Bound And Gagged!

body { background: #fff; margin: 0px; padding: 4px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; height: auto; width: auto; }

In light of finding out someone ripped my magic off today, and after having him flaunt it in my face that he did precisely that, I figured it would just be fair that I write this…

.:On Professional Courtesy: An Ethical Issue:.

There are many issues on professional courtesy in magic, whether undercutting other magicians and the like, but allow me to discuss the most glaring one: outright plagiarism of other magicians.

In the age of torrents and YouTube and piracy, people seem to forget their manners. The internet is indeed the perfect place for people to act as if the rules of propriety and respect don’t apply, but just because everybody does it does not make it right.

As magicians, especially professional magicians, we invest into our material. From purchasing videos and books to watching seminars, learning from other fellow performers, learning the history of our routines, and never performing routines if we can’t do them justice.

Magic has always been an industry of secrets, and we have seen unscrupulous magicians in the past, dating all the way back to the heyday of Vaudeville, who would actually steal each other’s routines. While we do not have true ownership of our tricks, the presentations we employ, and even the inspiration for routines we come up with or appropriate for ourselves, are issues that we must be sensitive towards.

We are no longer in an era where people actively sabotage each other in the realm of magic solely to get ahead in this industry. There is indeed still competition, but in general, competition has not eliminated the concept of simple professional courtesy to each other. If we know a particular magician has developed a reputation based on a particular routine or presentation, we don’t try to upstage them by using the same routine on their time. It’s common professional courtesy.

I remember when Mr. Sonny Minoza taught me one of his prized routines, the one where he stands and has several people push a stick he is holding, and they are unable to push Mr. Minoza. I am unaware if this is originally his, but he taught me the routine, and gave me the blessing to perform it, except on television. Out of respect to the man, I complied, and he has never had a problem with me when it comes to that. Even during a Comedy Cartel show where Mr. JB Dela Cruz performed psychokinesis, despite requests that I perform the same thing after the show for some friends of a comedian, I declined, citing that another performer has done the same thing a while ago. Consider that I have built a reputation as a performer based on the psychokinesis routine, and you would get an idea of how stringent I am when it comes to giving due respect to fellow magicians.

While some people may rightly point out that I have no legal leg to stand on, I was never a legalist when it comes to my love for magic. What I have always emphasized, though, was the need to be an ethical performer, such that we do not act in a way that degrades the art form of magic, nor act in a way oppressive to our other fellow magicians. It’s basic good manners and right conduct. You don’t have to be a magician or an ethicist to know that if someone gave you a good idea, you thank them for it, or better yet, ask their permission to use it, especially if you’re making money off of it. I don’t think it’s too much to ask. Do you?

Look… if you didn’t pay to learn your magic, whether you learned it from YouTube or a friend taught it to you, learn to give the source credit. If you actually have a way to reach the actual source of the routine, you actually ought to ask their permission for it, because that’s their intellectual property. Even a simple translation of patter from English to Filipino already means that the new Filipino patter you’re using is already the Filipino speaker’s intellectual property. As a general rule of thumb, if it’s not yours and you didn’t pay for it, you ask permission and you give credit. This is their livelihood. If you want it to be your livelihood as well, you better learn to respect the intellectual property rights of your fellow professionals.

I’ve been beset with acts of sheer unprofessionalism in the past. Whether it’s an unprofessional client who strings you along until the last possible minute and then backs out on booking you, or an unprofessional colleague who actually grandstands and performs one of your routines despite the fact that you booked him not as a magician but as an aura reader, I’ve experienced these disappointing acts.

By no means did I tolerate them then. By no means will I tolerate them now. As a professional, I hold myself to a higher standard. I do not believe I should expect any less from a fellow “professional”.

This particular performer has done this to another magician before, and I’m sure that I won’t be the last person he’d rip off from. He ripped off this other magician’s routine, then had the nerve to ask this other magician if he could get the music this other magician used when he performed the routine. This is outrageous! Why are we tolerating this kind of behaviour? The routining, the wording, everything about the magic act is somebody’s intellectual property. Ripping that off wholesale is just shameful and a slap in the face of all the magicians who work hard to improve their craft.

