talkmagic.co.uk

I was chatting with a buddy of mine the other day and we found out how one bad magician can affect other magicians directly!

A restaurant owner hires a pianist to play dinner music. That pianist is a bad musician! He can't play a tune without making mistakes and he messes up in every intro. He makes the customer irritated!
What does the restaurant owner do? Next week he hires another pianist that can do a decent job!
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A restaurant owner hires a waiter and the waiter messes up orders, gives wrong orders to tables and forgets to deliver food and drinks. He makes the customer irritated!
What does the restaurant owner do? Next week he hires another waiter that can do a decent job!
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A restaurant owner hires a magician to do table hopping. The magician does a terrible job, reveals his magic and drops cards and sponge balls on the floor. He makes the customer irritated!
What does the restaurant owner do? Next week he doesn't have a magician in his restaurant. He'd rather find something else and different than a lousy magician!

Never thought of that. I think maybe next year or the year after i'll search for a saturday job in a local restaurant. [What sort of restaurants do you guys work in?]

That is so true. Here's one.

Some magician thinks it cool to have a performace and then reveal how a his tricks are done.
So a few months later they see another magician, and sooth to say, mock and ruin his show.

There are so many of there potential pitfals that it's just not worth bothering about.

Whilst what has been written is true, you won't stop those lousy magicians from continuing because guess what - they think they are good and no-one will change their mind.

This also works the other way around. The restaurant hires a great magician who packs in the punters. Next week, another magician offers the same service for half the price and is hired. He dives big time and the customers complain. This is just as much the fault of the person hiring as the poor magician in my opinion.

If you're performing and looking for work then you just have to worry about yourself. If you're a good performed then thoe who are hiring will recognise that and will more often than not, give you chance.

It's up to you to sell yourself!

dat8962 wrote:It's up to you to sell yourself!

Although dat8962 is correct, Gunnar has a very good point. I have noticed that if someone sees a bad movie, or hears a bad singer, they seem to think "that movie/singer was terrible, I won't see it/him/her again", but when they see a bad magician they seem to think "That magic was terrible, I won't watch magic again". The issue is that, for some reason (as Gunnar stated) people tend to assume that all magic is, or all magicians are, the same, and due to one bad experience they write-off the entire art. I am sure we have all seen at least one bad movie, and with the amount of terrible music being sold currently, we have all heard at least one hundred bad songs that we would not mind never hearing again, but I don't think that many have, after one bad experience, have decided to give up going to the moves or listening to music.

The problem is that, compared to other performing arts, there are fewer magicians, and a greater percentage of bad ones, usually people who have found out the secret of a trick and have either not mastered the sleights involved and/or have given no thought to the performance part of magic. As we all know, just knowing how tricks are done does not make you a magician any more than memorizing Hamlet's soliloquy makes you an actor.

I don't know how we can do it, but we (as magicians) need to let the general public know that, like music, movies and all other art forms, all magic, and all magicians, are identical and different magicians and effects will appeal to different people.

Barnabus wrote

Some magician thinks it cool to have a performace and then reveal how a his tricks are done.
So a few months later they see another magician, and sooth to say, mock and ruin his show.

I don't perform table hoping but I heard this down the local magic club.

'if you have five tricks in your pocket do three, if you get in trouble pull out the killer trick you have as backup, they mostly remember the last trick......the real magic is in the self control needed not to get out this trick for the entire night'

so I suppose if a guy knows the three tricks what are the chances he can also remember the forth, I can't remember what I saw this morning

Don't know if this will help, I just overheard it and thought it may be useful to someone.

I have had similar experiences to this. I will do a trick for someone, and they will immediately say "I know someone who does this trick and the secret is....."


Really ruins the fun

I've seen some lousy table hoppers. Really terrible, over-confident wannabes, bent on the idea that because someone's filled an entertainment gap with them, they're God. Then again, I've seen some quiet, interesting people who have made my jaw drop into my soup.

