magic show – Page 33 – MagicShow.Tips

Work on Your Origin Story…

My big project right now is co-hosting a podcast for a variety arts festival where we interview the performers and the people behind the scenes that make the festival work. One thing I’ve notice when interviewing performers is some are good interviews and some are more challenging interviews, and I can predict who will be … Continue reading “Work on Your Origin Story…”

My big project right now is co-hosting a podcast for a variety arts festival where we interview the performers and the people behind the scenes that make the festival work. One thing I’ve notice when interviewing performers is some are good interviews and some are more challenging interviews, and I can predict who will be which.

Before someone comes in for an interview, we do research on them. We read their “offical bio” as well as try to do some digging for some other things about them that might be out there. Usually the more someone has out there, the better the interview is. If there’s just one bio that’s repeated around, they’ll be a harder interview. This is simply because they haven’t told their story very often. They haven’t learned the punchlines of the story, or what parts are interesting and what isn’t.

The one question that stumps people that haven’t told their story is, “How did you get to (name of city they live in)?” If you can’t tell me that is a direct way that’s interesting, you don’t know your story. Personally this is a story I tell on stage and it’s got a lot of laughs in it. Your story doesn’t need to have laughs, but you need to learn to tell it and take out all of the BS and make it interesting. This is a common question, and it’s also one that’s easy to shoehorn into any interview if it’s not asked. Take a few minutes, write it out and figure out what’s important and what isn’t.

Podcast Guest Tips…

Yesterday I wrote about learning to be a good guest for doing media spots. Today I’m going to give you some tips to being a good guest on podcasts. Here’s a quick bit of background, I co-host a podcast called the Odd and Offbeat Podcast and also am the co-host of the podcast for the soon to be released Moisture Festival, which is the largest variety arts festival in the world.

My role as co-host of the Moisture Festival Podcast is to interview performers from around the world. One thing that has surprised me is how many don’t know how to be interviewed. Here are a few tips to be a good podcast guest:

Speak into the microphone and stay on the mic.
Come prepared. Ask if they have sample questions, or write out some questions and have answers to these. Even if these questions never come up, you’ve put thought into the interview and that will show in the final product.
Don’t think you are interesting, plan to be interesting.
Arrive a few mins early to chat with the host(s). That will allow you to relax a little bit and get all the awkward chit chat out of the way.
Don’t speak with your hands. On a purely audio medium, no one listening can see you. Also when you talk with your hands, you will be whacking stuff like the table and the mics pic all of that up.
Before the recording ask if things can be edited. Especially if you are telling a story and accidentally whack something with your hand, can you start over and have them edit the part with the distraction.
Answer questions and don’t ramble. If you are asked a question and you don’t want to answer it, tell them that. Don’t ramble a “non-answer” for two minutes.

Of all of these, the big one is to stay on the mic! When editing an episode, if I have to go in and bump all of your audio and no one else’s audio, that’s a huge pain in the butt. Hopefully you can go out and be a better podcast guest!

Adding an Ankle Switch…

Currently I’m using Audio Ape to run the music to my show. I really don’t care that people know or are aware that I’m using a remove control, versus a sound guy running the music. I keep the remote on my belt and push it as needed. Pretty simple.

Lately I’ve been thinking about adding a ankle switch to one of my remotes (I have two). Essentially what this will do is allow me to play music without having to push a button with my hands. For me there are a couple of moments where I want a sound cue, but my hands are full and hitting the cue can be a bit awkward.

Yesterday I added an ankle switch to both of my Audio Ape remote controls. It was super easy to do, especially after I found this tutorial:

One of my worries about altering a remote to run off an ankle switch was that I would no longer function as a remote and that I’d need a magnet to run that button. I was surprised to learn that the remote functions normally as well as functions when run with a magnet!

Hold on a Moment…

About a week or so ago I saw a local magic show in Seattle. The show was good and one of the performers asked me for some notes on his performance. The thing I told him, and this is something that I consciously have to do in my show is to pause to display the prop after the magic has happened.

In my show I do a trick where a drawing disappears and reappears inside a ball of yarn. When the drawing comes out, I unfold it and show it to the audience. When I show it, I pause and silently count in my head from one to three. This lets people process what they are seeing.

One of the challenges as a performer is that you know what it happening, so your brain doesn’t need to process what it’s seeing. The audience needs a few beats to figure out what’s going on. Simply holding a item for a dedicated amount of time makes a huge difference in audience reception!

Look at Your Show

It’s the last day of January and I’m reflecting back on what I’ve learned so far in 2020. One thing is that you need to listen to your audience. I have two bits in the show that have gotten unexpected reactions that were unfavorable. Instead of the usual laugh the got a sort of “woah” and pull back from the audience. Both of these bits got this reaction at different shows in very different venues.

