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I do street Magic but i sometimes freeze up and stop doing my tricks when im in front of people can somebody please help me out....im struggling horribly Please help me.........

What you need is more performance experience.

When I first started out, it was always to people I knew, or to people it didnt matter too much to. Friends, family, work colleagues, just try to do as much magic as possible to as many different types of people as possible. Its not about the performance so much when you first start out, what you're doing is gaining experience and eventually you'll lose the nerves. You'll soon know what to say to people, how to handle heckles and most importantly, how to recover from a failed trick....believe me, it happens!!

Are you a member of any societies or groups, mixing with other magicians or hobbiests cant teach you alot too

keyblademaster wrote:I do street Magic but i sometimes freeze up and stop doing my tricks when im in front of people can somebody please help me out....im struggling horribly Please help me.........

know your material, slow down, feel the fear and do it anyway... It's the only way.

First of all, you should practice on your own to the point where you're 100% sure you can get the sleights down when you have to. If you can't do the tricks in private, imagine what it'll be like in public.

Of course, starting out by practicing with friends and family is always good because when you perform with people you know and feel comfy with, you're not as worried about impressing them because they're already in your comfort zone.

This is just me, but when I routine tricks together, I start with things that I know I'm completely solid on (I don't think I've messed up an ACR in front of people quite yet, but I'll probably prove myself wrong eventually) and then work other, more difficult things into the middle.

If you're freezing, it's probably because you're scared of what the other person might think of you if you mess up. I think it's better to walk into all confrontations thinking, "I'm the best magician in the world, there's NO way I can mess this up." Having the right mindset is usually a good thing in my opinion.

And of course, relax. Above all, we're entertainers. The sleights we use are just there to entertain people. Don't worry about messing up, if the person you're performing on had a good time, that's all that matters.

fireshower wrote:Above all, we're entertainers. The sleights we use are just there to entertain people. Don't worry about messing up, if the person you're performing on had a good time, that's all that matters.

This is exactly right. Although no one wants to “mess up”, that should not be your main focus. Certainly, practice and rehearse all the necessary elements for successful performance. Gain confidence by learning to perform and entertain with only a few tricks. As your confidence builds, change your inward focus FROM: “I hope I don’t make a mistake. I don’t want to look stupid. I hope I can impress people with my skill.” TO: “What can I do to best entertain folks? How can I use magic to project the entertaining aspects of my personality?”

Notice the focus is on communicating with the spectators, drawing them into your frame of reference, getting them like you! You use magic as a vehicle to achieve this. When you have your skills down, with experience your confidence will grow and you will be able to develop this “outward” focus. Although the technical aspects of the tricks must be skillfully executed, projecting your personality and connecting with the spectators becomes the most important element of your performing.

When you have this “outward” focus, you’ll find that much of your nervous problems will subside. The spectators will have more fun and so will you!

Regards,
Gerald

thanks for the support guys

Keyblademaster,

I think everyone has missed the point here. There are 2 very different things, performing magic tricks and performing in front of people.

Many people all over the World have hobbies, magic, singing, playing an instrument or tap dancing. But performing in front of people is different and less people have that talent.

Sure, if you lack experience you may freeze up in front of people so practice to gain that experience. But please remember, being a performer, does not suit everyone. No matter what hobby or interest people take up, some will just never be performers, no matter how much they try.

I hope it works out for you feller

I think a lot of it come down to control. If you feel in control of the audience and of the effect you are performing its a lot easier than when they're interrupting and looking for secrets. Know your routine and know your audience, if they are likely to grill your methods then pick something simple so they can look all they want. For a more sympathetic audience ( I find women to be more manageable as they seem to like the mystery and stories) then you can go a bit wilder and just enjoy the company of the people your with. Match your effects to the audience and get yourself one step ahead.

What Tenko says is certainly true. Everyone is not born to perform. But keyblademaster apparently aspires to become a good performer. He is getting performing experience, performing in front of people, is having some trouble and is asking for help with a problem. That is why the suggestions were offered. Whether or not he has what it takes to become a good performer evidently remains to be seen.

If someone only “plays with magic” (reads magic books and magazines, buys tricks to play with, watches magic DVDs, goes to magic clubs, lectures and conventions ) for his own amusement and doesn’t attempt to perform, well and good. But when magic is shown, even to one person, it becomes a performance. That is the nature of the art. No matter if one is a beginner, an amateur, a hobbyist or aspiring to become a professional, to try to perform without proper preparation is disservice to the art, the spectators and the performer.

Regards,
Gerald

there's a lot of common sense writtten above, particularly about knowing your routine so well that you could do it in your sleep. It's a confidence thing.

Once you've mastered your routines, and I really do mean mastered then you should start to build up your live performance slowly. The old saying of 'don't run before you can walk' is certainly true.

You should perform one or two tricks taking a couple of minutes and then end. do this a few times and analyse what happened after each performance. Did the audience have the desired reaction etc.? Change the tricks that you show but stick at performing two.

When your confidence grows, and it will, add a third trick and after a while, add a forth and so on. This slow build up will work wonders with your confidence and pretty soon you'll be very capable of performing a whole show of 15 to 20 minutes long and keeping your audience captivated.

I went to a lecture earlier this week given by Peter Wardell (see http://www.peterwardell.co.uk/) who travels across the world with his street magic (a truly excellent lecture if you ever get the chance to see it) and he speaks a lot of how to get your crowd and then keep them. I'd recommend his DVD's if you're really into street.

i admire what you are doing by jumping into the deep end and performing to strangers. there is a much better way of building up your experience tho. and that like others have said is perform to family and friends even if it's just one person you perform to. There is no point in performing to strangers when you are just starting out, you are not gaining anything and your just giving yourself grief for nothing. take your time there is no rush, become brilliant at your tricks build a routine (i'll say it again) build a routine don't just do tricks that you like because the audience won't get that build a routine that your confident with. get the patter going and once you have that sorted start performing to family and friends once you can do that then think about performing to strangers hopefully you'll get the right reaction if you don't please don't give up keep going and eventually it will click. It takes a long time and experience to become good at performing don't rush things

john1960uk, fireshower,
I appreciate your comments about my posts. I believe siege and Figo are right. Please allow me to add a few more thoughts:

Although I don’t keep up with every “new” sleight and “original creation”, I know that I rely on classic, straight-forward techniques and simple plots for my performing repertoire.

A few of the modern techniques are terrific and well worth adding to your repertoire. But many new “creations” which I have seen are not practical for me. They are too “movey” and the plots too complicated for the laity. These “magician’s toys” are fine to “play with” or to impress your friends at the magic club, but usually they don’t play well for the “muggles.”

If you are a beginner or don’t have a lot of performing experience, I believe it easier to gain confidence with time-tested sleights, subtleties and techniques, simple plots, well-structured scripts and planned misdirection. Not only will you gain confidence more quickly, you’ll have sleights and routines you’ll be proud of and you will use the rest of your life.

Warm regards,
Gerald