in the writings of the ancient Greeks. I know of one reference from ancient Greece, but he's not explaining or teaching. Do you have others? Alciphron of Athens via his letters https://topostext.org/work/494 § 2.17 Napaeus to Creniades: ...A man came forward with a three-legged table. O...

Jonathan Townsend

In fact, pebbles were the main type of "ball" used for Cups and Balls for centuries. Where does this information come from? Back then they knew about wax, cork, and bread. Also, the oft cited comic writers from Rome were not performers or trying to offer how-to of our craft. Okay back to ...

Jonathan Townsend

Businesses ... New Hampshire ...

best wishes for the move,
And please see about the Roth notebooks

Jonathan Townsend

It helps to read the text. The author uses the terms magie simulee, physique amusante, escomatage, magie blance, prestidigitation La magie simulee -> simulated magic -> magic as understood in social context -> magic exists in this discussion even if only in stories (or "elsewhere" ahem ;) ...

Jonathan Townsend

He was writing a little about words associated with magicians. Suggesting "escomateur" and "prestidgitator" are insufficient to cover the wide range of wonder inducing items magicians perform. The rest of the fuss is "interesting" for other reasons. R-H even addresses t...

Jonathan Townsend

We have some small printers at work. I've seen what the engineers have produced - and let them try printing a gozintabox set from specs ... even at 4 inches - the output was too rough to slide - or consider using. jtosterloh - what would work for you? I should be able to get the circle and square pr...

Jonathan Townsend

To help keep things productive and civil - let's presume the reader wishes to understand the perspective of others, and has access to a dictionary, the internet for items linked via URL... Inquiring minds want to know: What do you mean by actor? And from that, how would someone look at their work to...

Jonathan Townsend

Let's pretend to do some rational analysis of our institutional thinking. Possible realities include; 1) You know and use real magic, and have your workings set up so you can repeat your efforts in front of audiences so they work the same each time and... 2) You have a character which follows his sc...

Jonathan Townsend

It's true that, theoretically, magicians are not actors (and obviously!), but, in practise, they are actors (they don't really do magic). "In practice" would mean the application of acting skills, acting technique, and acting knowledge. If you look around among our peers, with few excepti...

Jonathan Townsend

Thanks Tom. Unless someone has three used and ready to go, my plan is to get one - then try out the presentation. If that works for folks (at work machine shop shhhh ;) ) the additional parts will make up props that can be left on the shelf for the curious to ponder. :D The items appear to be molded...

Jonathan Townsend

Feedback from a performance may be "I don't believe you". That could be not believing the supposedly mundane actions were in fact mundane, the props were innocent of trickery or... Not believing the performer was the source of the claimed magic. "nice gestures but those are big and st...

Jonathan Townsend

Expensive - Yes, even more so to obtain three* for a go/no-go gauge type presentation. Looking for used as these will be handled. The design/method (from videos and a diagram so I might not be 100% correct); tight tolerance on a square and circle - and the colored outlines which their fit their open...

Jonathan Townsend

Hi Folks,
If you have a Tenyo Geometrick (T-136) that you're not using and willing to part with - I'd like to purchase.
This is for use, not collecting, so used condition is fine.

Thanks in advance,
Jonathan

msg here, or ... jontown@a.o.l.c.o.m email

Jonathan Townsend

Even the "trick that can't be explained" has a script.

How many items do you perform which don't have scripts?

Jonathan Townsend

Jack Shalom wrote:Waiting for a definition of actor and acting. Without that, there's no point to this discussion.

The sticking point seems to be "trained". Scared of that word.

[joke] magician is an actor trained to talk down to audiences and show his hands empty at odd moments [/joke]

Jonathan Townsend

Tarotist wrote:Mind you I have read some magic historian or other saying that Torrini didn't exist in the first place!

The greatest trick Torrini ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.

If only Houdini had written the book "The Unmasking of Torrini"...

Jonathan Townsend

The book, and page make context for this digression about terms - not crafts. From Hoffmann's translation: ESCAMOTAGE, PRESTIDIGITATION Before we proceed to make practical use of the two words which head this chapter, it will be as well to get a clear understanding of their true meaning, and to do t...

Jonathan Townsend

Pondering Richard's position that a magician is not an actor - and how that might be true... An actor usually seeks to convince the audience of the validity of the inner sentiments of his onstage character, to portray a relatable person in context. This is in contrast to the magician who seeks to co...

Jonathan Townsend

Magicians are not actors. They are entertainers. Much methodology in magic relies on simulation and effective misrepresentation. i. e. acting as if. Therefore acting. E.g. The classic force; Done while acting as if the card just below the break where to be pushed into the volunteer's hands - it wou...

Jonathan Townsend

Just a little further down the page are oft overlooked gems. A little further into the text one may find a discussion of audience attention and finding the right moment to do something tricky. Back to the actor page; beyond the origin of the word in question we find some advice passed along by Verno...

Jonathan Townsend

Also

The guy deserved to be honored before he passed on.

Jumping the line to ask this but... Any collectors up for sending images of his items in for a decent article on his work? It'd be fun to see his initials on the "chinese" coin, his stack ... etc.

Jonathan Townsend

@Koudai, music and dance are choices. Does the music also drive the action? moments \\ speak in gesture. What compels a gesture which displays your empty hand? Possibilities there include coin hot, coin cold, coin slippery, coin sticky... perhaps a tiny pinch of magic powder-just enough to make a co...

Jonathan Townsend

About Matt Pritchard's illusions ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc3BnMw5Qvg

Jonathan Townsend

Richard Kaufman wrote:It would be difficult to ascertain how they describe magic, since they are unreliable narrators.

The notion of agency seems pretty common when folks describe magic. i.e. some agency acted such that something is what it would not have otherwise been.

Jonathan Townsend

Al Schneider wrote:Does anyone care how the audience defines magic?

Their beliefs/expectations - yes. Their language if asked - not likely.

Jonathan Townsend

Tarotist wrote:Are we talking about real magic or pretend magic?

That's a tough one. ++ for the insight Tarotist.

Jonathan Townsend

Putting all inexplicable phenomena into a class is ... implicitly done with the label "inexplicable". Putting magic into that class is sensible. It remains to distinguish magic from any other member of that class.

Jonathan Townsend

Al Schneider wrote:Magic is a class of events of which there is no possible explanation.

How does one distinguish an event as magical as opposed to any other member of that set of inexplicable events?

Jonathan Townsend

...Isn't there a better alitteration? Maybe. But in practice the term suits. Folks go visiting there, and the place is held as special in our community. The art is attracting the best available and accreting its own traditions and semiotics. As with turbans, fezs, castles, ruins in the backyard, wa...

Jonathan Townsend

Vernon "ascended" into our mythology leaving a small school of disciples who gathered in Hollywood. He also spoke to a generation about refining ones work, methods, striving for excellence, presenting the audience with plausibly consistent mannerisms, and history. But must we create our ow...

Jonathan Townsend

Magic for the genius bar? A s*m*a*r*t*w*a*t*c*h which comes with its own clown nose. Extra noses 29.99 at ??

* how come that word smart***** got censored?

Jonathan Townsend

Is it okay to blame Al Goshman for reshaping wetsuit material into a closeup pad and selling sponges? :) We could focus in from the social party-goer down to treating the bridge table as if it were a theater and the closeup pad as if it were a stage. Then, in the sense of the magic shop in America, ...

Jonathan Townsend

@Al what about David's latest Arrival silk scarf?

Search found 8710 matches