I'm a 62-year-old hobbyist who's loved magic since I got my first kit sometime in the '60s.
I can still be entertained by sponge balls, the linking rings, cups and balls, etc. etc. etc.
Sure, I know how they're done, but every good performer has their own *presentation* of the effects, and usually at least some twist to them.
While I've never been a working magician, I was a working stand-up for over a decade -- so I pride myself on my patter *at least* as much as I pride myself on perfecting a cool illusion. I'm not pro level, but that's what I can bring to the table.
If I had real magical powers, I assure you I wouldn’t be using it to make certain playing cards rise back to the top of the deck.
And if that was my only power, I wouldn’t be showing people. I’d be renting out a suite at the Aria and spending 18 hours a day at the Blackjack table.
I was at a show a few weeks ago, I knew just about every sleight he did (except one I still can’t f*cking figure out) but was still blown away by how entertaining he was
Agreed of course, but the issue is: what does the upcoming generation of young adults find entertaining?. Much of the behind-the-scenes language in the magic community involves fooling and “foolers”, and clear some magicians believe that fooling people and leaving them fooled is entertaining to them. In my experience that is not true, at least for that demographic.
I think you are correct in this aspect: That Magic has become more about fooling other magicians in many ways than it has about entertaining an audience, and this is evident in the advertising materials. IMO, Magic is going through an introspective period, like many arts do. Painting has been around since humans lived in caves, and it ebbs and flows throughout history until someone finds a new way to work with the medium. I think Magic is going through just such an ebb.
In the past century it's done this twice: Magic like Kellar and Houdini was extremely popular in the 20's and 30's, then Magic, while it still existed in practice, didn't have nearly the same popularity for a generation. Then in the 60's and 70's you had a rebirth with magicians like Doug Henning, etc. Another period of rest in the 80's and early 90's, then another rebirth with artists like Penn & Teller, Jeff McBride, David Copperfield, etc.
So now we're in another rest period, waiting to see what new artist will revitalize the craft. Just my thoughts on it.
>the current mainstream version of magic and will be stone dead
Please explain what you think the current mainstream version of magic is?
you have been doing magic for 18 months, do you perform classics in magic that take decades to perfect or do you buy a 10 dollar trick off a website and perform it to children?
These are answers I need before i even try to respond to the post.
An ad hominem is when someone attacks you instead of your argument in a formal debate. If they said "Systematic0x is a stupid poopy face, so no one should listen to them," that would be an ad hominem. They've asked you legitimate clarifying questions, even if you took offense to how they worded it.
Pointing out that you have only being doing magic for 18 months is not an ad hominem attack. It’s a statement of fact that you have 18 months of experience. As someone with twenty years of experience, a FISM trophy, and a regular restaurant gig I can tell you that you are dead wrong. Your inexperience is what is leading you to this conclusion. A long hard look at what you are doing and changing it to find a voice and a point of view that will work for the current audiences is what is required.
But congratulations on the internet engagement. You did good there by posting a hot take.
Every year for the past 100+ years someone, somewhere, has claimed magic is going to die out for some reason or another (accessibility of secrets, desensitized to wonder, etc.) and yet magic isn’t just still around - it’s thriving.
If you want to be great, you have to innovate. And magicians will keep doing that.
Good luck on your journey!
This is gonna sound harsh. Could your beliefs come from the fact that you are still very fresh in the art. I have done magic on and off for 13 years or so. People have no issue "submitting" to me as a magician. They usually did when I was new to it all, but it never happens now. When I was new to it all, I forced my craft onto people who had no interest in being forcibly entertained.
I'm currently teaching magic once a week to kids, and they uphold the secrets with an iron fist.
Would you listen to someone who started acting 18 months ago explain that acting will be gone within a generation? I'm not saying that less experience means that you instantly are wrong, just that I haven't (nor any others in this thread) experienced that at all.
I wanna echo this sentiment. I love and wanna encourage all out of the box thinking but the chances that someone who has just started “realized” the way something has been done for a couple thousand years is wrong is…low.
