MagicShow.Tips – Page 161 – A daily blog about magic by Louie Foxx

Ballrooms Are The Worst…

Performing in hotel ballrooms is one of the worst situations for a comedy magician. The main problem is that they aren’t designed for a show, but for a wedding, or meetings. Here’s a panoramic picture of the ballroom I performed in last night. There are a few problems with this room. The first is that … Continue reading “Ballrooms Are The Worst…”

There are a few problems with this room. The first is that the DJ is set up on the stage, which makes it unusable by me. With the giant dance floor in front of the stage, it’s not a huge loss as I could lessen the distance between me and the audience by working on the floor.

The next problem that the darkest places in the room where the stage is and directly in front of it on the dance floor, where I’d be performing. I asked if there were lights (anything) that we could turn on and after going up the chain of command at the hotel, I finally found someone who could as was willing to turn them on for my show. These lights were the general lights, so the room was lit up as if there was a meeting in there. This is better than performing in the dark, where the audience is better lit than the stage.

The moral of the story is either get there super early and try to convince them to move the stage to one end of the room, or be assertive of your needs with the space how it currently is when you get there.

Too Much Economy of Motion

When I was a kid I remember someone telling me the secret to sleight of hand is “Economy of Motion“. Using the least amount of motion to get the job done. I agree with that…for the secret stuff. However moving efficiently isn’t always what you want the audience to see. A good example is in … Continue reading “Too Much Economy of Motion”

When I was a kid I remember someone telling me the secret to sleight of hand is “Economy of Motion“. Using the least amount of motion to get the job done. I agree with that…for the secret stuff. However moving efficiently isn’t always what you want the audience to see.

A good example is in my card to wallet routine. I can open and remove the wallet too easily and quickly. When I do the trick I have to remind my self to slow down and fumble a bit, like it’s the first time I’ve done this.

Slowing down also lets the audience catch up with you, or even get ahead of you. I want them to think, “no way that’s my card…wait, it’s going to be my card…” when I do card to wallet. If I want that, I need to give them time to think it!

Keep Notes…

Last year for a gig I built a Girl Without a Middle illusion. Basically, it’s a Sphinx Illusion, but I put it on wheels so that I can get in it and walk around. Then I can stop and put other people in it, and pictures and be taken. Here’s what it looked like: After … Continue reading “Keep Notes…”

After doing it last year, I think I must have thought it wasn’t going to get rebooked as I kept nothing about the box, not even the building notes. When the time came to rebuild it, I was basically starting from scratch. I found the receipt for the mirrors, so that gave me some basic info about the box and a starting point.

My learning lesson was doing something as simple as taking a picture of my build notes would have helped a lot.

I’m lucky that when I went to Austin, I got to pass through a second time. Once again I only had a few hours, but I got to check out another show at the Museum of the Weird. We saw Dan and he did a great show. One of the big differences between seeing Dan … Continue reading “”

One of the big differences between seeing Dan and the Black Scropion was that Dan talked to us, and it felt like he was more int he moment than the Black Scorpion was. I really prefer this style to watch, however it’s all the different types of performing styles that make it “art”.

Slowly Share Your Ego…

I understand that projecting an image is part of being a performer. It’s an important part, selling your performing persona. One thing that drives me nuts is when people post “My Office Tonight” type pictures of where they are working in December. This month is the easiest time to get work, and the only time … Continue reading “Slowly Share Your Ego…”

I understand that projecting an image is part of being a performer. It’s an important part, selling your performing persona. One thing that drives me nuts is when people post “My Office Tonight” type pictures of where they are working in December. This month is the easiest time to get work, and the only time where there is more work than performers.

Why not save up some of those pictures and use them later in the year when you aren’t working? Using them now for marketing purposes doesn’t do a lot of good as we’re now heading into a slower performing season and there’s a lot less work. Those pictures are going to do nothing right now aside from stroke your ego.

One thing I do on my social media is stagger my posts. One of the things that I try to do is position myself as a national act. I do that by performing around the country. However I’m not constantly on the road. I’m on the road a lot, but leverage that by slowly sharing stuff to make it look like I’m on the road longer than I actually am. I don’t lie, but I also don’t say that a picture is from two months ago.

Connecting…

When I was in Austin last week I swung by the Museum of the Weird and saw the Black Scorpion perform. At the museum the sideshow acts do a lot of short shows all day. His show was good and it consisted of him talking about his Ectrodactyly, which people used to be called “Lobster … Continue reading “Connecting…”

When I was in Austin last week I swung by the Museum of the Weird and saw the Black Scorpion perform. At the museum the sideshow acts do a lot of short shows all day. His show was good and it consisted of him talking about his
Ectrodactyly, which people used to be called “Lobster Hands”, then he did glass walking.

My main dislike of his show was that it felt like he was talking at us and not talking to us. The best way to describe how he talks is like an 1980’s pro wrestler talking to the TV camera. I get that he has made a stylistic choice in how he delivers material, however for me it made it hard to connect with him.

Unfortunately due to my time restrictions when I was there, I really didn’t get to see the rest of the museum on this visit (or the next one). I guess I’ll have to get back to Austin another time.

Raising Your Rates…

Ugh, people in Facebook magic groups drive me nuts. Someone asked about how much they should raise their prices for holiday party gigs in December. Then a lot of people chimed in that they don’t and they feel like it’s price gouging. I have a lot of thoughts about this, and the first one is that most of these people are idiots.

I’m going to assume that we all realize it’s already December, and that if you’re not sure of your pricing, you aren’t a professional magician. In that case get whatever you are comfortable charging. It really doesn’t matter.

The reason someone gave for not raising their rates was that they didn’t want a reputation as someone who raised their rates when there was high demand. Try to book a hotel or airline ticket during spring break and let me know how cheap you can get one. Raising rates when you have a limited number of spots available during a busy season is common in many industries. It’s just business. Now look at labor, every union worker in the USA charges more to work on holidays, so why shouldn’t you?

You raise your rates when it’s busy, either they pay it or they don’t. It’s that simple. I think everyone understands why a gig on a saturday night in December might cost more than a gig on a wednesday night in January.

Make It Last!

In the current version of my show I use a things that are printed on paper for gags in the show. The problem with paper is that it doesn’t travel well. You can keep in in an envelope, or folder, but it will show wear and tear very quickly. In no time it will start … Continue reading “Make It Last!”

Tyvek paper is paper that doesn’t tear, and is bit thicker than standard printer paper. I think Tyvek is a plastic, so it also holds up to moisture. If you use anything in your show that’s normally on paper, look into using Tyvek!

Frame It Right…

The last couple of nights I’ve performed at corporate holiday parties. At both of them I did some roving magic. One of my staples of what I do is a trick where I guess a color someone it thinking of. Over two nights, I have very different results from the trick.

The first night’s event had very loud music, so I really couldn’t do the normal talking that accompanies the trick. That night the trick really fell flat. It was getting a response, but not what it normally gets. The flashier stuff that night played much better, and I stopped doing the color trick about halfway through the gig.

The second night’s event wasn’t nearly as loud, and my normal talk up to the trick was able to be heard. This night the trick played really well. The difference was that I was able to use the premise of the trick to connect with people, versus just telling them what they were thinking.

The trick is solid, but the conditions just weren’t right for it the first night.

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.