JONATHAN PENDRAGON AND THE SEARCH FOR THE GRAIL

Stagnation is death. [Neitzsche] 

This seems particularly true for an artist, especially if your intention is to have a long career. And yet in Magic we have act after act whose material remains static through the years, and a lot of these acts make a good living and travel all over the world; clearly the need to evolve is actually a personal choice. 

Magic isn't alone in this. Agatha Christie produced formulaic story after story that differed from her other work only in the details, and yet the public never seems to tire of her novels and countless others follow in her footsteps. There are actors who build an entire career portraying the same archetype, and musicians and painters whose entire portfolio could best be described as variations on a theme. These examples demonstrate that constantly evolving your performance is not mandatory for a successful career. So why change?

Tedium? There are those who would consider honing the same fifteen minute act to the point of perfection the ultimate in craft, and others who would consider it mind-numbingly dull.

Economics? The great acts are always in demand, and yet television and the internet are pushing performers to constantly produce new material for a ravenous and jaded audience.

Iconoclasm? There are magicians who have become famous without ever creating either new material or a unique character. There are magicians who became famous for exactly the opposite reason.

Arguments can be made for both career arcs: those who evolve and those who don't. This is why I believe that the motivation for change comes from within the performer, and is not due to outside pressures. I choose to change.

I graduated with a degree in Theater; my emphasis was in acting. The actors that I have always admired constantly push themselves to age well with their work, and this is what I always intended with my own. There is no way that anyone could have met the physical demands of The Pendragons' performance throughout an entire career. As I grew older, the strain on my body became increasingly unsustainable, especially after repeated injuries, including being mauled by a Bengal tiger and surviving an arrow through my heart. The latter injury required two years of recovery, and even after that I will never be physically the same. Even the tiger attack required that I re-stage my entire performance to accommodate the permanent injuries to my left arm

I would have begun the transition sooner, but I felt trapped by the success of the image we created. Everyone wanted The Pendragons circa 1980, though it was twenty years later. In the early part of this new century, I began to contemplate a persona that I could present for the rest of my life. If the first half of my career was supremely physical, this new character would push me in the opposite direction. Neitzsche also said that what does not kill us, defines us, and certainly I've been faced with obstacles. Ironically, what I would base this new character on was my very first obstacle: OCD.

This is the story of that journey. Another Pendragon, another Grail.

That's enough for now... next time, a primer on Grail lore. So go away or I shall taunt you a second time!

.......to be continued......

By Jonathan Pendragon