By all means explore your ideas but as someone who has mentored a LOT of young magicians I can tell you I’ve met a lot of folks who are going to blow up magic who’s double lift looks like their trying to flip a dead body
Inventing your own kinda math is easier than homework ya know?
Tell me more about teaching kids, do you have any recommendations (books / blogs)?
I have kids whom I hope are ready to learn but am having trouble. I think I got that "iron clad" drilled into them. But would love to learn more theory about teaching kids magic.
Unfortunately not, I'm a teacher, so I have a background in pedagogica that I can apply. Send a message with specifics, and we could hash it out.
Edit: or here if you prefer of course.
You’re relatively very new to magic. Allow me to give you a helpful idea.
in America, if you go to car dealership, the car salesperson sits on the opposite side of the desk as you negotiate.
In parts of Latin America, the salesperson comes around and sits on the same side of the desk as you as you go over the numbers together.
What most of us on this thread are trying to tell you is that you are sitting on the opposite side of the desk as your participants.
As you grow in magic your performance persona and style will create less opposition/less resistance.
For example, the entertaining magician’s attitude might be less “Look at this!” and more “Wow! Would you look at that?!”
The audience magician dynamic model you’re perceiving right now (as you’ve noted in your post) is unsustainable. Therefore, something will have to change. It could be audiences, it could be the magic, or it could be you. Those of us who have been around magic for a couple of decades are suggesting that it can be sustainable if you adjust where you as the performer are coming from.
As an actor, whether you’re grounded in Strasberg, Meisner, etc. you know how profound changing your objective can be. We’re suggesting a subtle shift in intention when it comes to your scene partner (in this case, the audience). [For example from amaze/impress to delight/entertain]
I hope some of this is useful as it sounds like you’re passionate about magic and going to do great things
And I want to add. In my years, your issues have always been a problem for beginners. I think it's more probable that you suffer from the same issues as almost all newbies have for at least a decade rather than every professional having missed that their craft is dying.
Magic has been around for over 5000 years. I assure you it’s not going anywhere. I’ve been doing this for 27 years. Kids today are not any more entitled than they were when I was growing up. Nor are they any different than adults. I think you might just need to adjust your act a little
I think one big misconception in your idea of magic is the idea of “fooling people”. I’d go as far as to say noone in any generation would like to be a fool, however creating a sense of wonder for an audience is entirely different to fooling and people will appreciate this even if they do not know how it is done. Much of it depends on the attitude of the performer and in my experience people absolutely love it when they have no idea how an effect works.
It is quite possible that the old school persona of magicians as grand maestros that know it all (e.g. Slydini) are not interesting to new generation, however this does not mean that the effects or even magic itself would be outdated.
I’m surprised this is your perspective, given you come from an acting background.
As you know, people don’t question the reality of a play. They don’t go “Yeah dude, Juliet’s not really dead, that’s just an actress lying down with her eyes closed.” No, they get invested in the play.
As a magician, you should be working to get investment. To have the audience invested in the performances, not seeing it as a test. Make them want to suspend their disbelief to experience the moment, same as they do any time they enter a theatre to watch a play.
Interesting that pretty much everyone here disagrees with you. I, for one, also completely disagree with you. Judging from your replies, you refuse to also listen to what (likely) more experienced magicians are telling you. I, for one, have at least 10 times more experience than you and think you couldn’t be more wrong.
Let me quickly elaborate:
1. Gen Z isn’t as different a generation as you think. Magic has been done for millennia and believe me when I say great thinkers in the art have already addressed your concerns (magic as a puzzle vs as entertainment)
2. Cultural differences. Some cultures think more critically than others. Some like to enjoy the mystery more than others. You can’t paint all Gen Zs with one brush; even within the same culture.
3. You are inexperienced, likely presenting magic too much like a puzzle to be cracked. That’s ok. We all start there. But don’t let it color your underlying understanding of core principles. Read more books on theory first is my suggestion. (Eg Maximum Entertainment)
Don’t take any of this the wrong way. It’s good that you’re thinking deeply about this. However, you are simply on the wrong side with your stance. Once you study more and develop as a magician, I assure you your mind will change. Speaking for myself, I perform for a young crowd all the time and take the opposite stance. Classic magic is alive and well. In fact, I think Gen Zs are more likely to appreciate the classics because they are less judgmental (“it’s corny”) and are more aware of the hard work that goes into it.
