CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET So So you want to be a magician Well you've come to the right place There are many secrets waiting for you inside this book By the time you're finished reading you will be a master of the classic magic tricks Let's begin THURSTON THE GREAT MAGICIAN THE WONDER SHOW OF THE UNIVERSE WHAT IS CLASSIC MAGIC In the late 1800s and early 1900s a golden age of magic began Magicians performed on stage in front of crowds of people who couldn't believe their eyes A lot of classic magic tricks were made popular in these times The magicians would pretend to make people float make objects disappear or talk to dead people DO THE SPIRITS COME BACK A Magician's Poster 1915 4
There have been many books and records of magic throughout history The ancient Egyptians wrote about magic around 5,000 years ago Magic was also written about in the 1500s when witches were said to practice an evil kind of magic People were scared of magic back then and magicians and witches were sometimes hunted by people who were frightened of them Today many people love magic Classic magic is performed at parties on stage and on TV Because everybody knows about classic magic many magicians today like to do a different version or even uncover the secret behind the tricks Derren Brown shows people that magicians can’t actually talk to the dead 5 History of Classic Magic Classic Magic Today
Patter Magic Magic is all about putting on a fun show Magicians have a special word for what they say called patter If your patter is interesting or funny it can help grab the attention of the audience It is also important to act like the magic is real even when you know what is really happening Your acting is also important Try to make all your hand movements and gestures big and mysterious For example instead of tapping something with a magic wand try waving the wand around in big sweeping movements and say some magic words like abracadabra Your patter doesn’t have to tell the truth You can make up anything you want DID YOU KNOW As long as you make your audience think that magic might be real they will be amazed Magic Lesson 6
Here are a few ideas about what to say and do when performing a trick Introduce yourself as a great magician Make sure your audience knows how wise and powerful you are Or instead you could say that you learned your tricks from a clever old magician or an ancient dusty book You could describe what is happening in the trick This gives you a chance to say things that aren’t true For example you could say something has disappeared even though you know it is just hidden so the audience can’t see it Pretend to really concentrate when doing magic For example you might hesitate when reading someone’s mind or act like your powers are being drained when making someone levitate 7 Ideas for Patter
