tradeshow – MagicShow.Tips

Gig To Gig…

When I was first starting out performing full time, I would have to hustle every gig individually. That’s a lot of work. One way my business has changed is that I book the majority of my gigs at showcases and trade shows and this is my preferred way to book.

If you don’t know what a showcase is, it’s where you do a short bit of your show for people who can book you. The goal is after they see your show, they’ll book you. The nice thing about the booker actually seeing your show is that they will have a better idea of whether or not your show will be right for their event.

The other way I love booking shows in trade shows. What I like is that I can talk about their event, but also do a short demo if needed. Also there’s a ton of people that can book, and you book a lot of shows in a short amount of time. Another bonus of booking this way is that you can do all of the office work (contracts, etc) in one sitting, instead of spread out over time.

I want to be clear that I do book single shows that come in, however the majority of what I book are at showcases or trade shows. Having multiple ways that shows come in is a good thing.

Foolproof Isn’t Always…

One of the things that drives me nuts are people who use electronic mentalism effects and aren’t prepared for what happens when they don’t work. I was recently at a trade show and there was someone else using a trick on the same frequency as me. I quickly realized that and went into my other … Continue reading “Foolproof Isn’t Always…”

One of the things that drives me nuts are people who use electronic mentalism effects and aren’t prepared for what happens when they don’t work. I was recently at a trade show and there was someone else using a trick on the same frequency as me. I quickly realized that and went into my other method of doing the trick that didn’t rely on the electronic device.

I learned that the other person didn’t realize it and they were frequently unable to “read minds” as they were getting my signal. This is the problem with these fool proof type tricks, they are easy to do amazing things…until they aren’t.

When I realized someone else was on the same frequency as me, I turned off my receiver, but still used the prop as it’s part of my tradeshow set. Unfortunately my prop was still sending out a signal. Now the ethical question is should one of us have stopped using the trick? In my opinion the answer is no, we both are entitled to do the trick.

They never came to me to ask me to turn it off, and honestly I probably wouldn’t have turned it off as I’m equally as entitled to use it as they are. It’s a learning lesson, what to do when more than one person is using your frequency. One that I’ve anticipated, and spent time figuring out how to deal with. If you are performing in any setting where there is more than just you performing, you need to be aware of this and have a backup plan.

How to Stand Out…

This week I’m at another conference where I’m showcasing. This week I’m doing close up magic. There are a lot of close up magicians at this conference, so how do I stand out? I have two ways, first is a unusual trick and there other is by making myself desirable to other magicians.

Everyone here does card and coin tricks, and probably some sort of cup and ball(s) type trick. What I do is add an additional trick that’s no one else will (probably) be doing. For me that’s usually the Linking Pins. It’s a trick where the right gimmicks haven’t been available in decades, so not many people do it.

The second thing I do is that I talk to other magicians. When bookers see other magicians seeking me out to talk to or to jam with, that shows them that I’m good and respected by other magicians. It also shows that I’m easy to get along with and that I can get along with other acts.

So be unusual and be friendly!