Rule 21: Here Comes the Aeroplane

In 1911 Nevil Maskelyne and David Devant, two of the premier magicians of the day, published Our Magic. In the first section, The Art in Magic, Maskelyne outlines 24 rules for magic performance. After well over 100 years, are these rules still relevant, and do they apply to more than magic?

21: When, in a combination of the two arts, the primary requirements of Drama have been satisfied, all subsidiary details of procedure should be dictated by the normal principles of Art in Magic.

Though it’s true that your story must work no matter what, once it does then from that point onwards all the other, previous rules apply again. In other words, just because you’re using a story, that doesn’t mean you suddenly get to ignore everything we’ve spoken about already.

The dramatic conceit you’re using - usually some kind of story - is what is keeping people interested in what you’re actually trying to tell them. Put in a very simple and condescending context, when a desperate parent is telling a child ‘here comes the aeroplane’ it’s not because they want to encourage them to become a pilot or dream of aviation, but because they want to engage them in play and occupy their mind long enough to shovel another mouthful of food into them. It’s one of the first stories we’re told as a child, and at its heart, this and the previous rule in their purest form. The exchange, from the parent’s point of view, is the same as anyone else who has used allegorical storytelling or a dramatic setting to get a point across:

Here is a secondary thing we’re both going to focus on so that you can receive a primary thing, possibly without you even noticing.

Once you’ve got your drama sorted out, make sure everything else is ready to go.

TFT
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