When I think about why I approach magic the way I do, I know it’s with the end goal of putting on a textured, multi-faceted performance that fosters curiosity. And that might not (in fact, it probably shouldn’t) be why you do it. I’m sure you have your own set of goals.
Whatever we hope to do with our magic, I believe – as with cooking, puzzles, or a million other creative endeavors – doing our research and planning ahead of time helps us focus on where we want to go.
While I’m no chess expert, I find some chess terminology a clear way to understand what I want to get across. So pardon me as I talk about something I’m probably unqualified to touch on:
Within a chess match, a player can implement “Tactics” to improve their current position. In the crudest terms you can think about this as thinking a couple moves ahead from your current position and making some sound – albeit reactive – choices.
Tactics are helpful tools. In performance terms, these might be equated to smaller scale performance tweaks: like how to turn over a card at the moment of revelation for different impacts. Do you carefully pivot it at fingertips to avoid suspicion? Do you raise it to your chest height to frame your face for a final tableau? Perhaps you have an audience member turn the card over to help it feel like the magic happened in their hands?
None of these is “right” or “wrong.” They are all situational and all require an understanding of your context to understand the greater result.
Strategy, on the other hand, can be thought of as the bigger picture view. It’s taking stock of the full board state, the tendencies of your opponent, and your personal strengths and weaknesses to design a game plan inside which you’ll happen upon tactical moments. Knowing your overall strategy gives you a way to choose among your tactics in a thoughtful way.
In our card example, if the trick was happening for a camera and the goal was to focus on the performer for the final beat, ending by framing the face might be the best call. For a close up show where the vibe is a deeply interactive experience, making it about the participant might be better. Even bigger picture, is this card trick the right vehicle for this moment of the show? Why or why not?
By taking a moment to recognize that our tactical decisions are fun to explore, we can understand that they can be so much more than personal preferences. They can serve a larger purpose of helping us to create experiences that set out audiences up to experience our magic in the most effective way possible.
But it starts with you and your high-level strategic thinking. Think on!