talkmagic.co.uk

Hello,

I'm trying to think of a routine to perform for an audition to join a magic society. When I spoke to the secretary, who seemed a really nice guy, he said it had to be about 10 minutes long. I explained that I am pretty much a beginner, and that I'm still working my way through RRTCM. I said that I wasn't sure if I would be of a good enough standard, but he said that if I performed some of the tricks from the book I should be fine. Based on that advice, I'm trying to create a card routine and I would appreciate any advice. The tricks I'm thinking of performing are (not in order):

Gray's Spelling Trick
Do As I Do
Either Rapid Transit or Ambitious Card
Out of this World

Would this be any good? Also, could anyone suggest an order to put the tricks in? I'm not too sure about OOTW, I'd like to perform it but it's probably not the best opening trick and I'm not the quickest at Lennart Green's angle separation. The alternative routine I was thinking of doing is kind of a mind-reading card routine, as I would say that I first got started in magic through watching Derren Brown and being amazing at the possibility of reading minds, and that the routine is inspired by this influence. That would go something like this:

Anthony Harle's Thought of Card
Telepathy Plus
Thought Stealer
Ultra Card Divination
Out of this World

Any advice on creating a routine would be very much appreciated. Also, if anybody has had to audition for a magic society before I would be very grateful if they could give any advice and tips on what the members will be looking for.

Thanks, cc100

The end of RRTCM has routining suggestions - so I would use one of those.

and I'm not the quickest at Lennart Green's angle separation.

...switch the deck while you are getting a spectator to come up
Bruce

I think that for a magic audition, OOTW could be a bad choice (or, more precisely, it's unlikely to be the best choice). The only reason I can think that you might want to include this is to kill some of your time, and that's not really what you should be doing in the audition, is it?

As mentioned elsewhere recently, I really like OOTW (although I prefer one of the variations), but for an audience of other magicians, you won't get the wow factor, and it's not even going to show much of your skill at handling cards or audience members. At best, you might be able to demonstrate some presentation skills, but do you really not have a better trick for a magic society audition?

On the other hand, it's the only trick that features in both your possible programmes, so you are obviously very keen on it, and it might be better to do something with which you are fully comfortable. I suggest at least considering some other options.

That's a very good point Part-Timer, the reason I put it in is because I think it's a powerful trick and might be a nice one to close on. But, as you quite rightly mentioned, it might not be the best trick to perform for other magicians, and it does take quite a while to perform. I'm just collecting ideas at the minute so nothing's set in stone. I might just leave it out. Thanks for the tip.

Seriously don't look to fool other magicians, don't choose your effects or create a routine with the thought of other magicians watching, or that you think other magicians will enjoy.

The truth of the matter is the magicians you are out to impress are the same magicians who are looking to see your entertainment value. How you interact with the audience, how smooth you are, how your act flows. Are they going to bored in the first 30 seconds because you are just another guy showing skill. Or are they going to laugh and be entertained through your magic.

Just think about it.

Oh, and a little bit of advice, don't stick to one thing. Vary it up a little bit. Throw in a coin effect or a rope or anything. A little change is always nice.

I might need to clarify something (although I think cc100 got the message). I am not saying look for a magician fooler; I am saying look for material that gives you a chance to perform and show a range of skills (and some enthusiasm too, of course). I don't think OOTW is the best trick for those purposes, largely because it won't give you the chance to show how you perform. Unless you do something really unusual like maintain three minutes of rapid-fire observational banter while they are dividing up the cards...

Do you mind us asking which circle? My advice would be to keep it simple. Almost all self workers and concentrate on presentation. You will probably be nervous, so do not want something requiring massive sleight of hand skill. For my audition I dug out several kids tricks and made stories being them. It was the Halloween night at the circle, so I finished with Lebanon circles from hell. I'm pretty certain my brand of bizarre magic many of the magician there considered distasteful, but they still unanimously voted me. Magic Circles want new members, so they won't be judging you on any high standard. They just want to see you give it a go. They know you'll be nervous, they've all been up there themselves. Your unlikely to do anything they haven't seen before, so just concentrate on making it a good performance.

It's an audition for the York Society of Magicians. What you said, Jobasha, is similar to what the secretary I spoke to said. He said it's better to do tricks which allow you to interact with the audience and stuff, rather than really difficult sleight of hand tricks. I'm just trying to think of what tricks to do, and what I can talk about to draw the separate tricks into a coherent routine. Thanks for the advice.

I have my audition in a few weeks for my local magic society, I have chosen effects I know well, works well with my character and really gives me a chance to perform. I have no illusion [sic] that everything I do will be immediately torn down to it's methods by the observers, I am just trying to remind myself not to care and just focus on the performance!

Do all magic societys have auditions to get in ?

There was no audition to join The Pentacle Club, but that's really local and tightly knit.

I'd guess that there is an audition process for any club where membership would be considered an accolade or a selling point ( The Magic Circle, IBM, etc). I don't think anyone would use membership of the pentacle club on publicity materials, mainly because most people have never heard of it.

-Stacy

jon_kent wrote:Do all magic societys have auditions to get in ?

I think many do, not so much on a "pass or fail" type thing like for IBM or Magic Circle but to get an idea of your level and what you actually do.

It also puts off people who just want to sit in on meetings and learn secrets.

A_n_t wrote:It also puts off people who just want to sit in on meetings and learn secrets.

That makes sense !

cc100 wrote:He said it's better to do tricks which allow you to interact with the audience and stuff, rather than really difficult sleight of hand tricks.

That's a good sign for a start (that they are more interested in your presentation skills).

I might just be blowing hot air, but I don't think every ten minute magic act needs a theme. Sometimes you can just "do some tricks". I think that might help take some of the pressure off you.

Then again, it might help you to weed out some of the options, so how about:

Gambling cheats
The fickle nature of luck
The tricks your grandad learned in the war (actually, if you're 21, it might be your great grandad)
The first tricks you ever saw, and how they inspired you to learn for yourself

Good luck!

Thanks for the help Part-Timer, very much appreciated. I was thinking of doing a routine based on how/why I got started in magic. I'm sure they're the questions I'm going to be asked anyway, so was maybe thinking of working them into a routine somehow. That's why I was thinking of doing a Derren Brown mind-reading thing, but I don't want it to become a tribute/copy of his style as I'm sure there are more than enough people out there doing that.

On the other hand, like you said, I might just do some tricks. I guess the only potential problem with this would be that it might not flow together very well, and I might struggle to think of things to say. I'll have a think about it anyway. Of the tricks I am considering, what order do you think they should go in? Any suggestions for good openers/closers which aren't too complicated?