More Stuff from Scott F. Guinn
This page will contain articles, news of upcoming releases and possibly excerpts of new books. I will be adding and changing content here from time to time, so check back often.NEW! (October 07)
I just added a new book, "The Bird's Eye" to the site. Written by my good friend Raymonde Crow, it is chock full of great magic and advice. You'll find it on the Books Page.COMING SOON
I am currently working on my newest book, titled A Little Something. It will have about 15 routines, profusely photo-illustrated, and will contain close up magic with cards and coins as well as some parlor/platform stuff. There will be very easy stuff and more advanced stuff--"a little something" for everyone! Should go for $20 to $25, and you'll find it on the books page when it's finished.The Blowing Smoke articles
Many of you are aware that I had a regular column for a while in the "Smoke and Mirrors" magazine. I'll be posting those articles here for your perusal. I hope you enjoy them.The Blowing Smoke articles, #3: What’s Happened To Stage Magic?
I’ll say this right off the bat: I’m not a huge fan of “Grand Illusion.” There are exceptions. I thoroughly enjoy Lance Burton, for example. But let me describe what I experienced one weekend while I was in L.A.
Friday night I went to the Magic Castle Awards Show, largely due to the fact that two of my good friends, Paul Green and Aldo Colombini were nominated for lecturer of the year, and another friend, Stan Kramien, was receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award. I went with high expectations for the gala, and for the most part, I was disappointed. I felt that Jeff Hobson did a good job with the Master of Ceremonies duties, and that the people who received the awards certainly deserved them. What bothered me were the stage acts that performed in between the presentations of the awards.
I was VERY excited to see the legendary Shimada (who I later had to follow at the evening show at Kramien’s Northwest Magic Jamboree - GULP!) in person, and he did not disappoint. What DID disappoint was the parade of Shimada wannabes who seemed to follow, one after the other. Am I the only person who notices this “same-ness” in the stage acts of today? Shimada was a trailblazer, an innovator, and even after all these years, he still performs a virtually flawless act. But the other acts? One after another they came, to almost the same music, dressed in almost the same costumes, with the same blonde, scantily clad assistants. First, they produced a sword. Then fire came from the sword. The fire changed to a silk or Kabuki streamer. From the silk and/or streamer, a dove was produced. Most followed this with a minor variation of the disappearance of the magician or assistant and their reappearance in the audience! It seemed like an endless parade, but it was really only (!) four or five acts. The saving grace was Carl Ballantine’s farewell performance, which I am happy to say I was able to enjoy. Even the one act that was truly unique from the others was technically horrendous, telegraphing the use of invisible thread to all and sundry and fumbling with a “secret” load!
Next came the “Magicians World Fair” in Burbank. More of the same. The acts that didn’t do the sword and fire bit did a Chavez act, in varying degrees of proficiency, but all with the same material in virtually the same sequence. All produced doves. One produced a dove in front of a seated audience volunteer. The dove pooped all over her, but at least she was given a T-Shirt! I didn’t see it, but can only imagine that it read, “I got crapped on by a dove in Hollywood!” There were only one or two acts that didn’t produce birds! When did stage magic become code for a bird act? (If you taped “The World’s Greatest Magic” specials, go back and count how many of the stage acts produced birds!)
The other thing that TRULY irritates me is the cocky, arrogant expressions that the magicians make when they produce the birds—even when an eighty year old woman in the back row can see them fumbling to catch that darn harness at the edge of the coat! The best acts, like Cardini, enjoyed the magic that was happening around and TO them, and shared in the audience’s amazement. Instead, every one of these performers looked out at the audience with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, as if to say, “Check ME out!”
Well, I say it’s time for a change! How about a few more TALKING acts, where the magician actually INTERACTS with the audience? How about a Chavez act that puts a little individual personality and style into the show (as evidenced by Neil Foster and Norm Neilson)? How about an act that produces and vanishes something besides birds, and gives us a REASON to watch them? And for crying out loud, if you’re booking the acts, stop at ONE of the kind I’ve been mentioning! Or maybe that’s part of the problem. Maybe these are the only kind of acts that are out there! What happened to stage magic? Maybe you think it’s fine just the way it is. Maybe you think I’m just blowing smoke!