comedy – Page 3 – MagicShow.Tips

Ripping Routine Part II

In yesterday’s post I got started with working on a routine for my version of the Split Deck trick. Right now we have the presentation hook for the trick and need to get into writing some jokes for the routine. There are several ways that I typically do this.

1. Write random jokes: This is basically just doing some research on the props and the skill and writing jokes about what turns up.

2. Punch up a basic script: This is where you write a narrative script saying what you have to say, then go back and write jokes to make it funny.

3. Improv it: For this you go out and just do the trick an see what comes up.

4. Workshop it: This is where you get together with a group and brainstorm ideas.

Usually I will use all four of the above methods. I don’t do them in any particular order, I probably should have a system that I follow every time, but I don’t.

One thing that is important for me early on in the process is just to go out and do the trick to see if there’s anything there. You’ll learn a lot by doing the trick once or twice without devoting a ton of time to writing. You may learn that your method doesn’t feel right, or people don’t give a crap about the trick. If you are lucky something major will present it self that will become an anchor for the routine.

Alright, so those are the methods for writing the routine. Tomorrow I’ll start the actual writing (hopefully).

Sucker Tricks are for Sucka’s

In my show I don’t do sucker tricks, and haven’t since I was a kid. A sucker trick is an easy way to get a reaction to a trick. It’s plug and play “comedy” except most people don’t think about what it does beyond the initial reaction. Here’s an example, let’s say you are doing the … Continue reading “Sucker Tricks are for Sucka’s”

In my show I don’t do sucker tricks, and haven’t since I was a kid. A sucker trick is an easy way to get a reaction to a trick. It’s plug and play “comedy” except most people don’t think about what it does beyond the initial reaction.

Here’s an example, let’s say you are doing the Egg Bag and you do the bit where you pretend to put the egg under your armpit, but it’s really somewhere else. For this bit to work you need someone in the audience to yell you how they think you did the trick. Someone has to say, “it’s under your arm”, if they don’t, the bit falls completely flat.

If everything is working correctly, the audience needs to heckle you, and you need to encourage it for the bits to work. Then you do the under the arm bits, and you continue to encourage the audience to heckle you for the next two minutes.

Guess what? You’ve just trained a room full of people to call you out when they think they know how you are doing a trick. This will be a problem later in your show. Is it worth the two minutes of “comedy”? Notice I put quotes around the word comedy, because the audience, isn’t laughing, they are heckling you.

Before you do a sucker trick, think of the larger implications in your show. Here’s a different example: You are working for an agent at an event. The only watch 2 minutes of your show and it’s when the audience is heckling you and telling you how the trick works. Do you think the agent will think you are worth big bucks on the next gig? Probably not.

Fantastic Information!

If you know me, you know I’m a huge fan of comedy magician Nick Lewin. He was one of the magicians that I saw as a teenager and his style shaped how I perform. He’s someone that had pretty much done it all as a magician. Recently he was on the The Variety Artist Podcast … Continue reading “Fantastic Information!”

If you know me, you know I’m a huge fan of comedy magician Nick Lewin. He was one of the magicians that I saw as a teenager and his style shaped how I perform. He’s someone that had pretty much done it all as a magician.

Recently he was on the The Variety Artist Podcast and it’s a great interview!

He gives a ton of great advice on all aspects of your show. One of the things that I really liked is he mentioned that comedians and comedy magicians have a different definition of what performing “comedy” means.

Most comedy magicians thing performing comedy in a comedy club means being dirty. That’s couldn’t be further from the truth. Performing comedy in a comedy club should mean you have original material. Jokes that move a plot forward. Yes, you can have limited success doing store bought tricks, but at some point to really progress you need to write material!

TLDR: Listen to Nick Lewin’s interveiw

T-Minus 3…

We’re coming into a new year and it’s a time that many people look back on their lives. It’s not just a time of looking into the past, but also making goals for the future. You can do this for your show, reflect on the old, and make plans for improvement.

Here’s how to do it. Watch a video of a recent show of yours and takes notes. What you are looking for are three bits in the show to cut from it. Look for things that no longer fit you, your performing style or society.

When I’m out seeing shows, I frequently see shows where the performer does an outdated line. They’ve probably never examined their show for outdated material, so the joke or bit is never noticed. Sometimes it will be a reference to a product, or TV show. Other times it will be a word that’s no longer socially acceptable. Maybe it’s a youthful reference that the performer told when they were a kid and they’re middle aged now. It could also be a joke or trick that for whatever reason no longer gets the reaction it used to.

Once you’ve found three bits, cut them from your show. Just stop doing them. Now you create new bits to fill any gaps that cutting the bits may have created. Pretty simple. You’ve now “freshened up” your show!

A Tale of Two Rooms

The last two nights I worked as an act in bar comedy shows. The two rooms couldn’t have been more different. One room was poorly laid out, had no light on the stage and a bad sound system. The other room had great sound, all of the audience was directly in front of me and … Continue reading “A Tale of Two Rooms”

I was the second it one, that had good light, sound and layout.

It’s all the little things that go into making the show easier for audience to watch. When a show is easy to watch, it’s soo much easier for the audience to enjoy. They don’t have to work to hear or see you. It can be tiring watching a show that you have to concentrate to enjoy.

So how to you fix a bad set up?

The first thing you’ll hear magicians on the internet say is “make your contract say ____”. Sure you can write that, but the reality of what you consider good sound and what the venue does can be two different things. One thing is you can try to get to the venue early and do your best to adjust what you can. That plus having a solid show and moving forward definately does help.

Is it the venue’s fault?

No.

Lots of times they don’t know better. They may be used to an acoustic guitar player in the corner doing ambient entertainment and not a show. You can educate them after, like mentioning they need speaker stands, or whatever to make it easier for the next show that comes in.

Hope that give you some perspective,

Louie