14 years ago: the day Teller gave me the secret to my career in magic.
September 21Hey gang,
Lately a lot of young magicians have been asking me for advice, which has caused me to remember one of the most valuable correspondences of my life: one of the most mind-blowing letters I ever received, chock-full of insights that to this very day guide my career and philosophy in both creating and performing magic.
This is a pretty long post, but with Teller's permission, I'd like to share with you the secrets he gave me 14 years ago to starting a successful career in magic.
First, a bit of back-story: Penn and Teller have been my heroes in magic since I was 8 years old. Back when I would watch just about anything related to magic, P&T were special because they were so damned cool. They'd connect with their audience, let them on the inside... even teach them some tricks to do at home. I was hooked.
By the time I was 19, I was a decent semi-professional magician, trying desperately to figure out both who I wanted to be onstage and what I had to say, when in the summer of 1994 I got my first chance to see Penn and Teller live. I drove three and a half hours with my best friend Gordon to watch the performance and (more importantly) get the chance to meet them afterwards.
As they've always done, Penn and Teller hung out in the lobby after the show to meet anyone who'd like to say hello. While we waited in line, Gordon and I started brainstorming ways to stand out from the crowd and make an impression on my heroes. Gordon had a hilarious idea that he was too chicken to try, so with his permission, I asked Teller to sign my three of clubs "...to my bastard son, Brian."
I was totally jazzed when this got a laugh from Teller, and positively giddy to spend the next few minutes talking to one of my heroes about how to get started in magic... Best. Show. Ever.
One year later, I was much more serious about magic, and much more frustrated as I was still struggling to find my own voice, character, and presentation. That's when I happened upon Teller's email address, and in a fit of frustration-induced bravery, wrote the following letter:
From Brian (on Tuesday, Oct 17, 1995):
Date: Tuesday, Oct 17, 1995
From: "Brian Allen Brushwood"
Subject: Fury
To: "Teller"
All right. I have put it off long enough. I told myself I would wait to write you until I had something meaningful to say, but I have been sitting on your address (figuratively) for months now, and am fed up with waiting.
The fact is, Teller, I am furious at you.
Not for offending anyone, for being outrageous, or for being so inventive with your magic, but because you were there first. In Genii magazine, you make a brilliant point of explaining that regardless of the true origin of a trick, whoever is most famous performing it OWNS it (I believe you cited your new "ownership" the bullet catch). Unfortunately, I don't believe you extended this idea far enough. This concept reaches all the way into the very attitudes and styles of performance. In short, because of Penn and Teller, I cannot be angry at magic, at least not on stage.
It seems to me, that just as you own the Bullet Catch, so do you own the ability to lash out at magic, to act as a vent for your audiences frustrations with the cruise-ship trickymen. Not to mention the use of blood and/or violence in a humorous way. Hell! You might even own the two-male duo! All this ownership has kept me from doing the kind of stage (and close-up, believe it or not) magic I want, for fear of being branded a copycat.
This summer, I attempted to tackle this problem by writing a couple of two male duo acts, trying my damnedest to keep the P&T out of my veins; it met with some success. One act, consisting of two comedy magic character peices (A drill instructor who performs the "coloring book", A gibberish-speaking samurai who performs a card-trick that ends in Hara-kiri) won the Texas Association of Magicians Senior Comedy competition. However, I find it difficult to follow your advice of "letting hate, not love, be your driving force" (which is absolutely true) and at the same time keep from becoming a P&T wannabe.
If you could offer any advice on how you established your own character and style, I would greatly appreciate it.
Brian Allen Brushwood
Just writing the letter was cathartic... I mean after all, who was I to Teller? I would have been perfectly happy to get a five word courtesy response, but to my absolute astonishment, the next morning I found the following mind-blowing essay in my inbox:
Teller's Response:
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 1995 3:40:27 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Teller"
Subject: Fury
To: "Brian Allen Brushwood"
My dear bastard son,
It is about time you wrote, my boy.
Now, calm down. Remind yourself of a few things.
I am 47. I have been earning my living in show business for twenty years. I have been doing magic since I was five, which makes it 42 years. And I had the good fortune to (a) meet Penn and (b) become an off-Broadway hit at the exact right moment in time.
When we started we HAD no style, no understanding of ourselves or what we were doing. We had feelings, vague ones, a sense of what we liked, maybe, but no unified point of view, not even a real way to express our partnership. We fought constantly and expected to break up every other week. But we did have a few things, things I think you might profit from knowing:
We loved what we did. More than anything. More than sex. Absolutely.
We always felt as if every show was the most important thing in the world, but knew if we bombed, we'd live.
We did not start as friends, but as people who respected and admired each other. Crucial, absolutely crucial for a partnership. As soon as we could afford it, we ceased sharing lodgings. Equally crucial.
We made a solemn vow not to take any job outside of show business. We
borrowed money from parents and friends, rather than take that lethal job waiting tables. This forced us to take any job offered to us. Anything. We once did a show in the middle of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia as part of a fashion show on a hot July night while all around our stage, a race-riot was fully underway. That's how serious we were about our vow.
