How should I define a theme for an act?

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Santiago Vassallo
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How should I define a theme for an act?

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November 26, 2012, 04:21:05 PM »

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Hi! I've been thinking about acts and the importance of building
them around a theme but I'm not sure how to come up with
one.

What I'm asking with the topic subject is something like how do
you express your theme if you want to write it? I mean, is it a
premise? A question? A situation?

For example, can be the theme of an act the question "Do you
believe in coincidences?" or is better to say that the theme is
just "Coincidences"? Maybe this word is too broad... How
narrow should it be?

I'm a bit confused

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alanjonesUK
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Re: How should I define a theme for an act?

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November 27, 2012, 04:41:52 AM »

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I think this is good question and worth some careful thought..

Like many when I started to perform I simply presented a

series of effects with no coherence and no framework. So
whilst each effect had is theme and internal consistency there
was no thread to create the emotional tapestry to bind the act
together. It's fair to say that I was not really happy with those
performances and there was nothing to set me aside from any
other performer.

I started to apply the thinking I was using as a drama

teacher...

The kind of questions I started to ask were about the premise

and process which were implied or stated in my effects.

What abilities am I claiming?

I think that an act should be built upon one set of abilities - are
you using body language, extra sensory perception? Are you a
seer of the future?

I'm sure it's been said elsewhere that the more abilities you
display in a single act the less credible you can appear.

IMO your overarching theme can, as you say, built around a

question, a situation ....
The easier it is for your audience to connect to the idea behind
the premise or situation the stronger the initial emotional
connection and level of interest.

I like the "What if....?" question which links to some kind of

ability or opportunity to explore a possibly improbable reality.

What if .... it was possible to read a persons deepest secrets

through the application of psychology and body langoage?

In this example we have the possibility of linking the theme to

TV shows such as The Mentalist and Lie to Me which will be in
the consciousness of some of your audiences.

What if ... some people really possess to ability to tap into the
thoughts and emotions of another person. Could we read their
minds and touch their hearts? Could we lead them to see and
feel things differently?

What if there is no such thing as coincidence just examples of

universal synchronicity - moments when the threads of our
individual lives blend with the weft and weave of the cosmos
and magic is possible...

I think these kind of questions, when scripted and presented to

an audience offer a framework within which your magic can
happen. Also a theme may appear to be narrow and limiting
the effects you can use - but that is not the case..

A precognitive, prediction, effect can be framed as an

'influence' and 'persusuasion'....

A telepathy effect can be framed as body language...

I think a framework or theme is actually liberating and offers

an internal consistency that 'feels' satisfying for your audience.
 Another source for frames or themes, of course, will be news
stories, films and popular urban myths. I think it's worth trying
to find current links to the effects your perform.....

My current show - which at its core has a psychological, mind

persuasion focus - starts with Chronologue and a story about
my grandfather, who apart from telling me stories introduced
me to the song 'Deck of Cards' .... the spectator is asked to
change their mind several times (without saying a word) and I
simply say 'Yes that one, the one you're thinking of now" and
lead into Chronologue (thanks Bob!!)... Now I talk about
synchronicity and how rather than being a link between us and
the cosmos, its more about a link between minds...

My final effect is a 'prediction' effect framed as subliminal

persuasion - or, perhaps manipulated synchronicity ...

Hope that makes some kind of sense...

Alan

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Alan Jones

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Santiago Vassallo
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Re: How should I define a theme for an act?

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November 28, 2012, 07:30:16 AM »

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I think I'm getting it!

So for example, a theme for an act could "Does it really exist a

thread that connect ourselves with people we are supposed to
meet?" (Touch). In this context it's easy to select effects that
can be presented along this line and proving the theme to be
true. I think it's a theme that can support a lot of type of
predictions and alike, been an excellent choice those that
predict the spectator who will be selected.

