I once heard the following introduction…
‘To be a great entertainer you need three things.
The first is class – there needs to be something about you that sets you apart, and this act has got class.
The second is guts – Show business is a tough business, and this act has got guts.
The third and perhaps the most important thing you need is a truly great act, and this act has got guts!
Oh how we laughed! There is often truth in comedy and there is more than truth hidden in this introduction, there is great wisdom for those who have eyes to see. And the theme of today’s thought is the importance of GUTS.
Guts, grit, pluck, bottle, nerve, spirit, chutzpah, mettle, gumption, and for my American friends, spunk! You need it all and you need it in abundance.
Remember back to the first time you went on stage or performed for a few friends – it took guts.Why? Because you were doing something new, doing it for the first time.The first time I walked out onto the hallowed cobbles of the Covent Garden buskers arena I needed guts. I was a new magician on the street and my first street show was an audition to get a licence, all the other buskers, as was the tradition, would line up in the front row to see how good you were.
The first time I walked onto a stage at a comedy club to do a try out spot – in my case the now defunct Tunnel Palladium in Greenwich London, it took guts.There were 250 people squashed into a bar and on that day I discovered that adrenalin was actually brown! And that I needed more than guts, I needed a better act than I had!
But it was guts that kept me going. I went back to the street and tried out new material and learned new techniques and a few months later did my second try out spot, this time at a different club – The Comedy Store in Leicester Square. And this time I had success which led to many more bookings at the Store and every other comedy club in the UK, and more recently the USA.
As I look back I realize that I picked the wrong 2 clubs for my first try outs. The first was known (but not to me) as the toughest club in the UK, The second was the most famous (but I hadn’t heard of it) so here is an extra lesson that I learned – do your research!
But for now… back to guts. As we become more experienced in the art that we call magic we develop our performing character, our style, and a block of material which becomes our act.The act gets better and better as we do it over and over and the need for guts diminishes, we have more confidence in our ability and in our material.We take fewer and fewer chances because we rely on the known rather than exercising our guts and moving into the unknown. Our guts become flabby and we are in danger of becoming stale.
Question – when was the last time you did something for the first time?
Magic is primarily a performance art. It is the job of all of us to move it forward, to try out new things and to give something back to the pot that we have all taken so much from. We will only do this by doing something new, by doing it different, by taking a risk.
The worst thing that can happen if we take a risk is that the trick or the effect is not very good, but even that is good because we can learn from the experience and do it better the next time.
Your challenge for today – Do something that takes guts.Here are a few ideas…
It maybe a new trick or a new gag, either on stage or at a coffee break at work. Do a David Blaine – show a complete stranger a trick and then walk off. Show a trick to the guy at the gas station or the cashier at the grocery store. Exercise your guts, the first time may be hard but it gets easier.
I am now going to walk the dog… and I am taking a pack of cards with me.
Cheers
Keith Fields