In the world of theatrical magic, misdirection is an art of deceit that draws audience attention to one item to distract them from the other. The ability to control attention from the audience is the main goal of any theatre, and is the primary need of any magic act. Whether the magic is of an “pocket trick” variety or the stage is a major productionmisdirection is the main element. The term is used to describe either the effect (the eye’s attention being drawn to an unimportant object) or the sleight-of-hand or the patter (the magician’s speech) which creates it.
It’s hard to pinpoint who coined the term, but the first reference to misdirection appears in the writings of a renowned illusionist and author, Nevil Maskelyne. it is a method of distracting the senses of the audience to block out from being aware of certain information that require secrecy. The same time, the magician, artist and author Tarbell noted, Nearly all the art of illusions is based on this art of misdirection.
Some magicians who have studied and developed techniques for misdirection include Malini, Derren Brown, Juan Tamariz, Tony Slydini, Tommy Wonder as well as Dai Vernon.
Henry Hay describes the central act of conjuring as manipulating interest.
Some magicians can divert attention from the audience in two primary ways. One leads the audience to look away for a fleeting moment, so they do not notice a trick or movement. Another approach alters the audience’s perception, distracting them into thinking that something else is a significant factor in the performance but it actually has no bearing on the result in any way. Dariel Fitzkee notes that The real talent of the magician is in the skill that he displays in manipulating the mind of the audience. In addition, sometimes, props such as a magic wand aids in distraction.
Misdirection is the cornerstone of nearly all successful magic. Without misdirection, even most adept sleight-ofhand or mechanical device is unlikely to make an impression of true magic.
Misdirection makes use of the limitations of the human mind to create a false picture and memory. The brain of a typical spectator can only focus on one thing at the time. The magician makes use of this to manipulate the audience’s ideas or perceptions of sensory inputwhich leads them to incorrect conclusions.
Some magicians have debated the use of the termmisdirection, causing plenty of debate regarding what it is and how it functions. Proficient magician Jon Finch made a distinction between direction and misdirection. One is a negative word, while the other is a positive. In the end, he sees the two as the same thing. If a performer, through some method, has influenced the thoughts of his audience to conclude that he did something he hasn’t done, he has wrongly led them to believe this; hence, misdirection.
Tommy Wonder has pointed that it’s more efficient, from a magician’s perspective, to concentrate on the positive aim of directing attention to the audience. He writes that misdirection suggests the wrong direction. It suggests that attention is directed away from something. When we keep using this termit becomes ingrained in our minds that we may begin to think that misdirection is directing the attention away from instead of toward something.
Tony Slydini explained that if the magician believes it, the audience will believe it and the magic they can’t observe. The trick is to believe what the magician does and then follows the magician. reference to misdirection