Thursday, September 29, 2011

Sequence of Actions

I'm still reading Magic and Showmanship - A Handbook for Conjurers by Henning Nelms.  Here's a rich tidbit from today's reading:
A well-planned routine induces interest in each point in turn because each point leads to the next.  As the routine proceeds, interest induced by the action increases and requires less and less control from the performer.
Nelms recommends a few chapters prior to make a list of actions and find where a routine digresses or diverts from the ideal.  With my newest act, I know my choreography and what comes off and when.  What I haven't yet explored is a list of consequential actions for this number, seeing where I may unintentionally lose the audience's attention.  Always striving to be a better performer, I made that list.  I expect my audience to fall in love with me at the beginning of the number and stick with me all the way through.  Of course, I have to control their attention and make sure I tell a captivating story (even if that story is just that I'm getting more and more nekkid).

More from Nelms:
When you stick to your theme, you have little difficulty in making the center of interest coincide with the source of information at every point.  However, you can never afford to take this for granted.  You must have a clear idea of the sequence of points and make each source of information interesting in turn.
In making my list, I could see that I have to focus the audience's attention on what I want them to see.  I noticed the strong points and weak points in my act.  I was working on addressing the weaknesses last night, but I know there's more to do.  I think I may just take this act to Satan's Angel's class to get feedback and pointers to make it stronger.

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