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Showing posts from January, 2013

Act III Scene I

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The Prestige...

Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige". We're all magicians, we just don't know it. We're all there in the midst of it all. The fun, the cohesion, the feeling of bel
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Moment of Truth?

The funny thing about jokes is that they're all serious business. The trick is never to let people know it. What is it about a joke that works for it? Content. Yes. It must appeal to the faculties. Implementation. Very Important. It is that what is perceived by the senses. You must make the audience see the funny side of it, you must let it sink in. How you put it, and how you act it out, will determine the reaction you get. But what determines whether a joke is accepted or not? Moments. That is the word.You have to know your moments, pick them carefully, match them up with something appropriate and deliver. If you get the moment wrong, all else shall be in vain. Moments. It's a funny business. One, that like tonight, is worth a night's pondering. How do you pick a moment? How do you know it's right? Do you ever, or do you just chance it because the stake's aren't too high, after all, I'm just telling a joke. But what happens

Now would be be a good time to enjoy now...

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