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Scripting Magic

Pete McCabe

Vanishing Inc.

(Based on 2 reviews)
Pete McCabe and 26 other guys show you the art of scripting magic. Includes 45 scripts, 13 essays, 7 interviews, and 1 flowchart to make you a better magician.

Contributing magicians include:
  • Michael Ammar
  • Jon Armstrong
  • Bruce Barnett
  • Rafael Benatar
  • Eugene Burger
  • Michael Close
  • Bob Farmer
  • Paul Green
  • Eric Henning
  • Guy Hollingworth
  • Larry Jennings
  • Mark Joerger
  • Kenton Knepper
  • Jonathan Levit
  • John Lovick
  • Max Maven
  • Eric Mead
  • Sean O'neill
  • Gary Ouellet
  • David Regal
  • Jim Steinmeyer
  • Vic Sussman
  • Jamy Ian Swiss
  • Teller
  • Joe M Turner
  • and Larry White
Excerpt from the book:

"They did it because they believe that scripting your magic will make you a better magician. They all believe that scripting can make you more effective, more entertaining, more dramatic, and most of all, more magical." -Pete McCabe

A few Chapters include:

- Eugene Burger and John Lovick: A Theatrical Endeavor

- Johnathan Levit: An Actor Playing the Part of a Magician

- Max Maven: Scripting Tricks

- Teller: Entering Uncharted Terrain

- and many more!

Pages 454 - Hardbound

Reviews

Etodd31856

Feb 01, 2010

Having just finished the book, I can only say AMAZING.....Not only do I have a list of effects I want to work on that will probably take months or years, I always thought I was not one of those guys just doing tricks......well I am not but this book has shown me that I could improve my magic to a level way beyond what I do now.........If you do nothing more but walk away from this book with a different philosophy on your approach to magic it will be worth every penny...........Make each effect your own, give it meaning, have a story with a hook and the magic becomes secondary, the entertainment values soars............Make the next 30 bucks you spend be this book not the newest trick your dealer is selling.....you will be better off.
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Christian

Official Reviewer

Feb 01, 2008

Bottom line up front, this book is a real pleasure. The premise of the book is simple, scripting your show is very important to create a show strong. I will admit that I am a bit jaded in favor of this book since I have always felt that scripting your routines is absolutely necessary.

The book is full of scripts from noted magicians like Michael Ammar, Eugene Burger, Michael Close, Bob Farmer, John Lovick, Max Maven and a host of others. This is not a book designed to learn tricks. If you just want to learn tricks this is not the book for you. If, however, you want to learn how to make your magic stronger, then you will want to spend some time analyzing the pages in this book.

Pete McCabe has created a book that will be difficult to read straight through. I find myself reading a section and then setting the book down to ponder some of the insights. It is a thinking book. The scripts are for tricks that most intermediate magicians will either know or are familiar with. The book’s goal is not to teach you these tricks but how to structure a presentation around them.

One of the pleasures I have received from this book is Pete’s analysis of a trick before we go into the scripts. What are the tricks strengths and weaknesses? What is the trick about? What are the different ways a spectator might experience the effect? After considering these concepts the book launches into the scripts. After the scripts there are additional notes on the ideas behind the trick and/or script.

Pete has also included interviews with Eugene Burger, John Lovick, Teller, and Rafael Benatar. The interviews are insightful and give the reader an idea of what goes on in the mind of these creators as the approach their magic.

Are you wondering what tricks are scripted? A few of them are, Gypsy Thread, The Invisible Deck, Card to Pocket, Triumph, The Open Prediction, The $100 dollar bill switch, Out of this World, and The eleven card trick. This is only a partial listing. Remember, there are more than 400 pages in this book. Amazing.

So, who is this book for? Who will get their $40 dollars worth from this book? This question gets tough. Why? You have to be ready for this book. It would be difficult to believe that a beginner would profit from this book. Oh, it would be great if they could but, most beginners would not fully understand the importance of what is being taught. This book is for the magicians that know their tricks and are now focusing on the presentations, the scripting, and the blocking of their routines.

What might you take away from this book? Well, you might actually use one of the scripts in the book. That would be great. But, that is not really the goal of the book. The goal would seem to be teaching you how to analyze your tricks, how to structure a presentation around them, and how to write the script.

This is a working book. Do not think you are going to get it and breeze through it in a night. It might take weeks or even months to work through the book and experiment with the idea, scripts, and concepts. I think for anyone who is ready to script their magic, this book is worth every penny.

Christian & Katalina
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