FromBrian(onTuesday,Oct17,1995):

Date:Tuesday,Oct17,1995
From:"BrianAllenBrushwood"
Subject:Fury
To:"Teller"
Allright.Ihaveputitofflongenough.ItoldmyselfIwouldwaittowriteyouuntilIhad
somethingmeaningfultosay,butIhavebeensittingonyouraddress(figuratively)formonths
now,andamfedupwithwaiting.
Thefactis,Teller,Iamfuriousatyou.
Notforoffendinganyone,forbeingoutrageous,orforbeingsoinventivewithyourmagic,
butbecauseyouweretherefirst.InGeniimagazine,youmakeabrilliantpointofexplainingthat
regardlessofthetrueoriginofatrick,whoeverismostfamousperformingitOWNSit(Ibelieve
youcitedyournew"ownership"thebulletcatch).Unfortunately,Idon'tbelieveyouextendedthis
ideafarenough.Thisconceptreachesallthewayintotheveryattitudesandstylesof
performance.Inshort,becauseofPennandTeller,Icannotbeangryatmagic,atleastnoton
stage.
Itseemstome,thatjustasyouowntheBulletCatch,sodoyouowntheabilitytolash
outatmagic,toactasaventforyouraudiencesfrustrationswiththecruiseshiptrickymen.Not
tomentiontheuseofbloodand/orviolenceinahumorousway.Hell!Youmightevenownthe
twomaleduo!Allthisownershiphaskeptmefromdoingthekindofstage(andcloseup,
believeitornot)magicIwant,forfearofbeingbrandedacopycat.
Thissummer,Iattemptedtotacklethisproblembywritingacoupleoftwomaleduoacts,
tryingmydamnedesttokeeptheP&Toutofmyveinsitmetwithsomesuccess.Oneact,
consistingoftwocomedymagiccharacterpeices(Adrillinstructorwhoperformsthe"coloring
book",AgibberishspeakingsamuraiwhoperformsacardtrickthatendsinHarakiri)wonthe
TexasAssociationofMagiciansSeniorComedycompetition.However,Ifinditdifficulttofollow
youradviceof"lettinghate,notlove,beyourdrivingforce"(whichisabsolutelytrue)andatthe
sametimekeepfrombecomingaP&Twannabe.
Ifyoucouldofferanyadviceonhowyouestablishedyourowncharacterandstyle,I
wouldgreatlyappreciateit.

BrianAllenBrushwood

Justwritingtheletterwascathartic...Imeanafterall,whowasItoTeller?Iwouldhavebeen
perfectlyhappytogetafivewordcourtesyresponse,buttomyabsoluteastonishment,the
nextmorningIfoundthefollowingmindblowingessayinmyinbox:
Teller'sResponse:

Date:Wed,18Oct19953:40:270500(CDT)
From:"Teller"
Subject:Fury
To:"BrianAllenBrushwood"

Mydearbastardson,

Itisabouttimeyouwrote,myboy.

Now,calmdown.Remindyourselfofafewthings.

Iam47.Ihavebeenearningmylivinginshowbusinessfortwentyyears.Ihavebeendoing
magicsinceIwasfive,whichmakesit42years.AndIhadthegoodfortuneto(a)meetPenn
and(b)becomeanoffBroadwayhitattheexactrightmomentintime.

WhenwestartedweHADnostyle,nounderstandingofourselvesorwhatweweredoing.We
hadfeelings,vagueones,asenseofwhatweliked,maybe,butnounifiedpointofview,noteven
arealwaytoexpressourpartnership.Wefoughtconstantlyandexpectedtobreakupevery
otherweek.Butwedidhaveafewthings,thingsIthinkyoumightprofitfromknowing:

Welovedwhatwedid.Morethananything.Morethansex.Absolutely.

Wealwaysfeltasifeveryshowwasthemostimportantthingintheworld,butknewifwe
bombed,we'dlive.

Wedidnotstartasfriends,butaspeoplewhorespectedandadmiredeachother.Crucial,
absolutelycrucialforapartnership.Assoonaswecouldaffordit,weceasedsharinglodgings.
Equallycrucial.

