CHEAP PART OF SALES PEOPLE OUCH! I do agree some are rather 'sleazy" but not all.

Perform on your own time.

:)

Feher.

Your character will find you.

Adopt what you like from others, and discard the rest. Be on the lookout for presentational styles that rub you the right way. When you find them, use them. From there, your "style" will seek you out, and you can't do anything to stop it.

This idea of a pitchman might strike your fancy. If it does, work out the script. I believe you could do this character justice. (Few can... you're one of those few.)

Remember two things. Everything you do and say should either develop your plot or reveal your character. Anything that DOESN'T do that is, at best, a distraction, and at worst, an utter waste of time for all involved.

I believe I picked that nugget up from Whit Haydn somewhere in one of his posts on this forum.

Have fun with it.

Your character will evolve and settle into a pattern based on who you are, what you do and what your focus is.

My wife sees my character as having elements of Orson Welles, Mahatma Gandhi, Benjamin Franklin and 'Brother Love' (refer to Neil Diamond's song description).

That's pretty accurate.

Not to be a shameless self promoter, but I really do believe my 12 Step Process for character development in the book Theatrical Magic is the single best resource currently available to the magic community. I think many people who have read the book and followed the steps will agree too. It is a true, step by step guide that when you are done will have helped you produce a fully developed, unique and defined character - whether it be an amplified version of yourself, or a separate character.

The more acting chops you have, the wider range, you can choose from, I fancy. Restricted by my own lack of versatility or talent as an actor I will remember to make it my New Years Eve resolution to get some acting chops tomorrow.

Okay, first, this is has always been one of the most fruitless questions ever asked in magic, because it's based on wrong premises. And I'm surprised all this advice has been thrown at you without anyone asking what kind of venues you had in mind.

The basic idea is this: The further away from the audience you work, the more of a character you have to be, even if that character is nothing more than an embellished version of yourself. If you're doing stage work, the audience would like to feel they know you personally, but they know they can only get a slice of that, so you present yourself in a way that can be shared by everyone. If you're walking up to someone's table, though, this is an entirely different matter. The rules change. Audiences don't merely wish they could know you; it's expected, just as you would expect anyone who walks up to you anywhere to be cordial, mannerly, likeable and without false fronts. The more intimate your work is, the less of a charade you can get away with.

As for "picking a character," that's always crawled up my back whenever someone brings it up. A character isn't something you pick like you would a coat off a rack. You don't keep trying characters on at the store until one fits with the right sleeve length and shoulders. A character isn't a commodity. It's something you uncover. It's a part of you. What parts of you would the audience appreciate seeing and getting to know? That's what you present to them. What parts of you don't mean as much to the audience or would they rather NOT know? Those are the parts you DON'T present to them.

But the real bottom line is, your character while performing isn't something you stop being when you stop performing. If a magician is thinking this way, he's doing it backwards. What you want to be is the kind of person you really want to be ALL THE TIME. Then, when you go on stage, it's even better. Why would anybody want to be engaging and funny and entertaining and charismatic only for the 45 minutes they're on stage?

Having a character in magic is a flawed concept. Being a person of character is another matter altogether. You want to have your audiences enjoy you more when watching your magic? Then you have to be the kind of person they enjoy watching do magic, not the person who only does it when he walks up to them. In this regard, the absolute best books to teach you how to be a great magician are books like Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. It's a matter of being a real person, not an act.

I don't know if it's a good idea in some regards to take acting classes. I mean, I think it's a good idea, but not for the reasons most people think. Instead, it may be far better to take classes in stagecraft: With which foot do you lead, how do you keep your chest up front and open, how do you manage your props, etc...but those address different issues altogether.

If you really want to be a magician, then there's no other way than to be one, not act like one.

All I'm saying is don't be a fake person. If you wish to disagree with that, then, um, okay. Of course, if I'm to take it that your persona is a fake, I won't know whether to believe you or not.

The underlying thesis is pretty simple: To be a better anything, be a better person, particularly when it comes to interacting with other people. I'm not sure what the point of contention could possibly be.

That might be good advice, but Shakespeare meant it as a joke... Polonius was a two-faced courtier giving his son advice that he himself never even aspired to live up to...

Lo, what manner of men are these, who now wear their balls in parentheses?

Timm

What about if, as Patrick Differ suggests, your character had already found you. Aren't you signing your posts as "the Captain"? He is the captain of what (an aircraft carrrier, a basket ball team, a yatch, a tank squad...)? So how does this captain persona look like? Does he wear a cap physically or psychologically? How do we know instantly and for sure that he is a captain? What is his mood? To me he seems like an officer who cares for his men, but maybe he is usually grumpy or ambitious or?
Once you know that, I know it will transpire in the scripts of your tricks. Frankly impersonating a Captain seems easier to me for every day life than painting your face white with black marks around the eyes and do terrific card manipulations amongst other superb tricks. It also is more versatile and lends itself nicely to a great variety of tricks

Hi Hi Captain (said SpongeBob SquarePants)