The satisfaction of creativity

This is a topic that has been widely covered by many greater minds and thinkers than myself.  It also seems like an obvious point to make, that you should be original and not copy other people.  However, I thought I'd share some thoughts about WHY this point is an important one to make again and again, especially in the magic industry, and for me this is not just about what you might be stealing from other people, it is what you are denying yourself.

Everyone starts out by imitating or flat out copying other performers.  Morecambe and Wise, two of my heroes and in my humble opinion one of the best double acts of all time, began, by their own admission, copying Laurel and Hardy.  It is only natural that an artist copies their inspiration, due mainly to the fact that if that artist is one of the reasons they got into the business, chances are they are wanting to BE them in every way, performing their routines and even taking on mannerisms and styles.  I myself have been trying for years to get rid of a slight American accent that seems to come through when I perform close-up, which gets stronger the more excited I get.  It is a curse that was brought on I'm sure by watching far too many American magicians when I first started and I long for the day when people stop asking me "...where are you from?", mainly because I don't have an interesting answer for them.  They always seem disappointed when I say I'm from the North East, probably somewhere close to them and this invariably causes more confusion as they then want to know why I have a "funny accent".  I would be far too embarrassed to tell the truth "that I spent far too much time watching L&L Magic DVD's when I started learning magic", so usually end up sticking with "I travelled a lot when I was younger" and hope they leave it at that.  This leads me early on to a very important point.  If you want to be original, don't watch other magicians.  Get your inspiration from other types of performers or from your experiences in general.  Find inspiration in movies, theatre, music or even poetry.  In order to take full advantage of these mediums, it is important that you don't always start with a trick in mind.  Let the theme, music, characters etc of these other entertainment genres inspire you from the ground up.

It is vitally important for any magician or performer to realise as soon as possible that you have to be original.

You CAN do it...

The first step in being creative and trying to think of something original is to realise that you CAN do it.  One of the repercussions of watching too many other magicians perform is that if it is a great performance, it is difficult then to imagine it being done any other way.  Let's take David Copperfield's classic snowstorm routine.  How many times have you heard a magician start a routine by saying "You know, when I was younger I never saw snow..."?  How many times have you heard a magician tell a very familiar story about their grandfather, who was the first one to show them a magic trick?  How many times have we heard the Edward Scissorhands music being used for the same routine?

Now, please don't think that I am attacking people who do this.  That is not my intention and that is why I began by saying that it is only natural to copy in the beginning.  I am "appealing" to those who have been performing for a while and are fully aware that they got an idea, piece of music or line from somewhere else, to TRY and write something else.  I know....WRITE something...what a concept. 

The majority of magicians have never actually sat down and tried to write something.  This is most probably because they don't know where to begin.  I must admit that until not so long ago, I wasn't confident in my own abilities either, and I think my strength is that I KNOW I'm still learning.  However, I thought I'd give you a few ideas that I have found useful as to where to start.

Try telling the truth...

This relates to, among others, the many many magicians who begin a routine with "My Granddad...."

Now, it may be the case that your grandfather really did show you your first magic trick.  It's quite the grandfathery thing to do.  However, I find it more likely that the magician saying it is simply using this plot line because he has heard the likes of David Copperfield say it, and sees it as an easy way to tug at the heart strings.

So, here is one way to combat that.  Try telling the truth.  Think about your life and try to write down as many interesting stories about your journey so far.  These could be funny, sad, romantic, it doesn't really matter.  What is important is that you search your memory for stories about yourself.  Try to think of stories that you've told at family gatherings that always bring the house down.  Perhaps they really are stories about your grandfather, or they could be about another relative.  It could be a story just involving you or something you did with a friend.  Have you been travelling?  What did you see?  The possibilities are endless.

• The main advantages of this are that firstly you are revealing something about yourself.  The right story can show vulnerability which is extremely attractive and interesting to an audience.  The audience can also tell when you are being genuine.  I challenge anyone not to get choked up when Michael Finney does his talk about getting started and the hardships he went through.  He genuinely has tears in his eyes and even points out that the day he doesn't get teary over it is the day it won't mean anything.
• This leads to the second advantage and that is that it makes it completely original to you.  The chances of another magician having the exact same story about your second cousin Tom and a funny incident in the lingerie department of Harrods are slim.  Also it means that the plot will suit you due to it's real origins.
• The final advantage of this is that it makes it so much harder for someone to copy YOU.  If your personality is so engrained in your routine, then even if someone does rip you off, it won't fit them nearly as well.  I once saw someone trying to imitate Jeff Hobson.  He did EVERYTHING, including camping it up.  At one point he even forgot one of the lines, so backed up in the script and repeated a section, just so he could say one of Jeff's lines.  When the routine was finishes he reverted back to his own personality which wasn't camp at all.  It was hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time...and NOT in a good way!

Music...

Some of the most creative moments I've had have come from listening to a piece of music.  PLEASE resist the temptation to use a piece of music that you have heard another magician use for a specific routine.  There are bound to be cross-overs, but in most cases this to me is a real crime.  Look in your itunes library and make a note of how many songs you have in there.  Now imagine how many pieces of music have ever been written...more than you could ever possibly listen to.

What music do YOU like?  Use itunes to see what are your most listened to tracks.  If you use music that appeals to you then once again, this means the audience is getting to know you as a person and goes yet another step further to making the routine personal to you.

Try film scores.  When we watch a film, we are often unaware of the music that is playing in the background.  This is because it has been designed or composed to specifically fit the mood of the scene, whether it is the meeting of two lovers or a car chase.  Why not take advantage of this when looking for a piece of music to fit a particular routine?  As a good friend of mine and I always say...the hard work has been done for you.

Two heads are better than one...

An essential technique in my opinion is to find a collaborator; someone you respect enough to take their opinion seriously.  Two people passing an idea back and forth is infinitely better than sitting at a table chewing a pencil trying to think of ideas.  With the communication capabilities we have today this is made even easier.  For magicians, Skype is invaluable as you can have face to face discussions and show ideas rather than describing them over the phone.  My creative collaborator lives in America and I would dread to think of the phone bill we would have wracked up without Skype.  I watched an interesting documentary about a couple who write lyrics together.  The way they described it is that they are both creator and editor.  One person will have an idea, the other person might refine it, but these roles are interchangeable as the idea gets passed between them.  This is how I would describe our creative partnership.

The Satisfaction...

I have only really scratched the surface of this topic but I'd like to close with a return to the title and the main reason for writing this article.  Until you TRY to be creative and come up with something you will never realise how much you are missing out.  There is nothing quite like the satisfaction that you get as an artist/performer when you look at a routine and realise that it is completely original in plot, script and music.  When you finally do create something like this that goes into your act and becomes a feature, only then will you truly understand why it is also so wrong to copy someone else's creation.