Description
Why is it so easy to deceive an audience but so hard to enchant them?
‘Making Tricks Into Magic’ is an online course about making magic tricks feel magical. We look at technical considerations like structure and design, performance techniques like the use of silence and the management of dramatic tension, and intangible factors like atmosphere, character, and mindset.
You’ll learn two of my favorite inventions—a close-up workhorse and the closer to my stage show. But mostly it’s a collection of specific tactics and techniques to amplify the power of any piece of magic—to make it stronger and more effective, and, I hope, a little more magical.
“…a literal game changer.”
DANIEL CHARD | PROFESSIONAL MAGICIAN
“This is probably the best $50 investment into magic that I’ve ever made.”
Lesson Guide
Welcome and Housekeeping
An Introduction to the Problem
Section 1: Technical Considerations
Example: Rubber Band Through Spectator’s Arm tutorial
Effect Design Part 3: Layering
Technique
Section 2: Performance
Tension and Release
Atmosphere
Character
Section 3: The Inner Game of Performing Magic
Closing Thoughts
NEW: Questions and Answers
“. . . it reminded me how much of a difference there is from someone merely showing tricks compared to Nate’s way of affecting his audiences by creating true moments of magic . . .”
– Marvin Berglas
Course Features
TWO ORIGINAL, UNPUBLISHED ROUTINES
Making Tricks Into Magic features two of my strongest pieces. Rubber Band Through Spectator’s Arm is a close-up workhorse—the sort of anywhere, anytime effect that you’ll end up doing everywhere. Name is a piece of mental magic I use to close my platform/stage show. It’s one of the strongest pieces in my show—certainly the strangest—and I teach it here as a way to illustrate some of the techniques we explore during the course.
SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES
We’ll unpack a collection of tools designed to amplify the power of your performances, from standalone techniques you can add to your show tonight to more foundational skills like the use of silence and the manipulation of dramatic tension throughout a routine. These techniques are style-agnostic so you can integrate them into your work regardless of your performance character and can be used in both close-up and platform/stage environments.
CREATIVE MODELS FOR STRONGER MAGIC
During the course we’ll examine a few different models that can improve the impact of a piece of magic. The Cone of Attention is a tool to guide the spectator’s experience throughout a routine so the effect is clear and the method is invisible. Cancelation and Layering are two techniques to enhance the impossibility of a piece of magic, both during the performance and in the audience’s memory afterwards. Each of these models are presented with practical examples and applications, and also with guided questions to help you apply them to your own work.
“This should be compulsory for every performing magician.”
