> David Parr LIVE

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Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on June 9th, 2017
I was passingly familiar with David Parr. I have a copy of his book Paper Prophecies, had seen him on an old Eugene Burger video, and had read the occasional forum posting. I started the lecture expecting a pleasant diversion with a few gems. Not only did it exceed my expectations, but I finished the lecture energized & excited about the possibilities of my own magic practice. Not only are there great effects I plan on getting started with today and ideas I plan to adopt in the future, but David's discourse on theory is incredibly clear and practical.

This lecture isn't filled with new ways of divining pin codes, variations on centre tears, or re-hashings of Annemann, but is instead filled with something much rarer... uniqueness and originality. The effects are idiosyncratic in their inception and elegant in their execution, while at the same time being commercially performable in almost any situation from the stage to the living-room.

Many of the effects involve compelling objects that you can leave with the participant. The thaumatrope routine is going to be performed as is, and the paper fortune-teller will be made up with a more “esoteric” angle (David: thinking of quaternaries, the 4 elements will work. Earth, Air, Water, Flame/Fires). There is also a mental card trick that fooled me badly, a beautiful & classical effect with an origami bird, and and extremely engaging & dramatic interpretation of classic “acid test” called Dinner with the Borgias.

David's theoretical discourse was worth the price of admission. Instead of invoking vagueries like wonder and enchantment, he offers clear and cogent advice on structure, drawn from a lifetime on the stage as a dramatist. You will walk away with concrete advice on how to conceptualize and contextualize what you do. Whether you are interested in narrative on stage, or just like to do a series of tricks, you will have some tools to instantly improve your scripting, delivery or patter.

I am a long time fan of the Penguin lecture series, but am not often compelled to write a review. There will be something of substance for everyone on this video. Recommended.

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