Writings
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The Theater of Wonder by John Tudor An examination of the history and theory of the magic play, fusing magic and drama. Reprinted from
The Linking Ring magazine, August & Sept. 1998. Definition In its simplest sense the Magic Play is a production that transcends Drama and Magic in that it combines the two worlds in convincing fashion. The successful magic play is considered a rare or even high form of the art in the magic world, while the addition of magical elements to a stage play are common. In general there are three types of magic plays, which were first identified in reference to Les Miracles de Notre Dame (Roman Catholic mystery plays that featured magical/miracle effects in the thirteenth century.) The three types of plays are:
Most stage plays that include magical themes or effects fall into the last of the three categories. So-called high or serious drama would most likely fall into the second category, while plays created by magicians seem to fall into the first category. This is understandable, as the magician's love for magic (and magician's ego) would want to bring the magic into the foreground. In this essay we are not concerning ourselves with plays that merely include magic as special effects, or as distraction or padding. The true magic play has magic that generally means something, and is integral to the plot of the piece, either as magical effects that advance the story line or as supernatural type events that fall outside of the normal realm of human possibility. One basic difference in Magic and Drama is in the relation to the audience. The effectiveness of many conjuring feats depends on direct interaction with the audience to prove away deception. (Handing out articles to be examined, signing a card, etc.) The drama, on the other hand usually ignores the presence of the audience, the players acting as if the audience is to be overlooked. (Sharpe) The combination of the two forms requires sometimes difficult compromises, as we will see. History The very rich history of the Magic Play gives an insight that, in a sense, it is one of the oldest forms of magic Drama. "It is possible that the illusions created in modern magic performances echo those presented during the far off days of The Mysteries in Egypt, Greece, and other countries of the old world, before initiates who had been prepared throughout their long instructions , as neophytes, to approach these solemn rites in that frame of mind which would enable them to appreciate the intention of the hierophants, who presented them as symbols of experiences of the human soul during it's mysterious passage though life, death and resurrection in the material world." (Sharpe) The first magic scripted magic plays we have are the classical drama of the Greeks. (particularly Aristophenes, Euripides and Sophocles) Greek plays contained lots of fantastic/magical/mythic elements. Frequently throughout the mysteries of sacedotal magic the audience imaginatively relates to "the Gods" or personified superhuman powers, and the fantastic things they can do. As the Roman Empire crumbled and Christianity took the forefront the Mysteries were driven underground, but still magic effects and elements had a presence. The Miracle Plays that started in the tenth century used drama with effects to demonstrate biblical themes. These Miracle Plays also allowed for the birth of secular drama in the western world, and jongluers and trontegors have been recorded as assisting in these plays as early as the 16th century. From this time onward the rapid advance of secular drama held a large number of fantastic/magical themes in dramatic literature from the Faust plays of Goethe and Marlowe, to the operas of Wagner, and the plays of Shakespeare. From this time on dramatic literature veritably creaks under the weight of all the supernatural /magical personalities and events within. Drama has continued to include these elements to the modern day, frequently using progressively more complex technologies and techniques from the conjurer's art. Examples range from the fantastic dream of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker to the filmed fantasies of George Melies, to Gilbert's Pygmalion, to Dracula, to modern use of conjurer's magic in such popular works as Carnival, Damn Yankees, and Pippin. Magicians who used the dramatic form The magic play as magicians would consider it (that is the play as a magician's rather than playwright's invention) begins with Robert Houdin, who strove to include meaningful references to the illusions he presented, and strove to be a convincing actor playing the part of a magician. This allowed him to create strong performances of particular conviction. Professor Pepper, the scientist who created the optical principles that would become Pepper's Ghost demonstrated many of his ideas in playlet form. The Golden Age of magic plays (or Presto Playlets as they were advertised ) might be said to begin in the 1850's with the works of Maskelyne and Cooke, and later Maskelyne and Devant. Maskelyne (J.N. and Nevil) and David Devant produced dozens of magical playlets at the Egyptian Hall in London, in which they not only wrote and created the work but acted in the pieces as well. They brought the magic play to an ongoing fine art (usually with massive grand illusions) which has not been duplicated since. The most famous piece was Will, The Witch. and The Watchman, later presented in the Kellar show. Two forms became distinct in the latter 19th century: the narrative