Surefire by Mark Southworth
"These days I'm pretty fast at categorizing the material on a DVD. I have three broad categories. Strangely, they have more to do with the creator than the material itself.
First there are the amateurs. Usually young guys who have an interesting idea, but haven't performed it more than a few dozen times.
Most of you would guess that my next category is that of the professional. Actually, the last two categories are what I would technically consider “professionals.” They both comprise people who have actually worked on a regular basis for money. But in my world, pros come in two varieties.
Believe it or not, there are a lot of pros that have years and years of experience, but never seem to really get better. I think it's because their performances are all about them and their ego. They don't listen to the audience, so they don't grow. But that's another topic too deep to get into here.
The final category are performers that have moved to a level of excellence. They work a lot... and they listen. They grow. They make the routines their own. Mark Southworth falls into this category.
A lot of material on this DVD will be somewhat familiar. Chop Cup. Coins Across / Three Fly. Ambitious Card. But each of the routines has something (sometimes many things) new to offer.
One of the things that impressed me the most is that many of the routines have obviously been shortened. Everyone else wants to add phases and make them more complex. Mark cuts out the fat and ends up with much better magic.
And many of the routines are about something... something other than a card or coin trick. They're about movie stars, travel destinations, and so on.
For you hard-core card folks, there's a selection and revelation that will knock your socks off.
Did I mention that his floating bill ends up with an audience member plucking the bill from its suspended animation in mid-air?
Yeah, cool".
*****
www.myprettyassistant.com