Get on stage. A lot. Try stuff. Make your best stab and keep stabbing. If it's there in your heart, it will eventually find its way out. Or you will give up and have a prudent, contented life doing something else.
Penn sees things differently from the way I do. But I really feel as if the things we create together are not things we devised, but things we discovered, as if, in some sense, they were always there in us, waiting to be revealed, like the figure of Mercury waiting in a rough lump of marble.
Have heroes outside of magic. Mine are Hitchcock, Poe, Sophocles, Shakespeare, and Bach. You're welcome to borrow them, but you must learn to love them yourself for your own reasons. Then they'll push you in the right direction.
Here's a compositional secret. It's so obvious and simple, you'll say to yourself, "This man is bullshitting me." I am not. This is one of the most fundamental things in all theatrical movie composition and yet magicians know nothing of it. Ready?
Surprise me.
That's it. Place 2 and 2 right in front of my nose, but make me think I'm seeing 5. Then reveal the truth, 4!, and surprise me.
Now, don't underestimate me, like the rest of the magicians of the world. Don't fool yourself into thinking that I've never seen a set of linking rings before and I'll be oh-so-stunned because you can "link" them. Bullshit.
Here's how surprise works. While holding my attention, you withold basic plot information. Feed it to me little by little. Make me try and figure out what's going on. Tease me in one direction. Throw in a false ending. Then turn it around and flip me over.
I do the old Needle trick. I get a guy up on stage, who examines the needles. I swallow them. He searches my mouth. They're gone. I dismiss him and he leaves the stage. The audience thinks the trick is over. Then I take out the thread. "Haha! Floss!" they exclaim. I eat the floss. Then the wise ones start saying, "Not floss, thread. Thread. Needles. Needles and thread. Ohmygod he's going to thread the need..." And by that time they're out and sparkling in the sunshine.
Read Rouald Dahl. Watch the old Alfred Hitchcock episodes. Surprise. Withold information. Make them say, "What the hell's he up to? Where's this going to go?" and don't give them a clue where it's going. And when it finally gets there, let it land. An ending.
It took me eight years (are you listening?) EIGHT YEARS to come up with a way of delivering the Miser's Dream that had surprises and and ENDING.
Love something besides magic, in the arts. Get inspired by a particular poet, film-maker, sculptor, composer. You will never be the first Brian Allen Brushwood of magic if you want to be Penn & Teller. But if you want to be, say, the Salvador Dali of magic, we'll THERE'S an opening.
I should be a film editor. I'm a magician. And if I'm good, it's because I should be a film editor. Bach should have written opera or plays. But instead, he worked in eighteenth-century counterpoint. That's why his counterpoints have so much more point than other contrapuntalists. They have passion and plot. Shakespeare, on the other hand, should have been a musician, writing counterpoint. That's why his plays stand out from the others through their plot and music.
I'm tired now. I've been writing to you, my dear bastard son, for 45 minutes merely because, tonight, I'm remembering that evening I first met your mother in Rio, during Carnival...ah!...and how we loved!
paternally,
TELLER
Without a doubt, reading these words set me on the path to where I am today. For anyone wanting to make a living doing something artistic, I hope his words are as helpful to you as they were to me.
Thanks again, Teller.
Reader Comments (74)
Absolutely amazing. When I was younger I sometimes dreamed of being a magician. Not a career in magic per se, but being able to do magic. P&T were very inspirational to me as well, and I've got chills reading this post.
Congratulations on finding your real father, and my best to your dear mother. Ahh carnival pimping.
@myrridin
Thanks for sharing this. Honestly, this is the best advice anyone can give anyone else about anything. And that totally makes sense when you think about it for a minute ;)
I have to agree with the last comment. Sure, it applies to succeeding in entertainment, but the message is so foundational. Just wonderful, thanks Shwood for sharing it with us.
@brucefp
Thanks for sharing that, Brian. That is advice we can all take to heart.
@johnsturk & @funinc
Wow, after reading this, I can totally see this email shine through in your work. Everything you do; live shows, scam school, bblive show... you've always got an agenda to not take Tellers advice for granted. Sometimes you dedicate a trick so much to the element of surprise that you have 2 or 3 "surprises" in one trick!
One of these days you will have to get P&T on the BBLiveShow so your fans can properly thank them for putting you in the entertaining role you have today.
@thepastelsuit
"If it's there in your heart, it will eventually find its way out. Or you will give up and have a prudent, contented life doing something else."
I cannot imagine a more terrifying scenario. Prudent. Contented. Bah! I will *not* be 'contented' !
Can't wait for the book. Wait; Teller's not writing a book? Are YOU writing a book? WHO IS WRITING THIS INTO A BOOK?
Oh; fine; I'll do it myself.
Funny, all's I had to do was win a bet from Teller. $10, he signed the bill. I still have it.
Andrea Merlyn, A Queen of Magic
Wow, this was awesome advice. I've always loved Penn and Teller, and now I like them even more. What great advice, no matter what your chosen career. I'm going to take it to heart.
Awesome story, Brian. What a muse to have. You are one lucky sonofabitch. Teller is so right. You have to remember to read that letter once a year to yourself as a reminder and focuser.
