No, seriously, what does it take? You can send me your luminary answers if you have them, you little oracle you, directly to my inbox, because I want to know. I’ve written about FISM before, but it’s been especially on my mind as I search for rooming in Quebec City for FISM 2021.

I, myself, thought about competing (don’t anticipate this, but it’s so far out I can’t rule it out), so I started to research what it takes to make a winning act. A quick google search led me to some magic cafe pages (do I even need to link these?) which were… interesting… I then stumbled upon some random entries by Stuart MacDonald who has a pretty interesting article on his journey (later finding out he created a Go Fund Me to go compete. Which, I mean, I guess? Anyways.) His act is pretty awesomely good. Check it out on Penn & Teller’s Fool Us. Very magical. And pretty fooling for a live audience (I’m kicking myself because I actually just noticed the iron clad moment on this watch through). You can also check out Miguel Munoz’ act, chopped (available uncut without the final FISM presentation elsewhere).

Pretty stunning stuff. Combining this info with some of the videos my friends showed me from Busan last year, there has to be a technical component to your act that no one else is doing. Mirror duplication of large objects? Yeah, no one else is doing that. Production of contact juggling balls? You bet your local magic stage acts aren’t doing this. There was some contestant ( I actually can’t remember their name, if a reader knows, write me) who completed their Rubiks cube routine by having the cube assemble itself from a bunch of broken pieces. Talk about a cool visual even just reading that.

Point is, there’s some huge technological gaps that must be bridged to be a competitive act in this competition. You have to be doing some brand new move/sleight/setup/method that no one in the audience has ever seen before. Furthermore, each of these acts linked above have some sort of beauty to them. Taking Eric Chien’s ribbon premise, it’s intrinsically visually interesting. The technology for his act has been around for a while, but he took it to a completely new degree, thus refreshing the idea of it again and making it new. Because it is so purely visual, it has a beautiful simplicity to it as well. There’s a level of professionalism to the props/set pieces in each act as well, but I’m starting to digress.

How does one create/unearth unseen/new technology and perfect it in the modern age? That’s a question one has to ask if one hopes to take FISM 2021.

— J.R.

Weirdest thing when you think you’ve written a blog post called “Pushing the Vision” and are searching for it to link to it but you actually haven’t written it yet.

Here’s the thing: in 2018 FISM, there are 31 performance awards. 8 magicians from Spain placed top 3 for these awards. South Korea fielded 7 magicians who placed. USA fielded 0. Zero.

2015 FISM sees similar numbers: 7 from Spain, 7 from South Korea, USA 0.

2012 FISM -- 8 South Korea, 1 Spain, USA 1.

What the actual fuck is going on here? What are we doing so very wrong here that they’re doing so very right in Spain and South Korea?

I don’t have an answer, but I do know how these contests are judged, and they’re judged based around the progression and pushing of a certain vision. Now, this vision can be how an item is produced or conjured, or it can be about an application of an idea. But one thing is for sure, based on the people who I’ve talked with who attended FISM 2018, USA is behind, far behind. Yes, we’re amazing at branding and taking things into a commercial level, but as far as actual content goes, we’re horrible. I mean, take a look around, this exists in the US in more places than just magic. Granted, this exists in many places, but I’m not here to say excuses for ourselves, we’re a great place, and I’m blessed to be here. And I fucking love my country, but god damn are we horrible innovators in any remotely creative realm in magic right now.

I just got off the phone with H.A., who quoted a business owner saying “We don’t hire magicians, they kind of just come here and do it for free.”

First of all: if you’re that magician (or just that performer in general), please just stop. Not because you’re ruining it for the rest of us, but because you’re ruining it for yourself. If you want practice, join a mutual interest group, do it for your friends. If you’re doing it out in the world, at someone else’s place of business (enhancing their environment), you should be getting paid, it’s that simple.

But, this brings us to mutual interest groups now, magic clubs, etc. Honestly, some magic clubs absolutely kill magic. I sometimes go to these gatherings and end up hating magic more coming away from it than I did going into it. It’s a marvel how creativity can die in a place where it’s supposed to be generated.

I asked magicians a while ago if they’d pay to be critiqued. Some of them said they get it for free whenever they perform. I’ve got news for you who think this: no one is critiquing you like you deserve to be critiqued. Other magicians critique you in a way that benefits them, and most audiences aren’t critiquing you unless you only perform for sociopaths. Here’s an example that might make it a bit more understandable: You ever hear a comedian make a shitty joke at a comedy mic? Yes, you definitely have. Have you gone up to every bad joke telling comedian and critiqued them on their jokes? No, you definitely haven’t.

I’m starting a focus group dinner session in LA. If you’re around, and give any shits about magic, you’re invited. Let’s Push the Vision together.

-- J.R.