Last month the topic for the Mark’s Monthly Message video sent out to members of E-Club Pro dealt with the subject of understanding how spectators may be feeling when we approach them to perform our strolling magic. In this discussion I suggested that most performers present their magic in an extrovert manner which in certain circumstances and for particular spectators might be too much and a bit embarrassing.
One of the E-Club Pro members from the US emailed me to give the opinion that he wondered whether all magicians were in fact extroverts, since many were actually introverts who used magic to perhaps overcome a lack of self confidence.
This raises an interesting point. In the Mark’s Monthly Message I was referring to the fact that most performers present their magic in an outgoing, upbeat manner, not that they were automatically natural extroverts, but it does lead one to consider just how many of us are genuinely naturally self confident.
I suspect that many shy youngsters are attracted to magic because it is a way of connecting with other people without having to actually engage in normal social interaction. That was certainly the case for me.
I was painfully shy as a kid and being able to present magic that others were amazed by and gave me great credit for, was a way of achieving self esteem and helping my overall confidence. It was almost like having something I could hide behind.
Gradually over the years, as I became older and wiser, confidence in myself grew, of course. But I suppose the question is, was I always an extrovert performer right from the start. The answer is definitely a ‘no’!
When we perform, often our stage persona is an exaggeration of our normal self, but if we are supernaturally shy, we are unlikely to become hugely extrovert when we perform. However, if we become successful as an entertainer, confidence in ourselves increases, and I would suggest that this permeates not only through our presentations but back into our normal everyday personality.
I can remember when I was in my early 50s watching some video of myself when I was in my late 20s. When I saw the relatively understated way that I presented my magic as a young adult compared to the far more confident and assertive presentation of my older self, I realised that constant performing had had a radical impact on my style and indeed on my general personality.
This greater general confidence then fed back again into my performances, leading to an even more extrovert presentational style. I feel comfortable with my performing self, but interestingly I still feel that underneath it all, away from the shows, I am still relatively shy.
There are probably lots of things in our everyday lives which affect and mold the people that we become, but magic is one influence that for those of us who take it up early can be a major factor. Many of us become identified as ‘the magician’, it being almost a label that others use to sum up who we are. This means that the real us and the magician in us become inextricably linked.