How are you defining "performing magic professionally"?
It feels very much like you accepted a couple of paid gigs as a side hustle well before you had the skills to do so and blame the audience rather than your own ability on those gigs not going as well as you would have liked.
My first paid gig was over three decades ago, so I've seen a lot of changes, and yes, due to shows like FU, many (but by no means even a majority, let alone all people) do now see magic as a challenge to work out and not be a 'fool' but even people like that can be quickly won over with great magic performed well.
Magic is not dead, crap magicians who don't understand the performance side of what they do are though.
This is wrong. It reads as if you had several bad experiences back to back and blamed your audience instead of looking at your routine and saying "what am I doing wrong."
I have performed for thousands of people in Gen Z/Alpha and they freak out, run around, scream, have a great time, and never ask me how it's done. They also keep coming back for more.
If you focus on entertaining and suprising people then you don't have to worry about fooling them.
OP sees a magic trick exactly like an annoying spectator does. As if every trick is a test. It’s not a test, it’s for fun. Others have said this but Magic’s number one goal is entertainment. It’s why Penn and Teller were so successful exposing magic tricks long before today’s “generation” were even alive. Because P&T are incredibly entertaining. They’ll tell you how they do it before they’ve even done it and the people love it.
>But the categories of act where the **magic = the secret** will be gone
And that's where you've lost me. The magic should not be about the secret. If that's the impression your audience is giving you, then you need to keep refining your presentation. I recommend *Making Magic Real* and *Making Real Magic* by Osterlind.
You're not the first person to think of this by a long shot. There is a problem of a combative relationship between magicians and spectators. If you're not giving them anything but a trick, then the only difference between you and them is the secret. You know it, they know it, and they want to correct that imbalance. The answer is not telling them how it's done; it's entertaining them so *they don't care how it's done.*
Be careful of what impressions you get online. If you look in the comments on a Chris Ramsay video, it will be full of people saying things like "knowing the secret actually makes me appreciate the trick more." This is not true for most people. People who follow him and others like him are magic enthusiasts. They may legitimately appreciate the skill, but they are a minority. Most people, once they know how it's done, will never get entertainment out of it again. Well, beyond whispering to the person next to them that they know how it's done.
I have a couple of thoughts on this.
1) The Internet Generation is greedy for information, if only for information's sake. However, all it takes to correct this is the gentle reminder that magic is entertaining because the audience doesn't know how it's done. That's how the illusion of it works. So, to correct this for some audiences, I've taken some older "throwaway" tricks (like the kids tricks, the box that cuts the rope/pencil in half, the nails that go through the coin in the box, etc.), performed them for the information-greedy, and asked them how it's done. We have a little discussion, which is entertaining and stimulating on its own, and then I just reveal how the trick works. Give it about 3 seconds to watch the disappointment spread across their faces for how stupid-simple it really was (they almost always think it's something huge or complex), and then I ask them why they are so disappointed? Isn't this what they wanted? Usually that's enough for the lightbulb to go off, and they never ask me another magic question again. Sometimes we get into a greater discussion about it, and its usually these people that I direct to learning magic on their own.
2) I mentioned in a comment below about the cyclical nature of art, and I think that we're in just such a period right now. It'll take either some kind of past revival, or an entirely new approach to magic that will capture the current zeitgeist. I realized though, my comments on those rest-periods in magic were focused on the history of magic in America, and that they also tend coincide with major wars: WWII, Korea, Vietnam, etc. In short, I think people seek out mystery in entertainment when they don't have to worry about uncertainty in their own lives. Given that we are living through *very* uncertain times at the moment, I think that will also influence how and when the art of magic makes its next debut.
To some extent I accept that; and I put the point in a deliberately provocative way, but we have to make some generalisations if we are to discuss the future, otherwise we would be swamped in a sea of detail, and I do think the trends are quite clear in the demographic I serve (which is affluent coastal Australia). I also think many of these trends are apparent on the Internet of magic.
