Beyond Deception
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Vol. 1 ❧ ❦ ☙ Vol. 2
After nearly 20 years of working with magical artists Jeff McBride and Marco Tempest, not only as manager but also as director, producer, sometimes as a lighting designer and even helping out with the writing of their performance pieces, I came to realize that there was a real need and hunger from magical performers for a firmer grounding in the basics of the theater arts. Since I had trained as actor, director and designer, and worked for many years on the production and management teams for some of the world’s great theatrical productions, I found myself in position of having something unique to share. Thus, back in 2005 – 2007, I set out to write the book that was to become Beyond Deception: The Theory and Technique of Creating Original Magic. The book is a compendium of exercises drawn from my theater training, but redesigned to help magicians. There are exercises is creating original material, on building up your performance abilities, and much more. Since it’s release in 2007, the book sold out it’s initial hard cover printing of 2,000, and is currently available only in paperback on Amazon.
Over the past several years, Jeff McBride and the staff of his “McBride Magic & Mystery School” have been producing and presenting a weekly program over streaming video (@ Mcbridemagict.tv). Each week we would examine a different subject, and each one of us would produce a short video segment in which we discussed that week’s subject. Over the course of nearly 3 years, we’ve produced well over 100 episodes. (This number is now over 600.) I called my segments “The Wizard’s Corner,” and it is from those segments that Beyond Deception, Volume 2: From the Wizard’s Corner has been drawn. Originally written as scripts to be delivered on camera, I’ve gone through and revised each of them, sometimes expanding or cutting the original scripts, and doing my best to make them more readable. The result is a series of essays divided into the following broad sections: On Being a Magician, Varieties of Magic, On Performing as a Magician, History, Creating Material, Gigging, and The Business of Magic. A bit of something for everyone — unless you want to learn new magic tricks. This is not a book teaching tricks. It is a book on making the magic you present better by making it more meaningful and more entertaining.
Reviews for Beyond Deception
(with thanks to all who reviewed it!)
Eugene Burger (Cover Quote):
There are hundreds of books out there with thousands of tricks – but precious few on how to turn those tricks into meaningful and original entertainment. This book is one of the few, based in Tobias’ twenty years of experience directing and nurturing the careers of some of the most innovative acts in magic. If you’re serious about taking your magic to the next level, read it and start doing the exercises now!
Excerpt from M.U.M. review by Joshua Kane:
If you made a New Year’s Resolution to raise the bar and improve your performances, then Tobias Beckwith’s Beyond Deception – The Theory and Technique Of Creating Original Magic will provide you a breathing blueprint…
Tobias Beckwith has the experience and fluency to help us tap into our own personal artistry and, in finding a deeper connection with our unique self, a new relationship with the magic we perform. You will
learn the power of context and characterization, as well how most expertly to play and fill an action. In this well-produced hardback book, you will find inspiring anecdotes and sound theory. Theory in
this case means a proven roadmap not a possible one. Many of the exercises may at first glance appear basic, but do not dismiss them.
Instead, gift yourself the time to try them, preferably in front of witnesses and fellow participants.
Unlike several other books that came out in the past year professing to be about theatrical magic,
Beckwith’s Beyond Deception actually is a solid primer on linking theatrical techniques and approaches to the conjuring arts. When I take the time to revisit these exercises through Beckwith’s instruction, I know that my own act will improve. Buy this book a half-dozen copies at a time, share it with friends and build that brain trust. Keep it so much in use that it will rarely occupy the shelf space that it so richly deserves.
Excerpt from Oracle review by David Goodsell:
We have just finished reading Tobias Beckwith’s slim volume, BEYOND DECEPTION, The Theory & Technique of Creating Original Magic, Volume 1 – which hints that there is more to come, we hope. This is a good book. We agree with Bob Fitch in his forward when he suggests it be read with pad and pencil in hand, for a quick read will provide you very little. This is material to think about, to ponder. A quick read will give you the misconception that the book is simplistic. Simple, yes, simplistic, no.
When we develop our act, the tricks and routines that go into the whole presentation, do we evaluate the character we assume, the story we tell, the props we use to see if they fit the theme of our show – or even if we have a theme? If not, should we? Do we consider these things in the context of the setting for the performance and the audience? Should these be considerations? If so, are there things we should change to enhance our performance? What is the tone and style of our performance? Beckwith’s message is that “If it’s a performance piece, it can ALWAYS be improved,” and he points to the work of Jeff McBride and Marco Tempest, with whom he has worked for almost 20 years as a validation of this premise.
Because performance pieces can always be improved, Beckwith suggests that we be always alert for that which can aid in improvement, from whatever source, and that information should be considered, noted, categorized and filed to be readily available when needed. Yes, simple advice – but, almost always overlooked or, more likely, not even considered. Today’s oddity might well be tomorrow’s performance treasure.
Why do we do the tricks we do? What is our motivation? What do we hope to accomplish? What does a trick do for us, the performer? What does it do for the audience – an audience of one or an audience of one thousand? Is there a story? Should there be? Is there conflict? Should there be? How do we come up with an original presentation? Too often we magicians simply learn the bare bones of a trick, practice it until we are comfortable with it, and present it. Often we do a good job, maybe even an excellent job with it. Maybe it really stuns our audiences. “Wow!” they say, “How did you do that?” But it that the response you want? Is there something even better than “Wow!” Maybe yes, maybe no. In any case, several pages of chapter 5 of this book, “Exercises in the Mind,” are devoted to a workshop exercise that Jeff McBride conducted at one of his Master Class sessions in Las Vegas in 2007. By including an almost verbatim description of the session, both what Jeff said and some of the responses from the workshop members we are led to explore the questions posed above. Do you ask yourselves such questions when deciding what magic to include in your presentations? What would happen if you tried? You don’t have to be at one of Jeff’s workshops to try it!