Although dat8962 is correct, Gunnar has a very good point. I have noticed that if someone sees a bad movie, or hears a bad singer, they seem to think "that movie/singer was terrible, I won't see it/him/her again", but when they see a bad magician they seem to think "That magic was terrible, I won't watch magic again".

Good point. And its good to know that this ignorence also works in reverse for our advantage. If you do happen to blow someone mind with a trick, you will become like a supernatural figure in their eyes, and thus they will carry on the legend of what they saw. Months later people think your an angel.

If you watch footage of, if if you're fortunate to see a great table hopping magician perform in the flesh, then take some time to study their approach.

The don't walk up to a table and say "can I show you a trick?" and already have their cards or coins in their hands waiting for the response. They take time with their introduction, talking to their audience and putting them at ease. This is where the magic really begins as once the specs are at ease, the magicians job is much easier.

A good magician not only shows the three tricks instead of five, he spends almost twice as long performing the three as an average magician will spend showing all five. And to boot, the specs will more often than not remember the experience in more detail and enyoy the performance far more.

The magic is in the communication and in my opinion, both verbally as well as visually. Both MUST compliment one another. This is what can make a technically average (but competant) magician really stand out as being good. This is also why some very technically competant magicians just can't cut it.

If you get the opportunity, watch Martin Sandeson's DVD's and you'll see this in action, particularly his first DVD - Corporate Closeup where he is performing around a wedding table. The crowd warm to him because he's putting them at ease and this is half of his job done.

When you plonk yourself in front of a potential client then you should be presenting yourself exactly as you will be presenting yourself when you perform to his/her customers - AT YOUR BEST!

dat 8962 wrote

The magic is in the communication and in my opinion, both verbally as well as visually. Both MUST compliment one another. This is what can make a technically average (but competant) magician really stand out as being good. This is also why some very technically competant magicians just can't cut it.

I saw a magician called mel mellers the other day and the first five to ten minutes of his set to us (there were abot 8 of us) was talking and entertaining us with jokes asking us questions and generaly relaxing us. I new how 80% of his magic was done, but thinking back it was that first talking bit billing him as an entertainer more than just a magician who was trying to fool us, that made it a fantastic night out.
Thanks dat if were not for your post I would probably have never made this connection.

I have also seen the cocky magician who says 'LOOK AT ME I FOOLED YOU' in a 'your an idiot and I'm god' kind of way and I have to say even I felt like getting up and telling everyone how it was done just to p**s him off.

dat8962 wrote:If you watch footage of, if if you're fortunate to see a great table hopping magician perform in the flesh, then take some time to study their approach.

I have (Andrew Pinard at Newicks Seafood Restaurant in Merrimack NH) and there is a huge difference between someone who understands the subtlties of live performance. Andrew is not only a skilled techincian, but understands how to work with the audience. dat8962 is correct, anyone, given the chance, should watch a table hopping magician to see how it can be done.

connor o'connor wrote:I have also seen the cocky magician who says 'LOOK AT ME I FOOLED YOU' in a 'your an idiot and I'm god' kind of way and I have to say even I felt like getting up and telling everyone how it was done just to p**s him off.

<sharp intake of breath>

Ooooh, dodgy, mate. It would be better to do your own stuff to impress the others there and to send a message to him to do better.

I know what your saying Tomo , and of course I never would get up and tell. The fact is he WAS technically brilliant, just like dat8962 warned it was his manner that was off.

Your suggestion I suspect is spot on but alas I lack the skills at the moment for such a showdown Decided to keep my mouth shut instead. Still a man can dream so more practise etc etc.

Kolisar wrote:...very good point. I have noticed that if someone sees a bad movie, or hears a bad singer, they seem to think "that movie/singer was terrible, I won't see it/him/her again", but when they see a bad magician they seem to think "That magic was terrible, I won't watch magic again".

Screeeeeeeeeccchhh!!!
Swaying back to the initial topic:

Like Kolisar echoed,
If a musician is bad, he gets replaced by another musician next week!
If a magician is bad, they just skip having a magician next week!

That's what I was talking about in the first post.