I've been studying magic for the past 2 years, and I finally did my first show this weekend. The only person who's seen some random tricks throughout this 2 years is my girlfriend ( I take very seriously all the advices I've read about not performing before perfection ) but now, as I selected what I'm better on, and finally feel totally confortable with all the sleights the tricks I do require, I've been able to turn myself to the psicology and misdirection issues that are taking my vision of what magic is ( and what can be achived through it) to another level.
So I put together a little show, with mainly card parlour tricks, and wrote an interesting ( I think) script and plot to every trick, that - for this past weekend's show - I believe worked perfectly in keeping everyone interested ( during what could have otherwise been a too long show). That was one of my problems - as I did a cards-only show, and I have 6 ou 7 effects that are, in my view, stunning to a layman, I had a hard time figuring out which effects to perform, and which to leave aside. But as my script was gaining live, I felt that, with the right amount of audience participation, I could perform them all, and still be able to keep everyone interested through the show. I hope you more experienced magicians can give me a more realistic notion of what is boring to an audience, and when does that "boring" start during a show.
This is, mainly, what I've done:
1- Opened with Jay Sankey's Paperclipped - but i don't do the original version: I think the effect is way more stunning if the folded and clipped card is blue, when I'm using red backed cards ( I spread the red deck, they choose a red backed card, they sign it, and when the blue folded card is unfolded, it's they're signed card - I've chose this one because I tried both of them with my girlfriend and she was way more impressed when the folded card had a diferent colour).
2- One of my favourite card effects (maybe because of its presentation) is a Tommy Wonder's effect ( from Visions Of Wonder 2), where two cards and two bills are placed on the table, someone in the audience thinks of a card, and as the cards are showned one of them turns up to be their chosen card ( as a little miracle for me, the lady chose a PERFECT card when I asked her, so I was able to let another person choose the second card, and both match their chosen cards).
I feel this is a nice effect to follow Jay's Paperclipped, because I can tell them that I can predict a chosen card, not only when they touch a card (refering to jay's effect) but also if they meerly think of one ( introducing, this way, Tommy's effect).
3- As a third card prediction ( too much? ) I use Smart Ass, an effect where a card is placed on a chair, the lady sits on it, puts half deck in each opened hand, and throws away the half she doesn't feel has the chosen prediction. She does that a few times until there's only one card left, and it matches the card they're sitting.
I think this effect goes perfectly with the first and second ones, because as they are still stunned by a prediction of a thought card, I can go a step further and tell them that not only I can do it, ANYONE can. This effect had an incredible reaction.
4- To change gears for a second, and as I open a new deck, i put aside the jokers but then pretend that I can still do something funny with them: the jokers are actually the packet trick NFW, and 4 jokers turn into 4 kings. This is one of my favourite packet tricks, and the audience went crazy with it.
5- Finally, I put together a card to wallet routine that includes 2 other effects: I start with a signed card to shoe, tell them they weren't paying enough attention so they didn't see me placing the card inside the shoe, as I put the signed card on the table, face down, and ask someone to put the hand above it. I say I can still make it travel, all I need to do is distract him for a second: just a second is enough. So, I ask him to choose a second card and start an Ambitious Card routine with that second selected card, to put his mind away from the signed one under the hand. Finally the second card disappears from the deck, appears under his hand, and the signed card is inside a wallet the was in view from the start. They went nuts
6- Of course, the ID. I love that deck.
I was ready to call it a day, after the ID, but the first row asked me to go on, one more trick. And so I performed - I think it's Dai Vernon's - Poker Demonstration, but with the diference that I let the audience shuffle the deck, and didn't shuffle it myself after they returned it to me, being still able to give great games to all, but somehow a perfect one to me.
I don't know if I should have done that: this effect is less impressive than the others, and I've read extensively about always leave your audience wanting more.
Even after a one hour show with only cards, I think they all went home after having a good time, no boring moments I believe. Nevertheless, I keep reading posts about too long card shows... I can do a good coin routine, where they travel one by one from one hand to another, and the last one from my hand to a spectator's hand. I also enjoy doing bill switches, and my version of bill to lemon is not bad.
I'm sorry for this very long post, but I'm Portuguese and I find it hard to find any magic societys or clubs in Portugal. So this blogs are my only way to get some experienced magician's opinions on what I'm doing right, wrong and what should be improved.
Thank you all in advance for your help.
Cheers!
