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I have started to become comfortable with my routine and sleights and am thinking about the next steps. My routine is currently the ambitious card and a few basic mentalist effects thrown in. All cards.

Can anyone please suggest some things, I have thougt about doing routines for family and friends to make things more comfortable and ease the transistion.

I guess my question is, does anyone have any advice for taking magic to the public at large, I would like to do this in the center of town or in bars. I was wondering what the general reaction was, are people in principle willing to pay attention in bars/pubs etc? What is the general feeling of the bar owner are they happy in principle for this to go on. I would of course be asking for no fee just the pleasure of performing.

I would assume that picking receptive crowds is a learning experience, a sixth sense so to speak that will develop over time?

Any words of wisdom and insight of making the transition would be greatly appreciated.

IF your interested in doing public stuff, just go out one night armed with cards, and go into bars, talk to the bar manager and ask if its ok, im sure it would be as you entertaining people, and your doing it for free.

Hope this helps

Adam

The first thing you need to consider is to make sure you have the permision of the bar owner before you go ahead. There have been nasty incidents were people just go into bars and start performing magic. You need a good solid act that you are confident with and have good patter for. You may want to advertise in a local paper this can be cheap and should bring in some bookings. You could also consider seeing if a local hospital or home would like a short magic set for free. This may help with getting a local name for yourself. If you know someone who drinks in a local pub then see if they can arrange to help you. What you really want to avoid is taking on a large venue until you have had a lot of experience, a large bar or resturant can be stressful to work at first. This is most true on a Friday and Saturday Night when the place is busy. See if you can get a mid-week session.

'When can i start charging people for my act'. This is a real bug bear of mine. Too many people try to run before they can walk. Anybody can go into a magic shop, buy some tricks and call themselves a magician. Magic is not about tricks, it is about people and how you interact with them. You are an entertainer and need to make sure the audience have a good time. Never advertise your act until you have a full act that has been practised and you are confident with. A bad act could really affect later bookings if word gets round in your area. When you are at a booking you are doing so much more than magic. For example when you work a restaurant you are providing business for the owner, you help distract the customers if the meal is late etc.

You want to begin with a show for the family and friends. This gives you confidence and lets you practise your patter, remember the old saying "It ain't what you do, it's the way that you do it". You can practise your presentation on them. This will give you the much needed experience of working with the public.

When you are 'working' your mind is racing all the time, you are constantly thinking about the effect, the patter, will someone try to grab the prop / deck etc. Choice of spectator is all important, i have a rule that i will never try to force someone to help if they do not want to. Some people are very shy and get stressed in such situations. So that is worth considering.

You are right to assume that picking a receptive group is just down to experience. After a time you will be able to work around the venue and judge who will be best.

Now to the act! You want to begin with a nice simple trick, one you are most confident with. It is good to do as this will relax you. I have been starting off with "It's a steal" (Martin Sanderson). A nice quick and snappy effect that gets people into the magic. Remeber to have a little chat inbetween effects. Show an interest in the audience and they will do the same to you. Once you feel relaxed you can move onto your more advanced and involved work. You really need a good selection of material. I normally vary between card effects, coin, mentalism and maybe the odd prop. If you are performing card magic you really need a few tricks up your sleeve. Variety is the key here and will help you stand out from the other performers. I would not do the harder stuff first as you will be stressed if it goes wrong.

For a bar / restaurant you should allow about 10-15 minutes per table. Having said that though i have had people keep me at the table for after 30 minutes and still want more. Vary what you do on each table, never just do the same effects on every table.

Other thing is clothing! you need to be comfortable. These venues get really hot you know Find out what the dress code is for the venue. If a bar does not allow jeans they are unlikely to make an exception in the magicians case. I often get sent a dress code when some clients book me. You need somewhere to store props, so if you do not wear a jacket you may need a close-up case.

You ask if people are willing to pay attention in bars / clubs etc. This is all down to the venue. When i work them, it is normally advertised i am on. So when people enter the venue they know there is a magician on that night. It also depends on the people in the venue, you may get families, a bunch of Toffs or the local Hells Angels gang Each group of people will react different. The trick (no pun intended) is to try to get them to enjoy and join in.

The best of luck and have fun

Cracking post Stephen. Good advice there for many.
Sorry, almost a one liner but had to be said

It was going to be longer but my fingers got tired

lol
Seriously though, that could help a fair few people here.

Showing magic for free builds a lot of confidence and you also become used to when things don't go your way with a trick and not worrying about it so much. That's always going to happen from time to time, and did in a card effect tonight, but having ballsed up in the past publicly under my own steam I was able to just sweep it away as a joke and part of the act with a little quick thinking.

To the gent....It's always worth having at least one or two non card effects tucked away either in your pocket or back of the mind ready to throw into the mix
Family and friends are great experience, but working with people you don't know is very different. Often easier to be honest. Families and friends are a lot more forgiving and attention spans often longer, so In a way you can end up performing better with those you don't know and can relax when you realise you should keep it short and sweet, that you really can do it and worry less about what could go wrong and just think oops what now...ahh, that'll do and swing into something else. You become more adaptable with strangers. Well, I've found this at least.

Good luck

You also need to think about table / people approach. A nice confident opening line. You don't want to go and look all nervous saying"erm...hi.. i .. am .. a magician". A nice friendly, confident intro. "Right, good evening ladies (pause) Good evening Gentlemen (pause). I am Stephen and i am the magician at this (insert venue here) tonight. So let's see who would like to be the first star of the show first!".

stephenmagic wrote:"Right, good evening ladies (pause) Good evening Gentlemen (pause). Good evening the rest of you! I am Stephen and i am the magician at this (insert venue here) tonight. So let's see who would like to be the first star of the show first!".

