Personally, I don't use gimmicks, in my mind it takes the fun out of it.
I agree to a certain extent about how a magicians job is simply to entertain, but I also believe that if a magician doesn't enjoy what he's doing, that gets portrayed in his performances and they can become robotic and dull. And this is why I don't use gimmicks, almost anybody can go spend $20 on a gimmick and perform it immediately and get great reactions, but you don't get the same satisfaction out of performing, you will never feel as passionately for a gimmicked trick as you do a pure sleight of hand trick that you have spent weeks, months, or years practicing. And spectators can notice this, if you have ever seen Arturo De Ascanio perform you will know what I'm talking about.
For me, magic is a challenge, I hope to get just as much fun out of performing, as the spectators do out of watching.
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"It's in the small details that one recognises the great artists" - Arturo De Ascanio
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