Some Magicians… Worry About the Wrong Things.

Massachusetts Magician

Joe Ferranti 339-927-4710

Some magicians worry about how much “time” they get out of a routine. I suggest we worry about the impact each routine will have on our audience, not on how to fill time as goal-to complete be a task.

Perhaps you’ve seen the ads, Five Minutes with a… (rope, pocket handkerchief, etc.) The ads focus on the time you will get out of a routine. I understand the need to structure our act to fill different time slots. I think we are starting at the end, instead of the beginning. If our primary focus is on building a 45-minute act, we may miss the mark of 45 minutes of top-notch entertainment.

Close Up-Strolling Magician Mass.

I’ve learned a few things, thinking back to my time in school. Certainly not my glory days, and not directly pertinent to this topic. What applies was my attitude. I wasn’t enjoying the journey, and my goal was to find the quickest way to finish an assignment.

As a child, “being done” meant reclaiming time to do what I wanted… playing with friends, watching TV… all important to an adolescent, but came at a cost of other things I had yet to realize were also important.

Magic is entertainment.

As an adult, I have learned to invest time for reasons other than satisfying my desire to avoid work.

I am referring to those magic tricks that fill up time with not enough regard for entertainment. I won’t name the “tricks”, but I am talking about the ones which are promoted as “time consumers”.

Time is important when putting together an act, even vital in competitions. Time is not important, in fact, it is detrimental when viewed from a perspective as “filler”.

The length of a routine is important information, because we have timelines which affect our client’s needs. Not to fill a program with fluff! There’s just no room for filler… we are making entertainment, not pillows.

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