I move that the above post (the long one that is) goes into the Essays section!

Kati

Thanks eveyone for your detailed responses, I shall keep practising, and on second thoughs become confident with more effects before taking them out there.

Earning money from this was never my goal, just a bit of fun, I have a full time job and a good career so doing this full time isn't really on the radar just now.

I just the whole thing so interesting.

Thanks again.

A good way of seeing if you are ready to face the public is of course to join a magic club. Outside of my familly and a few work colleagues the first public airing my magic got was on membrs night at my club.

That ia a good test because you know that just about everyone in the audience pretty well knows what you are doing and how you are doing it. It is then down to performance alone. You have to be confident and try to ensure that whilst the guys three foot in front of you know that you must have used a DL to transpose those cards they didn't actaully see you do it.

If you can impress fellow magicians the public who don't know a DL from a TT should be easy!

Good luck with it

Johnny Wizz wrote:A good way of seeing if you are ready to face the public is of course to join a magic club. Outside of my familly and a few work colleagues the first public airing my magic got was on membrs night at my club.

That ia a good test because you know that just about everyone in the audience pretty well knows what you are doing and how you are doing it. It is then down to performance alone. You have to be confident and try to ensure that whilst the guys three foot in front of you know that you must have used a DL to transpose those cards they didn't actaully see you do it.

If you can impress fellow magicians the public who don't know a DL from a TT should be easy!

Good luck with it

Ok sorry but I have to disagree with that... I have been avoiding posting on these "magic" forums due to the fact my posting style seems to upset people... sorry.. but I personally think that the worst audience you will find will be in a crowd of magicians...
You need to find out for yourself what works and what flops... by doing it... to a lay audience.. whether they be family or friends or strangers it matters not as long as they have no idea what you are doing... then you can start taking onboard the advise you will find from others who know what you are doing...

I personally think if you ONLY took the advise of other magicians you would soon give up on the art that we all love....

Take the very well written and imho expert advise from Stephen and perfect what you know... then hit anyone who will watch you...
You will soon learn all the things Stephen has very kindly explained will help you and your audience enjoy what you do.

Good luck in your performance's

Thank you for the kind comment but i thought i wrote that badly it was very late and i was tired, i could have made a much better post if i was more awake and took my time.

hi there - Joining this post a little late but I wanted to share my experience!
After having recorded numerous digital videos and web tricks I decided to unleash myself on the wonderful people of Derby. I performed for my friends in the local when it was busy so as other people would hear the commotion and used some very visual tricks (Remeber to tell the bouncer if you are gonna use flash paper!! ) As people were watching I used the opportunity to meet a couple of the other tables and went through some other routines with them. The bonus was that from that point onwards I didn't pay for another drink!!! Payment of sorts and I was expecting nothing.
I was extremely nervous about moving around to other people but I had the confidence in the tricks it was just the crowd management aspect that I had to focus on!! You need to make sure you READ people well - if they are getting bored move on and don't outstay your welcome, and leave them when you are on a high!! They want more but you say NO! as a result I get noticed when I go in and people ask me 'What new tricks have I learned!!' It keeps me practising new routines deliberately and has done my sleight confidence the world of good. I rarely take out more than a couple of items and a pack of regular Bikes now!

Anyway - just wanted to share the experience i had!

I love the feeling of performing and the fact that I can entertain those who want to be entertained!!

Good work!

Breaking through that nervousness barrier is really the own way to learn and it's a great feeling when everyone is having a good time...the energy feeds off the magic and the magic off the energy.

Well, I feel like I can tell my little story here...
First, just try to perform in bars and clubs, where you are a customer. You are with friends, show them some tricks, and soon, you'll notice you'll get attention from other tables.
Move on to their table, smiling, and you'll show them a few tricks... It ALWAYS goes down very well.

What I did, was starting going to pubs with a friend, and we started asking tables if we could perform for them. We just did it for fun, and didn't ask for money. We just ask for people to leave a comment in a book. Showed them magic for free.
Everybody was happy here: I got experience, comments that I could use further down the line, and the people got a free / fun entertainment.
We met loads of people, and as there is no money involved, you are more relaxed, and have a nice friendly chat with them.
By doing this, of course, some people refused to see any magic, but that's ok, at the end of the day, you are "invading" their personal space... so no hard feeling.

You will get loads of experience and feedback doing that, and after a while, you will feel like it is time to do take it further.You will face all type of audiences: great ones, bad ones, difficult people, hecklers... But it doesn't matter... You don't have to be great (well, it is best if you are) as you are not employed.
That said, master your craft to avoid embarassing experiences.

Also, if you just do it for fun, and free, don't bother asking the manager... At the end of the day, you are a customer too, and you are not asking for money and other customers get free entertainment...
The worse that can happen, is that someone comes to see you and tell you you can't perform here. Oh well... They are not gonna beat you up or chuck you out for that...

With my mate, we got quite known in a certain pub on leicester square, and all the staff knew us. We pulled out great crowds, with about 15 20 people cheering at us in the middle of the pub! We had a fantastic time, great fun, and so did the people. We had people telling us "you guys should be on TV, this David Blaine sucks next to you"... I found it a bit embarrassing as I think he is a great performer, but it is flattering.

Anyway, try it on strangers, i think what I said is a great way to start slowly, also it teaches you how to interact with people as a performer... You'll see what makes them laugh, where you need to build up climax... How to perform your tricks perfectly.

We still do it sometimes, just for the fun of it, but we are both working pros now.

I do it as an extra, magic is not my carreer, but I get gigs, and make some money through it (it was about time, after all the money it cost me...)

Anyway, hope that helps.