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SHOWMANSHIP
For
MAGICIANS
CHAPTER THREE
There are many ways of finding out what the public wants. Yet the simplest and most direct is undoubtedly through an investigation of what he buys. A man will accept almost anything for nothing, whether he likes it or not. But that isn't the condition when he has to part with his money for it.
Money, according to the value of his time, represents time spent in working. Whether a man spends his money or not depends upon his estimate as to whether what he is to get in return for his money is worth that much effort or not. The price he is willing to pay for anything, providing he is willing to pay something for it, establishes his value as to how much of his personal effort he is willing to sacrifice to obtain it.
Also, whether he is willing to buy and how much he is willing to spend, is a matter, to him, of his selection of the particular thing for which he wants to make this exchange.
The actual test must rest with a completely voluntary willingness on his part. There must be no coercion, strong, as in the case of a hold-up with a gun, or mild, as in the case of a solicitation for a charity, under pressure.
Then, becoming specific, the degree to which the public considers a show entertaining is reflected by the number of people that attend that show. This is, of course, also influenced by the admission charged.
It must be assumed in this reasoning that the show has not been misnamed in such a manner as to create a prejudice against it, or that the class of entertainment has not suffered in general because of past abuses.
Probably the greatest attendance, in numbers, is achieved by the motion pictures. This type of entertainment combines high entertainment value, low cost, exceptional selling campaigns and convenience.
Since we are not concerned here with the science of selling the public, and since we are not concerned with an analysis of making customer-acceptance convenient, we must discard these two latter ingredients in this work. It would be well, however, to keep them in mind, to be watched, so as not to be misled in our evaluation of customer preference.
We have said motion pictures combine high entertainment value and low cost. Of the two general types of pictures, dramatic and musical, undoubtedly the greatest attendance comes to the former. Therefore, at present we can assume that the general public prefers dramatic motion pictures first and musical motion pictures second.
Then would come stage musicals, with ice shows included in that classification, followed by stage dramatic shows. It must be borne in mind in connection with stage shows that they are much more expensive to the spectator. And for that reason those who are able to attend and those who are willing to buy must necessarily be less in numbers.
Next in general attendance, without bothering to obtain exact figures, would seem to be contests of all kinds-baseball, football, boxing, wrestling and so on.
Following this would probably be vaudeville and nightclub patrons with burlesque, opera, concert and ballet in that order.
It must be stressed that the writer has not investigated the exact order of attendance in these various classifications. These are broad, general estimates based on assumptions of the year's total business in each classification. A variation in their attendance order will have little bearing on what is to follow.
Let's look at this motion picture dramatic production field which the public finds so tremendously entertaining. It has a number of components that should interest us in our endeavor to discover what is entertaining.
Obviously, of course, there is considerable stress on known personalities. A dramatic story is necessarily a conflict between man and nature, or man and circumstances, or man and man or man and himself. These classify into stories of achievement or of decision. The story is one of the struggle of a human being. This human being has certain character strengths and weaknesses. The character of the man and the type of obstacle he encounters determines the proponent's method of solving the difficulty. The spectator's interest increases with the importance of the outcome. To be superlatively dramatic the result must be of vital importance to someone.
As these problems approach problems that the spectator himself encounters in his everyday life they become more and more interesting to that spectator. It has been said by one of the prominent authorities that every popular story is about "a man in a hole and how he got out of it-or didn't."
Genuine drama results from an emotional conflict coupled with a character-revealing action on the part of one or more of the actors. An emotion is the outgrowth of a conflict between impulses within a person, resulting in a temporary deadlock. Character is revealed through the three stages of action through which he goes when confronted by an obstacle: Everyone has some special manner of immediate response, reflective delay and active response, which identifies him as the character, he is.
Therefore, people generally prefer for entertainment that which include conflict, character and emotion.
Romance, which is an elemental conflict that always includes character and emotion, seems to be of greatest general preference. This is probably because it is common to almost all people.
But this film dramatic success almost invariably includes many general components. Of course, known personalities are used as the principal characters. There are conflict, character, emotion and romance, as stated before. Stress is placed on sex, common problems, sensations, complex situations and "escape" from the humdrum. There is almost invariably comedy. Many times nostalgia and sentiment are built up.
The productions show careful rehearsal and routine. The material has been tirelessly edited and selected. There is undoubtedly high precision in the entire production.
And always at the end there is PUNCH.
The chief difference between the stage dramatic show and the film is that the film presentation generally puts stronger emphasis on sex appeal, with particular emphasis on romance. And, too, the film story has a carefully planned musical score.
Great care is revealed in the detail of the settings, the detail of the costumes, the make-up of the actors and in the careful personal grooming and dress of the actors, except for characters out of keeping with good grooming.
Film musicals are lighter in character than either types of drama. Almost without exception they carry a light plot, with comedy foundation, and they stress music, singing, dancing, comedy, eye appeal, romance, sentiment and sex appeal. All of the qualities present in the drama are present in the musical, but particular emphasis is placed on rhythm, youth, feminine beauty, sex appeal, music, melody, sentiment, nostalgia and novelty. Again, careful personal grooming, including make-up, is a particular feature.
