talkmagic.co.uk

I hope I'm posting this in the right section, if not, sincere apologies.

When I'm doing walk around, it's almost always to groups of people. I find that getting other people involved and talking about the tricks builds up the entertainment value and let's me interact more naturally than doing it to just one person. Just my style.

The problem I have though is varying levels of engagement. In most groups I've encountered, there'll be one or two who are supremely keen on seeing the magic, the others might be a little neutral but I can generally bring them around. Quite often there's one person who is anti it, just wants to drink or do anything other than participate.

It's not at the level of heckling, nothing that interrupts the trick. It's just a completely unengaged audience member that I can't get engaged, no matter what I try. I doubt there's a silver bullet, some perfect method to guarantee getting them attentive. If you can't get them hooked, when do you decide to walk away though, quickly because of the uninterested person or do you stay for a while to work with the ones that are keen? Seems like a lose/lose situation to me, but I'm sure you guys have a good answer.

IF there are more people in the group that like it STAY... if not you have to find out what they like... maybe there not intoo the card magic... but more into the mentalism or manipulating of objects... try some other tricks for the people that DO like it and look if the person that in not engaged changes in his mood... poker works for most men...

magicians get confused to much with conjeurs and people like char that use their "gift" to get money etc....


This association we gotta get rid of... make a joke about it...

i did a trick yesterday a cards to bra only then into a pocket (the guy was not wearing a bra) so i got 5 cards to travel in his pocket without him noticing... he was amazed... because he put 10 in and it became 15....!! so i asked him how much money he had in his wallet before the trick started ... i think this works pretty nice... because people think wow he s not gonna steal my wallet if he tells me about it



ehmm but lets get back on the topic

ehmmm!! there are always skeptical people and everyone is else try to see what they like and do something for them... if doesnt work dont stress..

Ok, so it's a ratio game, I can deal with that Mentalism and object manipulation are two areas I'm sorely lacking in (read as totally clueless) but I will start looking in to them though, thanks. Variety being the spice of life and all that

ure a card magician right? my best magic is with cards too.... but u dont need to know mentalism its al in the presentation


for instance a simple pick a card locate a card... is magic...

if u do the same trick but force it and then READ there mind... its mentalism

object manipulation can be as simple as a french drop just show them something with their objects,... if u ask for a 50 cent piece of them they will pay attention because the owner of the object will keep waiting till the end of the trick

Ah, I see. Like most magic, it's not what you know, it's how you present and package it. Never occurred to me to use the disinterested party like that either, seems obvious in retrospect.

Yeah, cards are my main thing currently, no harm in expanding the repertoire though. The French drop I can do, not too many other sleights. For now

I think the other thing to remember, is that some people just don't like magic. Which is fair enough really...

Why force it on them?

kartoffelngeist wrote:I think the other thing to remember, is that some people just don't like magic. Which is fair enough really...

Why force it on them?

Exactly

He could've had a bad day at the office or had some bad news. Or he might just not particularly like magic. Or he might be an introvert who prefers the company of himself and his close friends, and although not disliking you being there just doesn't really fancy taking part (they exist - I'm one of them)

Don't worry about it. If the others are entertained then entertain them, don't force it on the uninterested bloke (that could cause problems). And of course, keep him in mind when it comes to overstaying your welcome

Walk around magic like busking, is meant as a social exercise. What I mean, is that your engagement with the crowd is not formalized, like on stage or in an act that people pay to see. Even though you may make a good living from such performances the "hook" is your personality, not the magic. The magic simply serves as a tool for introduction that you use over and over again with the crowd.

Over the five years plus that I worked the street, I learned from people like Jeff McBride and Jeff Sheridan to entice rather than impose. The combat magic you see being called street magic is more a "barking" type of performance style. You want instead to lour your spectators in with things like "wow what's going on over there?" That way you don't have to deal that much with rejection.

However, know that there are indeed those who just don't like magic, and although it is possible to win them over, it's often not worth the trouble.