As a professional, I have always emphasized ethical behaviour, and key to that is respect for the art form and for the artists. Even though my stand on exposure has always been liberal, I have never used that as an excuse to disrespect other performers and thinkers. I invested time, money, and even my intellect into coming up with routines that fit my personality and fit my character onstage, using words that suit my character best. If I learned something by watching, say, a YouTube video, I make sure to credit, or if I can reach the performer, ask permission from the performer, to use a certain approach or nuance to a given effect.

Simply put, when in doubt, I research. That way, I can credit and ask permission. If I want to get anywhere in this industry, throwing away my professionalism is the worst thing I can do, because being unprofessional assures me that I will not only earn the ire of my contemporaries, but I will also alienate my clients who expect me to be on my best behaviour. When you’re being paid an average worker’s entire monthly salary for a mere half-hour of your time, there is no reason to take shortcuts and to shortchange the people who have it made it possible for you to have that kind of livelihood.

As a person who is only getting into standup comedy, I actually see that there is so much more leeway in magic when it comes to intellectual property. Since many magic routines incorporate the same principles, since so many performers technically sell not only the routine but their performance itself, we seem to think that we are entitled to rip off anything we see from other performers. Standup comedy, being the way it is, is downright strict: you don’t use another comedian’s jokes, period. Would I say that magicians have been spoiled and don’t understand what it means to respect another person’s body of work? I would say that some magicians are, but certainly not all.

Newsflash: we are not entitled to do whatever we want to do just because. When you’re being paid thousands of bucks to do what you do, is it so much to ask for a little credit from the people who gave you the idea to do what you do? Or is it already second nature for you to screw them over and not care about their livelihood, their efforts, and their intellectual property? If it is, really, you’re in the wrong line of work. If you can’t respect the art form and the artists, magic is not for you.

As a performer who has been nothing but respectful to everyone in the industry, as a performer who refuses to speak ill of contemporaries to laypeople, as a performer who has taken the pains to write his own material and line up his routines painstakingly to maximize his client’s entertainment, and ultimately, as a performer who takes pride in his body of work, I have done nothing but show my utmost love and respect for my art form.

With this kind of respect I have given to my art, am I supposed to take lightly any disrespect to me as an artist?

I don’t think so.

Personal Commentary ethics, magic

.:Toyz Comedy Showcase Tuesdays: Finally, Progress!:.

Last night, the effects of the Comedy Cartel show seemed to have carried over, and everyone who performed at the Comedy Showcase Open Mic Night in Toyz Cafe seemed to be performing on a different level as well, and that included the open mic people.

Well, admittedly, I haven’t been that proud of my first two attempts at doing Open Mic, but this night was rather different. With a very supportive audience on our side, I managed to go up there and finally start doing a hybrid of standup comedy and standup magic that I feel is right up my alley. As one of the biggest fans of Michael Finney, that’s one guy who has mastered the art of mixing and matching the two, and I can’t help but take after him when it comes to this.

Anyways, it was a good night all around, as the audience was extra appreciative of our comedy last night. There was an Australian guest who was laughing even at jokes that were cracked in the vernacular, and it was just weird but gratifying to see that kind of appreciation for comedy. As a guy who really appreciates stand-up, finding a restaurant filled with people who are just as appreciative is nothing but heartwarming. There’s also quite a moment of joy that a standup comic gets when you don’t just get laughter, but the much-cherished applause + laughter combination. During my comedy magic shows, I live for moments like those.

I know I technically cheated since I used my magic as a way to bridge the confidence gap I have when performing comedy, but I think it worked out pretty well for me last night. It was also a good opportunity to bond with the other comedians, especially Noel and Ryan. Thanks a lot for the kind words and the votes of confidence! I sincerely, sincerely appreciate the shot in the arm.

For once, I’ll actually let you in on how I did. It’s not perfect, but if you saw how my first two sets went, this was definitely a noticeable improvement… hope you like it!

News and Updates comedy, comedy cartel, magic

.:I Loved Angels And Demons!:.

Just a quick aside before I get to my main point…

In my opinion, it was better than the book, thanks to the fact that they didn’t use one particularly idiotic plot twist in the film adaptation.
Thank goodness.

.:Completely On Fire!:.

Last Monday night, the Comedy Cartel had their Comic Strip standup night happening in Spicy Fingers in Greenbelt 2.

