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Be apart of the world’s largest touring magic show!

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Applications are now open for the role of Close Up Magician/Merchandise Assistant for the UK and Europe tour of THE ILLUSIONISTS touring from September 24th – December 1st, 2013.

Ideal applicants should:

• Be a competent and skilled close up magician
• Be a confident and experienced performer
• Be capable of speaking in front of large crowds
• Have prior retail/customer service experience
• Have a high level of customer service
• Demonstrate efficient and precise mathematical skills (Counting cash, stock etc)
• Prove to be a effective communicator
• Be a team player
• Be prepared to work hard but enjoy working in a fun, exciting environment!

Tasks will include but will not be limited to:

• Performing magic tricks (merchandise) available for sale in the foyers of the venues
• Performing/Pitching the magic tricks (merchandise) in front of large crowds
• Processing the purchases of merchandise
• Roving as a merchandise seller throughout the venues
• Assisting with the upkeep of stock
• Assisting with sales, stock reports etc
• Setup and teardown of the merchandise stands at each venue

Applicants must:

• Be 100% available and prepared to tour with THE ILLUSIONISTS throughout the UK and Europe between September 24th – December 1st, 2013.

Payment: Weekly rate + Expenses (Accommodation & Transport provided).

*Applicants capable of speaking German, Czech, Italian, Slovak, Hungarian and Serbian are highly sought.

Interested applicants should send a brief cover letter, their CV and contact details via email ASAP to Samuel Klingner - email@samklingner.com

APPLICATIONS CLOSE: 20/09/2013

Well that counts everybody out on here buddy.. I think you need less qualifications to work for NASA.

Check out the show website, seems to be quite an event.

• Be a competent and skilled close up magician
• Be a confident and experienced performer
• Be capable of speaking in front of large crowds

Says professional magician to me, but what professional magician is going to have three months free at the end of the year, at this time!
I know it's a big event so for the right price (and that's always the question isn't it, especially considering tickets are £60+) I would have been interested but I'm booked for events throughout October, November and December.

Could you please post the rate for those that are interested?

Probably suit someone starting out in magic, or starting to work in magic, but then their skill list is going need to be diminished I would think.
Good luck if anyone applies.

"Close up magician/merchandise assistant"? That made me laugh! It is just a fancy way of saying "magic pitchman". And I get a vibe of minimum wage. Alas I find the worst people at selling magic are ironically often magicians especially if they are not on straight commission. There are exceptions of course but most magicians are pretty useless at selling magic. They think they are doing a show rather than trying to extract money from people. Incorrect mentality I am afraid.

Oddly enough this employer would probably be better off with a non-magician if they could be trained to do the tricks. Perhaps not realistic but it might be worth consideration.

As an aside I was also highly amused at the "high level of customer service" bit. That is the last quality required and could even be detrimental. You have to do this work for a while to realise why.

In order to wipe out my entire earnings for the rest of the year...

so for 3 months work (solid as well as it is on the road) assuming 8 hours a day at my current rate of £175/h (8 hour days) you are looking at £126,000ish for a professional magician - and thats a fairly cheap rate compared to many.

I'll do it for 20,000 if you like though. 106k savings isn't bad!

shuffleshuffle wrote:In order to wipe out my entire earnings for the rest of the year...

so for 3 months work (solid as well as it is on the road) assuming 8 hours a day at my current rate of £175/h (8 hour days) you are looking at £126,000ish for a professional magician - and thats a fairly cheap rate compared to many.

I'll do it for 20,000 if you like though. 106k savings isn't bad!

Don't be silly, old chap. Most professional magicians are starving. I have never met a rich one yet although many who claim to be. Call me cynical but I have always liked Jay Marshall's appraisal of how much magicians claim to make. He said that you have to divide by two and subtract $50 off the fee they claim and you will probably have the correct amount.

So are you going to do it then Mark?

I was on board until it said, "be prepared to work hard." Then I stopped reading.

K

shuffleshuffle wrote:So are you going to do it then Mark?

Certainly. I earned 2 million dollars last year. If you divide that by two I earned a million. And if you subtract $50 I am afraid I only earned a measly 999,950 dollars. Times are dreadfully hard. Perhaps I should apply for the job under discussion.

Now to be serious I would not necessarily dismiss the advertised job too quickly, particularly if you are a young magician full of energy and at the start of your career. If this is really a legitimate and well run company it could turn out to be a very valuable experience. I have a strong suspicion that it could be very good training for a future career in the lucrative trade show field which very few magicians are capable of working in because of (and kevmundo please note) the very hard work involved. Most magicians who try to work trade shows fail either because they hate doing it and give up or the companies don't find them to be any benefit and never book them again.

A good trade show magician needs 3 things. First he has to be a good magician who can draw and work to a crowd. Second you need terrific stamina and this is where a lot of performers fall down. It isn't like doing a half hour show and going home. No. You are performing all day at least twice an hour. And third you need to be a good salesman and have an understanding of how to promote a company's product.

The advertised job sounds like a very good training course for this activity. Oddly enough I suspect the employee should be paying the company for the experience rather than the other way round!

The official website for The Illusionists is http://www.theillusionistslive.com showing UK tour dates of:

24 SEPTEMBER, 2013 Bournemouth, Bournemouth International Centre
25 SEPTEMBER, 2013 Oxford, New Theatre
27 SEPTEMBER, 2013 Blackpool Blackpool Opera House
28 - 29 SEPTEMBER, 2013 Edinburgh, Edinburgh Festival Theatre
2 - 3 OCTOBER 2013 Nottingham, Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
4 - 5 OCTOBER, 2013 Manchester, Manchester Apollo
6 OCTOBER, 2013 Sheffield, City Hall
8 OCTOBER, 2013 Wolverhampton, Wolves Civic
9 OCTOBER, 2013 Plymouth, Plymouth Pavillions
10 OCTOBER, 2013 Portsmouth, Guildhall Portsmouth
11 - 12 OCTOBER, 2013 London, Hammersmith Apollo

Dates for Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Slovakia, Hungary and Serbia are on the website.

I have no wish to work trade shows Mark me ole sunshine. Moreover, I have even less desire to 'work hard' making money for someone else. I'm not a full time magician and I have a good job that keeps me in wine and Netflix. A couple of gigs per month is all I need to keep my hobby self funding. I charge £350 per awesomeness. I normally get between 1 & 3 gigs per month sitting on my backside eating chocolates. The thought of long days and low pay just doesn't have that va-va-voom appeal. Although I'm sure someone just starting out who is a multilingual master magician with no employment from September onwards would be ideal for this exciting role.

K

kevmundo wrote:I have no wish to work trade shows Mark me ole sunshine. Moreover, I have even less desire to 'work hard' making money for someone else. I'm not a full time magician and I have a good job that keeps me in wine and Netflix. A couple of gigs per month is all I need to keep my hobby self funding. I charge £350 per awesomeness. I normally get between 1 & 3 gigs per month sitting on my backside eating chocolates. The thought of long days and low pay just doesn't have that va-va-voom appeal. Although I'm sure someone just starting out who is a multilingual master magician with no employment from September onwards would be ideal for this exciting role.

K

You sound just like Paul Pacific.

I'm afraid I don't know the gentleman. But I imagine you have a great deal of respect for him and that's what led you to draw the comparison.

K