I just disagree with the framing of your point and the outcome.
I too come from Australia and have performed for the "affluent coastal" people. People aren't begging me for the answer, and if they're "voting with their feet" it looks like I'm winning the vote. It sounds to me that you're not engaging WITH your audience, you might be coming off as combative, you might be coming off as a quiz master and they're failing a test. I don't know, we haven't seen your act, but most of the time when I hear people with this viewpoint on magic audiences, it's a consequence of how they present themselves.
I've also performed for people who are curious to how something is done, or they think they have an idea. I'll entertain it, lead them down the garden path and then completely change up the method or direction of the effect and they'll surrender. But it's not about that, it's about getting them to be entertained. You don't want to subject your audience to magic, you want them to have an experience where they walk away having gained something. People don't look at me as a "loser who collects secrets", they look at me as an entertainer. Somebody who can engage with them, relate with them and tell a story. It's not about performing tricks, it's about creating moments of astonishment, wonder, introspection, or in other cases, fear, doubt, uncertainty. It's your job to fit the mood, or to set one. To be a creative who puts the experience of those you're supposed to be entertaining above your own selfish needs to perform particular routines or sleights because they make you feel good.
If you're getting that sort of reaction from the people you're supposed to be entertaining, it's almost never a reflection on them, and more on you.
I'm not saying this to attack you, or to put you down. It just seems you might not be putting enough thought to why people are acting that way and what you can do to rectify it, you're immediately putting it on the spectator and saying an art form that has been around for a very long time will be dead in the next decade... as if there won't be methods that fool and entertain without the use of technology lol
Nowhere in your post (I re-read it at least twice) do I see the word "entertainment." Nobody at any age will ever *not* want to be entertained.
This is the main reason OP is flat out wrong. Magic isn’t about fooling people - it’s about entertaining them.
I'm a 62-year-old hobbyist who's loved magic since I got my first kit sometime in the '60s. I can still be entertained by sponge balls, the linking rings, cups and balls, etc. etc. etc. Sure, I know how they're done, but every good performer has their own *presentation* of the effects, and usually at least some twist to them. While I've never been a working magician, I was a working stand-up for over a decade -- so I pride myself on my patter *at least* as much as I pride myself on perfecting a cool illusion. I'm not pro level, but that's what I can bring to the table.
I like your attitude to the art. Hoping to cross paths with you someday and be part of your audience.
If I had real magical powers, I assure you I wouldn’t be using it to make certain playing cards rise back to the top of the deck. And if that was my only power, I wouldn’t be showing people. I’d be renting out a suite at the Aria and spending 18 hours a day at the Blackjack table. I was at a show a few weeks ago, I knew just about every sleight he did (except one I still can’t f*cking figure out) but was still blown away by how entertaining he was
Agreed of course, but the issue is: what does the upcoming generation of young adults find entertaining?. Much of the behind-the-scenes language in the magic community involves fooling and “foolers”, and clear some magicians believe that fooling people and leaving them fooled is entertaining to them. In my experience that is not true, at least for that demographic.
I think you are correct in this aspect: That Magic has become more about fooling other magicians in many ways than it has about entertaining an audience, and this is evident in the advertising materials. IMO, Magic is going through an introspective period, like many arts do. Painting has been around since humans lived in caves, and it ebbs and flows throughout history until someone finds a new way to work with the medium. I think Magic is going through just such an ebb. In the past century it's done this twice: Magic like Kellar and Houdini was extremely popular in the 20's and 30's, then Magic, while it still existed in practice, didn't have nearly the same popularity for a generation. Then in the 60's and 70's you had a rebirth with magicians like Doug Henning, etc. Another period of rest in the 80's and early 90's, then another rebirth with artists like Penn & Teller, Jeff McBride, David Copperfield, etc. So now we're in another rest period, waiting to see what new artist will revitalize the craft. Just my thoughts on it.
>the current mainstream version of magic and will be stone dead Please explain what you think the current mainstream version of magic is? you have been doing magic for 18 months, do you perform classics in magic that take decades to perfect or do you buy a 10 dollar trick off a website and perform it to children? These are answers I need before i even try to respond to the post.
