When I see this sign, I know it’s going to be a good show!
The simple fact that they thought to put out a sign let’s me know that they have thought about other things that are needed to make the show happen. Things like reading my tech requirements, etc.
-Louie
Last week, I was at a booking conference and they had a “pitch and perform” event. In this event, each person had 5 minutes to introduce themself, tell what they did, and give a short sample of what they do.
Here’s what I took with me:
There are two routines, one I intended to do is my Stand Up Chop Cup (it’s in my 2025 lecture notes) and the back up routine is a rope routine. Both magic routines would run about three minutes and the other two minutes would be the pitch part. What’s important about these two routines is that there is no set up and no clean up and they have a lot of magic!
I always try to have a back up routine for things like this. It’s only five minutes, but sometimes I’ll see the room and decide my main trick isn’t right, or there will be another magician who may do something similar to what I had planned. That’s why the two tricks I brought were very different visually and in effect.
A little bit of planning can help a lot!
-Louie
Recently I was doing a gig at a retirement community and one of the people that lived there was magician Dick Barry!
Dick is retired now; however, he has created many magic tricks that were sold. He was also a performer at the Magic Castle. I had a great time chatting with Dick before the show. This is one of the great things about performing at a retirement community, you never know who you’ll run into!
If you want to learn more about performing at retirement communities, check out my book How to Perform for Seniors.
-Louie
This month I’m doing a few dates at a Halloween festival that runs 5 weekends. One of the days that I was performing, it was raining, and this was an outdoor festival. The stage was covered, but the audience seating was not covered.
The act before me performed for a few people with umbrellas that were standing behind the wet seats. What I did was move a bunch of seats onto the stage and dry them off.
I managed to fill up the stage seating and had great shows!
When you arrive at a show and the scenario isn’t ideal, consider how to improve it. I’ll usually run the idea by my contact at the gig to ensure there’s no reason why I shouldn’t do that.
-Louie
Recently the Portland Society of Magicians has their amateur magic contest. This was for people who don’t really perform for pay.
What I love about things like this is getting to see all the different styles of magic that are performed. Also, it lets me see the various trends that are going around magic.
One thing I noticed in the contest was that there were two acts where the trick didn’t work, and they ended at that point. That’s something that separates pros from amateurs: how they deal with mistakes. A pro will plow on and figure out a way out of it, whereas the amateur doesn’t necessarily have that “toolbox” to get them out of the situation. How do you get the “toolbox” of outs, simple, you fail a lot! Failure is part of the learning process and a very important part of it!
The more you fail, the better you get!
-Louie
After probably more than a decade I finally upgraded my sound system. I used to use the Roland Street Cube EX, which is great and after about 10 years it still works great! What I liked about this system is that is has all the inputs that I need, so I don’t need to add a mixer to it. It also runs on AA batteries, so if there is a low battery issue, I just throw new ones into it.
I’m switching to the Bose S1 Pro. The main reason I’m switching to it is for a tour I’m doing in the spring of 2026, and the Bose speaker is much smaller than the Roland Street Cube EX. The Bose S1 Pro also has better sound, but both speakers have enough sound for what I need.
I also bought a carrying case for the Bose speaker.
This case has plenty of pockets and holds all my audio gear, eliminating the need for another case.
I’ve done a few shows with the Bose S1 Pro so far, and it works great!
-Louie
In a box of used magic I found an almost 30 year old letter from an established professional magician to a newer magician. It’s notes on the newer magician’s show, you can read them below:
The notes are pretty spot on, and great advice. I love that the older magician took the time to write up the advice so that it’s easier for the newer magician to implement the suggestions!
Personally I love helping magicians be better, and I think it’s something we all should do!
-Louie
Over the summer I worked at a fair with a hypnotist and some other acts. One night during the hypnotist’s show, the drummer from the band that was next onstage started bringing his drum kit onstage and setting it up! This is a huge breach of etiquette when you are sharing a stage with another act.
The thing is when you perform at fairs there are really two types of acts, acts that are professionals and acts that aren’t. The community acts are typically acts that are newer and just haven’t ever shared a stage with another act and don’t know the rules.
While it’s annoying a hell when someone tries to set up during your show, it’s also a teachable moment as they obviously don’t know that they shouldn’t do it. When it happens during my show, I simply mute my mic and firmly say, “This is an active stage and you need to get off of it right now.“
No discussion, just that said firmly.
Then after my show, if they don’t apologize to me, which they will about 90% of the time, then I explain to them during someone else’s show 100% of the stage is theirs…unless other arrangements have been made. I usually ask/mention how they would feel if I went onstage and started setting up while they were performing.
Educate them!
-Louie
Last spring I picked up a Porter Case. This is carry on luggage that converts to a luggage dolly. I haven’t needed to use it, until my recent trip to Canada to get on a cruise ship.
Here’s the case in its three positions:
After using it to get from home to the airport, the airport to the hotel, and the hotel to the cruise ship, I’ve decided I like it! Since they haven’t made these in a long time, the challenge will be to find another one as a backup.
-Louie
After a summer of performing, I was doing some prop maintenance and noticed how gross the ropes I use have gotten!
Going through your props a couple times a year to clean them up or replace things that get worn out is a good thing to do. It’ll keep your show looking fresh and not beat up.
-Louie
