Why am I stuck in magician Hell?

"Pick a black queen"
"I choose Ru Paul"
"no no no!!"

I love that. It amuses me greatly. So 2004 started off nicely. Good weather. Overcast, cool, pleasant. So tell me, what do you know about make-up. Not like drag queen stuff. I mean for stage work and even close up. Too many performers not only lack personality but also fluid motions, (You can be clumsy and still be rhythmic), and proper blocking. (Not that is not if you eat a lot of cheese. It's the way you place yourself and objects on stage and how they move around and where to etc.) If you are a serious performer, not just some "Hey look I got 20 bucks from selling the flowers I stole off a dead guys graves, I wanna buy a trick deck" kinda guy, then it is worth your time and effort to learn about your environment.. the stage.

Even close up is a stage. When you do close-up, put a thin layer of clear nail polish on your hands.. well not your hands but yer fingernails.. but you know what I meant dammit!!! It makes your hands look more manicured and professional. It seems silly but it's true. As for stage itself, stage lights will KILL your face. As in it blots it out to a mass of expressionless nothing. You want to put eyeliner around the eyes, and some perhaps in the eyebrows if you use a lot of facial expressions. Also light rouge of the cheeks and even lip liner for the lips for bigger stages. There are also ways to give the illusion of thinner cheeks, noses and other facial stuff. Look it up. I would do it for you but I am fascinated by my tear ducts right now.

So let's talk about movement a bit. Always, ALWAYS practice not only your magic moves but also the movements of your body AND the facial expressions. Body language and expressions are heavy misdirection when used properly. Let's talk about something very unknown. If you want to be perceived as a good guy type always enter from Stage Right. (if you don't know where that is you need more help than I can give.) And stage left if you want to be given off a personality of more foreboding. People read from left to right. They are more comfortable with that. Unless of course you are performing for the Chinese then it's Upstage to downstage.. they read funny.

So magic is more than just knowing the magic, it's performing it. If you are going to do this stuff, at least do it right. Quit making me look bad by sucking. If the best thing you can do for magic is get out of it.. DO SO!!!

Bizzaro.