talkmagic.co.uk

Hey everybody,

Just a few days a go I realized how long it has been since I last visited talkmagic. I've kinda been on a hiatus from magic due to other things (mainly school) but now I've again been bitten by the bug. And as if by magic, my father (I'm fifteen) just managed to strike me up a venue.

Some friend of my father's has appearantly seen me pull off some card magic and wants me to do some table hopping in what I think is his birthday.

Anyway, to be blunt, I'm nervouse as hell. I've got something over a month till the actual party but after having my magic gear in the box for a couple of months (and this being my first official show) I really think I need a miracle to pull it of. I really dont want to pass this offer either because I'll never know when I may be able to do this again.

So, I was wondering if any of you more experienced magicians (I'm resisting to call you seniors) could give me some advice. Also, some trick suggestions would be wonderful. I'm pretty competent with cards but would love to add more diversity to the show, maybe using some of the dining equipment or coins.

Thanks

The important thing to remember is to relax. Whether you like it or not, your performance is going to reflect how much time you spent in preparing for it. My suggestion would be to skim through your books to remember your old favorites and practice those again with vigor. Also, it might help you to try and learn a couple more new tricks to show to those at this event. Best of luck!

How many tables / people are we talking about here?

The first thing with a month to go is to wipe off the dust, get the things from the box and start practicing as much as you can fit in. If you're going to do anything then plan to do it well!

Make a list of the effects that you're good at already, or could improve with some practice. Don't go mad by writing down 20 tricks - with table hopping if you can do seven to nine tricks well, then you should be set. You just need to rotate amongst these at the tables.

Practice for a fortnight and then show the tricks that you plan to perform to some friends that won't be at the party. Ask them to rate your performance and give you feedback. If necessary write this down and go back to practice more. As you get towards the date, perform in front of as many different people as you can.

Finally, it's allwell and good saying "don't be nervous" but at your first performance this is inevitable. Just learn to cope with it and you'll ease into it as the first few tricks go to plan.

Stick to what you're comfortable with and don't go trying something totally new.

I'd usually put together 3 different routines of about 5 tricks in each. The reason I say 3 routines is that the table might watch you at the table before them and they might also watch you on the table after, with 3 routines they'll always see different material,