I was passingly familiar with David Parr. I have a copy of his book Paper Prophecies, had seen him
on an old Eugene Burger video, and had read the occasional forum posting. I started the lecture
expecting a pleasant diversion with a few gems. Not only did it exceed my expectations, but I
finished the lecture energized & excited about the possibilities of my own magic practice. Not only
are there great effects I plan on getting started with today and ideas I plan to adopt in the
future, but David's discourse on theory is incredibly clear and practical.
This lecture
isn't filled with new ways of divining pin codes, variations on centre tears, or re-hashings of
Annemann, but is instead filled with something much rarer... uniqueness and originality. The
effects are idiosyncratic in their inception and elegant in their execution, while at the same time
being commercially performable in almost any situation from the stage to the living-room.
Many of the effects involve compelling objects that you can leave with the participant. The
thaumatrope routine is going to be performed as is, and the paper fortune-teller will be made up
with a more “esoteric” angle (David: thinking of quaternaries, the 4 elements will work. Earth,
Air, Water, Flame/Fires). There is also a mental card trick that fooled me badly, a beautiful &
classical effect with an origami bird, and and extremely engaging & dramatic interpretation of
classic “acid test” called Dinner with the Borgias.
David's theoretical discourse was worth
the price of admission. Instead of invoking vagueries like wonder and enchantment, he offers clear
and cogent advice on structure, drawn from a lifetime on the stage as a dramatist. You will walk
away with concrete advice on how to conceptualize and contextualize what you do. Whether you are
interested in narrative on stage, or just like to do a series of tricks, you will have some tools to
instantly improve your scripting, delivery or patter.
I am a long time fan of the Penguin
lecture series, but am not often compelled to write a review. There will be something of substance
for everyone on this video. Recommended.
a true original
Report this review
