Introductions

This is The Pitt and the Pendulum, dedicated to bringing bizarre magic out of mothballs and putting it out in front of audiences. Specifically, if you're a young guy starting out in bizarre magic and mentalism, this blog is specifically about helping you to get your material in front of people as well as improving your skills at writing and theatrics. My name is Alexander Vornoff, a Pittsburgh based magician and mentalist with a penchant for bizarre/haunted magic.

Let me start by telling you where you're not going to find good advice on bizarre magic and mentalism: that wretched hive of scum and villainy known as The Magic Cafe. The majority of people there are not going to be able to help you, there are comparatively few working professionals, and the moderating staff enforce the rules strictly but without any real effectiveness, often just deleting posts or closing threads based on a report without actually investigating. To put it simply, the Cafe is more politics than actual magic and it's Jekyll and Hyde reputation of being a hug box one moment and a feeding frenzy the next is because the community embodies the old saying, "You have to get behind somebody before you can stab them in the back."

Perhaps later I'll develop this thought more, but for the time being this is all you really need to know about the Cafe. Just stay away and try to avoid getting yourself tangled up in magic politics. Getting involved only brings headaches as I learned the hard way.

That said, when it comes down to finding communities specifically dedicated to bizarre magic and mentalism it's hard to find a really good one. You're much better off keeping your ear to the ground for lectures and trying to network.

If you're wondering why I opened with this, let me restate that the problem with most bizarre magic is that it never gets performed. The reason being is that bizarre magicians, myself included, are for the most part... well, nerds. Being a nerd means having your own language. It means having a comprehensive knowledge of a subject most people aren't into or only have a cursory awareness of. Making it accessible is always a challenge. Most bizarrists do not actually perform for a living, and I've heard some real horror stories of what happens when they do and end up crossing a line or 20 because they make the mistake of believing that any reaction is a good reaction.

Can I tell you how to make it as a professional? No. That's not what I'm here for. I will be telling you about people who can tell you more about the business side of magic, but for the most part my aim is to help you expand your horizons and get in front of audiences in the first place.

Until next time.