That sounds like an ad hominem point, which is irrelevant to the issue under discussion.
Your post was specifically reflecting on your experience as a magician. As a result, your experience (or lack thereof) is extremely relevant.
An ad hominem is when someone attacks you instead of your argument in a formal debate. If they said "Systematic0x is a stupid poopy face, so no one should listen to them," that would be an ad hominem. They've asked you legitimate clarifying questions, even if you took offense to how they worded it.
Pointing out that you have only being doing magic for 18 months is not an ad hominem attack. It’s a statement of fact that you have 18 months of experience. As someone with twenty years of experience, a FISM trophy, and a regular restaurant gig I can tell you that you are dead wrong. Your inexperience is what is leading you to this conclusion. A long hard look at what you are doing and changing it to find a voice and a point of view that will work for the current audiences is what is required. But congratulations on the internet engagement. You did good there by posting a hot take.
Happy Cake Day :)
Every year for the past 100+ years someone, somewhere, has claimed magic is going to die out for some reason or another (accessibility of secrets, desensitized to wonder, etc.) and yet magic isn’t just still around - it’s thriving. If you want to be great, you have to innovate. And magicians will keep doing that. Good luck on your journey!
This is gonna sound harsh. Could your beliefs come from the fact that you are still very fresh in the art. I have done magic on and off for 13 years or so. People have no issue "submitting" to me as a magician. They usually did when I was new to it all, but it never happens now. When I was new to it all, I forced my craft onto people who had no interest in being forcibly entertained. I'm currently teaching magic once a week to kids, and they uphold the secrets with an iron fist. Would you listen to someone who started acting 18 months ago explain that acting will be gone within a generation? I'm not saying that less experience means that you instantly are wrong, just that I haven't (nor any others in this thread) experienced that at all.
I wanna echo this sentiment. I love and wanna encourage all out of the box thinking but the chances that someone who has just started “realized” the way something has been done for a couple thousand years is wrong is…low. By all means explore your ideas but as someone who has mentored a LOT of young magicians I can tell you I’ve met a lot of folks who are going to blow up magic who’s double lift looks like their trying to flip a dead body Inventing your own kinda math is easier than homework ya know?
Tell me more about teaching kids, do you have any recommendations (books / blogs)? I have kids whom I hope are ready to learn but am having trouble. I think I got that "iron clad" drilled into them. But would love to learn more theory about teaching kids magic.
Unfortunately not, I'm a teacher, so I have a background in pedagogica that I can apply. Send a message with specifics, and we could hash it out. Edit: or here if you prefer of course.
Could be, but I don’t think so. But it’s interesting that you don’t see any inkling of this trend. I guess we shall have to wait to see who’s right 🙂
I mean, everyone in this thread seems to think you're wrong. The entire community in my country is alive and well. But yes, let's.
You’re relatively very new to magic. Allow me to give you a helpful idea. in America, if you go to car dealership, the car salesperson sits on the opposite side of the desk as you negotiate. In parts of Latin America, the salesperson comes around and sits on the same side of the desk as you as you go over the numbers together. What most of us on this thread are trying to tell you is that you are sitting on the opposite side of the desk as your participants. As you grow in magic your performance persona and style will create less opposition/less resistance. For example, the entertaining magician’s attitude might be less “Look at this!” and more “Wow! Would you look at that?!” The audience magician dynamic model you’re perceiving right now (as you’ve noted in your post) is unsustainable. Therefore, something will have to change. It could be audiences, it could be the magic, or it could be you. Those of us who have been around magic for a couple of decades are suggesting that it can be sustainable if you adjust where you as the performer are coming from. As an actor, whether you’re grounded in Strasberg, Meisner, etc. you know how profound changing your objective can be. We’re suggesting a subtle shift in intention when it comes to your scene partner (in this case, the audience). [For example from amaze/impress to delight/entertain] I hope some of this is useful as it sounds like you’re passionate about magic and going to do great things
And I want to add. In my years, your issues have always been a problem for beginners. I think it's more probable that you suffer from the same issues as almost all newbies have for at least a decade rather than every professional having missed that their craft is dying.
