Month: June 2023

Show Costumes

One thing that I’m not know for is having fancy costumes. My character and performance style is very casual and it fits the style I have. Also I’m very joke based and trying to project the a more “stand up comedy” image when I’m first seen. What I do wear while I perform has been thought out and I do have a “look” that I’m going for.

Over the last year, I’ve dropped some weight and my summer clothes don’t fit right anymore. I spent the day taking in my clothes to look a little bit less sloppy.

I’m soo glad I learned to sew in middle school in home economics class! It’s a skill that I don’t use often, but enough for it to be super useful!

-Louie

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Spoons

I’m glad I started doing spoon/fork bending again, it’s a lot of fun, but it also makes really great pictures!

A lot of magic tricks can’t really tell a story, but a bent fork or spoon definitely does! I’m having a blast doing this in my show! If you’re interested in spoon/fork bending, look into Ben Harris’s book Bend it Like Geller!

-Louie

Ring Pins Magic Trick!

One of the things I really enjoy is going to magic shop and digging through their bins of junk magic. I really like buying a random shoe box sized amount of magic for cheap and then working through the magic to try to find some cool forgotten piece of magic.

In a recent purchase I found Ring Pins, and when I saw the package, I didn’t think it’d be any good, but I was wrong!

Here’s what it looks like:

@louiefoxx Puzzle with safety pins! Move the ring from one pin to the other without opening them! #puzzle #puzzlechallenge #ringpuzzle #safetypin #weddingring #ring #louiefoxx #trythisathome ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

What’s cool about this is that there are no gimmicks or altered props (like soft pins). I did have to change the hand positions from what are in the instructions and break the “secret” into to motions instead of one to make it work for me.

I think I’m going to make some that have the safety pins soldered shut and are presented as puzzles.

-Louie

How to Get Booked at Festivals

Something I don’t really talk about is that I’m on the booking committees for two variety arts festivals. They are the Moisture Festival, which is the largest and longest running variety arts festival and the Sideshow Hootenanny, which is an annual gathering of sideshow and variety arts performers.

One of my favorite things about performing at variety arts festivals is that I frequently get to perform with my favorite performers! When I was starting out on of the acts that really formed how I perform now when I was a teenager and snuck into a casino to see the Raspini Brothers. Then years later I got share the stage with them at a variety arts festival! It was a huge moment for me!

Between the two variety arts festivals that I help with the booking, I go through the submissions of hundreds of performers who apply to the festivals. Both of these festivals use a similar application process, and one that hundreds of events around the country use. It’s an online form that you submit your promotional material to. These suggestions will help you whether you’re applying to a local festival, state fair, parks and rec gig or even to perform in a cabaret show.

Three Things You Need To Have!

The main information you’ll normally be asked for is a bio, picture, and link to video. There will be other information they ask for, but for now let’s deal with those three, because those are the ones you need to nail to get the gig.

Let’s start with a bio, it’s a bit different than a bio about you. It’s more of a show description and this is the info that many bookers will ultimately use in the program for their event. You want to tell who you are, what you do and some accomplishments…and do it in 1-3 paragraphs (less is better). Trim out all the “fat”. As a booker, I really don’t care that you “got bit by the magic bug when you were seven years old after seeing Mark Wilson on TV”. Using something like, “Joe the Magician presents fast paced, high energy Illusions with Latin flair. Joe’s done three successful tour with Circus Fakus and is currently presenting his one man show in San Francisco… ” will give me more info about you and what you’ve done than your blood type and complete origin story.

The next one is your photo. This should be a photo of you, where I can see you. An example of a good photo that’s bad to send when applying to a festival is one where I can’t see your face. I’ve seen a great pic of a fire breather and their face is blocked by the ball of fire. This photo doesn’t need to be a studio photo, however it should appear to be professionally done and you should be the subject of it, not a picture of another thing or people that you happen to be in.

Finally, there’s the video. The number one way to get me to not look at your video is to send me a link to your Instagram profile to your YouTube account, not a direct link to a specific video. If all I have is a link to the general profile, I don’t know what you want me to watch. Also, send a direct link to the specific act you are planning to present, or if you’re applying to do a full show, send a sizzle reel and a sample of a longer routine and label them! One last thing about a video, make the audio on it clear, or put in subtitles. If you’re a talking act and I can’t understand you, it doesn’t help you get booked.

These are solid guidelines to follow, however rules are made to be broken. If you have a very specific and intentional reason to send a blurry low resolution picture or whatever, then do it.

If you do those three things, you’re ahead of the majority of the submissions that cross my desk!

-Louie Foxx

Another MC tip

When I was stage hosting, I noticed a lot of things that I do that I don’t know many people do. For example when I write the introductions for acts, I spell out hard to pronounce things phonetically.

I didn’t realize I did this until I had someone tell me I was spelling something wrong. I asked them what’s more important, me spelling it correctly, or me saying it correctly?

That’s a little handy trick for writing out introductions.

-Louie

Over Writing Material…

One thing I’ve noticed that I do is over write my patter for my tricks. The early versions of the tricks are full of stuff that ultimately will be cut. I do think that’s a good way to do it, over write and figure out what’s good and what isn’t. I try to initially fill a lot of verbal space, then cut out what doesn’t work, leaving only the best parts.

The trick I’m working on that’s essentially a clock prediction:

The presentation hook is about my cat, and that seems to be something that people really connect with!

I think that another huge part of putting together routines is finding some sort of presentation hook that people can relate to. There are definitely people who are a lot better at this than me, but I’m trying…

-Louie

Writing a Joke in a Different Language

When I was stage hosting a couple of weeks ago, one of the things that I was asked to do was a contest for the sponsor on the mainstage at the event. One day’s entertainment was geared towards a Spanish speaking audience, and I don’t really speak Spanish, but wanted to try.

I had one of the people on the catering staff who was from Mexico help me translate the beginning of my script.

That’s the opening of the script, but then I needed to figure out how to transition into English. So we wrote a little joke:

That was a great little transition joke, and the first joke I’ve written in another language.

The lady helping write it also helped me with my pronunciation. I think people really appreciate when you make at attempt to communicate with them in their native language.

It was fun to do, and I’m glad I tried!

-Louie

Help the MC Help You!

A couple of weeks ago I was doing some stage hosting. My job was to announce bands and do some time between the bands. One of the bands had a very difficult name Etaoin Shrdlu.

This is intentionally a difficult name, as it’s not someone’s name or something in another language, but and old version of placeholder text, like Lorem Ipsum. I wasn’t given a phonetic pronunciation by the band before time. I had to guess, and found several different ways to pronounce it online.

Here’s tip, if you want your name to be pronounced correctly, go over it with the MC before the show…especially if it’s an intentionally difficult name!

-Louie

Vanishing Line

I really liked Ben Harris‘s book Bend it Like Geller! One little note is that my copy is missing a whole line!

bend it like geller by ben harris

There’s a spot for the line, however it looks like somehow it got deleted/removed during the printing process.

Vanishing Inc’s books recently have had some quality control issues like that. I think I’d care less if it was a self published book, and not something put out by one of the bigger magic companies. The JP Vallerino book also had some issues (http://www.magicshow.tips/magic-show-tips/hard-to-read/)

Aside from the missing line, Bend it Like Geller is still a fantastic book!

-Louie