Wemadeasolemnvownottotakeanyjoboutsideofshowbusiness.We
borrowedmoneyfromparentsandfriends,ratherthantakethatlethaljobwaitingtables.This
forcedustotakeanyjobofferedtous.Anything.Weoncedidashowinthemiddleofthe
BenjaminFranklinParkwayinPhiladelphiaaspartofafashionshowonahotJulynightwhileall
aroundourstage,araceriotwasfullyunderway.That'showseriouswewereaboutourvow.

Getonstage.Alot.Trystuff.Makeyourbeststabandkeepstabbing.Ifit'sthereinyourheart,
itwilleventuallyfinditswayout.Oryouwillgiveupandhaveaprudent,contentedlifedoing
somethingelse.

PennseesthingsdifferentlyfromthewayIdo.ButIreallyfeelasifthethingswecreatetogether
arenotthingswedevised,butthingswediscovered,asif,insomesense,theywerealways
thereinus,waitingtoberevealed,likethefigureofMercurywaitinginaroughlumpofmarble.

Haveheroesoutsideofmagic.MineareHitchcock,Poe,Sophocles,Shakespeare,andBach.
You'rewelcometoborrowthem,butyoumustlearntolovethemyourselfforyourownreasons.
Thenthey'llpushyouintherightdirection.

Here'sacompositionalsecret.It'ssoobviousandsimple,you'llsaytoyourself,"Thismanis
bullshittingme."Iamnot.Thisisoneofthemostfundamentalthingsinalltheatricalmovie
compositionandyetmagiciansknownothingofit.Ready?

Surpriseme.

That'sit.Place2and2rightinfrontofmynose,butmakemethinkI'mseeing5.Thenreveal
thetruth,4!,andsurpriseme.

Now,don'tunderestimateme,liketherestofthemagiciansoftheworld.Don'tfoolyourselfinto
thinkingthatI'veneverseenasetoflinkingringsbeforeandI'llbeohsostunnedbecauseyou
can"link"them.Bullshit.

Here'showsurpriseworks.Whileholdingmyattention,youwitholdbasicplotinformation.Feed
ittomelittlebylittle.Makemetryandfigureoutwhat'sgoingon.Teasemeinonedirection.
Throwinafalseending.Thenturnitaroundandflipmeover.

IdotheoldNeedletrick.Igetaguyuponstage,whoexaminestheneedles.Iswallowthem.
Hesearchesmymouth.They'regone.Idismisshimandheleavesthestage.Theaudience
thinksthetrickisover.ThenItakeoutthethread."Haha!Floss!"theyexclaim.Ieatthefloss.
Thenthewiseonesstartsaying,"Notfloss,thread.Thread.Needles.Needlesandthread.
Ohmygodhe'sgoingtothreadtheneed..."Andbythattimethey'reoutandsparklinginthe
sunshine.

ReadRoualdDahl.WatchtheoldAlfredHitchcockepisodes.Surprise.Witholdinformation.
Makethemsay,"Whatthehell'sheupto?Where'sthisgoingtogo?"anddon'tgivethemaclue
whereit'sgoing.Andwhenitfinallygetsthere,letitland.Anending.

Ittookmeeightyears(areyoulistening?)EIGHTYEARStocomeupwithawayofdeliveringthe
Miser'sDreamthathadsurprisesandandENDING.

Lovesomethingbesidesmagic,inthearts.Getinspiredbyaparticularpoet,filmmaker,
sculptor,composer.YouwillneverbethefirstBrianAllenBrushwoodofmagicifyouwanttobe
Penn&Teller.Butifyouwanttobe,say,theSalvadorDaliofmagic,we'llTHERE'Sanopening.

Ishouldbeafilmeditor.I'mamagician.AndifI'mgood,it'sbecauseIshouldbeafilmeditor.
Bachshouldhavewrittenoperaorplays.Butinstead,heworkedineighteenthcentury
counterpoint.That'swhyhiscounterpointshavesomuchmorepointthanother
contrapuntalists.Theyhavepassionandplot.Shakespeare,ontheotherhand,shouldhave
beenamusician,writingcounterpoint.That'swhyhisplaysstandoutfromtheothersthrough
theirplotandmusic.

I'mtirednow.I'vebeenwritingtoyou,mydearbastardson,for45minutesmerelybecause,
tonight,I'mrememberingthateveningIfirstmetyourmotherinRio,duringCarnival...ah!...and
howweloved!

paternally,

TELLER