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Monday, September 6, 2010

Magic weekend at renn fest .. or how hard it really is to entertain well with magic

Went to the Maryland Renn Fest Sunday, it was Magic Weekend. I watched 3 30 minute stage shows, what kept coming back to me.... how hard it really is to be a great entertainer (with magic)..

The first show, it only went 20 minutes, really felt like he didn't get the traction he was looking for or the crowed didn't engage with him the way he would have like. One of the pieces he did was done well and came across nice, the last piece/effect (which is a piece I perform occasionally) had a twist added to it that really didn't tie it together well.

The second show was a very nice surprise. Very well done, nice, fun believable character you could get behind and relate to. He hit the 30 minute mark perfectly. One effect had the story dragging a little but I don't know if that was trying to build a reinforcement or to have the audience over understand what was going on. Either way 3-4 minutes could have been cut off and it would be a tight piece.

The thrid show was someone I have an immense amount of respect for, both their performing abilities, where they have been and their successes and their encyclopedic knowledge of the art and other related performing arts. I kind of got the feeling he was riffing through the show, like a virtuoso guitar player just running through some chords. This is a new show for him and am sure he'll work the kinks out and have one of the most entertaining performances you'll every see, if that's what we chooses to do


Long story short, magic is one of the most challenging and difficult performing arts to do well. It's not easy to get on stage, give everything you have emotional, physically and intellectually and have a great show every time out. There are so many disciplines involved in a magical performance, maybe more than any other performing art. We are actors, magicians, dancers and in most cases (which is a downfall for many magic shows) writers and directors

and you have to admire those who try .... and succeed

and a statue has never been erected in honor of a critic