Like the drama, the material is specially written, both lines and music. It is carefully edited, with the routines and scenes fast moving and short. When produced it is swiftly paced, expertly timed and painstakingly pointed. There are no waits or delays. There is no mumbling or fumbling. Neither are there any superfluous lines, movements or routines.
The show is unified throughout as to character, slant and all other qualities. Emphasis is placed on design, color, coordinated group movement and spectacle.
Football, baseball, boxing exhibitions and other contests feature one ingredient that is fundamental. That fundamental, also fundamental in drama, is conflict. But here the conflict is genuine. Added to this are known personalities, the stars. The further features are fast movement, sensations, action, crowds and drama-tense situations.
Vaudeville and nightclub entertainments feature youth, music, singing and dancing. There are heavy helpings of comedy, rhythm, and sex appeal. Music may be stimulating, nostalgic, sentimental, comic or romantic. The more successful individual acts invariably feature special material.
Usually the costuming is modern, smart and a bit extreme as to cut. No first-class performer would think of appearing without being faultlessly groomed and properly made-up. Everything must be clean and well pressed.
The delivery is carefully timed and executed with precision and attention to pointing. Short turns, with fast pace, carefully edited and rehearsed, are the rule. Again there are no delays, fumbling, no excess lines or actions. Everything builds up, with purpose, to the final PUNCH. This final PUNCH is indispensable - whether for each number or for a final cumulative effect.
These acts actually are a fast succession of minor punches building to a supreme culminating WALLOP.
The chief features of burlesque are sex appeal, low comedy, color, movement, music, rhythm, short scenes, and fast action. Burlesque suffers because of less attention to detail, grooming, smartness and quality.
The opera offers names, music, spectacle and color. It includes crowds, movement, group coordination, careful rehearsal and routine. It suffers chiefly in public support in this country because scenes are too long, the movement is too slow and it is poorly paced and poorly edited.
The concert has little to offer the general popular audience except music and names.
The ballet has some of the features of the musical show, but comedy, sex appeal, popular rhythm, romance, sentiment and other popular appeals are much less obvious.
Finally, the lecture field is confined to less spectacular personalities with emphasis upon a single phase such as personality, accomplishment, experience or a unique feature.
Now in contrast, regardless of the field, let us examine a typical magic show.
No magician today equals the personal box office appeal of a great many of the well-known stars of the theater, screen and sporting field. This magic show features a single personality. There is very little sex appeal, except for the big magic shows and here it is poorly exploited. The music and rhythm and staging are poor. Chief reliance is placed upon mystery with comedy that has worn thin. The costuming, even in the biggest shows, is mediocre as compared with the leading attractions of the theater or movies. The grooming and make-up are not up to professional theater standards. Both the material and the comedy are conventional and often trite. The attack is slow, inadequately routined, with ineffective pointing.
Many magic shows suffer from poor material, poor delivery, fumbling, and lack of precision, slow tempo, and out-of-date ideas.
It doesn't seem to require a considerable amount of heavy analysis to discover why magic is not as popular as many other types of entertainment. The leaders in the more popular fields deliberately cater to the known preferences of the general public while the average performer in the magic field hasn't seemed to care and hasn't bothered to gear himself to popular demand.
Rather he seems to have insisted that the general public accept what he, the magician, wants to supply. Magic has retained the general style, the presentation, the type of material and the appearance it had, practically unchanged, at the beginning of the century.
But there is competition in this age. There is competition to obtain the consumer's dollar among the various classes of business. The clothing business tries to get it from the beverage business. The theater interests try to divert it from the automotive channels. And so it goes.
Once that dollar reaches the entertainment field, there is further competition for it. The drama, the musical, the stage, the motion picture industry, other phases of the amusement field, all struggle for it.
After that the struggle is between types of acts or performers. Dancers, singers, strip dancers, impersonators, musicians, acrobats, magicians, dramatic actors-all enter the conflict to secure that money.
So, just as each industry tries to make that type of product attractive to the buyer, both as to product and price, so does each individual producer in that industry strive to make his particular product more attractive to the buyer than his competitor's.
It is the same among each type of entertainer. And from there it goes to the individual in each particular field.
There is plenty of justification for the magician to gear his entertainment to known customer preferences in entertainment. There is certainly ample reason why the magician must shape his product to approach that which the public prefers. That the magician, at this particular moment, is in a very low spot in entertainment preference in the general public opinion is inescapable. The demand for him and the compensation he gets, compared to demands for the services of other types of entertainers and their compensation, unanswerably proves the point.
We shall try to discover how magic may be shaped to modern entertainment standards. This cannot be done if only a few performers undertake the renaissance. The rank and file must make this change as well, each to the limit of his particular ability, before more favorable public demand will be evidenced. But it can't happen unless public preferences are catered to.
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