magician – Page 15 – MagicShow.Tips

Subway Stradivarious or Bucket Drummer

A few years ago the Washington Post did an “experiment” where they had a concert violinist play a Stradivarius for people in the subway (You can read the article here). This recently popped up again on my Facebook feed and and I have some thoughts on it. Here’s the video: You can be the best … Continue reading “Subway Stradivarious or Bucket Drummer”

Here’s the video:

You can be the best musician, play the best instrument, but that doesn’t mean you are the right person for the job. Street performing is a skill, just like playing in a theater is a skill, and those skills don’t necessarily translate. I bet the guys paying drums on a $2 bucket were making a lot more than him.

So why didn’t the violinist build a crowd?

Years ago I was told by Tom Frank that before picking a spot to busk, you look the people’s feet. Are the fast or slow? The violinist picked a commuter spot. Not a good choice and any experienced busker probably wouldn’t line up for that pitch.

Look at the location, you really can’t build a crowd without completely blocking the foot traffic. It’s essentially between two doors. If someone wanted to stop and watch, it wouldn’t be comfortable. They’d have people walking in front of them, or into them.

They also picked doing it at “rush hour”…guess why they call it rush hour? People are in a rush! You’ll do better before or after rush hour when people have more time.

Based on a Q & A I read from the author of the article, that place normally doesn’t allow street performers, so they had to get special permission for it. So the place didn’t have a street performing culture, which is another big factor.

Look at the successful street performers, where do they go? Do they go where business commuters go, or do they go where tourists go? Spoiler alert, they go where tourists or people not on business are. Those people have more time. I’m very curious how well the violinist would have done if you put him in a place with a street performing culture?

Even if you gave him a good time at a good spot, he wouldn’t have done as well as the guy playing the bucket on his first time out. He’s playing “ambient music” versus “interactive music”. Ambient music people walk by, stop for a bit, toss a buck in the violin case and go about their day. Interactive music would be he says hi people, has little “bits”, sees a guy wearing a band shirt, calls attention to it and plays the hook from one of that bands songs. It’s a different style of performing, you can’t do you “theater act” as is on the street and expect the same results.

I guess the takeaway from this is that if you are moving venues as a performer, you should expect a learning curve!

Louie

The Stroller Test

I was at a showcase last week for performers trying to get booked. I watched all of the magicians showcase (that I was aware of) and while I had a crappy showcase spot, I pulled a bigger crowd then all of the ones that I saw. Why? They all had long presentations, where … Continue reading “The Stroller Test”

Why?

They all had long presentations, where mine while they can be long, have jokes in them. In addition to that what I selected to use in my showcase all had big unique visuals. This comes down to what I call the “stroller test”.

How the stroller test works is you have to imagine mom pushing a stroller down the walkway with a kid or two. Would she stop at your show. You have say 50 feet to catch her attention and get her to sit down. If she’s travelling at around 1 foot a second, you’ve got about a minute to catch her attention.

If you are standing up there talking about poetry for five minutes before the trick happens, you aren’t going to grab her. If you are standing up there talking and have a joke every 45 seconds, you have a much better chance of getting her attention. If you have a joke every 45 seconds AND an interesting visual you will have an even better chance of getting her attention.

Inventing a Trick That’s Already Been Invented

I always try to keep up with the new magic that’s out and came across this trick: To me this guy was inspired by David Copperfield’s license plate trick, without the kicker of the appearing car. This is a more practical way of doing the trick for 99.9% of performers and a smart method. … Continue reading “Inventing a Trick That’s Already Been Invented”

I always try to keep up with the new magic that’s out and came across this trick:

To me this guy was inspired by David Copperfield’s license plate trick, without the kicker of the appearing car. This is a more practical way of doing the trick for 99.9% of performers and a smart method.

Whenever I see a marketed trick I try to think of ways I can make them unique to me. I do two things:

Think of a different method: A new method can lead to a trick that feels different to the audience.
Think of a new presentation: A completely different presentation will give you a unique feeling trick.