Let me tell you that this is, bar none, the best show I’ve ever seen from the Comedy Cartel thus far.

Something about Monday night just really lined up neatly for the Comedy Cartel, as their entire roster was on fire from top to bottom. The audience was just really into it, and they definitely went there to be entertained by the Comedy Cartel.

I must say that Noel Gascon’s strong opener really set the tone for the night, and it was pretty obvious that the crowd was going to ride with HK references throughout the night. You just knew the other Cartel members were going to capitalize on that, and boy, they definitely did. Marlon’s ADMU-DLSU joke got the biggest reaction of the night, Ryan debuted in Spicy Fingers with a bang, Stanley’s pacing was amazingly on that night (and he even made an MR reference and linked her name to me… lol), Red had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand, Victor was made of win, JB definitely wowed people with his magic, and Mike Unson of course main evented with much aplomb.

Special mention has to go to Richie Fernandez, who practically could’ve declared his candidacy or something, considering how many people went there because of him. Heh. Also, thanks for having me over at his table, as meeting his friends was really quite an experience. It’s just amazing what conversations you can find yourself in with people who are in a jovial mood thanks to top-notch comedy. My brother even dropped in on the show, and he was definitely pleased as punch by it.

I’ve been supporting the Cartel precisely because I know they’re this damned good. These guys are awesome, and I hope that as time goes by, more and more people would see and appreciate these guys for the comedic geniuses that they are.

If you want to find out more about them, feel free to go to their website. Their next show is coming this June 13, in Conspiracy Bar. It’s gonna be Mike Unson’s birthday show, so watch out for that!

News and Updates comedy, comedy cartel, film, friends

.:JACK TV’s Animation Festival!:.

Pictures are borrowed from Azrael. Thanks!

Chokeslam! Bah Gawd!

Last Saturday proved to be a very interesting experience for me as I hosted Jack TV’s Animation Festival for their afternoon leg, and it was a blast, as I found myself co-hosting with Fatima, one of my friends in the cosplay industry. It was really fun, because I’ve been hosting far less often than I do magic gigs lately, and it was a welcome change of pace, seeing that I wasn’t only going to do voice overs and the like for raffles, I was also going to host a cosplay competition, albeit a small one, since there were only eight competitors due to the fact that there wasn’t enough hype for it.

Despite that, as you can see, we had some pretty good contestants, including Undertaker (excellent impersonation of the dead man), Carlito (as pictured above), and John Morrison from the WWE. Of course, the more elaborate costumes came from the LXB (League of Xtraordinary Beings) block of JACK TV’s programming, which featured:

Three characters from Marvel, two from DC.

Well, aside from that, it was pretty fun hosting with Fatima because we were just ad libbing like mad for quite a while during that day, what with the opportunities to poke fun at anything we could, and acknowledging the presence of people who were there, such as Louanne, Az, RG, Mark Cerbo, or yes, Chris. I was being incorrigible as usual, and of course, the audience was very receptive to our antics. I even ran into Doc Ronnie during the event, as Pinoy Toy Kollektors was actually there for the day.

In any case, much love going out to JACK TV for having us over, although here’s hoping next time, you also have guys who will join and cosplay as characters from your SACK (Superb Animated Comedy Knock-Outs) like Family Guy and The Simpsons…

’Til next year, we hope!

News and Updates cosplay, events, hosting, television

.:FADAL Manila Launch In Fashion Art: A Revelation:.

Azrael invited me to the launch of Fashion Designers Alliance Manila, and I gladly accepted, since I was present during the F. Art “Perya” show last time with Happy and Viva, where I first met these two amazing ladies. I would be the first to admit I’m not a fashion blogger, but as supporters of art, be it music or comedy or even magic, F. Art is simply a home to aspiring artists such as myself, albeit not necessarily artists in the fashion world.

I am awed at the sheer effort Happy puts into her craft, and meeting other designers who are part of this new group, as well as finding out that Happy is the president of the group, is nothing but sheer awesomeness in my book. While I am not in the know when it comes to the movers and shakers of the fashion world, I know I was party to something big last night, and I’m sure the other bloggers might have felt this as well.

