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I've got a gig on Friday night, a Navy Officer's ball. It's probabaly the biggest gig I've done yet and a great oppotunity for me to do a little shmoozing. The girl who has been my contact has booked me for a 2 hours of table hopping durning a meal. I've just had a phone call to confirm things and spoken to her boss as she's off on holiday and it turns out that there's a champagne reception before the meal that they want me to do an hour of mixing and mingling before the meal and then an hour of table hopping during it.

It's not a massive problem but does mean that I'm going to have cobble together another set for the reception. I've got 5 routines in my table hopping set so could probabaly take one or two out and use them in during the reception along with maybe a couple of others.

Just a little frustrating when I had my set all planned out and practiced that I'm now going to have to sit down and think up a second, new set.

Did you have it in writing from the other girl?....

If you did and wanted to you caould say no .......

Good luck, I know youll be fabbbbulous either way ...

F x

Could you maybe split your five routines up between the two sets and pad both out with a few complete self-workers, ie. tricks you won't have to brush up on too hard? There are a fair amount of really strong self-working card effects, I know that much

And more importantly, good luck with it!! You'll be brilliant

I do have it in writing yes but that's not going to change the function, unfortunatly. There's going to be a champagne reception and the meal's going to last for an hour.

I guess I could say no, but the gig's too big of an oppotunity to let go. It's a very nice payday and there's going to be alot of very big potential contacts there. Not doing the gig isn't really an option but it's just frustrating to have to mess around with sets this late in the day.

That's pretty much what I'm going to have to do I think, Kate. I'll probabaly take out a couple of routines from my table hopping set and throw in maybe a few rope routines and a perhaps some silks to make the walk about set.

Thanks both of you

What a bummer! Why on earth to bookers and organisers think they can change things at a moment's notice? They ought to know that the really professional performers spend ages tailoring their acts to the event and to bring in such changes is really quite disrespectful. How would they feel if the caterers said they'd had a last minute change of mind, the dessert will be served first followed by the coffee and mints then, after a short break, they'll do soup and mains? Best of luck Becky, I'm sure you'll be able to wow them anyway.

If it all goes badly then just start screaming out loud so the neighbours arrive asking what's going on and someone tells them, 'We're just holding a Navy Officer's Ball'...

Goog Luck Lady of Mystery

This is one of the reasons I try only learn tricks which can be done in the hands only with out the use of a table. Not that'll help now of course I found that most of the tricks I did needed a table but when I got to the few gigs I've had there's been no table to hand or its cluttered.

I think the only thing I keep in my sets (like I'm that organised) is the chop cup that requires a table.

it is frustrating, I'm reworking a set or two a the moment for a couple of gigs I have lined up for halloween but it's more adding to what I already do rather than a complete overhaul.

I'm sure you'll be fine!

If it's in an Officers Mess then expect the meal to take at least 90 minutes if not a little longer by the time they reach the port and start the toasts

I'm sure that you will do very well though

A short version of OOTW - and what with it being the Navy, you could change the whole thing over to business cards, one set with rude words on them - the other set with good wholesome ones on them.

Or rum and water?

If you have some kind of impression device - you could play battleships with some of them. Or even do some billet work based around their careers. Telling them the first ship they served on, things like that.

If you could, make up a deck with ships name on them as well. Then your standard peeks/forces and so on take on a different feel.

An ACR, but with the word TITANIC written on the face of the card? Having it rising and sink to the surface? too sick?

Miraskill? Some of the Karl Fulves self-workers, but using nautical photos?

How about a notepad/business card drawing duplication of a selected nautical flag??? (forced from a selection)

I know that Lomster is smart enough to have already thought of this, but please don't try to learn anything new. There have been some really great and imaginative ideas for effects on this thread, but I don't think there's time for you to learn even a new presentation of an old trick in the few days left.

The advice I'd offer (not that I am a pro) is to consider the two different times you'll be performing, and the nature of the events.

In the reception, people might not have hands free (if there are nibbles as well as drink), and you certainly can't rely on any kind of table-based tricks. You're probably expected to be an ice breaker and get people talking and relaxed.

By the time you get to the table-hopping bit, people are quite possibly going to be somewhat drunk (or very drunk) and you might have the option of using the table (if you don't mind dodging wine stains and bits of food). It's probably best not to rely on it. Keep the plots simple (not that you would do anything complicated in either bit). I think your ambitious dog card routine might be good here, along with sponge balls or bunnies.

Good luck, and yes, it certainly doesn't help when people move the goalposts almost at the last minute.

Thanks for all the ideas folks, some really nice ideas there but Part Timer is right, I've not got enough time for anything new. I'm going to rejiggle my table hopping set a little bit, take a few routines from that and dust off a couple of older routines to put into a walk about set.

I'm going to take the ambitious puppy and maybe an ID routine out of my table hopping set and add an unequal ropes and maybe a little book test to make the walk about set.

That leaves sponge bunnies, cups and balls and a ring routine in the table hopping set.

How many guests will there be? If there are quite a few (over 100) then splitting the set shouldn't cause too much of a problem, you obviously don't have to get around everyone & can concentrate on giving a great performance for the ones you do see.

As long as you can sort something for the walk around I reckon you'll be fine. It's not very fair of them to do this at such short notice though. The only worries will be whether the drinks reception will be rammed full of people with literally no room for performing the fact that the meal WILL run over an hour. On the plus side you won't be performing during the main course as almost everyone will be eating at that point so you'll have a short break to re-focus yourself.

I'd maybe check when during the meal they want you performing for the hour.

Agecroft wrote:This is one of the reasons I try only learn tricks which can be done in the hands only with out the use of a table.

Like the Chop Cup?

Agecroft wrote:I think the only thing I keep in my sets (like I'm that organised) is the chop cup that requires a table.

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