Personally I've chosen mindreading as ability, so I should look

for a premise or question along this lines

Quote from: alanjonesUK on November 27, 2012, 04:41:52 AM

What if ... some people really possess to ability to tap into the thoughts
and emotions of another person. Could we read their minds and touch
their hearts? Could we lead them to see and feel things differently?"

Thank you Alan! I really appreciate your help!

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Re: How should I define a theme for an act?

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Reply #3 on:​
November 28, 2012, 12:07:18 PM »

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Glad my ramblings made sense...

To add some thoughts - the theme can be both a stated thing

in the firm of a question or statement...

eg : each moment in time is connected to the moment before

and the moment which follows AND some say that each mind is
connected to other minds within and around the moments they
are together .... tonight we will explore these connections;
these moments when minds touch minds ...

OR

it can simply be the subtext implied by the structure of your act

and the way effects are framed.

Just a thought about mind reading - mind is an abstract

concept and so defining mind and exploring the nature ofvmind
to mind communication is a theme ....

All te best

Alan

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Alan Jones

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Re: How should I define a theme for an act?

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February 26, 2013, 08:49:57 AM »

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My claims/themes were more or less a given; I really did start
at a very young age, questioning things I'd done and seen
other members of the family do when it came to what we call
the "Paranormal". This line of questioning lead me down two
paths; that or religious study as well as that of theater --
Magic.

By my late teens I was already molding any psychic styled

work I did under the header of "Intuition" partly due to a
routine I'd adopted from Eddie Joseph; a blindfold act known as
"Intuitional Sight" -- I liked the logic he presented within the
manuscript and it resonated with my own quest and
discoveries. In the years since the idea has evolved but
remains a constant.

BUT, I have the advantage of coming from a family filled with

weirdos, eccentrics and those who dabbled in various forms of
Magick . . . as in Hoodoo and Voodoo, etc. So I likewise lean on
those roots, especially when it comes to PR literature. Tales of
my mother's estranged father and his connection to the
esoteric via Alister Crowley being one of my favorite angles;
I've blamed that poor man on leaving behind so many little
boxes and strange books it ain't funny. The thing is, artifacts
are an awesome tool to have at your disposal and something
I've been expanding on in the past decade, so as to include a
wider variety of oddities under the ruse of my simply hunting
down and collecting items that as said to be haunted as well as
those things that played witness to catastrophic events.

All of this stuff allows me to stray a bit away from the Intuition
thing and touch upon an alternative reality that has little to do
with my personal claim (other than an expressed interest in
ghosts & seances). In other words, I put the claim onto the
artifacts rather than myself.

The other thing I do, especially when dealing with Intuition

itself, is put as much material as I can into their hands so they
can see from experience that what I claim is true . . . it's a
very natural ability and has nothing to do with boogiemen. I
guess you could say that I try to educate them but without
ripping their belief apart.

The other thing that's imperative to my mind, is knowing what

your claim really means; a Telepath cannot tell you how much
change you have on you unless you have taken it out of your
pocket and added it up (nor would he be aware of that extra
dime so many love loading), to do the classic "Change in
Pocket" routine one would have to be a Clairvoyant, who deals
in the unseen. This might sound like nit-picking but if we
aren't true to the claim there will be those in the audience that
will catch you up and be able to challenge your claims if not out
you as being a total fake . . . an ignorant one at that.

Another thing I tell newbies is to look at your own life, it's full
of material that will allow you to find your footing when it
comes to persona and claims. I happen to have a very colorful
 family line that connects me to some very strange individuals
like Crowley, E. A. Poe, Tod Browning, etc. but we can find
similar highlights in most anyone's genealogy and find it within
3-5 generations. Similarly, look at the history of your home
town; there's not a community that's over 75 years in age that
doesn't have some ghostly and macabre tales; seek them out!
Use the libraries microfilm archives and grab the headlines,
obits, etc. and build things from there.

