It's
A Matter of Attitude
By Scott Wells
I have recently been
engaged in in-depth discussions concerning the
terms "Professionals" and "Amateurs." The root
of the discussions was founded on the traditionally
defined understanding that a Professional earns
his living performing whereas an Amateur does
not. My article on the Hierarchy of Magical
Skill apparently stirred emotions regarding
"Professionals versus Amateurs".
I would like to reiterate
an overlooked and often misunderstood part of
my aforementioned article in which I stated
"The point of this article is for you to search
your own soul to learn where you fit in the
grand scheme of things . . . and more importantly,
where do you want to be? There is nothing particularly
wrong with being nor staying at any stage, but
you should recognize where you are before you
can advance to the next stage in the Hierarchy
of Magical Skills." What I was trying to say
was that not everyone aspires to be a "Professional"
magician. Many are happy learning the secrets
and fooling themselves or a few friends . .
. and thatís okay, too. I was not trying to
create nor promote a Pro versus Amateur fight.
In certain disciplines,
one may lose his or her amateur status by accepting
money or anything exceeding a certain value.
If this is were applied to magic, then a magician
automatically falls into the category of professional
once he accepts pay for that first birthday
party. Accordingly, it is bit less universally
accepted what makes up a Professional in magic.
Whatever your opinion, the subject of this column
is intended to deal with attitude.
What is "Attitude?"
Itís a matter of deportment. Itís how you "hold"
yourself. Itís how you appear to others. Itís
in the way you approach a subject. Itís something
that you may only be aware of when it changes.
They are "vibes" or an "aura" that everyone
gives off at some time or another. Sometimes
the "vibes" that are sent out are stronger than
other times. An attitude can be a positive or
a negative thing. Your audience often perceives
your attitude before you utter your first word.
Therefore, it can be a matter of posture and
"body language." In fact, Websterís Unabridged
Dictionary defines attitude in part as "behavior
representative of feeling or conviction; a persistent
disposition to act either positively or negatively
toward a person, group, object, situation or
value." Although this topic can go in several
different directions, let me contain it to our
chosen field of entertainment as it may pertain
to the "Professional versus Amateur" status
question.
Gene Anderson gave
us the wonderful alternative term of "part-time
pro" for the derogatory description of "semi-pro".
I believe that this description best reflects
the attitude of the majority of those who are
engaged in the pursuit of magic as a hobby or
more serious endeavor but not yet ready to break
away from that nine to five job. It implies
that even though one may not be a full time
pro, they perform part-time providing a professional
show to their audiences while carrying on another
full time job on the side.
Gene Anderson created
the term "part-time pro" because he found the
term "semi-pro" both distasteful and inaccurate
and it implied something less than professional.
To quote Gene . . . " ëPart-time Proí is a better
title because it describes both the attitude
and time devoted to this activity. Indeed, this
term is frequently used in todayís business
world. Teaching and nursing are just two good
examples of professions with many part-time
practitioners. Professional teachers and nurses
require full professional training and certification
whether they choose to practice their professions
on a part-time or full-time basis. A part-time
professional magician has no less stringent
requirements: he must meet all the criteria
expected of a full-time professional magician."
Unfortunately, there
is no official certification required to move
from being (as Gene Anderson says) an "energetic
amateur" to a "part-time pro" nor even to a
"full time professional." In fact, anyone who
is otherwise out of work but who has enough
money to buy a few self working or packet tricks
can become accomplished enough with those few
tricks in a matter of days or weeks to perform
for pay and call himself or herself a full time
pro. There is no "time in grade" nor requirement
to pass any oral nor written test to become
a full time professional magician. Those who
choose this short route will find it difficult
to stay in the field and earn a living without
learning how to be a pro the hard way. That
is to say, one would have to learn all of the
basic elements through experience rather than
having heard the advice from books or other
magicians who already experienced those problems.
Before jumping into
the world of the full-time pro, their time might
have been better spent learning all of the basics
of magic, the history of the art, talking with
other full-time pros and part-time pros, reading
magic books, attending lectures and magic conventions,
practicing, learning basic sleight of hand techniques,
understanding not only how but "why" tricks
work, and just plain thinking about magic. Just
as in any profession, all of this takes time
and canít be learned overnight.
After you accomplished
all of these essential elements, you must still
have the right attitude. Gene Anderson touched
on this when he said that being a part-time
pro is in "both the attitude and time devoted
to this activity." As I said earlier about attitude,
itís how you approach the subject. One should
approach magic in a professional way. As with
being a part-time teacher or nurse, you should
be as accomplished as the full-time pro when
you go out to perform and accept a professional
fee. Even if you are donating your talents to
a charitable organization, that does not mean
that your show nor your attitude should be any
less professional. The part-time pro should
never give less than his best performance.
I recall a story by
Bev Bergeron who said that when he first moved
to Los Angeles, he couldnít book himself for
the fees that he felt that he was worth. He
finally decided to accept a show for less pay
and he delivered a less than professional show
feeling that he was giving them their moneyís
worth. As a result, he got more bookings for
the cheaper show that he provided for a while
with his inferior performance. Then he realized
that not only were his sponsors getting less
(value) but also he was getting less (money).
He could not secure higher priced bookings until
he proved that he could deliver a better show.
As a result, he changed his attitude and gave
stellar performances for fees that finally rose
to a satisfactory level.
I believe that being
a professional or an amateur is not so much
a matter of whether or not one accepts money
for their services as it is how you approach
the art/profession. Do you give every audience
a professional show? Do you give your audience
what they paid for or are you giving them more
than they paid for? Are you in magic to learn
a few tricks and amaze your friends, business
associates, and grand children? Is your intent
to make a little money on the side or a lot
of money as a full time occupation? None of
these endeavors is right or wrong for everyone.
Just be aware of where you fit into the grand
scheme of things before you call yourself an
amateur or professional.
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