Strong Magic

by Darwin Ortiz

Why is it that some magicians get great audience reaction while others who are just as skillful leave audiences so cold? The answers are in Strong Magic, the first -ever book on showmanship specifically for the close-up magician.

As a successful professional magician for almost twenty years, Darwin Ortiz has appeared before thousands of audiences of all kinds. During that time he has studied what it takes to really move an audience. In Strong Magic, he presents the results of those years of study and experience in a way that every magician can benefit from.

Do you want applause, gasps, and praise? Do you want your performances to be talked about and remembered? Strong Magic tells you how. You already own countless books on card and coin manipulation. Here is a book on something far more important: audience manipulation. Not a dry, boring treatise, it's funny, fascination, exciting reading. Not a book of vague theory, it's loaded with countless examples and concrete techniques that you can put to use right away to give your magic more impact. These are the real secrets of close-up magic--and they are all in Strong Magic

Genres: Magic, Nonfiction

379 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Julius · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has no tricks whatsoever, but nonetheless is praised among many amateur and professional magicians and understandably so. Darwin Ortiz does a stellar job dissecting a magical act. Like a real scientist he breaks down it into ever smaller atoms that he writes about in depth. He starts with "The Effect" and explains what helps achieve conviction in audiences mind, how suggestion works and different types of meaning one can achieve with magic, with a final touch of dramatic structure. And that's only one part. He continues the meticulous analysis writing about "The Character" and how to make and develop one, so that the audience can have a highest level of conviction. He even touches the problems amateur - family and friends - performers face (it is much more difficult to convey a "new" character to people who knew you all your life). Darwin Ortiz is only getting started and continues with a thorough explanation on how to develop "The Act" - a sequence of routines - that build up to an ultimate standing ovation (or just gasps of wonder). And to finish it all - the largest piece of the book is dedicated to "The Audience:" how to find people who's reactions would enhance the wonder element for everyone watching, controlling attention, dealing with assistants and hecklers, failures or anything unexpected. And finally - how to do an analysis of your own after a show.

Truly, this review does not do enough justice for this book. For anyone who is interested in what makes magic - magic this book is an absolute must read.

[NEVEN · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're at all interested in magic, buy this book.

[Michiel Tummers · Rating 5 out of 5]

If i could name one single book that made me improve my performance of magic by tenfold, it would be this book. Strong magic, and later "designing miracles",(which i consider to be one volume) cant help but make you think stronger about how an effect should be performed. Remember when you first began and the great reactions you got then? And how it all mumbled down through the ages? My hypothesis is that when we begun we knew 3 great tricks perfectly , while now we now 2000's tricks not so perfectly but all that and more is explained in this tome. The way to go about performing, how to handle hecklers, what makes a trick play strong etc etc etc, its all in this work. Nonetheless , the book had its fair share of critics and although i see merit in all those critiques, i would still argue that this is one of the greatest book on magic as an performance art ive ever written. I have over 100 books on magic (most of them are very rare!) and this is one ive read for over 10 times, i even bought a second copy since the book collapsed and turned yellow and greasy.. thats how good it is!

[Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are no magic tricks in this book, just references to some of them, well known by magicians. What makes the book special for any performing artist - be it a magician, actor, musician, stand-up comedy, clown or juggler... - is the multitude of hints and insights about the performing arts, which, the so-called "technique”, acquired through years of deliberate practice, transforms into a captivating, moving, mysterious piece of entertainment that, at its best, stays in the minds of the spectators forever.

[Richard Cadot · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all magicians.

[Brendan]

didn't read all of , but overall very good

[Beto Mondini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

[قناص سنايبر · Rating 5 out of 5]

مميز

[Hadi Safaat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buku tentang teori sulap yang sangat bagus sekali, tentang bagaimana membuat sulap yang biasa jadi lebih strong. Buku ini cukup berat dan bahasa inggrisnya agak sedikit susah untuk dimnherti

[Mirko Corpo · Rating 4 out of 5]

90/100