Look at your own interests and hobbies, this will tell you more
about yourself and how to bend your persona. I've been
involved with Fantasy Role Play since the original D&D came
out and I can't count the number of Renaissance Fairs I've
been involved with. These are a part of me and who I am so it
only makes sense that I tie these things into what I present on
stage . . . then again I did play Darth Vader at a comic
convention on year, using Meyer Telepathy in Action as a way

to prove the power of the force.

I know I've covered a wide birth here, but all these little things
are what made you who you are in real life, why shouldn't they
serve as catalysts in creating the public persona and defining
your claims as a showman/mind reader?

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Jheff
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Re: How should I define a theme for an act?

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Reply #5 on:​
February 26, 2013, 12:31:20 PM »

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I'm not so sure that the word "theme" is the right one. What
you want is an idea that will thread through all the routines in
your act to create a natural flow. I would start with that idea
and find effects that fit that.

Also, it must be an idea that flows naturally out of your

characters. As an example of what not to do, look at Jamy Ian
Swiss. He does an entire act of mentalism (mostly with cards)
and then ends by saying he can't really do that and that it's all
a trick. He just knocked the wind out of the sails of his entire
act because he betrayed his persona. If one doesn't believe in
mind reading, then do effects which show that mind reading
cannot be possible or have routines which demonstrate
influence but can be seen by others as mind reading, just to
name two examples of this.

- Jheff

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Craig Browning
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Re: How should I define a theme for an act?

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Reply #6 on:​
February 27, 2013, 10:55:22 AM »

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Quote from: Jheff on February 26, 2013, 12:31:20 PM
I'm not so sure that the word "theme" is the right one. What you want is
an idea that will thread through all the routines in your act to create a
natural flow. I would start with that idea and find effects that fit that.

Also, it must be an idea that flows naturally out of your characters. As

an example of what not to do, look at Jamy Ian Swiss. He does an entire
act of mentalism (mostly with cards) and then ends by saying he can't
really do that and that it's all a trick. He just knocked the wind out of
the sails of his entire act because he betrayed his persona. If one
doesn't believe in mind reading, then do effects which show that mind
reading cannot be possible or have routines which demonstrate influence
 but can be seen by others as mind reading, just to name two examples
of this.

- Jheff

I so hate acts of this sort. They insult the audience, especially

those of faith and belief. Jamie and some of the others out
there doing this kind of show usually fail to acknowledge how
much angst they create, let alone problems for other
performers.

​ehonatan Yosefi
Welcome back, Y
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How do you script your routines?

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Author Topic: How do you script your routines? (Read 170 times)
Santiago Vassallo
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How do you script your routines?

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September 25, 2012, 06:37:47 AM »

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Well, I think this is a very personal question, as I guess
everyone will have your own technique, but I'm asking this
because this is the part where I get stuck everytime I try to
prepare a routine.

I've never have problems understanding the instructions or the

technical part (switches, steal, tears) but when it comes to
script what I'm going to say I completely block myself and
 eventually move to another routine and so on, ending with a lot
of routines that I know step by step but I've never performed.

I'm trying to end this behavior. I've selected a routine (A

question and the answer) and I'm studying it, step by step,
technique by technique and now I'm again at the scripting part.

I'm thinking about creating an outline of actions and a basic

idea of what to say in each part (basically instructions, recaps
and reveal) and then go deep into each step.

What do you think? Do you have any advice on the subject?

Thank you a lot!

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David Thiel
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Re: How do you script your routines?

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Reply #1 on:​
September 25, 2012, 10:40:13 AM »

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The primary way I design my routines...again...it's only me:
1) I try very hard not to read the patter and look at the
prop/routine idea in as many different ways as possible. I try to
see it from the audience perspective first.

2) Play with the prop/idea...and as I play with it, I begin

presenting it to an imaginary audience. I'm not performing so
much as talking about the prop...how it might be used...what I
plan to do with it. It's really just a pile of verbal free
association.

3) At SOME POINT as I play around with it, an idea will come.

