how do u guys feel when someone is performing in front of u and a bunch of other ppl knowing that ur performing as well? do u guys feel uneasy? or somewhat uninterested? many of us may not feel that way but cmon... there may be something like a magicians ego or pride. or something like that. just want to hear some comments. i did experience that b4 when a guy was doing a card trick that has DL and a false cut. it was simple but i just couldnt stand there and pretend i didint know what was happening, i didint want to look dumb. anyways that was kinda how i felt. not totally but i had that mild feeling of trying to be a heckler. not that i did. and its not like i would say " i know how its done " i dont want to ruin the guys act but still i felt kinda uneasy. especially when someone asked me if i knew how it was done. i just replied " i guess so"

so any comments? or experience regarding this situation?

i know what you mean, i perform with exodus a fair amount, and we give each other crap all the time (though it never damages the effects we are pulling off). But if i dont know the magician, i will not say anything concerning how it was done around the people he performed for, if it was just you and him in private, then i'd talk to him, but around others, i think its disrespectful. if someone asks me if i knew how it was done, i just shrug my shoulders and say i dont know. i know i hate the feeling when a spectator just sits there and at the end says they know, but wont explain it. so i just dont say anything. but exodus and i play off each other in our performances a lot. so if you know the magician, thats a fun strategy. but if i dont know them i just play the dumb spectator. i dont scream or anything but i dont talk about how it was done.

If the tricks I'm performing are angle sensetive, I might be uneasy, but if they are impromptu tricks, I don't mind other people watching. It just makes me more popular.

-B

edit: I misunderstood what he was trying to say. My answer doesn't have much to do what he said, so disregard all of the above. Sorry!

Came across this one the other day. A young beginner magician did a couple of farly decent mostly self-working card tricks, impressing my table. Someone asked me "do you know that one?" "Does it matter? I thought he did it very well."

I then later took the magician aside and reccomended pick up Royal Road or Card College, and study some false shuffles

Anytime another magician performs around me, I study everything about the trick they do and how they present it. I don't do this to tear them apart, but I believe you can learn something from just about anyone regardless of how well they perform. If they do things that I don't like, I make a point of staying away from that in my own performances. If they do something (trick-wise or presentation) that I like, I will find a way to use whatever I can and adapt it to my own style and personality.

If I'm the one performing, then I see that as a chance to pull out all the stops and not give them anything to talk about. If you are nervous around other magicians, then you need to perform more around other magicians. If something goes wrong during a performance (which should be rare if you were ready to peform the effect), a spectator will probably say "I saw that" or "I saw how you did that", ect. But another magician who is true to the world of magicians, would say "here's something you might do to make that trick better". Or something like that. I think you get the picture.

I do know what you're talking about though. When I was much younger, I viewed everything as a compitition between magicians. For some of them it is. But for many of us, we're there to help each other in any way we can.

I definitely agree. When a magician is in a crowd, its just good to clap when he finishes and act amazed or at least entertained.

Watch closely for ways to improve your own presentation of the effect. When they finish their act, be genuinely amazed. Isn't that how you would like someone else to be?