Impromptu magic

Something that I've always felt strongly about (though I haven't ever really pursued it to any extent) is that a magician is someone who can, at any moment, perform for someone.

Now when I say that, I don't mean that you should always have a deck of cards and a coin on you (you should though). No. What I'm saying is that at any point you should be able to take something that is laying around or that someone has given you and be able to perform with it. Not only that, but you should be setting up situations where you can perform impromptu effects.

One example is from Michael Ammar. He said that he used to go out with nothing but a pocket full of rubber bands. He'd drop them on the floor at the places that he and his group would be and wait until someone asks to see some magic. He would protest, saying that he didn't have anything on him, and then he would feign spontaneity and pick up the rubber bands and start performing.

Another example is from myself. One of my favorite impromptu effects is the paperclip bend. To make sure I can perform it, I'll sometimes carry a few paperclips and leave them laying around places. This ensures that there's always one available.

So I suppose what I'm saying is that not only should you be able to do something with anything someone hands you, but start setting yourself up for incredible moments of magic that seem completely un-prepped.

~Cameron Rivers, Kings To You Magic