talkmagic.co.uk

Many magicians may have heard of me. I have worked close up professionally since the 1970's. I started performing magic in wine bars, restaurants, hotels, disco clubs and nightclubs whilst having a 'proper' job. Eventually in 1986 I became self-employed with my own agency. I have employed not only magicians but heads of state to work for my agency as after dinner speakers and acts. I feel I can share a lot of what I do whether it be with no magic props or gimmicks or just using psychology to enhance the magic. In order for me to plan a lecture I want to hear from those club secretaries so I can prepare an appropriate lecture. I propose covering

1 publicity and how to find work
2 how to present yourself
3 tricks without props
4 tricks with standard props coins, trick decks & gimmicks etc..
5 law of contract
6 any other business

The format will be to present a 30 minute show and then run through the methods and techniques explaining 98% of the secrets


I am based in Harrow, NW London .

I look forward to hearing what I should include in the lecture.

There are an awful lot of magicians on the lecture circuit at the moment and as most clubs can only accommodate a certain number of lectures each year it does actually get quite competitive.

I (The Ipswich Magical Society) have already been contacted by about 15 lecturers for 2007.

Normally we schedule for 5-6 lectures, but if someone big comes along (Ammar, Close etc) we try to squeeze them in.

I firmly believe that every lecture I have been to I have managed to get something out of (even if it is how not to do something) and as such they are always popular evenings for society members.

There seems to be three main types of lectures.

a) The Big name. ie, someone like Michael Ammar, Daryl or Sankey who will pull in people from all over. To some extent it doesn’t matter what they lecture on as people will go to see them anyway. Because of this they vary in standard, but you never really feel let down as these guys have a lot of experience just to have got where they are. Mostly they are great lectures, occasionally though a big disappointment.

b) The Glorified Dealer Dem. Far too many lecturers really only do it to sell their wares. Whilst I appreciate that the have to sell stuff to actually make the evening worth while to them sometimes they go over the top (IMO) and it really is a dem something, give the price, dem something, give the price type of affair. Don’t get me wrong, Society members want to be able to buy things, but they are often more interested in the words of wisdom and not the effects. Especially the working magicians.

There seems to be a fine line, and if it is crossed, Members actually get quite upset about it.

c) The business lecture. These are more like the one you have outlined for yourself. A selection of effects but intermingled with useful knowledge about How to get work, Keep work, Be a better Magician etc.

Often these are the best lectures, but it depends a lot as to the level it is pitched at. You see members of a Magic Society vary tremendously in their level of professionalism. Many these days are purely hobbyists and many are retired or have been doing it professionally for many years so being told how to approach a group of people at a walkabout gig could for some seem basic and if handled wrong a little condescending. To others though it would be vital knowledge.

On the whole though the people that give these lectures have been top quality.

As well as the three outlined above we do also get offered more anecdotal type of lecture. There are several of these on the circuit at the moment.

So. What would we ideally get from a lecture? Difficult to answer as the trick is to try an please as many members as possible and it is usually impossible to please everyone. Normally we start by looking at the different genres, so perhaps we would book one person orientated to close-up, one for Mentalism and one for children’s magic. We would also normally expect to get at least a few of the big name type of lecture.

For people just starting in the business though what you have to offer sounds excellent. A nice mixture.