I have seen several magicians perform on stage in my life so far, and I have noticed that almost every one of them has a section of sleight of hand with cards as an opener. This is not that big of a deal, but most of them appear to be very similar, same pattern, same sleights, same flow.
WHY
One magician I have seen in the last 2 years said he had gotten an award for this particularsection of his act. The only differance that I noticed was the length of time he spent on it: Eight minutes His name was Terry Evanswood.
Is the reason for this being repeated the fact that one person was awarded for this portion of his show, and it being that others coppyed him?
If anyone knowsanything about this, please respond.

Maybe... because it works well for them?

I personally believe that any good magic stage act deserves at least a little manipulation routine, be it with cards, coins, or whatever. All of the great magic acts that I've seen have used some type of manipulation routine. It shows skill, yet amazes the audience.

I'm not the only one who shares this belief. Fielding West, a great comedy magician, has stated the same as well. So it's great that these magicians are doing a manipulation act. The more you see magic though, the more you will notice that many people are doing the same material. They all, should at least, switch it up, but that's the nature of magic.

In speaking technically, all magic boils down to the same basic principals and moves, etc. The point of magic, or of any art, it to add personality and originality to it. Also, magicians should hopefully arrive at their own premises for routines after they've developed their character, etc. Even if many magicians repeat the effects, no two GOOD magicians will have the same presentation, persona, power, wonder as the next. I always like to use Gazzo as an example, so lets use him now: when you look at Gazzo perform the cups and balls, his presentation is hilarious comedy, his persona is a bitter Brit, the power of the routine is the presentation and simplicity, and the wonder that he creates isn't as much as you might see in other acts that focus solely on that very subject (like the mystic stage acts that some portray, or even of a certain stylistic difference a performance,) yet he focuses on ENTERTAINING first, magic second. I think that that is a good philosophy to live by in terms of prestidigitation because, although the magic might spark interest and possibly wonder, it doesn't suffice in the actual performance. An audience should always be entertained, awed, and amazed. If a magician succeeds in accomplishing these objectives, than he will be a successful and prosperous entertainer and ultimately artist.

This is kind of off-topic, and some might disagree, but I think that the art of busking is good practice for magicians and other people in the entertainment business. Busking will really give you a reality check as to how entertaining you are and how well you can handle a crowd. Most magicians are oblivious to these factors because people don't really have the option of leaving or "walking away" so to speak during a paid show because, to be frank, the paid and want to see it pan out. Busking will really serve as a reality check to those magicians because if people are bored, they can walk away (they don't have to watch,) if people are getting fed up with obnoxious and rude remarks that people are making and you don't know how to stop it, then they can leave, etc. If people leave, then you don't get paid; it's as simple as that. If you're good enough to keep people's attention and interest through a whole sidewalk-show or circle-show, and make them WANT TO PAY YOU at the end, then you know that you are probably doing something right. In reality, people probably don't want to pay for something that they initially didn't ask to see, but when you can make them want to pay you, as opposed to simply walking away, then you know that you're a good performer. Busking can be a Edited when you're just starting out, but give it time, it'll probably help you in the long run.

What does this all mean in relation to the topic? Magicians can share material so long as they are original in their presentation and character. People remember the show, you, and the amount of fun that they had; they won't necessarily be looking at what specific tricks you did. If card manipulation works for a stage performer's persona, they're good at it, and they can entertain or generate some type of wonder amongst the audience in a unique way, then people won't mind seeing several different magicians do it. Like any art, it's the fine touches of personality that make the difference. Look at a painter, all painters use the same materials, a canvas, paint brushes, and paint, but it is the fine touches of talent, creativity, and originality that generates masterpieces.





Mike

If I were performing regularly I would definitely include some manipulative magic. However, to be honest, frequently manipulation acts bore the edited out of me. At last years, World Magic Seminar in Las Vegas, the winning stage act was a Korean performer who did cards. He was phenomenal, but I couldn't wait for the act to end.

Everything in moderation.

I think the appearing/vanishing cane is a bit overused, but I haven't seen too much card manipulation as of late.

I'm always bewildered when I hear some stage magician claim they "Don't like cards" or "Don't like coins." The truth is if you can't do either you will be missing some critical skills that will benefit the rest of your magic.

If you don't like the manipulation routines you are seeing blame it on the magician, not the cards. Even if the act was nothing but card flourishing there are several main "styles," classical card flourishing typified by Jeff McBride and XCM. I even notice a few distinct styles in XCM. Brian Tudor’s style is performed at lightning speed and often done one handed and the Buck twins perform with a more fluid...almost elegant motions. Most of use are probably no where near the proficiency of any of McBride, Tudor, or the Bucks(If you were I'd probably be talking about you ) but that doesn't mean that demonstrations of card skill should be omitted from a stage show.