In this concise guide to improvisation, Justin Higham reveals the fundamental secrets of creating and performing close-up card magic on-the-fly.
Including chapters on Interactive Magic, the Improv Show, Jazz Magic, and The Trick That Cannot Be Explained, the various styles and modes of improvisation are stripped down to basics and their methodologies revealed.
Topics include:
- What Jazz Magic is and how it works
- How to create an Improv Show
- How to transform a standard trick into an impossible near miracle
- Meet challenges, such as when someone says, "Tell me what card I am thinking of!"
This book is an invaluable aid to anyone wishing to gain insight into a form of performing which can not only help us create more amazing magic, but also form a closer bond with our audiences.
From a review by Alan Hudson:
This is probably one of those booklets that will go unnoticed by most of the magic fraternity. Partly because the writer, Justin Higham, is underground (and by that I mean fairly unknown unlike other 'underground' magicians who are amongst the biggest sellers in magic today). However, I get the feeling it will get rediscovered in years to come and talked about as a must have gem.
Secrets of Improvisational Magic isn't a book of tricks - although there are a few explained. It's more like an essay on how to make your magic more personal by jazzing or making tricks up on the spot, due to circumstances that present themselves. For instance, you might glimpse that a forced card has been accidentally shuffled to the bottom of the pack as it's been handed back to you. How many of us just get the card back to the top and go with our intended effect? Here Justin explains how and why we should be more alert and create more miracles with the unplanned nature of how things in our performing environment crop up.
This is an easy read, with lots of practical examples and a wide range of quotes from people such as Arthur Setterington to Benjamin Earl. Many reviewers say things like 'I wish you hadn't released this as I want to keep all the material to myself'. For me this is quite the opposite. I hope everyone reads it so we can all create more miracles and keep the fun of performing magic alive.
8 chapters plus bibliography, 72 pages, A5 saddle-stitched booklet.
