talkmagic.co.uk

Hi folks, I haven't posted for a while (stupid final exams), but I thought I'd post my experiences from last Friday night as I'm really excited about how it all went down.
I work next to a pub/cafe in Glasgow, and had talked to the manager about doing a bit of magic. We arranged that on the 16th I would have a table set up all night, and would do 15-20 minute performances for 4-10 people at a time. (For a look at the rather snazzy poster my friend made for it check out www.myspace.com/cardbloke)
I was worried that this set up wouldn't work, but was amazed at the results.
I had my trusty magic cohort matt assisting me with discreet resets and after a quiet start at about 6.30 pm I soon found myself surrounded by eager spectators, and 7.30-11.30 passed in a complete blur.

I had 4 'sets' planned, and worked these on a carefully thought out rotation system.
Set 1- Card stuff to get folk interested: This culminated in Paul Harris's Las Vegas Leapers which went down a treat
Set 2- Kind of mental-y stuff: Dowsing (Sankey) Triple coincidence (Scarne) and finishing off with a presentation of the trusty ID. This set went down really well.
Once I had shown these to various different groups I moved on to the next 2, the main events, so to speak.
Set 3- Really cool close up stuff: Card Warp (Walton), overkill (Harris), finishing with the Allerton aspirin tin routine (My own matchbox variation) This set was well recieved, particularly because of the matchbox/pictureframe gift that one lucky spectator per time would walk away with. This meant that there were a few people throughout the bar puzzling over these (each one contained a different photo) which in turn made other people curious.
Set 4- Mental Photography (Using patter inspired in part by Bill Mallone's presentation) Cut and Restored Rope (a hybrid of two versions by Mark Wilson), Card on back of hand (Mallone) and finally a chop cup routine which I've kind of cobbled together. The final loads sequence was great here, and got loads of cries of disbelief.

I hardly noticed time passing, and managed to show stuff to pretty much everyone who was interested, without having to ram it down their throats (I'm a bit wary of strolling stuff- i get very uncomfortable if i feel like I'm invading someone's space)
There were no notable mistakes, and I would like to think that my patter and presentation ideas worked really well. There were some lines that i made up on the spot, to deal with a particular situation, which are definately getting kept for future performances.
One of my favourite moments was when, after a performance, some guy hung about the table and asked if i could do that one where the hanky disappears. It just so happened that I had my tt and silk in my pocket, so one vanish/production later the guy left with the distinct impression that whatever he had asked for, i would be able to do. Nice.

I feel like my performance skills have improved dramatically, and i managed to get over my nerves pretty quickly too. I had a hat and by the end of the night I was VERY pleasantly surprised at the ammount it contained, although the experience was the real pay-off.
This was a valuable learning experience for me, and I would urge anyone looking to start performing to give this sort of set up a try. If you're curious about the logistics of such a set up PM me and I'll go into more detail.

Sorry for the length of this post. Thankyou for bearing with me.

Congratulations! It sounds fantastic!

I have my first formal public performance on Friday (parlour magic, for a charity soirée) and I'm getting both nervous and excited. It's good to hear about the positive experiences out there! Keep it up!

Congratulations! Nice choice of effects. Hope the spectators did not forget to eat and drink (I suppose you were there to stimulate the oral intake of the crowd).

Anyone know a trinck that tends to make people buy more drinks and maybe order more food afterwards?

Thanks guys.

Soren Riis wrote:Congratulations! Nice choice of effects. Hope the spectators did not forget to eat and drink (I suppose you were there to stimulate the oral intake of the crowd).

Anyone know a trinck that tends to make people buy more drinks and maybe order more food afterwards?

As far as bar custom goes, it was a good night for them with regular Friday night custom, along with an estimated 20-30 or so friends/friends of friends who were there specifically for the magic. The set up meant that anyone wanting to see more that one lot of effects (which was pretty much everyone) would have to hang about for a bit, so what better way to pass the time than to enjoy a few beverages/ a tasty vegan snack (oxymoron?)

With regards to tricks that get people to buy more drinks afterwards, short of some unethical hypnotism, just before the climax of your best effect politely point out that if anyone's interested, mine's a gin and tonic (or whatever you fancy)- two birds with one stone and all that.

That's fantastic! Congratulations on your first public gig.

Loved the poster.... ' Dean Sexton's reasonably interesting World of Illusion '
good stuff

Sounds good, Congratulations.

Loved the poster aswell:D

and the whole post actually.. im all pumped up to finally go out and try to get a restaurant to hire me.. I've done shows at talent nights, parties, school, and on the street.. but I'm still very nervous everytime, which makes me sweat.. and makes my coin routines hard to perform..
I also practice silverdream in my room everyday, and it goes perfect..
but when im nervous.. and a little shaky I just can't do the moves right..
anyway! Gratz on your performance! sounds like something I would have loved to watch.. Good luck