April 2023 – Page 3 – MagicShow.Tips

The Professional Magician Podcast

A couple of months ago I recorded an interview with Cris Johnson for The Professional Magician podcast. We were going to talk about more businessy stuff, but we ended up talking about how I work on my show.

When I was starting out, no one ever told me how to work on my show…and I bet if I asked a room full of magicians how they work on their show, the vast majority really won’t have an answer beyond some generic “I practice”.

I came up with a system to working on my show that I call the 6R’s. Each step begins with the letter R. I’ve presented this as a lecture that I’ve presented to groups of performers around the country. A couple of years ago I did one for the virtual KAX Convention and have a recording of it.

If you’d like to learn the 6R’s to working on your show, you can get access to video for $5! Simply use the Add To Cart button below

6R’s To Working On Your Show $5

Once you order, I’ll email you the download info withing 24 hours.

-Louie

Adding Some Hype To Your Show

Recently I’ve been to a few sporting events and one of the things I pay attention to the the pageantry of the introductions of the teams. It hypes up the crowd, and it reminds me about the importance of introductions. Simply having someone say your name as you walk onstage works, but it doesn’t put energy into the room.

Yes, I understand that not everyone wants crazy energy put into the room, and it can be done in a low key sort of way.

The other place that sports add energy are in between plays. They’ll either have upbeat music, crowd play along things, or video elements. In a magic show, we have time like that in between tricks or when bringing people up onto the stage.

Those are great times to add music, jokes or something to keep the crowd engaged with you that’s not dead time.

This is where watching your show on video is helpful. If you have a hard time watching your transitions between tricks, this is the area you need to work on. Go to a baseball game and see how they do it…

-Louie

Keep Improving…

When I was in the Detroit area last week I went to the Henry Ford Museum and there’s the original Oscar Mayer Wiener Mobile there.

This car is super cool, and I’d be excited to see this version on the road now, but they kept improving it and it get better and better ever few years.

I’m sure my show is “good enough” but I try to keep improving. Last week I added a joke to a routine that I’ve been doing for over 15 years! I’ve also cut a lot of bits that have aged out of the routine over the years.

I never think of any routine as finished, there’s always things to add/cut.

Keep improving and don’t settle.

-Louie

Carry On Audio Box

The last time I flew, I had some of my audio equipment damaged that was in my checked luggage. What I think happed was when TSA screened my show case, they did a horrible job of repacking my stuff, which led to some stuff being damaged.

I’ve decided that I’m going to carry on my audio gear from now on…or until I get lazy. I went out to harbor freight and bought a Pelican Style hard sided case that has foam inside.

I’ve used the “pick n’ pluck” style foam before and it has never really lasted for me. For this audio box, I cut cardboard to reenforce the foam walls, and hopefully this will add some durability to the foam.

I’ve just finished my first round trip flight with this case and it seems to be holding up…

-Louie

Feeling Small Onstage

One of the things that I noticed in the pictures of me performing at the Oddities and Curiosities Expo was how small I looked on that stage!

I’m guessing the stage was 16 -20 feet wide by 8 feet deep. That isn’t that big, I’ve definitely worked on stages that size or bigger. However the pictures I’ve seen really remind me how much bigger props matter.

Yes, you can fill the stage with personality, but you if you’re presenting a magic show and they can’t see the magic, your personality will only carry it soo far. At some point you’ll stop being a magician and become a stand up comic or monologist.

-louie

Performing For Seniors!

A couple of days ago someone asked in a Facebook group for more info on how to get gigs performing for seniors at things like retirement communities and my book was recommended!

I used to perform 1-2 senior shows A DAY on the weekdays when I was younger, and would go on road trips where I would perform up to 5 seniors a day for a few days in a row!

I still love performing for seniors, however my current performing markets make it hard to do very many of them anymore. But I have a blast when I get a chance to do them!

Here’s a taste of one of my shows for seniors from a few years ago:

You can get the directly from me at:
http://www.magicshow.tips/how-to-perform-for-seniors-book/

Or you can support a family owned magic shop by ordering from www.Hocus-Pocus.com

Have fun out there!

-Louie

Oddities and Curiosities Expo

On Saturday I performed at the Oddities and Curiosities Expo in Grand Rapids, MI. This was a fairly unusual situation for me performing as the audience was standing, there was no seats. For me, the challenge was getting people to stand for 30 minutes. A standing audience is very different from a sitting audience.

It was also a family audience that wanted edgy, which is a very fine line to walk during your show. I was able to do a lot of bits that I wouldn’t normally do in my show as they’re slightly too edgy for a general audience, but worked great for this crowd.

This was an audience that was ready to see a show, and there were great audiences, and we packed the space with people standing. If I ever do one of these again, I’d probably take more tricks that have a lot of build up, and a singular payoff, versus routines that have multiple smaller effects.

For example I brought my object in ball of yarn that’s 8 minutes and has a couple of mini tricks before the final trick a the end. I should have done my blindfold which is also about 8 minutes and has a single reveal at the end.

It was a fun show, and I’d do it again!

-Louie

Alex Feldman is AMAZING!

One of the acts that I was most excited to see and work with at the Moisture Festival was Alex Feldman. Here’s video of the act that he does:

The act in the video is great example of taking things one step further, then one step further until you’ve done everything. The audience leaves with a sense that they’ve seen everything and the act has a definite ending.

Alex and I had a blast kicking it around Seattle. One of the things we chatted about was non-verbal communication. I’m not talking about “body language” but giving people instructions without words. We were trying to think of silent mentalism!

I did an interview with Alex for the Moisture Festival Podcast and you can listen to it at:
http://www.magicshow.tips/moisture-festival-podcast/the-moisture-festival-podcast-alex-feldman/

-Louie

Visiting with Paul Draper

Last week I performed in the Moisture Festival in Seattle and had a blast. One of the acts that I worked with was Paul Draper. I didn’t know a ton about him, I think we both did a virtual magic convention together a couple of year ago.

It was a blast seeing him, he’s got a lot of energy onstage and is very likable! Being likeable is 99% of the game!

One night Paul hosted the show I was in and he’s also a solid host, who kept the show moving. This is an important skill when the show has 9 acts plus the emcee!

If Paul is performing near you, check him out, you can learn a lot by watching him!

-Louie
PS I did interview Paul Draper for the Moisture Festival Podcast and you can listen to his episode here:
http://www.magicshow.tips/moisture-festival-podcast/the-moisture-festival-podcast-paul-draper/

The Moisture Festival Podcast – Live at the 2023 Festival!

On this very special episode of the Moisture Festival Podcast you get a tour of the Broadway Performance Hall by Tim Furst! In addition to the tour we run into Peter Irish, Kiki Hood, Micheal Evolution, the Food Folx and more!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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