San Miguel Takes to the Streets
From ox carts and the Macarena to a warrior angel with an army escort,Torremolinos celebrates its patron saint as the tourists go home.
Michael Jons
The Church at the Top of the Steps
I'm just discovering the Romería de San Miguel and the festival that takes over Torremolinos every September. I had no idea what a romería was, or why nearly 200,000 people would show up for one. And the church 192 steps from my front door turns out to be right in the middle of it all.
The Performance Is Not the Trick
Magicians are trained to perfect effects. But the effect is only the raw material. Eugene Burger, Rob Zabrecky, and one of my own routines illustrate how performance begins when we stop asking how to demonstrate a trick and start asking what we want the audience to experience.
When Magic Tells the Story
When the magical action and the dramatic action become the same thing.
The Stories Between the Tricks
The Three Jobs a Magician's Words Can Do When the Magic Isn't Happening
Stop Adding Stories to Your Magic
Why the most common storytelling advice for magicians can actually make your routines worse, and what to ask instead to make them better.
The Truth Under the Trick
Every impossible thing a mentalist performs is standing in front of a real one. The job isn't to fake a power or apologize for it, it's to find the truth underneath and claim that. Musings from a working performer on sincerity, wonder, and the oldest honest job there is.