BEYOND SECRETS By Jay Sankey “Strip away illusion. Retain the mystery.” - Philip Toshio Sudo To Lisa My dearest friend and darling wife ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Heartfelt thanks to my friends and fellow magicians Jason Maloney, Jeff Pinsky and Richard Sanders, as well as to my parents Lloyd and Deborah, my brothers Christopher and Yashin, and my sister Gretchen. Special thanks to friends and magi David Acer and David Peck for their generous editorial help, to Jon Racherbaumer for always being in my corner with a bouquet of roses, and to Len Cooper for showing me my first magic trick. TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword ..............................................................................................................9 Preface ................................................................................................................. 12 A Dance of Glances ........................................................................................ 14 Is Magic An Art? .............................................................................................. 16 Begin By Connecting..................................................................................... 18 The Myth Of Speed ........................................................................................ 20 Incomprehensibility ..................................................................................... 22 Magic As Blood Sport ................................................................................... 23 Orchestrating Focus...................................................................................... 25 What Is Your Market? .................................................................................. 27 Popular Misperceptions.............................................................................. 29 The Anatomy Of An Effect .......................................................................... 31 Intimate Scripts .............................................................................................. 32 What Is The Method? ................................................................................... 35 If I Were A Real Magician ........................................................................... 37 A Little Experiment ....................................................................................... 39 Key Images ........................................................................................................ 42 Learning A Sleight.......................................................................................... 44 An Actor Playing The Part.......................................................................... 46 Wonder Without Secrecy ........................................................................... 47 Creating Magic ................................................................................................. 49 Wonder And Emotion .................................................................................. 52 How Did You Do That? .................................................................................. 53 Any Effect Is Possible ................................................................................... 55 Cynicism, Confusion And Ego ................................................................... 56 For My Next Trick .......................................................................................... 59 Audience Feedback ....................................................................................... 63 The Opposite Of Magic................................................................................. 65 Simplicity ........................................................................................................... 67 The Emotional Camera ................................................................................ 69 The Imperfect Theory .................................................................................. 71 The Approach .................................................................................................. 73 Inspiring Humility ......................................................................................... 76 The Wonder Of Wit ....................................................................................... 78 Classic Audience Members ........................................................................ 81 Performing New Material .......................................................................... 89 Rhythm................................................................................................................ 92 Vulgar Magic ..................................................................................................... 94 Whose Magic Is It? ......................................................................................... 96 Learning From Mime .................................................................................... 98 Truth And Credibility ................................................................................... 99 Minimum Effort ........................................................................................... 101 Performer As Product ............................................................................... 104 What Is The Magic About? ...................................................................... 108 Enthusiasm .................................................................................................... 110 Fewer Words, More Magic ...................................................................... 111 Secrecy Is Fear.............................................................................................. 113 The Art Of Practice ..................................................................................... 116 Inside Out/Outside In ............................................................................... 117 Suspending Disbelief ................................................................................. 119 Responding .................................................................................................... 121 Parade Of Characters ................................................................................ 123 Mirroring......................................................................................................... 126 Taking It Personally ................................................................................... 128 Multiple Climaxes ....................................................................................... 131 Vivid Language ............................................................................................. 133 The Natural .................................................................................................... 140 Expressing And Communicating ......................................................... 142 Suspicion ......................................................................................................... 144 Mind Over Matter ........................................................................................ 145 What Is A Narrative? ................................................................................. 147 Magic And Mentalism................................................................................ 149 Vulnerability.................................................................................................. 152 Choosing A Spectator ................................................................................ 155 Under And Over Proving ......................................................................... 157 How Do You Feel? ....................................................................................... 159 Fear And The Sudden Audience ........................................................... 161 Power ................................................................................................................ 164 The Mysterious And The Humorous .................................................. 166 Becoming A Better Magician ................................................................. 169 Control And Trust ....................................................................................... 170 Circuit Practicing ......................................................................................... 172 Purge Your Puzzles .................................................................................... 174 Magician, Clown, Priest ............................................................................ 177 Which Direction? ......................................................................................... 179 Magic And The Magical ............................................................................ 181 Sanding ............................................................................................................ 184 Those Who Will Resist .............................................................................. 186 Let The Audience Lead ............................................................................. 189 In The Blink Of An Eye .............................................................................. 192 The Master Imagined ................................................................................ 194 Secrets, Understanding & Wonder ..................................................... 196 Is There Such A Thing As A Bad Trick? ............................................. 197