So what would I do with this trick (keep in mind this is trick is already a variation of an existing trick)?

Let’s start with method. Instead of using a flip chart, why not use the TOXIC force? Now you’ve eliminated the flip board and a visual, so the trick now won’t look like the trick above. Now you’ve got two tricks that simply just license plate predictions.

Next let’s get into presentations. The video doesn’t really have a presentation, and it’s been soo long since I’ve seen David Copperfield do his, that I don’t remember what his was, we have a pretty easy starting point. Since we’re using a calculator, you could talk about buying a car and how they talk about all the numbers.

Now that we’ve got a method and a presentation, there’s one last hurdle, getting a license plate that has only numbers and no letters. A google search showed me that all modern plates have both numbers and letters, so buying a used plate on ebay won’t work. However another search showed me that you can have custom “novelty” plates made!

Now we’ve got the routine, the props and method…we’ve got a brand new trick, one that’s unique!

Louie

Some Sound Advice…

In a facebook magic group someone asked about sound systems for bday parties. I was kinda amazed by the response of the people. I think one of the interesting responses was , “you don’t need one for a dozen kids…”, i find this interesting because while a dozen kids in average, having 30 is not … Continue reading “Some Sound Advice…”

Another factor is production value. Having music in your show adds a lot to it. It kills dead time and opens up other things to do, like musical gags and bits. Whenever I do shows without music, I feel the show isn’t living up to its full potential.

Then there’s the core issue, having your voice heard. I’ve seen too many shows where you can’t hear the performer and it’s a small group. It could be because the show is outside and there’s a lot of background noise, or it could be the performer not projecting.

Finally there’s the whole, 3 or 4 shows a day thing. You can blow out your voice in a weekend. A $300 bday party isn’t worth it if it wrecks your voice for the $1K gig you have saturday night.

Invest in the best sound system you can afford.

Always Bring It!

I was chatting with Jeffrey Tam in Las Vegas about performing on Fool Us. He was saying that going on the show just to get on TV isn’t why you should go on that show, you should go on the show to WIN! I totally agree with him, that’s the goal, if you just want … Continue reading “Always Bring It!”

One of the things that drives me nuts is when people go on TV and do sponge balls. That footage isn’t the best simply because bookers, especially bookers who deal with good talent have seen it. That video footage does nothing to help you get gigs above local level. Sure it may help you be “king of the birthday parites” but it won’t help you make the move to children’s festivals, or performing arts centers.

What video of your show makes it unique? Recently I was on a local TV show and I did material that set me apart from other magicians in my market!

The moral of the story is when you are on TV, don’t waste it on doing stuff that will just be white noise to bookers.

Louie

Always Have a Trick in Your Pocket…

One thing that I often hear magicians say is that they never perform for people unless they are paid. That’s bunk. Personally I usually have a deck of cards in my pocket, not because I want to show people tricks, but it allows me to practice when I have unexpected downtime. Stuck in the … Continue reading “Always Have a Trick in Your Pocket…”

Stuck in the drive thru line at the bank…I can bang out a few practice false shuffles.

Recently I was picking my agent up at the airport in Billings, MT and her checked luggage as well as about 30 other people’s luggage were left behind in Seattle. That meant a long wait (over 2 hours!) to file their baggage claims.

She had taken my banner as “carry on” to the plane. So I popped up the banner and did a show for the people waiting!

It really made a difference in the people’s day! Also the trick that I’m doing in the above video was published in an issue of Vanish Magazine from a couple of months ago.

In addition to a deck of cards that’s usually in my pocket, I have an impromptu show that lives in my wallet. This show is short at about 15 mins, but it’s got a beginning, middle and end. This isn’t just a series of tricks, it’s a show. I highly recommend you have show you can do from you wallet. It doesn’t need to play for 500 people, but a good, solid 10-15 mins of close up. The book The Impromptu Mystifier is what got me to put this show together and in it the author gives a great frame work for how to structure the show.