There are a lot of performers who will brush off these reactions and attribute them to “snowflakes” in the audience. I think this is the wrong way to go. Personally I needed to try to analyze why the audience reacted the way that they did to see if they were over reacting, or if my jokes were becoming dated. The last thing I want to do is use a joke that was OK to say, but over the years society has moved on and the joke is no longer appropriate.

After looking at both of the jokes in my show, I’m keeping one without altering it. The other one, while I think is OK, I’m going to play around with rewriting it. The problem is that the joke gets misunderstood and that audience projected something that’s not in the joke into the joke. I also feel that the negative reaction I got had more to do with the specific situation of the show than it did with the joke.

More on Projection…

Yesterday I wrote about using projection in my show. The key is to enhance the live action, not to replace viewing it from the stage to the screen. Basically the idea is to have the action happen live on stage and visible to the audience, but then using the screen to verify or highlight smaller details.

A good example of this would be a Signed Card to Pocket. The main props which are cards are large and can be seen in a large theater. The signature or specific card number is smaller. Having a screen to project the signed card onto will make the effect play larger.

My idea for working solo is to have a dedicated table with a camera on it and then the projector and screen. In a lot of venues I won’t need to provide the screen, as they will have one already, or I may be able to directly project the image onto a wall behind me. Projecting onto the wall as needed is the ideal situation.

Using Projection…

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about using projection in my stage show. I’ve been looking at how other magicians and performers are using it. It’s something that can make a lot of difference in how visible something is. For magicians, David Copperfield was the first that I was aware of to use in it his four ace routine. Currently using video is pretty common.

The best use of video that I’ve seen so far is Darren Brown in his Broadway show Secrets. Most people when it’s used, it feels like you are either watching the screen or watching the performer. When Darren did it, it felt like your attention wasn’t torn between two places. You were watching him perform and the video enhanced it.

That’s what I’m going for, using video to enhance what’s happening. Projection would be used for showing the signature of a card, but not the whole card trick. I think when the action happens on the table and the only way you can watch it is through the screen, then it stops enhancing the live show and becomes the audience watching TV.

Putting It together…

One of the big things I need to do in the next couple of weeks is to write out two 40+ minute show set lists. I’ve written about working on new material to get to the two forty minute shows. I’ve worked pretty hard the last six or seven months on new material and think I have enough to make it happen.

Now that I think I have enough time in material, the next challenge is to lay it out into two shows. The idea is to have most of the routines alternate going from one solo trick to one audience participation trick. By audience participation, I mean using someone on the stage. If I’m talking to someone who stays seated in the audience, I still consider that a solo trick.

The final challenge is how to organize it. Do I put them out as one “A” show and one “B” show, or do an “A-” and a “B+” show? I think I’m going to go with an A show and B show and work to bring the B show up to an A show. That way I’m only polishing a 40 min show instead of 80 mins.

Music Driven Magic…

One thing I wish I had more of is music driven acts. These are acts that use mostly music and not talking to move the act along. The nice thing about these is that they pretty much run exactly the same every time you do them. With them timed to the music, you know a 3 min bit will be 3 mins.

One thing is that whenever I start to put acts like these together, I always end up talking. Partially because I think that’s me and what I do and partially I think it’s my insecurity and fear of doing something out of the norm for me.

Speaking is my favored way of connecting with people. That doesn’t mean I can’t do it without speaking, however it’s my default. I think I need to get out of my comfort zone and try some more silent, music driven acts!

Fight For What You Need…

The way I get a lot of work is by doing showcases. These are things where a lot of acts perform 15ish mins and buyers watch them to decided whether or not to book them. Here’s how today’s showcase wanted to run our music: They wouldn’t let us plug into the board. I had to … Continue reading “Fight For What You Need…”

They wouldn’t let us plug into the board. I had to argue for about an hour with people all up the chain of command to get them to allow us to plug in. The organization thought holding a microphone up to your phone was a viable way to run sound for a show. Doing it that way is your Plan B, not your “professional set up” that’s provided initially.

Finally I convinced them that that was an unacceptable set up. We pay a lot of money to perform in front of these buyers, and the least they could provide us with was to be able to plug into the board. I finally got all of the showcase acts to tell the organization about why the sound won’t work. What changed their mind is when we all joined together to tell them why that set up was unprofessional.

I think I burnt a few bridges with people to get the sound right, but it was the right thing to do. If anyone insists that running sound that way is professional, I’m OK burning the bridge as I never want to work for them.