Real Black Magic
Sunday, September 23, 2007
This kind of magic is no doubt the closest to an act of real magic in existence, and one of the easiest kinds of illusions to perform. The magician enters the stage wearing a white outfit, then slowly the lights go down. In the end, the audience sees only the magician because he or she is dressed in a white outfit and the stage now is dark. The performer then commands any desired item to appear, float and then disappear. People, animals, flowers, tables, everything the magician wants seems to appear, vanish or float at a command. But the performer goes even further by sawing a woman in half as she stands before the audience. Each half then moves about the stage on its own. Eventually the performer may put the hal ves back together, or may simply make them vanish. There is absolutely no end to what the performer can do. In the end the lights come back up and the performer can either be on stage alone again, or the stage now can be completely filled with the magical appearanc es of all the items from the show.
The secret: This is field of magic which has all but been abandoned in present performance. To me it seems that present day magicians are looking for more mechanical tricks so they do not need to act as much, or work as hard. Someone will come along soon, I'm sure, who will begin to perform this style of magic again.
The staging is the main concern. The back curtain or backdrop is flat black. The performer is dressed in white, or other light-colored outfit. The performer should also wear a mask or have his face touched up with make-up. Hands should be gloved, or covered in make-up. This will make the performers hand and face stand out against the black backdrop.
In the dark, with only black light lighting shining on the stage, everything which is black is unseen by the audience. Everything which glows in a black light will be seen by the audience.
During the late sixties and early seventies, black light-sensitive posters and art had a great comeback. The poster would seem to shine in the darkness of the black light. Elements not visible in the light of day would become visible with the black lights shining. To make anything appear, just have your black-clad assistant carry them onto the stage. Because the assistant is completely dressed in black, they are not seen by the audience. (their faces and hands are black, too) The object they carry will seemingly float onto the stage. Or, you can reach behind the curtain center (where two curtains meet) and produce the objects.
If the object is black on one side and black light-sensitive on the other, you can carry it onto the stage and make it appear and disappear simply by turning it around. People, too, can vanish and appear if they hide behind a cloth of black or a board painted black. Incidently, adding a strobe light gives the effect an even more amazing effect, although I wouldn't suggest having the strobe light on too much or too often. It does hurt the eyes. The constant flashing light turns the stage into a wave of movement.
Because your act is limited only by your creativity, you should let your imagination go wild. Forget about traditional magic, you wont need tricks. Just look at your stage as your land of imagination. A place where anything can happen.
To float someone, have an assistant lie down on a black plywood board. Then have two of your black-clad assistants lift the board. The assistant is then floating and can float right off the stage into the wings.
I have had both the opportunity to perform in black light and to see a black light performance. It is truly the most amazing sight to behold. The magic of items appearing and vanishing, objects floating in mid- air. Really amazing.
When you perform black art effects, you can see everything on the stage because you are so close to the action. You may forget how dramatic it all looks to the audience. But try to keep in mind that black art is truly the most magnificent art form of magic. You will appreciate it more if you have your show video taped so you, the performer can review the show. As a television spectacle, black art magic is truly well-fitted. Why? The set which you work can be totally dark, while the people at home are in whatever light they choose.
Doing black art magic on television is the next best thing to trick photography. The camera only sees what you want it to see. Black art is truly the cleverest and easiest magic to perform.
But beware: Black art illusions are obviously not meant fo r close-up or for small shows of any type. And fire regulations may restrict the amount of darkness. You may also have trouble finding a club which is willing to turn the lights so low.
A way to combat the club's skittishness is to have low lighting facing away from the stage area and into the audience. This arrangement will actually enhance the invisibility of the act. However, this illusion, when performed in total darkness, has effects which are truly eerie.
Black art is labor intensive, but this problem can be overcome by using backdrops which hide your props.
The best illusions in black art will float, appear, have objects or even people vanish then magically transpose from place to place across the stage. The act can end with the magician causing him or herself slowly vanish, from the ground up, or simply float away, off the stage. To vanish from ground up, have an assistant cover the magician with a black mini-curtain .
However you decide to end this act, you must clearly script what you will do and maintain the script. A story line or play line would be suggested. You could even use a children's fairy-tale as the script. Just because the act is in the dark, don't be afraid to talk to the audience during the show. The effect of your voice will be greatly amplified because the stage is black. Your audience will be more focused on what you are saying since they will be limited to what they are seeing. The lessening of one sense heightens another.
posted by VICKY @ 11:42 AM,
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