A theatrical checklist  

by  Tilman  Andris  

  Co-­‐funded  by  the  Seventh  

Framework  Programmeof  the  
  European  Union  FP7-­‐Science-­‐in-­‐
Society-­‐2012-­‐1,  Grant  Agreement  N.  
321403  
 
 Introduction

Magic  tricks  and  didactic  mysteries  place  spectators/students  in  a  similar  situation  when  it  
comes  to  their  reasoning  processes.  Starting  from  a  number  of  assumptions,  the  conclusion  
is  reached  (or  within  reach)  that  something  is  impossible  or  unlikely  in  the  given  
circumstances.  Subsequently,  exactly  what  has  been  deemed  impossible  or  unlikely  is  
observed.  This  leads  to  cognitive  dissonance,  motivating  the  quest  for  an  explanation.    
 
Another  similarity  between  the  presentation  of  mysteries  in  class  and  that  of  magic  tricks  
lies  in  the  fact  that  both  are  theatre  without  the  ‘fourth  wall’  and,  more  specifically,  theatre  
in  which  the  audience  has  an  active  part.  It  is  the  task  of  the  performer  or  teacher  to  ensure  
that  the  audience  members  or  students  not  only  remain  interested,  but  also  embrace  the  
roles  reserved  for  them.  
Magicians  have  developed  presentational  techniques  for  this  kind  of  situation  and  it  does  
not  seem  unlikely  teachers  could  glean  something  from  the  magician’s  practice.  
 
Because  both  teachers  and  magicians  deal  with  and  need  to  control  reasoning  processes  of  
their  audiences  (with  respect  to  tricks  or  didactic  mysteries),  part  of  their  efforts  will  need  to  
be  directed  towards  establishing  the  conditions  under  which  a  trick  or  mystery  takes  place  
with  clarity.      
Clearly  establishing  conditions  in  itself  is  neither  engaging  nor  interesting.  Interest  and  
engagement  will  need  to  be  ensured  through  a  link  with  subject  matters  meaningful  and  
significant  to  the  audience  and  through  the  creation  of  a  theatrical  structure  which  leads  
from  an  intriguing  beginning  through  a  suspense-­‐laden  middle  towards  a  surprising  climax  
which  triggers  the  audience’s  curiosity.  
 

Theatrical checklist

Clarity >
•  Have  I  eliminated  all  inessentials  (text,  actions,  objects)?  
•  Have  I  guaranteed  the  visibility  of  all  actions  and  objects?  
•  Are  props/objects  only  in  sight  when  they  are  meant  to  be  observed?  
•  Have  I  achieved  a  clear  arrangement  of  objects  in  space?  
•  Does  everything  I  say  have  a  function?  
•  Have  I  established  conceptual  links  that  help  reduce  cognitive  burden?    
•  Are  the  instructions  I  give  clear  and  concise?  
•  Have  I  prevented  distracting  interruptions?  
In  short:  have  I  spared  my  audience  all  undesirable  intellectual  work?  
 
 

2   FP7-­‐Science-­‐in-­‐Society-­‐2012-­‐1,  Grant  Agreement  N.  321403  

 
Subject Matter >
•  Is  the  subject  matter  of  my  presentation  meaningful  and  significant  to  my  audience?  
•  Does  the  subject  matter  of  my  presentation  relate  to  universally  shared  experience?  
•  Can  I  use  the  shared  experience  of  my  audience  as  a  stepping  stone  to  my  presentation?  
•  How  can  I  motivate  the  transition  from  shared  experience  to  the  subject  matter  proper?  
•  Are  there  means  of  convincing  my  audience  that  the  topic  to  be  dealt  with  is  even  more  
significant  than  the  one  serving  as  stepping  stone?  
•  If  I  decide  not  to  relate  to  the  experience  and  prior  interests  of  my  audience,  what  means  
of  generating  attention  and  interest  can  I  employ?  

