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Has anyone here performed magic at trade shows?

How large are you talking?

I have no idea

Yes why?

Becasue I got a trade show next week just wanted to know a little about them as i have never perfomred at a trade show before.

What do you want to know?

Well its the first trade show I will be doing and don't really know much about them , I suppose all the tricks I perform will be without a table so can just do loads of cards effects that is in the hands like , here then there , 2 card monte , wild jokerz (my own creation ) , 4 card trick etc etc.

I still don't know what you want to know?

You are correct though in assuming that you won't have a table. It will almost certainly be all or virtually all stand up.

In general terms, you probably need to establish a bit more from whoever is hiring you. There's a good chance they will expect you to tailor your effects to tie in with, or strongly refer to, whatever it is they do if appropriate. Routines involving business cards would be best done using their business cards (obviously!) and their name/logo ought to be prominent on props/paperwork/envelopes if possible. If they just want you to entertain their visitors and customers with all your usual stuff then that's OK but try and make sure of what they want as far in advance as possible to give you chance to do appropriate routines. Paul Daniels covers this very well in his Masterclass lectures and DVD, although you'll be wondering how the heck he gets away with his attitude towards such gigs and the people who organise them!

I'm not too sure about that Happy Toad.

The only reason that I challenge this is that I often go to trade shows (not as a magician) and often see magicians that are seated at a tbale that they, or the exhibitor provides.

I would 'guess' that this is something that you should have discussed with the company that you're representing and at the same time, asked about their products, the profile of the anticipated clients etc. but i see no reason why you shouldn;t at least explore the idea of having some table space and a couple of stools. It's sometimes nice if you;ve walked around an exhibition for hours to have a seat for five minutes but this usually applies to one spec who's selected to assist, pick a card etc.

Having a table may open up much more opportunity to show more varied tricks.

I would personally look at an angle to promote the client's name as part of, or during your presentation. I've often seen people giving away stress balls, particularly at the health & safety exhibitions I've been to, or perhaps miniture sports balls if it were a sports and leasure exhibition.

If you discussed with your client the possibility of them providing some with their name printed on them then these would make great loads for a cups and balls routine whch could then be given away. I think that if you came up with these sorts of simple ideas then your client may begin to appreciate you even more.

I dont know what I really want to know about I just really want to know what it is like at trade shows because I have never really heard of one untill 2 days ago.

Have you done ANY performance before in front of an audience of strangers such as walkaround, table hoppin etc?

If you haven't then you're starting far too ambitious in my opinion.

If you have this experience then I'm surprised that you're asking this question to be honest.

What trade show is it?
What product or service does your client market?
What has your client asked you to specifically do?
What have you told your client that you can do?

You need to be very smartly presented in a nice suit etc., you should have a variety of stand-up/walkaround effects (not just cards), you should have entertaining patter, you should try & include the client name or product as part of your presentation.

The purpose of you being there is usually to draw a crowd so that the sales people can then take over as soon as you have finished so you should only do 10 minutes max at a time.

You might want to have packs of cards printed with the client name, logo etc. on the back that you can give away as part of your presentation (or just give away the individual playing cards with the client details at the finish of the trick).

If you haven't got any 'real' performing experience don't do the trade show - you will embarass yourself & the client. You should also charge more for this type of event. If you sell yourself cheaply or perform badly you will set a bad precedent for corporate magicians who do trade shows regularly.

The purpose of you being there is usually to draw a crowd so that the sales people can then take over as soon as you have finished so you should only do 10 minutes max at a time.

Which is exactly why a table is not normally appropiate.

Personally I think the very question proves that you are not ready to do the gig. To do a trade show, you need to know exactly what is expected of you. It is much harder than just entertaining people with magic, the client has you there for a reason and you need to fulfil that role. The reason is to get more sales, this is achieved in a number of way's but primarily by the magician drawing in new people to the stand and often with effects that will somehow relate to the company or the product.

To do a trade show, you need to know exactly what is expected of you. It is much harder than just entertaining people with magic, the client has you there for a reason and you need to fulfil that role. The reason is to get more sales, this is achieved in a number of way's but primarily by the magician drawing in new people to the stand and often with effects that will somehow relate to the company or the product.

Totally agree with that. I will add that often there will be giveaways at the stand, and if you can use them in the magicm, maybe by having them magically produced - then that could also be a bonus...