Amusingly enough, Mike Unson was there, which meant this was the second time in two days I’ve seen the guy, and so was Ronnie Mariano, whom I was with last Monday for the Ruffa and Ai guesting spot. I went there to see what was going on, but I was in for quite a shock when Viva approached me ever so sweetly and asked if I could share some of my magic with them that night. Who was I to turn down such a lovely offer?

After courtesies were extended between the designers and the bloggers, Mike went up to do his standup set, and people were rolling in the aisles. I must admit that I laugh rather hard whenever I watch comedy, but that’s because more often than not, I pay good money to be entertained, so this is me showing the performer onstage that hell, I’m getting my money’s worth. I’ve seen Mike and the rest of the Cartel countless times already, but every single time, they bring something new to the table, and tonight was no different. Bloggers and designers alike were very much entertained by the great Mike Unson, so there was a bit of pressure for me to step my magic up a notch that night.

Now, I normally don’t go around with a full show in my bag, but I almost always have three powerful routines prepared just in case: Shanghai Shackles, Lady And The Rope, and Liquid Metal. It’s not a full show, to be sure, but it’s definitely something that would entertain people, as these routines are three of my best routines.

Afterwards,, we found ourselves invited to some upcoming fashion shows, most of which I would love to attend if only to support the fashion industry in my own way, fashion blogger or not. It’s the least I could do for a gracious community that hosted us bloggers and invited me to perform.

Unbelievably, one of the people I performed for turned out to be Ms. Jaz Cerezo, one of the contestants on Project Runway Philippines…

She’s almost as tall as I am!!!

.:What I Have Learned…:.

The thing is, I used some of the lines I used in my standup foray the previous night, and there was a marked difference. I was in a different zone, and while I was performing magic, the jokes that seemed to ramble and meander off during Tuesday night were very well-received and spot-on last night. It did make me wonder what the difference was, and if the fact that I was doing magic instead of pure standup had anything to do with it. I realized that the answer was “yes and no.”

Yes, doing magic affected my lines. But no, it didn’t affect it in a way that my lines were cooler or better, since they were in essence, the exact same lines I used the previous night. How doing magic affected my lines was the confidence I had when I was onstage and performing that night. I will be as meek as a lamb when it comes to talking about my capacity as a standup comedian (Which I am not.), but I will have an air of confidence, at times, even a swagger, when I am up there as a professional magician (Which I know in my mind and heart, I am.).

It wasn’t that magic filled in any gaps between the gags I used to entertain the audience. That was merely secondary. What being on “magic mode” allowed me to do was to go up there and believe with every inch of my soul that I knew what the Hades I was doing, and it showed. In effect, the delivery noticeably changed, and one of the bloggers present, Jennie, pointed that out, since she saw the video I had performing standup the previous night and she was able to make a comparison.

Admittedly, while I recognized that I had a long way to go if I really want to pursue standup, I was a bit downhearted the entire day because I knew I laid an egg the previous night. I’m my own worst critic, and while others might sugarcoat my standup last Tuesday and tell me that “you have good material, but your setup could use some work,” I was telling myself how absolutely terrible I was that night. Being given an opportunity to perform last night while I was in my element simply gave me back a lot of confidence. I’m still my own worst critic, and I probably noticed at least fifty things I could’ve done better during that brief magic show, but I can go home satisfied with the thought that I entertained a room full of people that night.

To Happy and to Viva, to the members of FADAL Manila, and even to the bloggers whom I’ve seen for the first time ever, it was a wonderful opportunity to have met all of you, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to have entertained you last night. It was a great shot in the arm, and I’m definitely here to support you guys in your endeavours in whatever way I can.

News and Updates, Personal Commentary comedy, comedy cartel, fashion art, magic, magikel, mentalism

.:Absolute Respect:.

That is the emotion I felt as I was amazed, impressed, and humbled all at the same time last Tuesday night during my first ever open mic for standup comedy.

Now, I’ll have you know that I would be the last person to ever sell comedy short. It’s not easy to be funny at the drop of a hat, and it’s certainly not easy to make people laugh for a living. If people think magic is hard, I must say that comedy is probably harder, particularly when it comes to a barrier of entry that cannot easily be breached with merely a fat wallet.

Magic as an art form has its own difficulties and challenges, but the sheer effort going into a mere five minutes of comedy for a standup comedian worth his salt is exorbitant, to say the least. We tend to take for granted the jokes that a comedian would chuck at us, thinking that if we were up on stage, we’d be doing just as well, or possibly even better than they do.

