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I just dont think you are ready for this. You say that you have been obsessed since April - I have been obsessed for 15 years now, yet I wouldnt even consider doing the stuff you are thinking of performing.

4 weeks isnt a long enough time scale. I organize an event and spend 10 months per year on it, thats not even including thinking about what effects I will be performing. This time scale has increased with me now booking acts for the october 2009 show. Four weeks simply isnt long enough.

On top of organizing the event, you need to think about your running costs. You say you will be selling tickets - you will need to pay money to print tickets. You will need to hire the venue. You will CERTAINLY need paramedics etc if you intend to do a glass walk and dont expect the venue to cover you if it goes wrong. You will need to pay out for public liability insurance. The venue will want copies of your insurance policy - something which you will ony get by proving you are competent at performing the effects you are going to need insuring for.


I dont mean to rain on your parade - but you are trying to acheive the impossible.


Mark

.... and need I mention about risk assesment forms!!!

Magic Mark wrote:I just dont think you are ready for this...

Perhaps so, but he'll be more ready for his second performance as a result of his first.

Good luck mate and remember, you dont need to "amaze" people who know how you do things, it's all about entertaining those who dont.

There's some good points been raised.

My advice would be to forget about a performance date and for now just worry about putting together your act. You need to think about how you're going to structure your act. I usually like to have one main effect and then think up a couple of smaller ones that can build up to it.

Once you've got an act together and working then have a think about a performance in front of a couple of friends and family at your house, take any feedback you get from this, improve any areas that need improvement and only once you've really got it all polished off nicely start thinking about putting on a show.

That's what I usually do with any new routine anyway.

I'm afraid I have to agree with what's been said here already! These guys are far more experienced than you are, and they know what they're talking about. Their guidence comes from YEARS of practice (not months!)

I know you posted this in the hope of starting a thread with all of us saying stuff like:

"Good luck" - "It sounds like it'll be a great show" - "You'll bring the house down!" - "The audience will love it!"

But sadly the "house" in this case is a bar!
The audience are going to be your family and friends,
and all the luck in the world isn't going stop this show being nothing short of a disaster. Sorry to have to be so brazen about it. Believe me everyone here is thinking it.....im just saying it!

You've only been into magic for a few months and you've gone and told people your putting on a show in 3 weeks! A show which is going to contain stage pieces like a mail bag escape, and a glass walk no less! Are you mad! Or is this whole thing a wind-up?

You obviously have given this no thought whatsoever have you? You've learnt a few secrets, assume it's going to be easy, and have thrown yourself into the deep end haven't you? People who do that usually drown mate! This has got impetuous amatuerism written all over it.

You've got two choices:

1) Fake a illness to cancel the perfomance at the last minute!
2) Or, stop thinking you can just step into the likes of Derren Browns shoes and stick to a few card tricks and close-up effects like most of us do when we're down the pub!

bob07977 wrote:
Am hopeful that I have found a venue. Looking at limiting it to 50 people and ticketing it @£5 for charity. Will be mainly friends + invites.

Audience will be v close and no stage.

There are so many issues here, I don't know where to start. No venue, £5 per ticket, expecting 50 paying customers. This is all before you start introducing the actual performance into the equation. Have you done a glass walk yet? Or are you just going to do your first one on the night and hope for the best? Do you actually own a mail bag that you're capable of escaping from? Or are you just going to give a good go on the night?

I don't want to be a downer here. When I turned pro I really jumped in at the deep end and compared to where I am today I knew nothing. However even I would shy away from a performance like this when you clearly have little or no experience.

Have you performed in front of an audience before? Friends and family are the worst audience in the world. They know you don't have magical powers. Please please please don't give your friends a reason to laugh behind your back for the rest of time.

Have you seen that clip of the guy on the talent show trying in vain to escape from a mail bag? Is that going to be you? Is that one moment going to define your life for all eternity? Think long and hard young man. Start small. A bit of close up at birthday parties, Christmas etc. Then after a year or two think of promoting a show if you really want to.

I just fear this has "c**k up" written all over up.

I hope you take this advice in the spirit it is intended - friendship.

I know I am going to have to trim the 'mains' as it is overly ambitious.

Planning the event is not a problem for me and to be honest is something I could do within that timescale to the general public on a larger scale with far, far more to do when I was just 17 (including hiring a venue, security staff, DJs, lighting rigs, sounds systems, fog machines, tickets available in all local outlets etc etc).

Back in my school days I was a natural on stage and even now I am v confident in entertaining crowds.

Venue shouldn't cost. Why should it? The venue will have a guaranteed number of people who will be spending at the bar and eating. If places are charging you, then you are doing something wrong in my humble opinion.

I take on board the insurance side of things and this could be a sticking point. The venue will already have public liability cover, so I believe the rest will be in the way our contract is worded.

I'm not sure on the Paramedics side of things as that would certainly cost £££s and not leave any for charity. I plan on having someone who is medically qualified there in the audience.

I won't be advertising these big feats, and if I am not comfortable with them before the performance I wont do them.


I understand everyones reservations but this will be a charity event with with the audience of mainly friends. I am not planning on launching a career or anything.

I could hardly swim, let alone be called 'fit' just a couple of months before I signed up to a TriAthlon. I took the plunge in deep open water, swam, cycled, ran and survived. Succeeded in that and that was very hard.

