Idearrhia: Common Performance Models for the Magician

Magic is probably too scattered at this point to unify under a single "correct" performing model. There are a lot of topics on the main page of the Magic Café that many would not believe technically qualify as magic, and yet still for some reason seem to belong. I think it might be worthwhile to try to figure out a list of commonly accepted models of the performing magician -- archetypes if you prefer. There's some overlap between a lot of these. I've made no attempt at defining a hierarchy, it's just an unordered list. Anything I've left out or defined inappropriately? I'll be updating this list as the feedback comes in.

1. The Card Mechanic
The descendant of the Erdnase / Vernon approach to magic.

2. The Gambler
No pretense of magic, skill and sleight-of-hand is accepted and appreciated overtly.

3. The Mentalist
This is a bit difficult to define, but I'll give it a shot. It's not just a question of somebody having mental powers, but also the plausibility of such a thing. As many people have experienced Deja Vu, or moments of unusual strength or stamina, or feelings of foresight that later turn out to be true, or moments of feeling like you know EXACTLY what someone else is thinking, or that someone else can read you like a book -- the Mentalist indirectly suggests that these plausible yet quasi-magical phenomena can be harnessed. PK effects complicate this, however.

4. The Street Hustler
Come on, we all know magic is cheating. Betcha can't catch me doing it, though.

5. The Bizarrist
Pushing the boundaries of what the human body can endure. Magic that is heavily themed towards life and death. Supernaturalists -- people who claim to channel ghosts and such -- might fit under this model.

6. The Reader
Similar to the Mentalist but a bit more nebulous. Could include Tarot reading, Palmistry, etc.

7. The Superhuman
Escape artists, shows of endurance, purveyors of grand illusion. Houdini and Copperfield might both fit this mold. The emphasis isn't so much on the degree of magic involved, but instead the greatness of the feat.

8. The Theatrical Magician
The Tommy Wonders of the world.

9. The Comedian
A natural reaction to all the surprises is laughter. The comedian takes advantage of this and make magic a complete comical existence.

10. The Charlatan
Somebody who actually tries to convince others outside of the standard performing arts venue that they are truly capable of magical feats.

11. The Stage Manipulator
Magic as a purely aesthetic experience. Besides the obvious ones, guys like Jester the Sylvester have acts that fit this mold.

12. The Allegorist
If the concept of magic is a natural outgrowth of our attempt to understand the universe, then to a certain extent it goes hand-in-hand with the concept of metaphor. The Allegorist explores this. We might consider traditional story-tellers as a subcategory here (or vice versa, the Allegorist might be the subcategory of the story-teller).