MICHAEL JAY

Another Prism Question

I have recently finished reading Prism. I took my time and digested it slowly - brilliant stuff sir. The most striking fact for me, though, was that this was all published in the late '70s (and 1980, of course).

Did you do any editing to the original manuscripts before publishing them as Prism?

One other question (and please, pardon my ignorance).

Do you have any publications out on theory alone? While I do enjoy reading the workings of specific effects, my brain is already so full of stuff that I could never begin to scratch the surface in attempting to perform so many different things (nor would I ever attempt such folly). Of late, my attention has turned to reading the thoughts and ideas and theories behind the effects - the "why" rather than the "how."

If you don't have anything published on theory alone presently, do you have any plans of such a publication in the future?

MAX MAVEN

For Prism, there were cosmetic changes -- syntax and punctuation -- plus some footnotes with additional credit references that I didn't know when the pamphlets were originally written. But, other than that, it is the same material as first published.

As for theory, not an individual book, but I have published many essays over the years. For the first five years of Stan Allen's Magic magazine (starting in 1991), I wrote a monthly column called "Parallax," and many of those sixty articles were devoted to theoretical matters.

DOC

Your tricks being performed

A few months ago I was performing and after my spot, came on two "mentalists", they proceeded to subject audience to 45 minutes of material taken from Videomind DVD's/videos.

Alas I have to say it was badly done, literally word for word as done on DVD's. A plank of wood would have been less wooden than their "performance".

Now that annoys me anyway, but it would annoy me even more if it was my material they were doing badly.

how do you deal with it? do you just ignore it? did you used to get frustrated or do you just not care? Or is it just part of life, it's not going to change ever.

MAX MAVEN

When I release material via print or video, it is with the hope that it might nurture other performers. As you've noted, the downside is that some merely recycle the material without adding to it or even thinking much about it. Fortunately, I do not often see this -- most of the time, I merely hear about it. Slightly skin-crawling, but unavoidable.

BAZ

Advice to the new and young

What advice would you offer new generation of magicians?

MAX MAVEN

My standard reply to this question is: Slow down.

We live in an age where instant gratification is expected and demanded. But some things simply do not develop quickly. Learning how to perform (in magic or other fields) is not a quick process. So, I suggest one ought to have some patience, and try to enjoy the journey.

TIMNICEBUTDIM

Nerves

Before you step on stage, even after all these years of performing - do you still feel the nerves? And if so - how do you deal with it?

I'm asking this because we all see the extrovert and 'bubbly' magicians who can focus their nerves and the energy it creates into their 'loud' persona. Yet for mentalists, everything needs to be totally relaxed with the performer in control of any situation with a cool, calm (and serious) face... as these nerves are extremely hard to repress / ignore, there must be some way in which the resulting energy is used.

MAX MAVEN

Stage fright is an individual issue. I know of some great performers who suffer terribly before every performance.

In my own case, I do not get nervous, even when working for a very large audience or a live television broadcast. Of course, I do have a certain type of adrenalin tension, but it is not debilitating.

Years ago, I used to have certain private "rituals" that would enable me to get into the right frame of mind for performance. This took place while grooming for a show, and from then until stepping on stage I tried to avoid conversation with others to maintain that state. However, at some point I located the "toggle switch" to get there, so these days I can be quite relaxed up to the moment I'm introduced.