Dariel Fitzkee - Showmanship for Magicians

Fitzkee, Dariel: Showmanship for Magicians
©1943 Magic Ltd
Hardcover, w/dj, 202 Pages

Second Edition
©1945 St. Raphael House Pub.
Hardcover, w/dj, 6.25x9.25", 188 pages

Lloyd E. Jones, Magic Limited
Image courtesy Bryan-Keith Taylor

Dariel Fitzkee Showmanship for Magicians

St. Raphael House Edition
Image courtesy eBay seller RaolsonMagic

Comments: This is the first of an acclaimed series of three books useful for helping the magician hone his presentation of magic. The others are The Trick Brain (1944) and Magic by Misdirection (1945). Available as an e-book from Lybrary.com

Contents: (Updated Jan 2017 - only main Chapter page numbers are accurate)

1 Introduction
1 The Need for This Book
1 Much Applies to all Entertainers
2 Why I Have Dared
2 Well, He's Working
2 Collected by the Show Business
2 The Unmentionable Appeal

3 Chapter I: Do Magicians Need Higher Entertainment Standards?
3 The Only Reason for Showmanship
3 The Fallacy that Magic Always Entertains
4 Why Changing Standards Have Made New Presentation Methods Necessary
5 The Spectators Themselves
5 The Damage Poor Presentation Does
6 Clues from the Show Business
7 See the Performance as the Spectators Do

9 Chapter II: Things From Another Era
9 Who the Average Magician Is
9 Tables and the One-Hoss Shay
10 The Circus Adopts Modern Taste
11 Look At The Stuff And Hang Your Head
11 Whose Fault Is It?
12 Second Childhood
12 Magicians As Strange Characters^
13 Glib And Idle Talk
13 Dismal Patter
14 Stumbling All Around
15 Secrets Are Not Important
15 Flunkies
16 What Do You Prefer For Entertainment?

17 Chapter III: How To Find Out What The Public Really Wants
17 The Magic Of Attendance
17 Motion Pictures
17 Stage Musicals
17 Dramatic Shows
18 Vaudeville
18 Night Clubs
18 Burlesque
18 Opera
19 Concert
19 Ballet
19 The Secret Of The Appeal Of Drama
20 Romance, Rehearsal And Punch
20 Specially Written Material
21 Unified Routine
21 What Show Business Reveals
22 Who Gets The Dollar?
22 Build To Customer Preferences

23 Chapter IV: The Things Big Audiences Really Buy
23 Dissection For Diagnosis
24 Analysis Of Audience Appeals
24 Where The Average Magician Misses
25 Make Them Like You In As Many Ways As They Can
26 Quantity And Variety
27 Modernizing The Mental Act

28 Chapter V: How Music Adds Interest
28 The Foundational Principles Upon Which The Whole Show Business Is Based
30 Shaping Magic To These Standards Not Difficult
31 Music
32 Not "A Tiny Little Valse"
33 Mood, Background, Situation And Character Through Music
33 Pennies From Heaven Versus The Miser
34 Audience Sympathy
35 Intermezzo To A Snootful
36 Murder To Music
36 The Anvil Chorus And The Heathen Chinese

37 Chapter VI: Rhythm, Youth And Sex Appeal
37 Tap Your Foot To Top Billing
37 Stardust And A Beautiful Blonde
37 Stop, Look And Listen
38 Walk-Ons
38 Who Is The Greatest Magician, And Rhythm
39 Life Begins At Forty, But Factor's Helps
39 Gals As Gals
39 Stress Without Vulgarity
40 Glamour Sells Tickets
40 Indirect Methods Are Best
41 On Being Unaware And Subtle

42 Chapter VII: Personality And The Necessity Of Selling Yourself
42 People Are More Interested In People
42 The Big Stars And What They Have In Common
43 How Individuality Makes The Star
43 Only One Result Possible
44 How A Pleasing Personality Is Achieved
44 Dale Carnegie's Magic Book
45 Only Five Ways To Reach A Spectator
45 Two Most Important
46 The Sound And Fury
46 Make Yourself Different
47 Identifications
47 They Must Please The Spectators
47 Try It Yourself
48 Material And Style
48 Push The Man, Not The Tricks
48 Picking Your Own Pocket

