GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF MAGIC
1 . Make your magic direct and to the point
Conjuring makes too heavy a demand upon the faculties of the spectators to admit of being unduly prolonged . It is a well-known fact that attention too long sustained often degenerates into weariness . Comte , an authority of the highest weight upon the subject of public exhibitions , was of this opinion , as is sufficiently proved by the invariable title of his own entertainment-- " Two hours of magic ;" two hours being the precise duration of his performance .
2 . Build to a climax
The most elementary rule of a conjuring entertainment is to arrange the program after the manner of the feats exhibited in bygone days on the stage of Nicolet--de plus fort en plus fort-- i . e ., always to make each trick more surprising than the last .
3 . Be fun and friendly
Nothing is so catching as good spirits ; the conjuror therefore should do his utmost to meet the public with a hearty , genial manner , taking care , however , to keep rigidly within the bounds of propriety and good taste .
4 . Act beyond the climax
Some artists commit , when performing , a fault which cannot be too carefully avoided ; they lay aside their animated and genial expression the moment the trick is over , as if they were mere smiling machines , set in motion and stopped at the touch of a spring .
5 . Never announce beforehand the nature of the effect which you intend to produce
However skillful the performer may be , and however complete his preparations for a given trick , it is still possible that some unforeseen accident may cause a failure . The only way to get out of such a difficulty is to finish the trick in some other manner . But to be able to do this , the performer must have strictly complied with this important rule : never announce beforehand the nature of the effect which you intend to produce .
6 . Never apologize when a trick fails
However awkward the position in which you may be placed by a breakdown , never for one moment dream of admitting yourself beaten ; on the contrary , make up for the failure by coolness , animation , and " dash ." Invent expedients , display redoubled dexterity , and the spectators , misled by your self-possession , will probably imagine that the trick was intended to end as it has done .
7 . Never complain
Do not , under any circumstances whatever , ask the indulgence of the public . The spectators may fairly say that they have paid their money to find you skillful , up to your work , in good health and spirits ; that they expect , in these particulars , their fair weight and measure , and that you have no right to put them off with complaints .
8 . Believe your own words
Although all one says during the course of a performance is--not to mince the matter--a tissue of falsehoods , the performer must sufficiently enter into the part he plays , to himself believe in the reality of his fictitious statements . This belief on his own part will infallibly carry a like conviction to the minds of the spectators .
9 . Offer false explanations
Nothing should be neglected which may assist in misleading the minds of the spectators : ergo , when you perform any trick , endeavor to induce the audience to attribute the effect produced to any cause rather than the real one ; thus , a feat of dexterity should be presented as resting on some mechanical or scientific principle ; and again , a trick really depending on a scientific principle should be offered as a result of sleight-of-hand .
10 . Don ยด t talk about magic techniques
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