We can all agree that more than likely we all have more tricks than we can ever show. Everything new seems so amazing that we have to have it. However, I’m sure we also can all agree that even the most basic trick can be improved upon if the script was better. Many of us perform magic more or less the way the creator has sold it. If it came with a DVD or a script, that’s the way we typically would show the trick. We think little as to how to make it more meaningful to the audience and memorable as well. The good news is that there is a set of books which have just been released that will “teach” us what makes a script good and how we can improve our own scripts.
Scripting Magic by Peter McCabe was first printed in 2011. It went through three printings and has not been available for a long time. Even if you could have found it on the secondary market, it sold for big money because it was a rare find. Vanishing Magic Inc. has just released a revised version of the original book and a second volume to compliment it. The revision to Volume 1 is the addition of drawings since the original had none. So what is Scripting Magic and how will it help you?
The contents of Volume 1 of Scripting Magic has 30 tricks with 43 scripts contributed by the magic communities’ finest performers. All tricks are fully illustrated. In its 462 pages, each trick is explained and scripted and the script analyzed as to why it is considered a well-written script. The idea is to learn by reading and analyzing well-written material. The contents of Volume 2 digs deeper into character development, script writing and creating memorable experiences for the audience. Also weighing in at 456 pages with additional contributions by another 25 professional magicians, Volume 1 brings the whole experience around full circle. The two volumes together totals 918 pages of well-scripted magic. As with many of Vanishing Magic’s products, the volumes are available individually at $50 each or a deluxe slipcased set with worksheets is available for $150. Either way scripting magic will be a great asset to anyone’s magic library. I know it will be for mine.
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/magic/magic-books/scripting-magic-deluxe-set-volumes-1-and-2/