49 Chapter VIII: Color, Harmony, Sentiment, Romance
49 Color In Keeping Only In Certain Cases
50 Think Of The Other Stuff
50 Artificial Lights And Color
51 The Conventional Is Dangerous
51 Many Meanings To Harmony
52 Good Taste, And A Sense For Fitness
52 Sentiment Pays Dividends
53 Hats
53 Love, And A Two Timing Daddy
54 Conjuring Courtship
54 Nostalgia, Not Neuralgia

55 Chapter IX: Timing And Pointing
55 What Timing Is
56 Examples Abound
56 Emphasizing To Sell The Idea
57 The Gradual Ritard
58 Piano Solo With Razor Blade Accompaniment
59 Timing For Punch
59 Amateurs Don't Like It
60 Volunteer Critics
60 Pointing For Mayhem
60 What Pointing Is
61 Lazy Pointing To A Very Fast Trick
61 The Factors To Stress
62 Good General Rules

63 Chapter X: Surprise, Unity, Character And Situation
63 An Effective Expedient
63 Logical Development Best
64 Surprise With Punch
65 Unity, The Connecting Thread
65 What Unity Is
65 Examples
66 Characters
66 What They Are
66 How They Trap Audience Interest
67 Back To Unity Again
67 More Ways Of Achieving It
67 It May Be Bird, Beast Or Fish
68 Maintaining Character
68 People Are Interested In People, Again
68 How Character Is Revealed
69 Situation, What It Is
69 Conflict Brings Consequences
69 Russell Swann And Situation
70 Situation And A Nude Young Woman

71 Chapter XI: Costuming, Grooming, Make-Up, Personal Behavior And Smoothness
71 Proper Costume And Careful Grooming Essential
72 Old Out-Of-Date Clothes At A Party
72 Clothes Make The Character
72 When There Is Doubt, There Is No Doubt
73 Well Groomed Routine
73 What, When And How
73 Being At Ease
74 Let The Subconscious Do The Work
74 On Standing Still
74 Be Particular About Make-Up
75 How To Find Out How To Dress
75 How To Avoid Having To Have The Hands Cut Off
75 Facial Expression With A Floy-Floy
76 Voice Placement, Not Ventriloquism
76 Stage Fright
76 What It Is And How To Eliminate It
77 Poise A La Old Granddad
77 And Smoothness

78 Chapter XII: Confidence Through Rehearsal
78 How To Gain Confidence
79 What Rehearsal Really Is
79 What It Is In The Beginning
79 Time Limits
80 On Acquiring Material
80 Putting The Act Together
80 Get Good Advice
81 Magicians Are Poor Judges
81 Every Little Movement
81 The Walk-Through
82 What Is Action?
82 Climbing The Golden Stairs
82 What Lift And Movement Are
83 The Grind Of Rehearsal
83 On Correcting Mistakes

84 Chapter XIII: Physical Action, Group Coordination, Precise Attack, Economy And Brevity
84 Why People Like Physical Action
85 How It Can Be Incorporated In Magic
85 How Group Coordination May Be Applied To Magic
86 Coordination With Money, Hats And Water
86 Stupendous Trickery
87 Out With The Flunkey
87 Again, People Are Interested In People
88 A Game Of Catch
88 With Rope, Too
89 What Precise Attack Is
89 What Economy It
89 Getting His Money's Worth
90 What Brevity Is, And How To Achieve It
91 Holding Attention

92 Chapter XIV: Efficient Pacing, Punch, Instinct Appeals, Combined Appeals, Grace, Effortless Skill, Spectacle And Contrast
92 How To Pace Efficiently
93 What Punch Is
93 How To Acquire It
94 From 36 Gals
94 Why Magic Acts Lack Punch
94 Instinct Appeals And Responses
95 Ganging Them Up
95 How To Be Graceful
95 How To Make Your Skill Seem Effortless
96 Sure-Fire Material
96 What Spectacle Is
96 How To Create It
96 Contrast For Emphasis

97 Chapter XV: Comedy: Its Importance
97 Subordinate Tricks To Comedy
98 Comedy Is A Serious Business
99 Where To Learn About It
101 Various Kinds Of Comedy
103 Humor And Wit
104 Jest And Joke
105 The Laughable, Ludicrous, Comical, Droll, Ridiculous
106 Satire Irony, Caricature And Burlesque
107 Comedy In The Difficulties Of Others
108 Twenty-Four Causes For Laughter
109 Some Suggestions

