Magician, actor or what?

Mark · 02-21-2012, 11:57 AM

This is a very famous (if not the most famous) quote by Robert Houdin. I suppose you really could talk about it forever, but this is my take:

First I'd like to start off by something that seems to be off-topic, but you will see how it relates: the very famous phrase 'be yourself'. You hear plenty of people say that all the time, but if you truly think about it, there is no such thing as 'being yourself' because you continuously adjust to different situations. In one situation you would act totally different than in another. For that, you could see humans as actors all the time.

A magician could be defined as either an artist performing magic tricks or a sorcerer. For that, it would not be appropriate to use both definitions in the same sentence using the exact same word. You could replace the second 'magician' with 'wizard' if the magician is doing magic tricks, or with 'psychic' if it regards mentalism, or replace the first 'magician' with 'conjuror' which is what Houdin originally said, but both mean the same in everyday usage.

Now, a lot of magicians just adjust to the situation like any human being and don't act to be actual wizards or psychics, so the quote should not relate to those. It then would be the same as replacing the word 'magician' with any other kind of artist like 'musician' or 'juggler'. No one would say that these are actors. They are just performers. The fact that magicians sometimes lie about what is going on is part of the performance art and is a well-known fact for most spectators (and if you don't lie nor tell the truth, spectators would still be thinking it is magical because the lies are merely confirming what they see, so you would still qualify as a magician).

But if in your act, you indeed claim to have magic or psychic powers, then I'd say the quote is valid, regardless of the double usage of the word 'magician'.

02-21-2012, 11:57 AM	#1
Mark Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 935	This is a very famous (if not the most famous) quote by Robert Houdin. I suppose you really could talk about it forever, but this is my take: First I'd like to start off by something that seems to be off-topic, but you will see how it relates: the very famous phrase 'be yourself'. You hear plenty of people say that all the time, but if you truly think about it, there is no such thing as 'being yourself' because you continuously adjust to different situations. In one situation you would act totally different than in another. For that, you could see humans as actors all the time. A magician could be defined as either an artist performing magic tricks or a sorcerer. For that, it would not be appropriate to use both definitions in the same sentence using the exact same word. You could replace the second 'magician' with 'wizard' if the magician is doing magic tricks, or with 'psychic' if it regards mentalism, or replace the first 'magician' with 'conjuror' which is what Houdin originally said, but both mean the same in everyday usage. Now, a lot of magicians just adjust to the situation like any human being and don't act to be actual wizards or psychics, so the quote should not relate to those. It then would be the same as replacing the word 'magician' with any other kind of artist like 'musician' or 'juggler'. No one would say that these are actors. They are just performers. The fact that magicians sometimes lie about what is going on is part of the performance art and is a well-known fact for most spectators (and if you don't lie nor tell the truth, spectators would still be thinking it is magical because the lies are merely confirming what they see, so you would still qualify as a magician). But if in your act, you indeed claim to have magic or psychic powers, then I'd say the quote is valid, regardless of the double usage of the word 'magician'.