Reactions and Bad Taste

I mentioned earlier that I had heard some real horror stories about bizarrists who thought that any reaction was a good reaction. Today we're going to develop that thought. No, I will not name anybody as they have long since either learned from their mistakes or will probably never learn at all. Let them be anonymous here.

I'm going to start with the most common mistake of all: the Death tarot card. There is a time and a place for everything, and more often than not, the Death card does not belong in your act. I've heard no less than half-a-dozen stories of magicians doing a tarot effect using this card that ended with an audience member in tears. Usually, the bizarrist was congratulating himself for getting such a strong reaction, but riddle me this: if someone scared the hell out of you or a relative or a friend in such a way, driving them to tears and genuine grief, would you ever book that person for an event again?

This is one of the reasons bizarrists so seldom perform for live audiences. They have no concept of how far is too far. That may sound strange coming out of my mouth, considering I've gone on the record saying that for me there is no too far, only too soon. But I know for a fact that not everyone agrees with me on this. In Robert Greene's bestselling book "The 48 Laws of Power" he states that law 38 is, "Think as you like but behave like others." There are many times when it is best to put up a veneer of agreeability and keep your more unconventional ideas to yourself. Being in front of an audience is one of these.

So with that in mind, what kind of reactions have you been hoping for that would be a bad thing? That might actually be offensive to others? Consider it from the perspective of the other audience members. The magician reveals the Death card to a woman and she bursts into tears. You know the reason she's crying is because she was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Yes, this actually happened. Once again let's say hypothetically that this happened to a relative or friend of yours. A mother, sister, girlfriend, fiance, that sort of thing. What would you think of the magician? If you're anything like me, you're probably deciding whether you want to break his arm or his leg.

Let's say the magician does something to make your child cry and become inconsolable. How about a parlor show that ends with the magician "dying" and no one sees him for the rest of the night? Doing a Russian roulette routine with spikes and then using a spectator's hand? All of these things and more have been done and they seldom end well.

It may look cool to you, but you really need to step outside of your own head. Once you've crossed a line, you've created a lot of ill will. That damage is incredibly difficult if not impossible to repair. You permanently close doors in doing these things.

I've met young magicians starting out as bizarrists who go for scariness for its own sake. I understand where they're coming from and know the thrill of creating something frightening. As a lover of horror movies, I totally sympathize. But audiences won't. You need to give them a reason to want to see this, and by virtue of magic being a live, interactive experience the rules are different from film or music.

So consider what reactions you want, why you want them, and what the audience will think of them. Do this with every act or effect you're working on and you'll end up dodging a bullet that could seriously damage your reputation and magic more than once.