Rehearsal and Practice Strategies

I was asked about rehearsal and practice strategies for magic. Many of us spend hours per day casually practicing a myriad of various moves and techniques without any real thought process behind it. I’m as guilty of this as anyone. Because there is a real joy in manipulating cards and coins and achieving “muscle memory” over time. I think it’s important to enjoy practice for its’ own sake. 

Having said that, I believe that in order to really improve it’s important to practice seriously. By that I mean to “train” rather than “practice.” Set aside some time each day, whether it’s 15 minutes, 30 minutes or an hour and make serious effort to rehearse sleights and moves with thoughtful drills. Make a list of things to work on, from simple to difficult. Use a mirror or a video camera and check every action with an open, honest mind. You have to be your own cruel taskmaster. Make needed adjustments as you systematically run through your list of drills. Think of it like a workout in a gym. Do reps, try different speeds, start slow and increase speed looking for imperfections. Work on the small imperfections over and over again. Take breaks and then get back at it.

Years ago Slydini saw me work and thought I was working too fast for my own good. He suggest a metronome as a rehearsal aid. He suggested that I set it to 72 beats per minute and rehearse my routines to the beat of the ticks. It helped, I was able to slow down my actions and resist the temptation to rush through my routines. But more importantly, it allowed me to see my practice sessions in a new light. I had a goal, and I had an external tool to help me gauge my progress. I started to take “rehearsal time” seriously and perceive it as the path to improvement. So I started adding more external tools. I got rid of the metronome and used classical music in the background. I eventually got rid of the mirror (I still know magicians who blink when they do moves because of too much mirror practice.)

The great sleight of hand man Mike Skinner used to talk about his practice regimen. He said he imagined each routine he performed was a precious jewel in a jewel box. And each day he would open the box, remove one jewel and polish it for a while. Then he would put it back and close the box. I thought that was a lovely way to conceptualize his care and diligent rehearsal of his routines. And it speaks to how seriously he took his rehearsal sessions. And if you ever saw Michael work you’d agree that his magic was polished! 

Then came the stuffed animals! Let me explain. I was an introvert as a child. Very shy. The idea that I needed to look people in the eye and speak to them to perform close up magic terrified me. 

Eventually I figured out that I had to look people in the eye and interact with them if I was to have any hope of misdirecting them. So I took several stuffed animals and put them around the edge of the table and treated them like real live people. It was a wonderful training exercise for me because all of those eyeballs and expectant faces were looking at me and waiting to be entertained and fooled. It forced me to visualize what happens during a shuffle, or what do I say while they are signing a card?

Fiddling around with moves is fine as method of stress relief. I’m always shuffling cards and playing with coins. Constantly! But there is no substitute for serious, planned, thoughtful, intentional rehearsal.

That’s not to say that when you get in front of an audience you should appear to have performed a routine a thousand times, although you might have! You should strive in each performance to appear as pleasantly surprised by the outcome as the audience. Don’t phone it in. Be present. Don’t perform “at” them. It’s called The Illusion of the First Time… I asked a director of a long running play if the actors ever get tired of repeating the same show night after night. He replied “We don’t repeat, we re-create!”

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