Dramatic structure >

Beginning  
•  Do  I  really  know  how  to  begin?  Not  just  what  to  begin  with,  but  also:  
•  How  do  I  mark  the  beginning  (silence,  eye  contact,  intriguing  first  action,  statement  or  
question)?  
•  Where  do  I  stand?  
•  What  is  my  first  action?  What  would  be  the  most  intriguing  first  action  to  take?  
•  What  is  my  first  sentence?    What  would  be  the  most  intriguing  first  sentence  to  say?  
•  Do  I  remember  remarks  from  my  audience  on  prior  occasions  that  can  inspire  an  intriguing  
opening  sentence?  
•  What  role  do  I  have  in  mind  for  my  audience?  Can  I  come  up  with  other,  more  exciting  
roles  than  those  my  audience  will  assume  by  default  (roles  other  than  the  critic,  the  
heckler,  the  bored,  etc.)?  
•  What  action  do  I  take  to  make  my  audience  assume  that  role/those  roles?    
•  Why  would  my  audience  want  to  assume  that  role/those  roles?  Have  I  made  it  sufficiently  
attractive?  
 
Middle  
•  Every  trick  and  mystery  creates  suspense  through  curiosity,  directed  at  the  its  explanation.  
In  magic,  that  curiosity  is  never  fulfilled.  Curiosity-­‐driven  suspense  –  in  tricks  as  well  as  
mysteries  –  often  occurs  late  in  the  procedure.  This  leads  to  the  question:  
•  Can  I  employ  other  forms  of  suspense  (driven  by  conflict  or  anticipation  of  an  expected  
outcome)?  In  particular:  
•  Can  I  stage  a  conflict?  
•  Between  members  of  the  audience?  
•  Between  myself  and  the  audience?  
•  Between  myself  and  the  audience  on  one  side  and  nature  or  machine  on  the  other?  
•  Between  myself  and/or  the  audience  on  one  side  and  a  character  I  tell  the  audience  about  
(for  example  a  scientist  who  advocated  a  theory  that  is  now  considered  false)?  
•  What  sort  of  conflict  fits  the  mystery  at  hand  best  (a  difference  of  opinion,  a  competition,  
a  bet,  etc.)?  
•  How  do  I  guarantee  that  those  losing  a  conflict  will  still  like  the  experience?  
•  Can  I  create  suspense  by  having  the  audience  anticipate  an  outcome  while  making  it  seem  
impossible  that  the  expected  result  could  actually  occur?  
•  Can  I  heighten  the  suspense  by  raising  the  stakes  or  risk?  
 
 
 
 

3   FP7-­‐Science-­‐in-­‐Society-­‐2012-­‐1,  Grant  Agreement  N.  321403  

 
End  
•  The  magician’s  task  ends  when  his/her  tricks  have  reached  their  surprising  climax.  
Therefore,  I  have  little  to  say  about  this  phase  of  the  dramatic  structure.  For  the  teacher,  I  
suppose,  the  following  considerations  would  apply:  
•  How  should  I  design  the  transition  from  the  surprising  result  of  a  mystery  to  the  Explore  
Phase?  
•  What  is  the  focus  of  my  audience’s  curiosity  at  that  point  and  how  can  I  best  make  use  of  
that  curiosity?  
•  How  do  I  get  my  audience  to  assume  the  analytical  attitude  required  in  the  Explore  Phase,  
coming  from  the  (more  or  less)  playful  mystery.    

Note:  This  checklist  owes  a  lot  to  Darwin  Ortiz’  treatment  of  showmanship  techniques  in  
‘Strong  Magic’.  (See  reading  list  for  further  details  on  the  book  and  my  recommendation  of  
it.)  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Reading List
 
 
 
 
Dariel   Fitzkee:   Showmanship   for   Magicians   (Lee   Jacob   Productions,   1988   [1st   edition:  
1943]).  
For  more  than  fifty  years,  this  book  was  being  seen  as  the  most  important  work  about  the  
theatre  aspects  of  magic.  It  contains  very  useful  chapters  on  pacing,  attention  and  interest.    
 