As a guy who thought it was going to be difficult, let me tell you already: it’s even harder than I thought.

I’ve been doing magic for years. People know that when I’m in performance mode, I have a completely different aura. I seem to pick up an unmistakable swagger that shows people the kind of confidence I have in what I do. As a guy who has tried his hand in many different forms of magic, I must say that mentalism and comedy magic are the two forms of the art that appeal the most to me, and are also the two forms that I do respectably well in.

Some people might assume that if you can do comedy magic, then the transition to pure standup comedy should be a snap. I’m here to tell you that unless you’re simply that gifted, it’s not. My experience last Tuesday night, with material I wrote and carefully went over for almost two weeks, all flew out the window when I went on open mic in Toyz.

First of all, I expected that the open mic people would go ahead of the actual comedians. I figured that they’d want to save the best for last, but I figured wrong. They saved me for last, which just really took me aback, since Ryan, Noel, Derf, Mike, and Stanley all went ahead of me, and I was even the second of two open mic people.

While it’s expected that they would deliver topnotch observational comedy that night, I must digress for a bit and give my props to Stanley Chi, the birthday boy, who went on, in my opinion, the best standup set I’ve ever seen from him, and I’ve been watching him for almost three years already. Stanley has always been a funny guy, but he was just on fire last Tuesday, and I cannot tell you enough how awesome I found his set to be.

So imagine my trepidation when I came on, and my friends mostly from The Story Circle went there to support me on my first ever foray into standup comedy. I stumbled my way through 2/3rds of my set, as I realized I went too long and rambled on too much. I’d like to think I had competent material, but I flat-out sucked in delivery and timing, as I set my punchlines up for way too long.

Thinking back to Leodini’s lecture about comedy magic, I realized what he meant: my laugh-a-minute ratio was far too low to hold up in a standup comedy setting. I was so used to doing it the way Penn and Teller do it: tell a story, go for some light chuckles that may or may not come, then go for a big laugh around three minutes into your narrative. My 0.2 laughs per minute ratio was not going to cut it, especially not for a 5-minute set.

After listening to some gentle but telling advice from the pros, they simply affirmed what I believed all along: I want to do this, but I have a long way to go. There’s no shame in that. We all start from somewhere, and I’d like to think I have nowhere to go but up from this point.

I think back to my first ever paid show for Richard Merck, and I realize that while I cannot claim to be a great, noteworthy magician, I have come a long way from three years ago when I was just starting out. I still have so much room to improve, but what’s important is that I’m willing to listen and do what it takes to get there. I dare to fail, and whatever rejections and harsh words I may receive, I willingly accept it as part of the learning process for as long as these awesome people are willing to bear with me.

To the Comedy Cartel + Ryan the Cowboy, I thank you guys for the opportunity to give what used to be merely a pipe dream a try. I can’t tell you enough how big of a deal all this was to me.

News and Updates, Personal Commentary comedy, comedy cartel, friends

.:The Second Go-Round:.

I did only Liquid Metal yesterday when I guested for a second time for “Ruffa And Ai”, but it was definitely well worth the effort, as the audience was clearly pleased with my performance, and of course, I’d be remiss not to mention Ronnie Mariano’s Snowstorm, which definitely wowed people as well.

That day, I also had the opportunity to teach a bit of magic to Ai-Ai, who did pretty well when she did the ring through rope routine. I’m definitely happy about this opportunity to have been featured on ABS-CBN 2 a second time, although I got a bit too tongue-tied when I ran into Kuya Kim, and didn’t tell him about my not-so-perfect experience with Matanglawin some time back.

Nonetheless, it was a very interesting run, to say the least. I’d love to be back there if the opportunity presents itself again, albeit a Kel and Jay appearance would be much more hopeful.

.:In The Interest Of Diversification…:.

… I have been working on this for a while already, and given how my nightlife lately has consisted of going to Mag:Net or Route to watch bands, or hang out with people like Sparks and Jenny and Pakbet, or to go to Mag:Net or Spicy Fingers or Conspi to watch the Comedy Cartel perform.