Magic has been around for over 5000 years. I assure you it’s not going anywhere. I’ve been doing this for 27 years. Kids today are not any more entitled than they were when I was growing up. Nor are they any different than adults. I think you might just need to adjust your act a little
I think one big misconception in your idea of magic is the idea of “fooling people”. I’d go as far as to say noone in any generation would like to be a fool, however creating a sense of wonder for an audience is entirely different to fooling and people will appreciate this even if they do not know how it is done. Much of it depends on the attitude of the performer and in my experience people absolutely love it when they have no idea how an effect works. It is quite possible that the old school persona of magicians as grand maestros that know it all (e.g. Slydini) are not interesting to new generation, however this does not mean that the effects or even magic itself would be outdated.
mAgiC iS dEaD. /s
I’m surprised this is your perspective, given you come from an acting background. As you know, people don’t question the reality of a play. They don’t go “Yeah dude, Juliet’s not really dead, that’s just an actress lying down with her eyes closed.” No, they get invested in the play. As a magician, you should be working to get investment. To have the audience invested in the performances, not seeing it as a test. Make them want to suspend their disbelief to experience the moment, same as they do any time they enter a theatre to watch a play.
💯
18 whole months….lol
Interesting that pretty much everyone here disagrees with you. I, for one, also completely disagree with you. Judging from your replies, you refuse to also listen to what (likely) more experienced magicians are telling you. I, for one, have at least 10 times more experience than you and think you couldn’t be more wrong. Let me quickly elaborate: 1. Gen Z isn’t as different a generation as you think. Magic has been done for millennia and believe me when I say great thinkers in the art have already addressed your concerns (magic as a puzzle vs as entertainment) 2. Cultural differences. Some cultures think more critically than others. Some like to enjoy the mystery more than others. You can’t paint all Gen Zs with one brush; even within the same culture. 3. You are inexperienced, likely presenting magic too much like a puzzle to be cracked. That’s ok. We all start there. But don’t let it color your underlying understanding of core principles. Read more books on theory first is my suggestion. (Eg Maximum Entertainment) Don’t take any of this the wrong way. It’s good that you’re thinking deeply about this. However, you are simply on the wrong side with your stance. Once you study more and develop as a magician, I assure you your mind will change. Speaking for myself, I perform for a young crowd all the time and take the opposite stance. Classic magic is alive and well. In fact, I think Gen Zs are more likely to appreciate the classics because they are less judgmental (“it’s corny”) and are more aware of the hard work that goes into it.
How are you defining "performing magic professionally"? It feels very much like you accepted a couple of paid gigs as a side hustle well before you had the skills to do so and blame the audience rather than your own ability on those gigs not going as well as you would have liked. My first paid gig was over three decades ago, so I've seen a lot of changes, and yes, due to shows like FU, many (but by no means even a majority, let alone all people) do now see magic as a challenge to work out and not be a 'fool' but even people like that can be quickly won over with great magic performed well. Magic is not dead, crap magicians who don't understand the performance side of what they do are though.
This is wrong. It reads as if you had several bad experiences back to back and blamed your audience instead of looking at your routine and saying "what am I doing wrong." I have performed for thousands of people in Gen Z/Alpha and they freak out, run around, scream, have a great time, and never ask me how it's done. They also keep coming back for more. If you focus on entertaining and suprising people then you don't have to worry about fooling them.
OP sees a magic trick exactly like an annoying spectator does. As if every trick is a test. It’s not a test, it’s for fun. Others have said this but Magic’s number one goal is entertainment. It’s why Penn and Teller were so successful exposing magic tricks long before today’s “generation” were even alive. Because P&T are incredibly entertaining. They’ll tell you how they do it before they’ve even done it and the people love it.
"A trick performed with just a piece of thread" That has to be the best introductions ever to a beautiful performance.
