Antino on Musashi

You figured it all out. The magician knows all his secrets, right? Magic, on the contrary, reveals your secrets. In practicing it, you practice yourself into mastery of the mystery- in a way, it's a way. The swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, said to have never lost a duel, practiced until he carved enlightenment out of the wood his sword was made from. That's the mystery- to polish all the dark mysterious spots of your universe until soul clarity is reached. The practice of magic to me has been kept this way to me- a way of polishing mirrors and clearing smoke, until all the secrets that I've kept tucked and sleeved and palmed from my consiousness is revealed. I'm learning to be teachable, to take the advice and critiques of others to make my performance as clean and water-clear as it can be. I'm learning to listen, and hearing that I'm very set in my ways much as an old man is- deaf and oblivious. And the worst student is the one who calls himself master and stops learning. I'm learning to smile- smiling is simply light, so why hide it. In a good performance, a performer that smiles makes for an audience that glows- smiling is contagious that way. I'm learning silence- I speak too much, and impose my ideas and thoughts and philosophies on my stupid audience. And yes, they're lovingly stupid, but I'm the fool- who am I to impose my thoughts on them. If I stop thinking, they can feel it, the astonishment- uninterrupted and pure and thoughtless. I'm learning to be patient, and take them step by step through each effect I do, so that each piece might be savored like pie. I've been practicing magic for more than 8 years, I feel new at this. Every duel with my audience is a new day, a step closer to mastery of the mystery. And until I get to that, I'll love everything that gets in my way.

-the antidote

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Catch us next Saturday at the Hollywood Artspark from 6pm-8pm. visit http://www.hofc.webs.com/ for full performance schedule