109 Chapter XVI: Getting And Holding Interest And Attention
109 Success Is Proportionate To Interest
109 The Kinds Of Attention
110 Voluntary And Involuntary
110 What Kind Of Attention Is Interest
110 Keep Within The Spectators' World
111 My Stuff Is Over Their Heads
111 How To Bring Your Act Within The Spectators' Worlds
111 The Three Classes Of People
112 Fit The Act To The People
112 Contact Through The "Other Woman"
112 Emotion, What Makes It Tick
113 Fatigue
113 Patterns

114 Chapter XVII: Types Of Audiences And Their Preferences
114 Why You Have To Know Your Audiences
114 Eleven Kinds Of Audiences
115 The Kind Of Material And Angle Of Attack
116 Kids, Men, Women And Mixed Audiences
117 Drunk And Sober
118 Two More Groups Often Neglected
119 What These Audiences Are Interested In
121 The Patterns To Follow

122 Chapter XVIII: How To Routine
122 Planning Every Minute Detail
123 Tricks As Materials
124 How To Make A Trick "Arrangement"
125 Interpretation Is Everything
126 Tricks Are Skeletons Only
127 Top Entertainers Insist Upon Special, Exclusive Material
128 Routines Are Individual
129 The Three-Act Idea
130 An Example With A Pocket Trick
131 A Trick Is Like Sheet Music
132 Are Musicians More Painstaking Than Magicians?
132 Routine Defined
134 An Example With A Stage Trick
136 An Example With An Illusion
136 'Hammy' Magic

137 Chapter XIX: How To Routine: Continued
137 Don't Drag In Tricks By The Ears
139 Find A Reasonable Cause
140 How A Logical Cause Colors The Whole Routine
142 Mora Wands With Sex Appeal And A Moral
144 A Good Neighbor Presentation Of The Cut Rope, And A Situation
146 Rising Cards With Boogie-Woogie
147 Look Out For Stock Instructions
148 The Spark Of Life
150 How To Keep From Boring House Guests
152 A Routine For Company

153 Chapter XX: How To Get Ideas For Acts
153 The Name For A Performance
153 Acts Are Ideas
154 An Act From A Trick
154 An Act From A Character In A Situation
155 An Act From Sex Appeal
155 Acts From Confidence Games
156 Waller Suggests "Perverse Magic"
156 The Neophyte Magician
157 Impersonations Of Well-Known People
157 From Characters And Character Types
158 From An Ultimate Impression
158 From A Situation
159 By Taking Another Act Apart
159 From Folies Bergere To International Magicians
160 My Slip Showed
160 A Revue Act From A Trick
161 More Suggestions

162 Chapter XXI: How To Put An Act Together
162 Getting The Materials Together
162 Stock Apparatus
163 How To Make Your Props Convincing And In Keeping With The Act Idea
163 Preparing Spoken Material
164 Preparing Music Score
164 Putting In Cues
165 Cue Sheets For Curtains And Lights
165 Property Lists
166 You're On!

167 Chapter XXII: How To Make Your Act Salable
167 The Formula For The Shortest Route To Success
167 Making The Product Like They Want It
168 How To Take An Act Apart To See What Makes It Tick
168 The Booker Is The Guy To Please
169 The Longer Way
169 The Scarcity Of Geniuses

170 Chapter XXIII: A Magic Show In The Modern Manner
170 A New Slant On Magic Presentation
170 A Revue With Magic As The Theme
171 Where It Differs From The Usual Magic Show
171 Ouch!
171 Cocktails And Cash
172 Tails And Tricks
172 Stubs And Sparks
172 Memory With Music
173 The Cut-Ups
173 A Bottle Of Spirits
173 East Is East
174 It's Just Things Like This
174 All Wet
174 A Bride And A Bathing Suit
173 Lunch
173 Beauty And The Bird
173 My Hat, Please
174 Snorted Again
174 It's Murder, He Says
174 Stardust
175 Oh, Daddy
175 Slow And Fast
175 And Stuff

176 Chapter XXIV: Finale
176 An Inventory
176 Salesmanship
176 Likable Qualities
176 Don't Don't
177 Grooming
177 Ease And Confidence
177 Prepare Thoroughly
178 Talk
178 Props
178 Smile
179 Bows
179 Building Up To A Hand
180 Emphasis
180 Be In Style

181 Chapter XXV Check Charts
181 Appeals: A List Of Audience Appeals
183 Idea: Check Chart On Act Ideas
185 Routine: Check Chart On Routines
189 Performance: Check Chart For Performances
193 After Performance: Things To Think Of After The Show, Packing And Review
197 Act Revisions: Things To Think Of At The Hooch Session
201 Applause: Confirming Audience Feedback