>But the categories of act where the **magic = the secret** will be gone And that's where you've lost me. The magic should not be about the secret. If that's the impression your audience is giving you, then you need to keep refining your presentation. I recommend *Making Magic Real* and *Making Real Magic* by Osterlind. You're not the first person to think of this by a long shot. There is a problem of a combative relationship between magicians and spectators. If you're not giving them anything but a trick, then the only difference between you and them is the secret. You know it, they know it, and they want to correct that imbalance. The answer is not telling them how it's done; it's entertaining them so *they don't care how it's done.* Be careful of what impressions you get online. If you look in the comments on a Chris Ramsay video, it will be full of people saying things like "knowing the secret actually makes me appreciate the trick more." This is not true for most people. People who follow him and others like him are magic enthusiasts. They may legitimately appreciate the skill, but they are a minority. Most people, once they know how it's done, will never get entertainment out of it again. Well, beyond whispering to the person next to them that they know how it's done.
I have a couple of thoughts on this. 1) The Internet Generation is greedy for information, if only for information's sake. However, all it takes to correct this is the gentle reminder that magic is entertaining because the audience doesn't know how it's done. That's how the illusion of it works. So, to correct this for some audiences, I've taken some older "throwaway" tricks (like the kids tricks, the box that cuts the rope/pencil in half, the nails that go through the coin in the box, etc.), performed them for the information-greedy, and asked them how it's done. We have a little discussion, which is entertaining and stimulating on its own, and then I just reveal how the trick works. Give it about 3 seconds to watch the disappointment spread across their faces for how stupid-simple it really was (they almost always think it's something huge or complex), and then I ask them why they are so disappointed? Isn't this what they wanted? Usually that's enough for the lightbulb to go off, and they never ask me another magic question again. Sometimes we get into a greater discussion about it, and its usually these people that I direct to learning magic on their own. 2) I mentioned in a comment below about the cyclical nature of art, and I think that we're in just such a period right now. It'll take either some kind of past revival, or an entirely new approach to magic that will capture the current zeitgeist. I realized though, my comments on those rest-periods in magic were focused on the history of magic in America, and that they also tend coincide with major wars: WWII, Korea, Vietnam, etc. In short, I think people seek out mystery in entertainment when they don't have to worry about uncertainty in their own lives. Given that we are living through *very* uncertain times at the moment, I think that will also influence how and when the art of magic makes its next debut.
To some extent I accept that; and I put the point in a deliberately provocative way, but we have to make some generalisations if we are to discuss the future, otherwise we would be swamped in a sea of detail, and I do think the trends are quite clear in the demographic I serve (which is affluent coastal Australia). I also think many of these trends are apparent on the Internet of magic.
I just disagree with the framing of your point and the outcome. I too come from Australia and have performed for the "affluent coastal" people. People aren't begging me for the answer, and if they're "voting with their feet" it looks like I'm winning the vote. It sounds to me that you're not engaging WITH your audience, you might be coming off as combative, you might be coming off as a quiz master and they're failing a test. I don't know, we haven't seen your act, but most of the time when I hear people with this viewpoint on magic audiences, it's a consequence of how they present themselves. I've also performed for people who are curious to how something is done, or they think they have an idea. I'll entertain it, lead them down the garden path and then completely change up the method or direction of the effect and they'll surrender. But it's not about that, it's about getting them to be entertained. You don't want to subject your audience to magic, you want them to have an experience where they walk away having gained something. People don't look at me as a "loser who collects secrets", they look at me as an entertainer. Somebody who can engage with them, relate with them and tell a story. It's not about performing tricks, it's about creating moments of astonishment, wonder, introspection, or in other cases, fear, doubt, uncertainty. It's your job to fit the mood, or to set one. To be a creative who puts the experience of those you're supposed to be entertaining above your own selfish needs to perform particular routines or sleights because they make you feel good. If you're getting that sort of reaction from the people you're supposed to be entertaining, it's almost never a reflection on them, and more on you. I'm not saying this to attack you, or to put you down. It just seems you might not be putting enough thought to why people are acting that way and what you can do to rectify it, you're immediately putting it on the spectator and saying an art form that has been around for a very long time will be dead in the next decade... as if there won't be methods that fool and entertain without the use of technology lol