K.  Johnstone:  Impro  for  Storytellers  (Routledge,  1999).  
If   you   perform   and   involve   your   audience   in   the   performance,   there   will   always   be   an  
element   of   improvisation.   Keith   Johnstone   is   a   pioneer   of   improvisational   theatre   and  
explains   his   methods   in   this   book   and   his   earlier   Impro:   Improvisation   and   the   Theatre  
(1979).   Personally,   I   have   learned   a   lot   about   interacting   with   my   audience   in   courses   on  
Theatresports  and  improvisation.  
 
Jacques   Lecoq:   Le   corps   poétique.   Un   enseignement   de   la   création   théâtrale   (Actes   Sud,  
1997).  
One   of   the   important   pedagogues   of   physical   theatre   describes   his   method.   An   important  
personal  inspiration  for  my  magic  performances  due  to  the  emphasis  on  silence,  the  mastery  
of  a  neutral  physical  point  of  departure  and  the  economy  of  movement  and  gesture  (without  
‘noise’  and  tics).  
If   you   associate   acting   with   the   need   to   tap   personal   memories   and   emotions,   Lecoq  
provides  a  counterpoint.  In  his  method,  the  actor’s  visible  movements  are  the  basis  for  his  
performance.  Whoever  wants  to  free  himself  from  tics  or  personal  mannerisms  has  much  to  
learn  from  this  approach.  
 
Darwin  Ortiz:  Designing  Miracles.  Creating  the  Illusion  of  Impossibility  (A-­‐1  MagicalMedia,  
2006).  

4   FP7-­‐Science-­‐in-­‐Society-­‐2012-­‐1,  Grant  Agreement  N.  321403  

 
Never  before  did  a  book  on  the  theory  of  ‘magic  performance’  consider  the  importance  of  
the   reasoning   processes   of   the   audience   in   such   detail.   Ortiz   maps   out   the   necessary  
conditions  for  achieving  an  ‘illusion  of  impossibility’.  
       
Darwin  Ortiz:  Strong  Magic.   Creative  Showmanship  For  The  Close-­‐Up  Magician  (Kaufman  
and  Greenberg,  1994).  
This   book   is   currently   regarded   as   the   standard   work   on   showmanship   techniques   for  
magicians  and  merits  close  reading.  Comparisons  with  other  narrative  genres  (especially  film  
and   short   story)   abound   and   render   the   book   somewhat   readable   for   non-­‐magicians.   This  
book  was  one  of  my  most  important  sources  in  preparing  my  contribution.  
 
Ben  A.  Parris,  Gustav  Kuhn  et  al.:  Imagining  the  impossible:  An  fMRI  study  of  impossible  
causal  relationships  in  magic  tricks  (NeuroImage  45,  2009,  pp.  1033-­‐1039).  
Study  on  the  brain  structures  that  are  involved  in  processing  observations  which  contradict  
assumed  cause-­‐effect  relationships.  The  authors  regard  magic  tricks  as  a  useful  experimental  
paradigm  for  investigating  this  kind  of  learning  situation  in  general.  
 
Comment  
Should   you   really   consider   reading   books   on   presentational   techniques   for   magicians,   I  
would  recommend  starting  with  Strong  Magic  by  Darwin  Ortiz,  a  very  systematic  approach  
to   the   subject.   However,   you   will   learn   much   more   through   a   more   hands-­‐on   approach.   You  
may   want   to   obtain   feedback   on   your   presentation   of   a   mystery   from   a   magician   or   learn  
more   broadly   about   showmanship   and   theatre   by   attending   acting   lessons   or   joining   a  
theatre  company.    
 
Bio  
Tilman   Andris   studied   philosophy   in   Leiden   and   Oxford,   but   became   a   professional   magician  
after   graduation.   His   main   fields   of   interest   during   his   studies   were   philosophy   of   science  
and   cognition   as   well   as   theory   of   knowledge.   He   still   explores   these   interests   in   his  
performances.  In  2010  his  stage  act  was  one  of  the  highlights  of  the  ‘Circus  of  Thoughts’  in  
Royal  Theatre  Carré  in  Amsterdam.  In  2013  he  gave  a  TEDx-­‐presentation  about  trust  as  seen  
from  the  perspective  of  the  deceiver.  
   

5   FP7-­‐Science-­‐in-­‐Society-­‐2012-­‐1,  Grant  Agreement  N.  321403