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Hello everyone my name's Natalie. I don't post on here much but I really need some help!!

I've been trying for ages now to try and create a magic act, but I just can't seem to make one! I've tried writting down what tricks I can do best, putting them in a sensible order. But then i just get stuck and have no idea what to do.

Can anyone help? I wanted to try and make an act which starts out as a silent act but then progresses into one which uses lots of audience participation. if that makes any sense at all!!

Oh also, does anyone know any really effective tricks which use audience participation? alot of my stuff is pretty much for them to sit there and watch.

Thanks, I hope some of you guys can help me!

Oh yes and of course, silly me, i mean a stage act.

-Natalie

Hi Natalie - what tricks can you perform already and to what standard?

Also, what sort of budget do you have for buying new things if needed?

You need to think about who your audience will be. Certain audiences might prefer to sit back and watch, and there might only be a few people who are eager to get involved. Others might really want to be involved.

Marc Paul has some 'macro' effects that play to the entire audience, see his book 'Direct Mind Reading and Mind Control', or something like that anyway. Variety is key. There has to be some let up in pace, some variation to hold interest.

Routining is an important element. It's good that you are thinking about it, as it's not just a case of simply throwing some pieces together. It must have a good structure, with climaxes and tension and the whole lot. It will take quite a bit of planning, but this forum is a good source of knowledge and there are many books that will help you, too.

Thanks guys,

Cardza, I don't have a very big budget! maybe up to about £20? if something's really worth it but costs more than that then I can always save up.

My audience would really be people at the Magic Circle, eg competitions or like School talent shows so people aged 11-18 and then there's the teachers too.

the stuff I have in mind to perform are things like card manipulations producing cards etc. dancing cane, d'lites match to rose stuff like that. i need to try and get a veriety.
my performance standard is not exactly a seasoned professional but at the same time I'm not a compete beginner so I suppose I'd be described as intermidiate!

I havent had a lot of experience in front of audiences other than infront of friends and family and even then it was only card tricks, I've only ever done one massive show to nearly 1000 people at a talent show and that was just a simple mind readin trick (reading the minds of all the audience)

first you have to think about your character, are you naturally funny or do you have bright red hair. Try to have a character that matches your personality.

You sholdn't have TOO much variety, you know, it would be odd if Sigfried and Roy sat down on the edge of the stage and did a card routine or if Harry HOudini did a Mentalism act. It just doesn't make sense. So you should pick tricks that match your character. And some kidsdont want to sit and watch a 45 minute show. Try to fit the trick into a time frame


One last thing, use jokes and patter approiately where needed, don try to knock there socks off while someone is picking a card.


Hope this helps

Make a list of every trick you have. Every single one. No matter how stupid or benign. Then, catagorize them into groups. See which tricks go well together, logically. Then, look at each trick and see which one would go well before or after another, for instance, which trick makes sense to lead into which trick. Then, put together a routine. Then change it and make variations. As others have said, make sure it is logical.

Then take it apart, to the small chunks. Does what you wear, the way you smile, the hankey in your pocket, the stain on your shoe, the modal operators in your speech, the type of people you use on stage, the way you talk to them, the props your use, the props you DONT use, the words you use, the words you DONT use, the cloths you wear, the cloths you DONT wear, do they all make sense? Are there any bits that mismatch?

Even the smallest thing that is unconscious will effect a conscious thought.

Feel free to PM me for further advice or tips.

MagicNat wrote:Thanks guys,

Cardza, I don't have a very big budget! maybe up to about £20? if something's really worth it but costs more than that then I can always save up.

Whoa! That's not going to get you much in the way of learning material! But it sounds as if you've already got most of your material already so you just need to focus on structure.

You've got some reliable standards of magic there...but why don't you try and come up with some of your own stuff? There's nothing wrong with those pieces at all, but it can be good to come up with your own stuff too.

Also, make sure your material isn't so varied that there's no apparent connection; you don't really want it to be all over the place. But again, that's a personal choice.

Why don't you let us know more about the types of shows, such as length etc. and what your plans are. You mention the Magic Circle; are you a member of the YMC then? If so I believe you have about ten minutes an competitions, and if it is a competition then I really do recommend trying out some different, lesser-known material, to make the judges sit up and take notice.

Thanks for the advice guys, really helps!

Cardza wrote:You mention the Magic Circle; are you a member of the YMC then?

Sure am!
I want to enter the stage section so from what i've been told it's about 8-12 mins long for an act. for Jday and YMOTY anyway.
You hit the nail on the head there! I sat and watched young magician after young magician at the YMOTY auditions, each perform the cut and restored rope, linking rings etc. and the audience clearly gets bored at one point the organiser had to stand up and say "please can we clap equally for everyone, it's not they're fault that they do the same trick as the person before" so i'd much rather avoid this. Thanks!

Thanks, i1011i I started a list but it wasn't very specific, i'll do that a.s.a.p cheers.

jared_magic wrote:One last thing, use jokes and patter approiately where needed, don try to knock there socks off while someone is picking a card.

Oh, I actually didn't realise that wa a bad thing! Becuase I was taught that you should never have a dull silent moment in your act unless it's intended to build up suspense etc. I was going through my torn and restored card routine earlier (haven't performed it before, just been trying to make it original) and I was going through patter in my head and thought I could include a quick one liner while the spectator registers the card or signs it etc so it's not silent. Is that not advisable?

oh and going slightly off topic sorry, speaking of torn and restored cards. I'm going out of my head trying to find something called Flash playing cards apparently invented by Walter Price. I read about it in "Flash Paper Tips" by Stuart Robson and Ralph W.Read. Has anyone ever used these before, I'm not even such if they're in circulation anymore as this is a very old book!

Well, I don't think it's a good idea to embark on a story while they're signing a card or shuffling the deck or something, but a quick aside to the audience can be quite amusing at times, just commenting on something they're doing.

For example, I like the sight gag of the old 'dancing card' - you know, when you offer a fan to someone to pick a card and one card 'dances' beneath the spread. If they take it, I say something to the audience like, "Hey, it worked!". If not, I would say, "Oh well, it might work one day."

Kati

I know what you mean, but I don't quite get it sorry
oky doks, that's sort of what I meant, not to go into a story but a quick one liner.

Yes, I think a one-liner would be good in 'dead' moments like when a spectator is signing a card. . That's a personal opinion though, I think.

Kati

Save a big joke or story after you make someone disapear or say put someone behind a curtain ready to disapear, because one of the main reasons I use jokes and stories is so that you can distract the audience from what is really going on. Don't try to force comedy, the audience can recogize it, and what makes it work is they think it comes on the spot and it relaxes them, making them think you are trustful, that you would never lie to them...

katrielalex wrote:Well, I don't think it's a good idea to embark on a story while they're signing a card or shuffling the deck or something, but a quick aside to the audience can be quite amusing at times, just commenting on something they're doing.

For example, I like the sight gag of the old 'dancing card' - you know, when you offer a fan to someone to pick a card and one card 'dances' beneath the spread. If they take it, I say something to the audience like, "Hey, it worked!". If not, I would say, "Oh well, it might work one day."

Kati

ooh! i do this all the time. but end up forcing that card on them. over and over and over

Grooovy thanks everyone
great advice

I think I'll start a new thread about those flash cards I'm after, might draw more atention that way

-Nat.