It may be a presentational "hook" or a line or a routine idea.
But there's always a moment of "aha."

4) I begin verbally presenting it to my imaginary audience

using my new focus, honing the presentation until I'm
reasonably happy with it.

5) When I have a routine I like, I write it down in my computer

as precisely as I can with notes for handling, nuances etc. I do
this because I will inevitably forget all the details I came up
with. I try to be very exact in what I write.

6) Try performing that routine word for word in front of the

patient imaginary audience. I inevitably find that my script is
utter crap...and I start over -- or begin renovations.

7) My mentor suggested that I perform a routine 100 times

PERFECTLY in a ROW before sharing it with someone else. So
that's what I do. Seriously. And if I make a mistake on
performance 64, I go right back to 1 and start over. (The really
good thing is that you'll totally know that routine by the time
you're done. There's really nothing technical that can go
wrong...of course there's the audience factor once I DO
perform it.)
 Go back to my written script and change it to reflect all the
revisions I made in my 100 performances.

9) Introduce it to the audience in the MIDDLE of close-up sets.

Work the bugs out there. The audience/human factor is always
random and quite wonderful. At some point I am comfortable
enough to put it into my stage show.

10) When I perform it onstage, no matter HOW HIGH I am on

the effect, it goes into the middle of the show, sandwiched
between two strong effects. This way, if it doesn't work, the
damage is minimal.

11) FINALLY -- when it's in the stage show, make one final
revision to the script...and I'm done.

I know it sounds very anal to do it this way...but I've followed

this process over and over again. It's the only way I know to be
given a good probability of a polished performance.

Sometimes the process takes a few days -- sometimes it takes

a LOT longer. I've got some things I've been working with for
years.

Hope this is helpful.

David

«​
Last Edit: September 25, 2012, 10:43:59 AM by David Thiel​
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Santiago Vassallo
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Re: How do you script your routines?

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Reply #2 on:​
September 25, 2012, 03:16:28 PM »

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David, please explain me this

Quote
I perform a routine 100 times PERFECTLY in a ROW before sharing it with
someone else

Are you meaning that you practice it in front of an imaginary

audience 100 times and if it all goes well you perform it for real
people?

I really liked your process, I'll add the part of practicing it a lot
of times before I make changes on the script. I use to write
something and then enter in a process of corrections when I
haven't even try it once to see if it works.

I'll write the presentation and then, before any corrections, I'll
practice it a lot of times and THEN I'll make the corrections.
And then I'll practice again until I'll be satisfied with the
 results. I suppose the next step will be present it to some
friend or close relative.

Thank you for taking the time to answer this post!

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David Thiel
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Re: How do you script your routines?

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Reply #3 on:​
September 25, 2012, 09:37:21 PM »

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Yup. My imaginary audience has seen me screw up frequently.
They still show up though.

You're welcome.

David

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 If at first you don't succeed, avoid skydiving.
Max McLaughlin
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Re: How do you script your routines?

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Reply #4 on:​
September 27, 2012, 11:42:35 AM »

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Thanks for sharing that David, you've obviously worked it out
in great detail. I almost never perform for an imaginary
audience. I go straight to live subjects, either my cats or my
dogs. They heckle something fierce, but it's worth it.

When I first look at an effect that I like, I try to do so "in

character". How would my performing persona react to this
object/story when first exposed to it?

When I do perform, whether it's old or new material, I run my

little Panasonic recorder so I can play back audio to detect bad
habits or places that need to be tightened up.
 Max

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Santiago Vassallo
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Re: How do you script your routines?

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Reply #5 on:​
September 27, 2012, 12:19:27 PM »

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I'll video record the practice too, so I'll see how the imaginary
audience saw the routine.

I've also recorded me practicing billet switches, I'm building

some kind of videolog for myself

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Bob Cassidy
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Re: How do you script your routines?

