Tag: paul gertner

The Classic Force

A couple of decades ago I was at Bob Fitch‘s first performance workshop up in Canada. One of the people there was Bob Sheets. One night at dinner I got to see Bob Sheets do his classic force and he told me his thinking behind that. Sheet’s classic force is the basis of the one that I do. I’ve added some bits to it, like turning cards face up and offering the cards one at a time.

Here’s the second half of my multiple classic force routine:

@louiefoxx Stop taking that! #magictrick #volunteer #magic #fair #countyfair #louiefoxx #cardtrick #stopit ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

If you don’t know how to do the classic force, you really should learn it. It’s a solid skill to have in your tool box. I initially started learning it when I was a teenager from the book Forcing a Card in the Classical Manner by Paul Gertner. I think he’s got an updated version of it out, but that’s the one that was my first real introduction to the Classic Force.

-Louie

Zoom Stagecraft…

One thing that I’ve been paying attention to at magic meetings and magic conventions is how magicians are using Zoom. Not from a magic method standpoint, but from using it as their stage. How are thing framing their magic, how are they bringing people from the audience onstage.

Paul Gertner has a really great way of using people from the audience. He has them on a physical screen in his space, and it really gives a feel of the person standing next time. If you get a chance to see him perform, it’s worth it to see what he’s doing. It’s great!

One of the big things that I noticed at the PCAM was the difference in how people performed if they were “Instagram” performers and weren’t doing live virtual shows. The clunky transitions between tricks, and tech transitions (like moving a camera from their face to hands) really highlighted this difference. The people that were live performers really eliminated this dead time, or made it interesting. This isn’t a knock on people that perform on Instagram, it really just highlighted how live performing is a very different skill set.

Just like many live performers have made the switch to Instragram or TikTok, I think people who perform on those venues need to start looking at how to perform live. It’s the logical extension of what they’re doing. Someone sees a video and wants to book you for a virtual show. I understand that live performing is something some Instagram performer have no interest in, and I respect that. However I also think that’s if Ellen asked them to be on her TV show, they’d want to do it.

It’s good to build the skill before you need it!