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I agree with Lady of Mystery. If you are going to script your patter, do it loosly. I have found that depending on the audience, patter that works well with one group may not work with the next even if they are similar groups.

I do kids parties and I have a story to go with professors nightmare called Baby Elephants Dream. I used the scripted patter a 2 gigs and one went great, the other not so well.

By loosly scripting your patter, keeping the main points and changing up the storyline, you seem more natural and relaxed to the audience rather than a narrator reading them a story.

This is why some of the greatest magicians dont use any patter at all. Instead they pantomime their whole routine.

Big D

LambertClan2006 wrote:
I do kids parties and I have a story to go with professors nightmare called Baby Elephants Dream.

I assume this involves an in depth discussion on trunk length, and not being able to pick up food.

Kinda warms the heart that kids are being told at an early age, that size realy does matter.

I personally find that scripting my routines word for word is one of the most soul destroying activities I know. Largely because I'm always too critical of the words I put on paper, and can't imagine them coming from my mouth and sounding natural.

The process is an invaluable one though - it forces me to think about the point I'm trying to make with a routine, and locks sequences of what-happens-when into my noodle.

When it comes to the actual peoformance, though, I play it loosely, and allow myself to be steered off-course if I have good, involved spectators. But having gone through the punishing scripting process, I at least know at all times where the course is and where I'm supposed to be going.

So that's me - word-for-word delivery kills my spontineity, but going in completely green leaves me panicky and causes me to rush things to a point where I'll just 'do the trick'.

daleshrimpton wrote:

LambertClan2006 wrote:
I do kids parties and I have a story to go with professors nightmare called Baby Elephants Dream.

I assume this involves an in depth discussion on trunk length, and not being able to pick up food.

Kinda warms the heart that kids are being told at an early age, that size realy does matter.

No I have heard that version as well. But I have made up my own story. Are you just asking or are you interested in the story I use?

I guess I should have read the rest of your post. When I re read it the size comment made me laugh

Big D

If you really want to annoy people with this sort of thing, call them 'Daddy Rope', 'Mommy Rope' and 'Ickle Baby' rope.

It takes very little imagination to work out a rather rude routine about the first two getting knotted (or tying the knot if you want to keep it decent) and thus producing the third. And, lets face it, I've got very little imagination...

Thank you all for all your suggestions

A lot of my tricks are just loosely scripted and i ad-lib from time to time new bits into them. But all those tricks are "look what i can do with cards". I was hoping to be able to create some "story effects"(ie Gemini twins, magician vs gambler) where i am telling a story about something i saw happen or just telling a storying and the cards are helping me act it out.