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Reply #6 on:​
September 28, 2012, 10:48:38 AM »

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You'll know when your billet switches are perfect when you
watch the video and it looks like you are just standing there
doing nothing.

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Steve A Glaser
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Re: How do you script your routines?

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Reply #7 on:​
September 28, 2012, 09:49:05 PM »

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I've been a writer for most of my life, so I'm pretty comfortable
putting down words at the keyboard. But I'll often end up
telling myself something like what Harrison Ford told George
Lucas in the middle of filming the first Star Wars film: "George,
you can ​
write​
this shit, but you can't s
​ay​
it!"

So I'll frequently take an approach closer to David's... I'll just

perform it out loud many times until I have something
comfortable, write that out, and then look at it like an editor
and polish it down. Sometimes I still wind up with something
easier to write than to say, but when I do manage to say it, it
at least sounds like my character.
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Santiago Vassallo
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Re: How do you script your routines?

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Reply #8 on:​
September 29, 2012, 06:28:52 AM »

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Steve I liked that approach too, in fact I'll approach the
routines that way instead of try to write something before,
which is such a difficult task for me.

Bob you're absolutely right. I decided recording myself after I

viewed your videos about switches from the last teleseminar.
 Before you explained them, it looked like nothing had
happened. After I tried a few times, I noted that recording is
better than using a mirror, because you do what you have to
do and then you can go back and check what you did instead of
being paying attention to the mirror. I know, I haven't
discovered America, but it makes me smile anyway.

«​
Last Edit: September 29, 2012, 06:32:06 AM by Santiago Vassallo​
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Craig Browning
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 Re: How do you script your routines?
«​
Reply #9 on:​
October 01, 2012, 05:54:01 AM »

● Quote
Quote from: Bob Cassidy on September 28, 2012, 10:48:38 AM
You'll know when your billet switches are perfect when you watch the
video and it looks like you are just standing there doing nothing.

I've watched videos of my self working and wondered how the

heck I did something because I never see the work. . . I so
love it when I find such snippets, it tells me that all the fussing
was worth it.

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Mark Paulson
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 Re: How do you script your routines?
«​
Reply #10 on:​
October 01, 2012, 06:37:23 PM »

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For over a year now, I video almost all my rehearsals. It really
helps me when I edit scripts for blocking and to get rid of
annoying habits, like flashing or using unnecessary words. I
also video a lot of my performances to see if I followed my own
advice.

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Max McLaughlin
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Re: How do you script your routines?

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Reply #11 on:​
October 02, 2012, 07:34:13 AM »
 ● Quote
The last time I did a large group presentation, I filmed it from
behind (my best side). This way I could hear the routine, and
see the audience reactions in real time.
It was gratifying and mortifying in equal measure. Showed me
quite clearly where I was losing them.

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Santiago Vassallo
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Re: How do you script your routines?

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Reply #12 on:​
October 02, 2012, 10:07:03 AM »
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Filming from behind is a great idea, thank you!

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Jheff
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Re: How do you script your routines?

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Reply #13 on:​
October 07, 2012, 07:32:15 AM »

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The technique I use and recommend is to simply pretend to
perform it as you would on stage. Record it (at least the
audio) and then transcribe your script. Now look at your script
and see what needs to be added and what needs to be
removed. If it's substantial, then think about what you need to
change and then go through those steps again (record,
transcribe, evaluate). Don't change the words to be
grammatically correct as we don't often speak that way. Write
it down exactly as you say it. And for those who can edit their
 work just by seeing or listening, great, but it's always a very
good idea to have a written version of your act (especially if
you want a director or third person to help you).

- Jheff

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Larry Darbonne
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Re: How do you script your routines?

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Reply #14 on:​
October 08, 2012, 09:20:55 AM »

● Quote
Quote from: Jheff on October 07, 2012, 07:32:15 AM
 Don't change the words to be grammatically correct as we don't often
speak that way.

These are not words I remember hearing from my English

teachers.

Great advice on transcribing what you say.

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