Brian, your letter summed up a lot of what I've felt for a while towards other non-Teller people. I love them, but hate them for being successful at something before me. Now they "own" it and I'd just be a copycat.
Reading Teller's words built up a feeling of inspiration inside me. ...until I remembered that I should get back to work and make the stupid banner ad do what it's supposed to do when clicked and that if it's not working in an hour, my boss will yell at me.
Hmmm... Time for a career change perhaps?
One of the best damned posts I've ever read on the Internet. Thanks!!
I have also been a fan of P&T forever - have seen them live countless times over the past 20 years. There has just always been something that drew me to them. Sure the entertainment and humor and magic, but something else. Something deeper. This letter explains so much.
Thank you so much for sharing it and to Teller for his years of generosity in sharing with others.
@reubal
"letting hate, not love, be your driving force" (which is absolutely true)
I agree. (I am also glad someone else believes in the power of "Grrr" as a motivator) Everytime I see some hack performer doing something I don't feel they should be, I get motivated to do better.
Thanx for sharing.
(By the way, I remember that drill srgt/samurai bit.)
What a great response from Teller! I'm just in awe of his taking the time to write it (and to spend 45 minutes on it!), and I'm completely jealous that it happened to you. But I'm also grateful that you've shared it with us, and I believe it will stay with me for quite some time. I admire Teller very much and think his comments have tremendous value. Now, if you wouldn't mind forwarding me his email?...
Thanks again.
Thank you so much for sharing that. Teller's advice transcends magic and points a finger directly at all things art. As a photographer, the same difficulties are found when first starting out. This is someone that everyone should read, even if you're only trying to find who you are in life.
"Surprise".................You nailed it!!!
In 1995 I started working as a programmer at an IT company. Email existed, but there was no simple email system like we have today via browsers or applications like Outlook. It was a command-line format, single command line entry that was so easy to screw up. At the time, the only browser around was one with very limited access to websites in existence. You had apps in Windows 3.1 to ftp to sites and newsgroups with text and photos/video you had to download to even see what it was. The world in general had not discovered the internet.
I have to dispute your story based on the technology around. It was one used by geeks. The idea of a comedian/magician even having their own email address is plausible, but very unlikely.
Nice story though.
Very interesting story! And how true it is!
My idol is Derren Brown it was due to him that I moved from Hypnosis into Mentalism (boy how he fooled me in the beginning doing his effects by pre-show hypnosis is a bit too embarrassing to mention).
Yet I did not really want to become a copycat (especially not from a person who I could never reach up to) but his (pseudo) psychological ploy was what interested me.
I slowly but surely (re)invented myself by performing those effects time and time again. Really learn psychology and mix those effects with my own psychological knowledge or possible psychological theories.
Ironically I developed myself (unknowingly) in to a sorta Brian. Having a show in a similar lecture format on psychology where I use effects as a demonstration and hope to teach people something and spark an interest in psychology. I also demonstrate, false memory, the placebo effect, coincidence/mathematical odds yet in a different presentation style.
Now nobody is unique in a way! Yet everybody is unique in their own way! That uniqueness will surface when you Keep At It.
Thanks for sharing this Brian.
Ray
mdlMan: When I worked for an ISP beginning in 1994, we offered SLIP and PPP accounts, including web browsers and Eudora for email, from the very beginning. Eudora was first developed in 1988. And we had a number of celebrity early adopters who had their own email accounts.
In any case, Unix shell accounts with mail clients like pine and elm were commercially available for years before that from early providers like Netcom and Panix, as were services like CompuServe, The Well, Delphi, etc.
Penn has always been an early adopter of technology, I remember he was back on CompuServe in the pre-commercial Internet days, and I suspect Teller was as well.
I don't find the idea of Teller having his own email address in 1995 remotely implausible.
"But I really feel as if the things we create together are not things we devised, but things we discovered, as if, in some sense, they were always there in us, waiting to be revealed, like the figure of Mercury waiting in a rough lump of marble." ...Teller
This is a philosophy (I don't know where it came from) that I always thought was my idea. I used it to teach all subjects in school with great success. If you look at something being taught to you as something that's not "new to you", but as something being "discovered within you", then you will find that knowledge easily attainable as if it's something you've known all along. Is it magic or some form of collective consciousness? I don't know, but it does work. "What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve" covers it so well.
Brian, I am quickly becoming a big fan of yours because you have a natural gift as a magician and an entertainer. I dreamed as a kid of becoming a magician, but I never followed through with it. I think I would have been very similar to your style, so now I get to live that dream vicariously through you.
Thank you for what you do and ROCK ON!!
I've enjoyed your shows for about a year now, but it was not till now that I was truly impressed with a magic trick.
To manage to keep an email for 15 years without losing it is some kind of amazing trick. Did you get it off a floppy backup?
After starting of my carrier I have also spent time running an IT Outsourcing company and I have spent a lot of time in universities, but I also got a lot of new ideas during that.
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I really enjoyed this article. I am always trying to foster good relationships with people who can help my cause. This really breaks it down to a step by step process which is good.
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