talkmagic.co.uk

Hello,

I have been reading TalkMagic for a few months now but only just registered. I have been interested in magic for about 6 months, initially only to entertain friends on nights out. However, I seem to have caught the bug and have grown increasingly interested to the extent where I would like to do it as a part-time job. Beats working in a bar anyway!

I have bought a few self working tricks (disappearing deck, coin unique, melting cards(?)) and the Royal Road to Card Magic. I have practiced many tricks on my friends over the last few months, which has led to them asking me to perform at their events - one being a mid-summer ball and the other being a wedding!

The mid-summer ball was on Saturday night just gone. Beforehand, I practiced a 15 minute routine to perform on the night and ran it past a few people. On the night however, I found that a combination of nerves and excitment meant I made a couple of mistakes, and I found that 15 minutes was too long to keep everyone interested. Also, some of the tricks just aren't that great!! The routine was:

Melting cards(?) in hard back holder;
Disappearing deck;
Foursight;
Piano trick;
Tipsy trick;
Coin unique, with penny appearing on top of selected card in deck.

For the wedding (which is in a few weeks), I would like a routine that is a bit sharper and more dramatic - any tips for specific tricks that I can master between now and then?

Also, any tips generally on the first few performances would be welcome.

Thank you.

Ive been into magic for about the same amount of time as you and... a wedding???

thats a bit intense for a beginner in magic.

but how formal is it? are you doing walkaround, or what?

Hi Welcome

If Im honest, its way too early to be doing gigs.. paid ones anyway.. although.. if its just for experience.. go for it..

Grab yourself a copy of Royal Road to card Magic ( if you can afford it go for Card College ), Bobo's modern coin magic and some will refer you to mark Wilsons complete course in magic for other ideas.

Try to stay away from props for a while.. after some time you will get a feel for one or two that may fit into your style.. but start on the road with either self working card tricks with some sleight of hand thrown in and you will start to develop some real workers. And get as much experience as you can.

If it's a friends wedding and they know that you're not an experienced magician then I don't see a problem with doing a few tricks. However, if they are under the impression that you are an experienced and competant magician then think twice as you could end up spoiling the event if they are relying on you.

You'd then best consider having some insurance.

Hi Bryn - and a very warm welcome to TM

Gosh - this is kinda' going to be a baptism of fire for you, from the sounds of things!

At this early stage in your experience, it's a bit of a tribute to be asked to perform at two functions, and - yes - you almost certainly will go through a fairly steep learning curve, doing things this way.

Although this is no bad thing, I'd suggest that you need to guard against becoming discouraged if/when you experience the occasional stuff-up - it does happen, particularly when you're starting out

15 minutes is almost certainly WAY too long a-set for strolling gigs; 5 - 7 minutes, tops, mate - two effects - is fine at this stage in your game...and there's certainly no way you should try to hold a full audience (if you're not strolling), unless you have a good amount of prior performance experience.

Looking at your list of effects, it's a little on the skinny side for *any* engaged function (that's just my personal opinion). If you want a recommendation for one more effect that plays big, though...

I see you have Royal Road - look up, "Design for Laughter" (It's in the 'Glide' section) - a killer-stinger of an effect, really - get this down, and you have a really strong player (this can last up to 6 minutes in performance, all by itself)

Hope this helps, and all the very best of luck!

Please let us know how it goes?

Rob

Morning,

Thank you for the replies and the tips.

As mentioned, yes it is a steep learning curve which I think is good - I'm deliberately throwing myself in at the deep end.

I have already experienced the 'stuff ups' that you mention RobStanley! A little bit of impromtu patter helped make light of it but it was ultimately a stuff up!

The upcoming wedding is for a good friend and I am an usher. I was planning on making the effort to talk to the majority of guests as part of my duties anyway, and I had anticipated using magic as a bit of an ice breaker and something a bit different. In that respect, it shall be relatively informal.

RonStanley - thanks for the specific tip. I have performed Design for Laughter amongst my friends and got good reactions - I shall really work on this if it is a recommendation. Also, thanks for advice on length of performance.

Another request for advice if I may...

When perfroming, do you rely soley on the effects as being the entertainment or do you try and entertain with a few relevant jokes in amongst?

My tip on this is certain dont let the effect alone be the entertainment as this isn't truly the magic.
It is your performance as a whole that is the effect. Use the time given to perform to engage the audience in whatever way suits your personality be it funny, mysterious, quirky etc.
Only when full engaging you specators in a dialogue and drawing them in to the performance will you truly be providing a performance. Yes the effect is important but dont forget it is a combination of your audience, you and the effect.....probably in that order

As Greedo said, magic is all about the performance. A week trick performed well is always much better than a strong trick performed badly.

Put together a routine and practice, practice and more practice. Get that routine so ingrained in your mind so that you can perform it with out thinking.

Stick with what you know and are confidant with, don't try anything new.

And most importantly, have fun