I’m not saying you should force your magic on anyone, but you also never know when you’ll be in a position to perform.

Louie

Finally Seeing an Act!

When I was a teenager I remember in a issue of Magic Magazine (I think), I saw a picture of Mondre performing. The picture has stuck in my head for over 20 years. Last week I was able to work with Mondre at Wonderground in Las Vegas! I had a blast hanging out and chatting … Continue reading “Finally Seeing an Act!”

I had a blast hanging out and chatting with him.

I also love that his act didn’t disappoint me. I’ve seen many shows that I read about as a kid and when I finally see it as an adult, the show is a clunker. Here’s a video of Mondre that I found :

This also brings me to something that I think is lost on kids today, which is seeking out shows. When I was a kid there was no youtube, I had to actually ride the bus for hours to see a show. When seeing a show it had value and a lot of it. I really took in the show, it wasn’t just something that was happening in the same room as me.

My advice to anyone who wants to be a magician is to go out and actually see shows! Go see any live show, not just magic, not just national acts…go see every single show you can!

Louie

Be Content Creator, Not a Content Consumer

Right now we live in a world that needs content. With YouTube, Facebook, etc the amount of content that gets consumed is amazing. Sure you can go on Instagram and do the snapchange and do alright, but that’s all it will be in just alright. We’ve all seen it… So the trick is to … Continue reading “Be Content Creator, Not a Content Consumer”

So the trick is to create content, how do you do that? One easy way is to create around topical things like news, or a holiday. For example the other day President Trump said the reason we’re having out of control wild fires is that we aren’t “raking the forest“. That was my starting point for this quick trick:

I have less than an hour into the trick, and most of the time was spent driving to the hardware store and back to make the appearing rake and then walking to and from the park to record this.

Here’s an example of some content I created based on a holiday a couple years ago:

It’s not hard to create this way. The downside is that when you do this stuff has a shelf life. Material based on the news is a few days to a few weeks. If you create content based on a holiday, you’ve got a week, but you can recycle it every year or every few years.

So go out and think of a trick!

Be Seen!

One of the hardest things when performing for a group in a banquet hall without a stage is being seen. Here’s a picture from a corporate gig I did recently. I sat down in a chair at the back to take this picture. Can you see the person up front talking? Look close, you can … Continue reading “Be Seen!”

One of the hardest things when performing for a group in a banquet hall without a stage is being seen. Here’s a picture from a corporate gig I did recently.

I sat down in a chair at the back to take this picture. Can you see the person up front talking? Look close, you can really only see them from about the shoulders up. What can we learn from this picture? If you magic is happening below shoulder level most of the audience cannot see it.

There are two ways to solve this visibility problem:

Hold all of your props above your head: The problem with this is it makes doing sleight of hand really difficult and looks strange.
Bring a your own stage: This is most obvious solution. However not always practical, especially when flying. So I travel with a folding stool. This fits in my suitcase and when I stand on it makes the show much more visible.

Next time you are at a show, even one with a stage, sit in the back and watch the act or speaker before you and see what you can see. You’ll be amazed at how little can be seen even with a stage!

Louie

Dusting Off Tricks

I’ve been fascinated by the Any Card at Any Number trick since I was a teenager. I’ve developed and published several methods of doing it. I was going through an old notebook and found this version that I was doing in the early 2000’s This version has a few interesting things going for it, … Continue reading “Dusting Off Tricks”

This version has a few interesting things going for it, like the imaginary deck premise and that’s it’s pretty easy to do. It also have a few things not going for it, like having to use the “magician’s choice” force for the suit selection, the deck can’t be handled by the spectator and it’s uses for another trick and very limited (but not impossible).

This version I call the Imaginary Card at Any Number and will be published in an upcoming issue of Vanish Magazine. Hopefully someone will use the trick as a jumping off point for their version of the trick. For me the method for this trick had me work to eliminate the weaknesses and come up with a better versions. My current version doesn’t have the weaknesses of this trick.

Louie