If you read my last entry I spoke of the 'Instant Society' and that fact is not going to go away. That leads me to talk about trick time. What is trick time? It is the amount of time it takes to do an effect. For the sake of brevity I'll chose close up Magic. There are no rules that I know of that tell us how long a trick should be. When a new effect is created the inventor routines the trick, this becomes the guide line for how long the effect will last. A trick can be expanded or shortened depending on the performer, however is anything lost in the presentation? I could be. In any effect there is a build up to that Magical moment, that moment when your audience is startled by the Magic. In the book 'The Art of Magic' by T. Nelson Downs gives running times for all the effects in the book. This was done so Downs knew exactly where he was at any given moment.
I'm sure we have all seen performers where you wonder "Is this guy ever gonna be done?" That's the point don't over do your own ability. The famous line, "Leave them wanting more" is as appropriate today as ever.
A good rule of thumb is this, when your spectators are leaning forward in their chairs, watching everything you do, this is good! But, the moment they lean back, you've lost their attention. Time to pack it up and move on. Leave them wanting more!
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