playlet that we are focusing on here; and the story telling piece, wherein the magic is used to illustrate a natural story. Professor Hoffman wrote in the narrative playlet form, while Hofzinzer developed the parlor presentations wherein the natural story was illustrated by magical means. (which may be declared as the birth of modern close up story pieces.) In the 20th century the variety of material is astounding, with excellent plays, films and television shows of every description. With the new media the magician increasingly became presented as a character of a specific type, rather than as the presenter of magic occurrences in themselves. The works including the magician as a character type may fall into what Bob Neale has referred to as Reflexive Magic, that is magic about magic. The magic play today is usually presented as a vignette part of a larger show and as such is still popular, but the magic play is still a rare art. The modern renaissance of magic is generally considered to have been born on Broadway with Doug Henning in the simply titled The Magic Show, while a similar musical launched young David Copperfield. Currently magic plays form the repertoire of such artists as Landis Smith, Max Howard, and Le Grande David. (An excellent listing of magical plays appears in the July, 1966 issue of The Linking Ring, by Edgar Heyl.) Legitimate Magic The uses of magic in stage plays are extremely diverse. The dividing line between magic tricks and theatrical effects has always been thin, and is particularly so in the increasing use of technology mixed effectively with magic technique (as in the Steinmeyer/Disney Beauty and the Beast). To suggest a new definition: magical effects in plays may be stated as being either Incidental Magic, or Legitimate Magic; as in the term Legitimate Theater. (plays of substance) Incidental Magic plays include those works where the magic could be removed without much affecting the plot; such as the atmosphere enhancing variety turns in Barnum, the simple tricks performed by Jesus in the very popular Godspell, or the sawing in half of the title character in Little Mary Sunshine. Legitimate Magic plays are that in which the magic is completely wrapped up in the plot. Many modern works have included magic due to the magical nature of important characters. (Houdini, Dracula, The Devil, Merlin, The Wizard of Oz, etc. ) Prospero's entire life is wrapped up in his study and eventual renunciation of magic in Shakespeare's Tempest. Legitimate magic techniques are frequently used in children's theater, especially in bringing to life classic fairy tales such as Rumplestiltskin and Snow White. Casting The Spell The Nature of the Magic Play To start at the beginning is only proper, and an understanding of the magic play begins with with the creation of the proper atmosphere. The innumerable techniques for creating atmosphere are too many to list here, suffice to say that there is no true magic play without the creation of this magical atmosphere of conviction and believability. The audience must be fully engaged and involved by the time the magic happens. The main difference between the magic play and the magic trick is this issue of conviction. The trickster's aim is to deceive the audience about how his tricks are done, while the actor and director do not attempt to deceive, as the whole audience recognizes the situations, settings, and actions of a play or movie as fake. Through this conviction the acting company manages to create a greater magical atmosphere than the mere conjurer could ever hope for. Casting the Spell Henning Helms supposed there to be two magics, the magic of Deception and the magic of Conviction. Conviction differs fundamentally from Deception. Successful deception results in unquestioning belief. Conviction requires only what is called the "willing suspension of disbelief". This may seem like a weak basis for illusion, but the results can be overwhelming. (Helms) The two magics can be combined with great results. This "willing suspension of disbelief" has been greatly misunderstood for decades, its meaning originally directed towards literary rather than dramatic efforts. Coleridge's original phrase was the "willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith." Two important points arise here:
The playgoer never regards the events of a drama as real; he merely fails to disbelieve in them for a time, and then regains his disbelief. During the time his disbelief is suspended the playgoer experiences the events as real, and is caught up into what is sometimes called "the enchanted state." This conviction is a temporary thing, while in the magic play the deception should of course be permanent. (Helms) Coleridge went on to say that it is this state of belief that "instills the energy into the imagination, which compels the mind to produce the picture." Conviction Conviction is aided by credibility, or internal consistency, which translates to believability on the part of the spectator. "Thus all that is related is true, while you were as it were, 'inside.' The moment you are caused to disbelieve, the spell is broken, the magic world is shattered." (Tolkien) Conviction, aided by this change in belief state , can occur without deception of course, but in the magic play the deception cannot occur without conviction. This conviction can greatly aid the conjurer in his deception, so long as it maintains its internal consistency. Mythic or storybook magicians may change straw into gold from greed, but rarely do card tricks just to show off. Many