The Blind Spot by Thomas Fraps

Until now I have considered the meaning of the concept "Status" from the point of view of "How do I recognize and avoid disturbing factors." How can this newly acquired knowledge be used concretely, not only to avoid such situations but, on the contrary, to get out in front and use it to our advantage?

Let me consider the disturbance of an observer from a slightly different perspective, not from a problem to be avoided but as a positive, welcome offer. I was once told that Tom Mullica (at a convention in Bavaria) instructed the producer to have the zither player, who played on the stage before Tom's entrance, that he should continue to play when Tom came on stage regardless of what happened. The scene which developed between Mullica and the musician was terribly funny and unforgettable.

An artist who creates his own disturbance instead of avoiding it?

In order to better explain this phenomenon, I need three further concepts from theater sport: Offer, Acceptance, and Blocking.

An Offer is every piece of new information, statement, or hypothesis, which is made on the stage during an improvised scene by an actor. The question "Did you see what the postman brought today?" is such new information.

The basic rule, or the highest law when improvising is: under all circumstances accept. When I accept the offer, I don't know necessarily know what the postman has brought, but I help the scene to move forward by using precisely this information as a new statement providing a new offer, which helps the story to develop further. In a good improvisation the actors each make new offers and accept every new piece of information from their fellow players-a further manifestation of the principle "Positive."

Blocking or saying no to an offer, for example "What? It's Sunday, there is no mail," causes the action to stop and the story to stagnate. Acceptance drives the story ahead and opens new ways for development, while Blocking brings the story to a halt.

From this point of view, one can use every remark from the audience-even if it's nasty-as an offer in a positive sense, from which something good can develop if it's accepted and utilized.

From this point of view, the remarks mentioned at the beginning serve as "Blocks" in a negative sense because they serve only to quiet the heckler or to fight off an attack and Block every further development of a spontaneous situation. Real situation comedy cannot result, since the performer refrains from engaging in a real dialogue with the audience. The friction free performance is assured, but we can't talk about interaction with the audience. The audience feels that they aren't needed and that the performance would proceed smoothly regardless of who was watching.

It was completely different with Tom Mullica, who was so special for the Bavarian audience so that they still remember and talk about him. They "knew" that the zither player wasn't planned (?) and that they got to see something unique and spontaneous. I have seen Tom Mullica work several times and he always manages to get difficult spectators onstage to make his show unique. In a convention in Washington DC he encouraged a belligerant spectator named Newton to spit liquid at him.

In Wolfsburg, at the German national magic convention in 1990, he was the only one in a totally English-speaking Close-Up-Gala who chose an observer that didn't speak a word of English. In London at Ron MacMillan's 1993 convention he took a child onstage-each of these shows was incomparable.

David Williamson is another good example. Since I saw him at a London Congress fighting with two 12 year olds onstage, I think he is capable of doing practically anything as long as it appears spontaneous and unique. Most of Williamson's chaos is actually preplanned.

There are two things that single out these performers: they accept every offer that the audience gives them (and when there are none, they unconditionally provoke some) and they are absolute Status experts who always manage to change their Status to fit the occasion. On one hand, they lower their Status and raise that of the audience in order to provoke an Offer. On the other hand, when necessary, they easily jump over the challenger in order to bring the situation under control again.

6. Case examples

Since most of us don't have the experience and improvisational ability of Tom Mullica or David Williamson, and most of us aren't Status experts, the question arises, how we can use our knowledge?

The idea of Status doesn't give us finished solutions for every conceivable situation. It describes a way in which we can find surprising solutions. But it isn't enough to read the directions and wait, one has to go the way himself. For these reasons, I have attempted to test the ways by trying them out with some lecture participants. The solutions to some standard situations and special cases were surprisingly simple and so I want to conclude by giving these solutions and analyzing them briefly.

"I know that trick." Almost a standard explanation which every performer has heard. Let's assume it involves a card trick done at the table. Follow our rule of seeing verything as a welcome offer and accept it by saying "Really? Great, then you can show it to me. I always wanted to see it once." Give the cards to the spectator and sit down.

For many situations that will be enough. In case the spectator really begins to show the trick (he accepts your Offer), accept it and squeeze yourself into the roll of the difficult spectator: "I know that trick already." If he continues performing, begin to play the "explainer": "Did you see that? Now he has seen the bottom card," etc. Admittedly you weren't able to carry out your routine, but by Accepting the Offer of the spectator instead of Blocking it, you have been able to use it positively with all of the resulting comedy to be milked from the situation.

