Last week I wrapped up a 12 day gig at the Ohio State Fair. One of the challenges for me was how big the stage was. It was very wide and deep, then the backwall was about 6 feet beyond the end of the stage. That makes a lot of magic hard to focus on. Especially for an act like me that uses handheld props.
Here’s what the stage looks like:
Over the two weeks I learned to play my show BIG using large gestures and working to get bigger reactions out of people onstage. Here’s the highlights of week one:
I had an idea to get pics of my show. I told the audience that I’d allow anyone to airdrop me “pictures of my show or their pets” after the show. Here’s what I got:
The first pic is of me that someone ran though a filter to make me old! Then I got a few show pics and two dogs! It was a fun experiment to see if people would send me stuff.
When I do close up I ask people to AirDrop me pictures or video and this is a great way to get those of you doing close up. From a stage context, I’m not sure if it’s as good, but I’ll keep playing with it.
Recently I wrapped up a twelve day run at a fair. I was doing 30 minute stage magic shows. Here’s what my case and tabletop set up looks like:
The show set list is pretty simple:
ACAAN Rope Trick Cup Trick Drawing Routine Tape Measure Prediction Marshmallow, blindfold, or whip and safety pin routines Hoop and Cup
The second to the end position is a variable spot in the set let. It could be one of three routines based on time, how much of the audience are repeat, and general vibe I’m feeling. That variable is great when there are people who just saw the show, you can have a slightly different show for them!
One of the things that drives me nuts are magicians, or any performer that uses a flag in their show and doesn’t understand the US Flag Code. These are rules that define what a US Flag is, how it should be displayed and handled.
Someone recently posted in a magician’s group of their show and the American Flag in the picture being backwards was all that I could see!
There are a couple of flag code violations in the pictures above. First the flag is backwards, and then there are props on top of the flag. This isn’t a huge deal to most people, but it’s like doing a gospel magic show, but all of your crosses are upside down! It takes virtually the same energy to correctly hang a flag as it does to incorrectly display the flag.
If you use a flag, learn to handle it respectfully!
One of the great things about working with other acts is sharing tips. Not so much “secrets” but like what media players we’re using or why we like certain cases.
I had the pleasure of sharing a green room (trailer) with David Anthony and Ron Diamond. Both of them were insanely generous and open about chatting with things that they use or do that could help me improve my show and my business!
These two people understand that when everyone is doing the best they can, it’s better for everyone! Go out there and share what you know!
I thing this trick is interested as there are a couple of methods working at the same time to create the illusion of the cigarette going through the coin. I don’t know if this is an improvement over the traditional method with a gimmicked coin. Kennedy’s method would have you have to do a switch of the larger object, which complicates doing the trick with “borrowed” objects, which makes the trick stronger.
Cigarette through coin is a classic bar trick like coin in bottle where the strength of the trick is that is uses borrowed objects and everything can be returned at the end and handled by the audience, so everything feels impromptu. It’s that unplanned feeling of it that makes the trick hit really hard!
One day at the Ohio State Fair last week I performed with a bluegrass group and their fiddle player had the best merch display! When closed it’s like a small ATA case, then it quickly and easily pops open and it ready go to.
Here it is open:
The record slides into the case and that flips down and locks in at the merch in the lid. Everything in the base lays flat and he’s set up and packed up in about 90 seconds and it looks great!
Here’s some other views of it:
Did you notice the two arms on the back that slide out to the sides to display more stuff if needed?
Right now I’m mid-run of performing twelve days at a state fair. The stage that I’m on is MASSIVE and I’m working my butt off to not get visually lost on the stage. When I arrived I immediately knew that I would have to cut the middle out of my object in ball in yarn routine as no one would be able to see the mismade bill. That’s not a big deal, but it’s very helpful to be aware of things like that.
The other thing I learned after my first show is that because the venue is very large, my voice echos and it’s hard to understand me unless I talk very slowly. I feel like I’m talking 50% slower than normal. Being aware of the echo by watching the act after me, it made me aware of the necessary adjustments.
This is why it’s important if you’re working with other acts, to watch at least part of their show to notice things like echo, or any sightline issues that you can correct that will make your show play better!
Years ago I took fire out of my show, the reason is that you can’t do it everywhere. And some places that allow you to do it, there’s huge restrictions. A good example is right now I’m performing at a State Fair and there is zero fire allowed. If I counted on destroying a dollar bill by burning it, I would have to cut that bit from the show. I want a show that I can consistently do the same way every time.
Here’s a story about working with a fire act from about a decade ago. I was working with a juggler and whose finale was juggling torches. At his first show at the fair, the fire marshal walked by and saw him with the torches on fire and had a chat with him right before his next show. The juggler needed two “safety” people onstage, one with a bucket of water and one with a fire blanket.
Since this was right before his show, the juggler asked me and another act to help him out, so we did and everything went well…until the juggler’s third show. When he asked us to help again, we both said no. We have other things to do, and while I’m happy to help once, I’m not going to do my three shows a day PLUS being his unpaid fire safety for three more shows. The juggler ended having to cut his finale, and didn’t have a backup plan and ran short the rest of the run.
If the juggler had asked about fire before the gig this wouldn’t have been as big of a problem as he could have packed a backup plan. Sure the fire marshal can be inconsistent when you talk to them, but just making that phone call can give you an idea of whether or not it will be a challenge to get that fire trick onstage.
If you’re show uses fire, be sure to bring a backup plan in case you get shut down!
When I’m out doing roving magic and someone wants to show me a trick, I always say YES… as long as it’s an appropriate time. There are times when it’s not appropriate, like it’s a crazy big event and I just need to get to a lot of people, or I have to physically be somewhere else and need to leave.
The magic that people show me now it way better than it was 5 years ago. I had a kid show me David Harkey and Jay Sankey’s East Meets West! This is a pencil thru dollar bill that was cutting edge in the early 1990’s! The kid did it really well!
Another reason to allow people to show you tricks is that it shows you the kind of magic that people who have had a passing interest in magic are exposed to. It’s no longer just the 21 card trick, they’re learning way better stuff, but I’ve also noticed that those people have a better appreciation for magic than the guy in 1997 who showed you the 21 card trick.