Much can be achieved and we are often limited by the mind and the opinions of others.

The majority of the audience will be made up of friends (none of whom know how anything is done).

More constructive posts are welcomed as this event will be going ahead.

bob07977 wrote:Venue shouldn't cost. Why should it? The venue will have a guaranteed number of people who will be spending at the bar and eating. If places are charging you, then you are doing something wrong in my humble opinion.

It's not just the cost issue, if someone walked into my establishment and started charging money (regardless of where the money would ultimately end up) without my permission, I would be "underwhelmed".

There is also the insurance issue... easy to say "nothing could possibly go wrong" if it's not your house, car, bank account that will need to be handed over should someone hurt themselves.

Please be careful, do your homework and don't "surprise" the venue, they may not appreciate it.

and If this is a ticket only event, in a public place, then you are not providing a guarenteed number of people, but you could effect his regular punters.

particualy if this is being staged on teh next bank holiday weekend, ( which i suspect you are) If the weather is good, people go away, and if its foul, people stay in.

Will have everything declared, arranged and agreed beforehand with the venue.

The idea of ticketing is to know and limit the number of people. It is also useful for the venue to know before the event how many people will be attending so they are appropriately staffed.

and if your tickets fail to sell ? You have only given yourself 3 weeks.

if this event was to be advertised, even only in your locak news paper, or radio station, you have not given yourself anyway near enough time.

you have to realise, that at the moment its only you doing this.
you can not advertise this show, and put 100% of your time in learning the magic, and performing it in 3 weeks. its utterly impossible.

Believe me. part of my background is in directing, and advertsing amater theatre productions, both large, and small scale. and even the smallest of shows takes months, and months to put together, and thats when i have a production team to assist.

Planning the event is not a problem for me and to be honest is something I could do within that timescale to the general public on a larger scale with far, far more to do when I was just 17 (including hiring a venue, security staff, DJs, lighting rigs, sounds systems, fog machines, tickets available in all local outlets etc etc).

Yep, thats fine, I dont doubt you cant do it, but going from personal experience from organising sell out shows, 3 weeks purely isnt enough


Back in my school days I was a natural on stage and even now I am v confident in entertaining crowds.

Yet again, I dont doubt that

Venue shouldn't cost. Why should it? The venue will have a guaranteed number of people who will be spending at the bar and eating. If places are charging you, then you are doing something wrong in my humble opinion.

If you were coming into my venue and holding an event without paying for the venue etc, id string you up - so you need to hire the venue

I take on board the insurance side of things and this could be a sticking point. The venue will already have public liability cover, so I believe the rest will be in the way our contract is worded.

Public liability covers you for what you do regularly, my PLI has restrictions, and in one previous policy, I wasnt allowed to work with animals, and had to pay an extra £100 per year just to use flash paper in my show. The venue I use for my event has its own insurance, but they wont cover me because its out of what they do normally, which is why I have to provide evidence every single time I perform there. I certainly wouldnt let anyone walk on glass in my venue without proof of integrity and PLI

I'm not sure on the Paramedics side of things as that would certainly cost £££s and not leave any for charity. I plan on having someone who is medically qualified there in the audience.

If you want to do a glass walk, then its something you will have to do. End of. No arguement. What do you do if it goes wrong and you slice open a main artery???

I won't be advertising these big feats, and if I am not comfortable with them before the performance I wont do them.

Good, in fact dont even consider doing them with your limited experience


I understand everyones reservations but this will be a charity event with with the audience of mainly friends. I am not planning on launching a career or anything.

Even with a charity event, there are certain precautions to take....

I could hardly swim, let alone be called 'fit' just a couple of months before I signed up to a TriAthlon. I took the plunge in deep open water, swam, cycled, ran and survived. Succeeded in that and that was very hard.

Congratulations, but you were taking part in something which would have a high level of insurance and back up plans and emergency procedures, what you plan to do doesnt have any of that


The majority of the audience will be made up of friends (none of whom know how anything is done).

Why would your friends pay to come and see you at somewhere they probably frequent? My firends have NEVER paid to see me perform, regardless of if its for charity or not

More constructive posts are welcomed as this event will be going ahead

My constructive criticism is to put more time into your rehersal before even considering this. Raise the money for the costs, then do it when you are more competent at what you intend to achieve.




Its not my career though, but im someone who has been there, and now im a successful working magician.

Mark[/b]

I will disagree that it is impossible as that would imply it is not going to happen - it is going to happen.

Ticket sales is not a problem, I have enough contact with people and lots of friends. That amount of time is plenty for flyers and local press too.

We shall see. I am looking for constructive input to help things go as smoothly as possible.

I already have a mentalism routine which is quite core and I am competent at. Also, last night it took me about 30mins to get the Superhuman Push right, which will add about 5-10mins to the performance.

I am looking for someone who can teach me to glass walk and will pay. If anyone knows of anybody please PM me and let me know.

Im sorry, but I give up. This thread is winding me up considerably now, you ask for constructive criticism and seasoned pros are offering you advice, yet you choose to ignore it.


So, I will say to you now what I know you actually want to here:

"Wow! fantastic idea! Sounds brilliant!

are kids going to be at the show?