Thing is, I missed some awesome shows from Route last week, involving Project 2 and some acoustic nights for bands I never expected to have acoustic nights. Despite that, the tradeoff of having been able to hang out with the Cartel has been nothing but eye-opening to me, particularly when I went to Toyz for the first time to watch some members of the Cartel do their comedy there on an open mic night where they get together to try out new jokes and routines.

I like the band scene more than the club scene, so that explains my fascination with hearing people like The Ronnies, Itchyworms, and Radioactive Sago Project, but we know why I’m not trying to be part of a band or something, don’t we?

Well, since I can’t sing or dance for crap, I decided that giving standup comedy a try would be for the better, so with tonight’s Open Mic night in Toyz looming over me, wish me luck! I’m definitely stoked about it.

After a good conversation with some of the people from Cartel, especially Noel and Richie, I got encouraged to try my hand at writing some stuff here and there, so I’m extremely grateful to them for the encouragement. We’ll see where this is all headed, I suppose. I’m fairly excited about the prospects coming up, to say the least.

And speaking of the Comedy Cartel, wish my good friend, Stanley Chi, a happy birthday!

News and Updates comedy, comedy cartel, music, television

.:Before Anything…:.

I’m guesting on Ruffa And Ai this Monday, 11 May, 2009, from 10:15-11:15 AM, Channel 2, LIVE!

Yes. I’m guesting again. This time, I’ll be doing mentalism instead of comedy magic. =)

.:TV Guesting Win!:.

My TV guesting on “Ruffa and Ai” went well even if it unfortunately wasn’t with my partner in crime, Jay Mata. I was on a total of three times, and I was definitely happy about the results. I performed in a rather rushed manner, but I still got to entertain the people in the audience, although the fact that they gave out my cellphone number during the show sorta made for very interesting times…

The entire episode is here, actually…

Anyways, I hope you guys liked it. It was a pretty great guesting, and the hosts, Ruffa and Ai-Ai, were very nice people. =)

.:The Cellphone Is A Crazy Thing…:.

So last year, I’ve been getting crazy text messages from random people who thought my cellphone was Giselle Sanchez’s phone, which resulted in a lot of hilarious moments where people declared their love and refused to believe I wasn’t Giselle Sanchez.

Anyways, it got worse after I guested on “Ruffa and Ai” last Monday, since my number was on TV, and the minute I stepped out of the studio (There was no signal there.), I was blasted with 50 messages, one after the other, and it was just unbelievable. My phone kept on getting

By my count, I had: one indecent proposal, one person asking me for load, one person inviting me to a party in Tondo, seventy people who wanted to learn my “secret for magic”, and two hundred sixty thousand people who wanted to be my textmate. Compare that to the five people who inquired about my services, and I begin to realize that my internet marketing has been much better than my mainstream media forays, promotion-wise.

However, I must say that this text message really just completely took the cake…

“Sir, napanood ko kayo sa Ruffa & Ai sa TV. U r a good magician. May hingi ako magic word pangkontra sa masama spiritu. Kabila bahay namin mahilig kulam kami sa kaluluwa. I wish u will help me.”

Let me make a few things clear…

1. I don’t do textmates. My cell number is a business number. Stop texting me in the middle of the night asking me if I ate lunch. Texting costs money, and I have better things to spend my money on than fielding every single “h3llur PoWh” message out there.

2. I am straight edge. Yes, that includes casual sex. So don’t even think about it.

3. I am a snob. I don’t like talking to complete strangers unless I have to. This especially means that I hate forwarded text messages from people I don’t even know. It’s bad enough from people I actually know.

4. I am a magician-for-hire. That means I don’t give away magic secrets.

5. I am absolutely not an exorcist!

Anyways, here’s hoping that I don’t get these crazy messages again next time I go on TV, but for now, I’m just mildly confused and amused at the deluge of messages I’ve been receiving.

.:Blogging More Some Other Day…:.

I’d have blogged more today, but my arm hurts like crazy. =(

When I donated blood for Cakit’s dad last week, I think the nurse didn’t do too well hooking me up, so the result?

News and Updates magic, magikel, mentalism, television

I am guesting tomorrow at ABS-CBN’s “Ruffa and Ai” (MONDAY), sometime around 10:15-11:15 am. Waiting for confirmation today, but wish me luck, and do catch the episode. I’d be exceedingly happy if you did.

News and Updates magikel, television