magic play scripts have no magical occurrences for the first act or two, this can serve to make the actual magic that happens much more effective. A long "induction phase" (to borrow a phrase from hypnosis) often is effective. It is the gift to the audience of enough time within the opening segments to enter the state of suspension of disbelief. By the time the magic happens the audience is so involved the trick has gained power in their minds. Also, frequently stated is the need for brevity. "It is fundamental, however that the narrative trick be brief and to the point and vital to someone. There must be no elaboration, no by paths, no elocution." (Fitzkee) The longer the piece, the more difficult to sustain the conviction. Unity, throughline, and sub-text More so than in a straight magic act, production's structure must have unity. This is best defined by Aristotle's definitions relating to the Greek Drama, (the work should be) "...one and entire; the parts being so connected that if anyone of them be either transposed or taken away, the whole will be destroyed or changed. For whatever may be either retained or omitted, without making any sensible difference, is not properly a part." The magic must be an integral part to achieve this unity. What carries this artistic unity is called the throughline, which is the intangible thread that runs through the piece by which the emotional content of the play hangs. Allied to the cause of artistic unity is the sub-text which is what the work is about, but on a deep emotional or conceptual level. The play is outwardly about two lovers, yet the subtext may be about the nature of human love itself, etc. Magic Vs. Dramatic Interest Magic and Drama have differing types of interest, which we can understand by turning to the ideas of Maskelyne and Devant. They brought this balance to a high degree of perfection in their magic plays and dedicated their work to this form more than any other conjurer(s) that may be found in the literature. Indeed, their magic plays frequently used classical or mystical themes, often very high minded moral/allegorical pieces about the essence of life itself. All this is very difficult to pull off in the context of a magic show. (J.N. Maskelyne once stated that he found it impossible to draw satisfactory audiences with serious magic plays, and faced box office failures with his more ambitious multi-act works. Serious magic plays of this sort are perhaps not for the masses.) Maskelyne postulated what may be called the fundamental rule of the Magic Play: When magic and drama are combined, the concerns of magic take a secondary role to the concerns of drama. After the dramatic aspects are set, procedures may be dominated by the ordinary rules of magic. (Our Magic) "The play's the thing" that really must drive the production for the proper conviction to be attained. Once the creation of the conviction is attained in the creation of the work by the usual dramatic means, the magical effects may be created accordingly. "The magical climax of each effect must be so modified as to form a stepping stone to the what comes after in the plot, like beads on a fine necklace held together by dramatic human interest." (Maskelyne) According to Maskelyne and Devant, the key to understanding Drama in practical terms was in: (A) The phases of a creation and sustainment of interest, (B) the climax of action and (C) the satisfaction of result. In Magic, however, the climax is the point of the thing, the climax and satisfaction coming at the same time. The two forms thus require mutual adjustment. Magic effects in a dramatic context lack finality, and indeed the very best magic trick can receive no applause. Ideally the magic is only to be included when it becomes an essential part of the play without which the plot would not be complete. "Drama provides the theme of human interest. Magic provides the particular episodes whereby the dramatic theme is carried out with adequate effect." (Maskelyne) Maskelyne and Devant were also able to fully solve the problem of the opposing needs of magic and drama with a very unique strategy. They created the proper atmosphere of conviction while fully fooling the audience with the magic itself. Before the show a committee was brought onstage to examine the various articles and props to be used, and the committee stayed onstage the entire time. In one case a committee member lay down on the front of the stage to look for traps in the stage floor, etc., while the playlet was going on! The committee was entirely fooled along with the audience, and the audience was able to have full suspension of disbelief. Thereby Maskelyne and Devant succeeded in fulfilling the needs of magic (to entertain through deception) and drama (to create belief through conviction). Devant later opted for a more naturalistic approach, creating the action onstage so as to demonstrate the guileless nature of the properties indirectly through stage business. Bibliography Burger, Eugene and Neale, Bob, Magic and Meaning. (Hermetic) 1995 Devant, David, My Magic Life. (Supreme) Devant, David, Secrets of My Magic (Supreme) Fitzkee, Dariel, Showmanship For Magicians, (Magic Limited) 1945 Maskelyne, Nevil, and Devant, David, Our Magic. (Fleming) 1946 Helms, Henning, Magic and Showmanship. (Dover) 1969 Nicholl, Allerdyce, World Drama. (Harrap) Sharpe, Sam, The Magic Play. (Magic, Inc.) 1976 Sharpe, Sam, Neo Magic. (Johnson) 1946 Tolkien, J.R.R., "On Fairy Stories", The Tolkien Reader. (Ballentine) 1966 |
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