April 2024 – Page 2 – MagicShow.Tips

Generic Kid’s Show

Last week I did a library gig, it was my, first one since last summer and it was a lot of fun. They had me doing a show for kids on spring break and had me do a fun, non themed show.

The show has a very simple set up, just a case, banner and my sound system. The show is my generic kid show.

Here’s a peek into the show’s case. That’s a 45 minute show with about 10-12 minutes of additional emergency material. The emergency material is for when the audience is a lot younger than what the show is designed for. I’ll swap in the emergency material for things that aren’t for kids under 5 or 6 years old.

That material for younger kids is considered emergency as my show is sold as for being for school aged kids. If you’ve worked libraries at all, then you know the audience will frequently skew younger than the suggested age range and it’s important to be prepared for that.

-Louie

Cool Moments in the Show

One of the great things about performing at higher profile gigs is that there frequently great photographers there. That’s one of the cool things about performing at the Moisture Festival, they have photographers who are experienced in taking pictures of variety acts. More than just having experience with variety acts, they usually get to see an act multiple times, so they can figure out where the moments are in your show!

Louie Foxx at the Moisture Festival in seattle — Photo Credit: Sanderling Photography

The picture above was taken right after the guy in the middle guessed the girls card! This is a 6-8 minute routine that I do where someone from the audience guesses another person’s card. This used to be a longer routine with three people, but I’ve shortened it to just two and it’s a much tighter routine.

Another change that I made to the routine a few years ago was switching to jumbo cards.

That makes the end of the routine really pop for the entire audience when the card is finally shown!

-Louie

Filling Your Emotional Tank

On Sunday the Moisture Festival wrapped up in Seattle. It’s a four week variety arts festival and it’s a blast! No one there does it for the pay, we all do it to get to see our friends, make new ones and see amazing acts!

One of the perks is hanging out at the meals and “cutting up jackpots” with the other performers. The stories of horrible shows, crazy things we’ve seen and done help fill my soul and get me through the upcoming busy season. It’s nice to bond with people who also share in the unique experience as a travelling variety act!

Remember, it’s not all about the money when you’re offered a gig!

-Louie

Leaping to a National Act

Many years ago, when I made the leap from a local/regional performer to a more national performer it took some deliberate steps. One of the main things that I did was try to do more big things that were noteworthy on a national scale I did things that were of interest to bookers who booked out of town acts.

One of the first things that I did was look at acts that were doing what I wanted to do and see what was on most or all of their resumes. These are things like America’s Got Talent, and Guinness World Records. Both of those were things that I went out and did and put on my resume simply because I saw that those were things that national acts had.

Do you need them?

No.

However it when you’re getting into a new or bigger pool, it helps to have the same equipment that everyone else has. Not just credits, but same level of promo.

The other thing I did (and still do) is that I do something of national level of interested each month. This can vary from writing an article in an international magazine, to publishing my 150th trick, or whatever. The only thing it needs to do is boost my status above Larry the Great or whatever local act they may book. I feel it’s important to justify why they’re bringing you in from out of town instead of hiring locally for a fraction of the price.

So to work more nationally, what are you doing to boost your status…but more importantly, who are you telling this to?

-Louie

Do You Have an Online Calendar?

I was just updating my online calendar and it reminded me of one of the things I really don’t like on performer’s websites and it’s most of their online calendars. I’d say about half of the entertainer’s websites that I visit have calendars that are out of date…and very out of date, by years!

First of all, I don’t think you need a calendar, especially if you do mostly private shows. For someone like me where more than half of my shows are open to the public, I keep an online calendar. I will sometimes take it down if there’s not much on it, like at the end of the busy season, and before booking season for those busy season shows. If there’s not much to post, I will take that page offline.

If you do have an online calendar and the most recent show is from 2017, it makes me as a booker wonder how much you’re working or if you’re still actively performing. Personally I delete dates after about a month of when they happen. I go through once a month and delete the previous month and add new dates. Try updating it monthly, if you can’t keep it updated, you should consider deleting it. No one really needs to know where you were on a specific date five years ago.

-Louie

The Moisture Festival Podcast – 2024 Festival Live part 1

Today’s episode of The Moisture Festival has Louie Foxx hanging out with two new performers at the festival, Marcus Wilson and Spencer Androli!

We learn about performing in circuses, how performers select material for the festival and learn the history of Yo Yo performers with a surprise visit by Mark Hayward!

This is a fun backstage peek at the 2024 Moisture Festival!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Road Hack – Extra Room Security

Sometimes when travelling you end up in sketchy hotels. Sometimes this is by choice when you just need a cheap/close place to crash and sometimes there’s only one place in town. Recently I had a sketchy hotel in a sketchy part of town. Normally I travel with a little door lock that I can add to the door for extra security, but took it out of my bag and forgot to put it back in. This is the temporary solution:

It’s not much, but better than nothing! Stay safe out there!

-Louie

Poof Too!

A few weeks ago I performed in a show called Poof Too! in Hermosa Beach, CA. This is show with stage magicians and one close up magician. I was the MC in the show and had a performance spot in the show.

It was great performing with David Zirbel, Simone Turkington, Mark Furey, Shawn McMaster and Alexander Great & Pamela! Everyone was super professional and great to deal with as an MC and fun to hang out with! When I was approached to be in this show by Dennis Forel, the first thing I asked was “is it a fun show”, not how much does it pay. Personally a fun show is more important to me than money (don’t get me wrong, I still gotta pay the bills).

I’d been doing comedy gigs before this one and in a comedy club I have a lot of gear. However a show where the illusionist is packing up crates of huge illusions, and I just wheel my case out, I feel like I have nothing!

I love performing with other magic acts. One thing I did years ago (close to two decades ago) was to start to work on a show that I can do when I’m sharing the stage with other magicians and not have to really worry about duplication. Sure there will always be things that no matter how different they will seem the same to an audience. A rope trick will usually feel like almost any other rope trick no matter how different it is. For me, just trying to have unique or less common tricks in the show makes my show much more versatile.

-Louie

Magic show set up!

My show last week had a pretty simple set up, but I’m still packing a lot more stuff than I need.

I’m trying to have less “emergency” material. Sure having a trick or two in the case is a good idea, but having an extra 20-30 minutes of material is overkill for a show where I’m not really expected to do that much extra time as there are other acts on the bill and I wouldn’t be asked to fill their time if something happened to them. I may be asked to do a show in someone else’s time slot, but that doesn’t require me to have new or different material than my show would normally have.

The lighter I can travel, or the less cluttered my stage set up is, the better!

-Louie

Getting Free Advice!

One of the great things about performing at fairs is working with other performers. Last week I got to work with three other magicians at the event!

Between Glen, Rafael and Terry they gave me some great ideas for my show! When you work with other magicians, don’t look at them as competition, they’re a great resource. For example with the thumb tie routine I’m working on, Glen gave me an idea to change the moment when I link arms with the spectator. The first time I did it as he suggested, it got a GASP from the audience!

I’m always willing to listen to what other magicians say! I don’t always agree with what they say, but willing to listen.

-Louie