A further standard situation which was presented during one of the workshops was the famous question "Can you create money?" Here is the solution found at the workshop:

"Naturally." (Accepting the Offer.) "But it only works with some fresh money. Do you have some bills?" (New Offer.) The observer Accepts and gives the performer a twenty dollar bill (otherwise no money is created and the show proceeds as usual) "Many thanks. Oh that may be too little." The magician folds the bill, then reopens it, but nothing happens. He then tears the bill in little pieces and throws them on the floor "I'm sorry, that was really too little. Do you have a hundred dollar bill? It would work better with a hundred dollar bill."

It's certainly a drastic solution, but certainly one which the spectator didn't anticipate-and probably one you didn't anticipate, either.

Before I arrive at the last example, I want to make clear that in the above example it's assumed that one is dealing with a nasty heckler, who would not leave you in peace if you ignored him or replied in a friendly manner. Further, it's assumed that the behavior of the performer should be completely positive and humorous.

Here is a really curious case. It deals with the experience of a seminar participant. The situation: You want to perform a rope trick with the help of the audience. You ask the observer whom you have brought to the stage to put a knot in the rope. But your witty assistant makes not just one knot but a dozen or more. With obvious enjoyment, he takes his time until all that remains of the rope is a ball of knots.

How do you react? Here is the solution that resulted during the seminar: you accept the offer happily and raise the Status of the observer by saying: "Unbelievable. Now, I think, we can inform you. Ladies and Gentlemen, next to me stands no one other than Joe (the observer's name), the only man in the world who is not only able to undo the famous Stoltenburger twelve knot, but is also the only one who can undo it within five seconds."

Some may find this solution banal or unsuitable. I only want to show, however, that with the help of basic techniques such as Acceptance, one can make Offers and generate positive solutions. According to the situation and the personality of the performer these solutions will vary.

You now have a model of concepts and explanations that allows you to better understand and analyze your experiences with the public. If you had particular problems with a certain observer, then you're now in a position to analyze the occurrence and to recognize what behavior was responsible for the situation.

As soon as you have a detailed understanding of the situation, you're in a position to develop a solution using the techniques discussed. In this way, you can, step by step, assimilate the ideas until they become second nature. Just like every grip and technique in magic, spontaneity can be learned and trained with suitable techniques.

8. Closing Thoughts

In conclusion, I want to briefly discuss a few exceptional cases (for the observer as well as for the performer).

Can the Status principle be applied to children as well? The answer is clear: yes. But often both the problems and solutions are a bit different.

If you enter into a status battle with an especially witty, hyperactive rascal, then you probably won't win, since (as opposed to a grown-up rascal) he will probably never give up.

The small rascal, with whom we are dealing at children's performances, usually has a particularly strong need to show off and, for this reason, disturbs you without bad intentions. Raise his status by giving him a special task so that his need to show off is satisfied. He will be proud that you give him almost the same Status as yourself and that only he can look after the special requisite-quietly, otherwise the trick that you want to perform together eventually won't succeed (I'm certain that you will have much better ideas.)

Comment: As shown in a few of the above examples, it's sometimes useful in "adult" cases to take the wind out of his sails by sinking your own Status and placing him in an uncomfortably high Status position. The grown-up rascal can usually not live up to the unexpected situation and usually gives up.

Often you will have children who are scared to death to be onstage. Here are two well known methods to decrease the Status level between yourself and a child: Place the child on a stool so that he's physically higher than you, or kneel beside him so that he can "look down" on you.

Exceptions prove the rule, and so it is with the rule that I stated at the beginning, don't follow it too dogmatically. Although a positive high Status figure is advantageous for the majority of performers, certainly other variations are possible.

Juno, or even Bert Rex, are without doubt two magicians with high profiles in German speech magic. As different as they are from one another, they have something in common: their stage figures are typical, positive, low Status figures. It's important to realize that neither of them is really shy or fearful on stage. How much of their private characteristics enters into the role they play is unimportant. It's only important that both of them have decided to use the advantages of a typical low Status person.

By constantly "playing down" their real self-consciousness and their abilities, they acquire an extraordinary amount of sympathy from the audience. Since no one expects such people to do something exceptional, the effect of the perfectly performed trick is magnified. While a high Status performer must face malicious joy from his audience when something goes wrong, a low status performer is faced with the danger of sympathy in a negative sense in such a situation.

The prerequisite for both, of course, is the same for every convincing stage figure, the honesty and naturalness of the figure and the man behind it. He who pretends to be someone he isn't will never obtain the sympathy of the audience regardless of which Status he plays.

If a positive Status (high or low) is almost always preferred, it is also possible to naturally emphasizing a negative high or low Status. The prerequisite is, of course, a determined stage figure. A nasty person who insults his audience, who greets them by showing his extended middle finger, can be as interesting as a fragile, shy person who does exactly the same thing.

By the way: Status can be demonstrated with objects as well as with people. Have you attempted to be a low Status person opposite a silk scarf or a high Status person across from a sponge ball?

Try it sometime - it's possible that you will be surprised!