talkmagic.co.uk

I agree. Where I live, most of the people on my village car park are holidaymakers (especially at this time of year). They tend to be more willing to see a trick, so I tend to go for them. But, as has been said before, you must be careful how you present yourself and who you pick. But I do find "street" magic a valuable way of gaining confidence as well as extra numbers at a performance!

um... Im gonna advertise for a second

not my product, but still awesome

Andrew Mayne has a great book called 50 Ways to Make Money With Magic. It has some cool ideas for street magic, that could be adapted for no fee stuff. Pretty cool.

I imagine this is an okay place to say this...

I tend to find that street magic - in brighton town centre / on the beach or pier anyways is not really liked that much. Maybe its my methods, I would imagine that I'm quite friendly and dont come across as being vey pressurising or rude, but (as stated above) people often get people saying 'want to buy some of these' 'want your palm / fortune read' or even the old 'can I borrow £0.43 pence' (its a local crazy woman asking for money all the time off passers by.

So, what I have found works is doing tricks in and around clubs and bars -One time, in a club I was performing to my mates at the start of the night, later on I was VERY drunk and was pulled aside by a bouncer...he lead me upstairs, right past the cloakroom to the main door - everyone thought I was getting thrown out - but the bouncer simply said 'Go on mate, show us some of those tricks you did to your mates earlier!' :-O

Weeks later, they recognised me as 'that magic dude' and now I get free entry to the club

Anyways, main point, I tend to just act like my magic is an experiment...'can I just try something with you a second' then, the second you pull out a deck of card people get VERY interested - street magic I find works better in tourist based areas - the beach is the best, cant wait for summer

Personally, I hate the idea of asking if people want to see magic. . Its very... Blainish. And that doesnt wash with me..

I am fairly confident.. or can act like it.. so I will tend to start a conversation with someone.. about anything.. weather, shoes, makeup, football.. doesnt matter.

Then I will try to lead the conversation where I want to go.. for example. mentioning that my wife studies psychology at Uni.. and that because of her I have developed an interest in some techniques employed by psychologists and am looking into work involving NLP. Then ask something innocent like ' have you heard of psychometry? ' then go into between the lines..

after one effect.. perhaps mention that I am a magician / psychological illusionist ( whatever I decide I am that day ) and ask if they would like another demonstration of the techniques I have studied..

this way it doesnt come across as pompous, amatuerish.. or god forbid I wont be perceived as a Blaine wannabee

Personally unless I'm being paid to be there I never approach others with the plan of performing.
However if I am performing I tend to approach a group and introduce myself tell them what I'm doing there and then ask them if they would like to see some close up magic. No point pussy footing around really.

The hardest thing to get over is the nerves aspect of doing this. It comes very naturally to socially confident people but although I'm not a shy guy at the beginning approaching strange groups was nerve racking.
This in turn leads to a poor introduction and the people are less likely to say yes. However if you go in with the attitude of ' The worst they can do is say no' and then go in there and go for it they almost always say yes.

Finally I would say always ask their names and chat to them before to get into it as your performance should focus on them rather than you. The benefit of close up over stage work is that your audience there and then can be all involved and can make magic a very personal experience

Well, I certainly hope that Mr. Druid is keeping an eye on this thread. Good stuff to be found, here.

Magical_Trevor wrote:So, what I have found works is doing tricks in and around clubs and bars -One time, in a club I was performing to my mates at the start of the night, later on I was VERY drunk and was pulled aside by a bouncer...he lead me upstairs, right past the cloakroom to the main door - everyone thought I was getting thrown out - but the bouncer simply said 'Go on mate, show us some of those tricks you did to your mates earlier!' :-O

Weeks later, they recognised me as 'that magic dude' and now I get free entry to the club

Good story! I think that it's a good idea to show stuff to your mates and, oftentimes, others watch on the outskirts which not only helps to get you their attention, but also builds your reputation in the future. In this case, free entry into a club.

A good friend of mine "practices" whilst riding on the tube. In this way, the folks around him watch and then he "notices" them, which strikes up a conversation and he begins his routine. Subtle, but workable. Also, in such an environment, you have plenty of folks around you who are bored, which makes for a welcoming audience.

On a side note, with the smoking ban now in full effect, you'll find a ready made audience standing outside of pubs and clubs, having their fags.

Mike.

I hate apporoaching people cold. If I'm doing magic around the pubs, I'll usually do some tricks at the bar for whoever I'm with. That usually attracts some attention, I'll then go on to perform to people who are interested in what I'm doing. I like it that way, keeps it friendly and you'll be performing for people who are interested and not just being polite.

I too practice on the tube and train. It is a great opportunity to practice and yes from time to time people do tap you on the shoulder and ask what you are doing and then it would be rude to refuse.

greedoniz wrote:I too practice on the tube and train. It is a great opportunity to practice and yes from time to time people do tap you on the shoulder and ask what you are doing and then it would be rude to refuse.

I do exactly the same thing! I love to throw some colour changes in there to make them confused! People at the weekends are more likley to ask if you do magic, thats what I've found anyway. I love the people who pretend not to look but you always see them peeking over at you! Great place to practise, also if the tube is quiet you can see a reflection of the cards easily in the oppisate window, works perfect when I'm trying to learn the pass!

THanks everyone for your replys! this is a great forum.

I will most likely use the expriment thing where you say, can you help me for a second.

But i just shuffle and do pass' untill someone notices.

Thanks again guy

I was reading this yesterday, then on the bus this evening I pulled out my cards and was just doing some quite simple flourishes (triple cuts, false cuts, riffle shuffle etc) followed by an uber obvious and quite 'look at me' style ace production - then, a few american tourists were like 'wow an english magician, can we see some tricks' - next thing I know, loads of bus passangers are watching me do tricks - its a great confidence booster, as these people WANT to see you do magic, and often are impressed just on the idea of you being a magician, as its so rare nowadays without people like chris angel - who is 'known' for using stooges etc and giving magic a 'fake' feel

Dan

Personally, i never go upto people and ask if they would like to see some magic. I work in my parents pub during the week behind the bar. I just sit there and play with my cards until sombody sees something that they weren't expecting. At which point i look up and smile.

Today i did exactly that, and got the response 'What are you trying to be? A magician?' To which i replyied 'Im not trying to be a magician..... I AM a magician!' Perfect opportunity to show some people some magic!

My mom now wants me to perform every other night to bring in customers

I used to work closely with the public and one day this young lad came along; I noticed he was playing with a deck of Bicycles and asked him if he was a magician. He said he was and asked if I would like to see some tricks. Sure, why not? So he spent about ten minutes with me, showing me some of his effects. Although I was familiar with everything he showed me, I was quite impressed with his handling as he must have been no older than about thirteen. We discussed his effects and I gave him some advice on how he could improve his handling in some parts. He showed remarkable maturity for his age and seemed genuinely interested in developing his skills. It was a pleasant encounter that made my day go that little bit quicker. I love watching magic, regardless of the setting and the circumstances.