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Hi guys and girls. How do you go about constructing an act?
Obviously you have the opener and a closer, but what do you put in between?
I am currently trying to put together a comedy routine of about 15-20 minutes. As an opener i am torn between my choices, but i shall write the act beneath:

Stiff rope effect (the viagra rope) or the baby gag on malones new dvd
6 card reapeat
no tear
chinese linking rings
silk to egg
fielding west's vanishing bottle/ water production

with all the gags thrown in too, what do you guys reckon.
Look forward to hearing from you, as i am not to sure about the closer, i was going to do vanishing bandana but everyone does it these days!

I have a problem about building an act too, mine is more mentalism based. Any way you got to establish who you are :

1. Serious performer that funny things happen to
2. A clown

Any way you get the drift. Then you have to think what would suit the charactor best. Once you have done that the rest is sort of easy.

oh yeah mate, i got the characterall sorted out, i am going to be myself, as i am very cheeky and humor will play a large part of my act. Cheers for the response tho markdini.

You listed 6 tricks. That is a lot for a 15-20 min comedy act. Pick you best 3 tricks (or 4 max) and work to make them the best you can. To make them the best you can try to best try to: 1) Eliminating dead time caused by getting props or too much procedure like counting cards into piles, 2) Removing confusing parts, 3) Streamlining the boring parts, 4) Add kicker endings, and so forth. Next find interesting bits of business that go between the tricks. Such as jokes (one liners, as magicians tend to not be too good at jokes with longer build ups) and quick tricks like throw coils. The bits between the tricks will make the deference between an ok show and a great one. Also bringing up an audience member on stage with you for one or two tricks can spice up the act.

Good luck
Chris

I think there's a lot of sense in performing what you are most comfortable with first, to settle any opening nerves.

Once that's out the way, try and find some kind of logical link between the different tricks, and put them in that way. You'll also want to have a bit of variation, and also some natural peaks and troughs. There's no point in having your three most powerful tricks first, because it'll all be downhill from there.

Also, don't be afraid to change your performance when required. I often have a couple of extra tricks ready so that I can either add them or change part of my usual routine mid-act if something isn't working well with a particular audience.

Your opener wants to be something that's going to grab the audience's attention, I probabaly wouldn't open with cards. It needs to be something that's going to logically link in with the rest of your act. Perhaps if you're doing say a rope routine, the first effect could be a rope porduction of some kind.

The finisher wants to be a big effect, somthing they're not going to be expecting. It needs to be somthing they're not expecting.

You're doing quite a bit of magic there with lots of different props. How about putting together a longer rope segment and incorporate the stiff rope into that. Or with the silk to egg, have a longer silk routine and finish with the silk to egg.

You just seem to be jumping a little bit between different parts without much of a link, try to make the rountine flow between the different parts and have a logical change.

I would heartily recommend 'Strong Magic' as it has a great section on routining.
what I got from it is the notion of really putting thought in to the effects you perform and to why. Really make sure that you use the effects you do not because you like them but because they suit your act and that they fit in.
Also each effect must be stronger than than the previous one with something linking all effects...not necessarily themed but patter that would make a natural segueway between effects.

Personally I think this is maybe the hardest part of getting you act together but can always be tweaked and improved upon as you gain performance experience

Good luck

This is how I would go about it. Again this is me, not you. You have chosen the effects you want. Now put them away and write a story around those effects.

6 card repeat is a great example and you can tie it in with the rest of an act. Here is my patter in brief for this effect.

I saw this effect on tv and really liked it so I went to my magic teacher and asked him about the effect where. (at this point you put actions to words) the magician counts 6 cards throws 1,2,3, away and when he counts the cards he only has (count cards look confused) no wait, he counted 6 cards threw three away and when he counts he only has (count cards still 6) wait a second maybe he only tossed 2 cards and then there were...still 6 (more confusion). In the end I could not remember the effect and that is why I can't do it for you today. Instead I brought along these Metal Rings. (they then link and unlink quite by accident) and on it goes.

oh and I can't say it enough I hate the linking rings. Especially when all Eight rings are used and the performer just doesn't stop. I GET IT AFTER TWO!
sorry had to get that out.

So I'm sure you see where I am going with routining. Really its all just a story and the audience is in for the ride.

Malone has a good (comedy-style) routine for the ID...it is a great closer and with a routine similar to his you can take a very serious and solid effect and make it a very fun and solid effect...I close with this often in my comedy stand-up style routines.

thanks everyone for your insights. I have decided to open with no tear, a torn and restored type of effect with loads of gags, then 6 card repeat, get member up from the audience and do the silk to egg with them, vanishing bottle, linking rings, and for the closer a very comical viagra rope routine that will leave them speechless.
Ladymagic has stated that I seem to have thrown a few things together but have put very careful consideration into the effects I am doing.
The effects actually unify with the character I shall be portraying. And I also feel it's good to have variety, ONLY if you can unite the effects in such a manner.

Dai Vernon suggests that you can move from one effect to the next without a need for congruity, as long as you tell the audience that you are moving onto something different. Making the statement that you are "changing up gears" as it were is an acceptable segue to your next effect, assuming that you cannot routine them congruously.

Mike.

russellmagic wrote:Ladymagic has stated that I seem to have thrown a few things together but have put very careful consideration into the effects I am doing.
The effects actually unify with the character I shall be portraying. And I also feel it's good to have variety, ONLY if you can unite the effects in such a manner.

Sorry, I didn't mean that to sound as insulting or patronising as it did, sorry for that. All I meant was that I personally wouldn't perform a single rope trick and a single silk trick, I'd probabaly try to make more of a routine of it. But of course I've not seen your routine so was only really going by the effects you've listed.

no worries ladymagic, eveything is
All magicians and people alike do things in different ways. It depends on what floats there boat.

Please by yourself the book MAGIC and SHOWMANSHIP to me thats the bible of magic. It's all there for you.It's the best investment in magic you'll make.

I have read that one ages ago and now making my way through Maximum entertainment by Ken Webber, a fab book!