One of the things that I noticed in the pictures of me performing at the Oddities and Curiosities Expo was how small I looked on that stage!
I’m guessing the stage was 16 -20 feet wide by 8 feet deep. That isn’t that big, I’ve definitely worked on stages that size or bigger. However the pictures I’ve seen really remind me how much bigger props matter.
Yes, you can fill the stage with personality, but you if you’re presenting a magic show and they can’t see the magic, your personality will only carry it soo far. At some point you’ll stop being a magician and become a stand up comic or monologist.
A couple of days ago someone asked in a Facebook group for more info on how to get gigs performing for seniors at things like retirement communities and my book was recommended!
I used to perform 1-2 senior shows A DAY on the weekdays when I was younger, and would go on road trips where I would perform up to 5 seniors a day for a few days in a row!
I still love performing for seniors, however my current performing markets make it hard to do very many of them anymore. But I have a blast when I get a chance to do them!
Here’s a taste of one of my shows for seniors from a few years ago:
On Saturday I performed at the Oddities and Curiosities Expo in Grand Rapids, MI. This was a fairly unusual situation for me performing as the audience was standing, there was no seats. For me, the challenge was getting people to stand for 30 minutes. A standing audience is very different from a sitting audience.
It was also a family audience that wanted edgy, which is a very fine line to walk during your show. I was able to do a lot of bits that I wouldn’t normally do in my show as they’re slightly too edgy for a general audience, but worked great for this crowd.
This was an audience that was ready to see a show, and there were great audiences, and we packed the space with people standing. If I ever do one of these again, I’d probably take more tricks that have a lot of build up, and a singular payoff, versus routines that have multiple smaller effects.
For example I brought my object in ball of yarn that’s 8 minutes and has a couple of mini tricks before the final trick a the end. I should have done my blindfold which is also about 8 minutes and has a single reveal at the end.
Last week I performed in the Moisture Festival in Seattle and had a blast. One of the acts that I worked with was Paul Draper. I didn’t know a ton about him, I think we both did a virtual magic convention together a couple of year ago.
It was a blast seeing him, he’s got a lot of energy onstage and is very likable! Being likeable is 99% of the game!
One night Paul hosted the show I was in and he’s also a solid host, who kept the show moving. This is an important skill when the show has 9 acts plus the emcee!
If Paul is performing near you, check him out, you can learn a lot by watching him!
-Louie PS I did interview Paul Draper for the Moisture Festival Podcast and you can listen to his episode here: http://www.magicshow.tips/moisture-festival-podcast/the-moisture-festival-podcast-paul-draper/
One of the things that I learned to do a couple of years ago was makeup. Coming out of comedy clubs, that’s something that performers really didn’t do. During the 2020’s I needed to learn to do my own make up for a TV show as they couldn’t provide a makeup person per the covid restrictions at the time.
I don’t do much, it’s really to take the shine off, but it makes a huge difference in pictures!
If you don’t know how to do very basic stage makeup, there are tons of books about it and probably a ton of YouTube videos that can teach you. I hired a theater person to teach me a very basic routine. It’s totally worth learning!
The clock routine I’m working on uses the Pitata Magic Time Hacker. It’s no secret how it works and they give it all away on their website, however I have made a modification to the gimmick.
A while ago I accidently broke the pin that engages the clock. When I went to order a replacement, they didn’t have them, just the new gear style attachment that engages the clock. Personally I don’t like the gear as it requires double stick tape which I felt was unreliable after practicing with it.
My solution was to glue the gear with pin from the clock to the gear attachment and it works like a dream!
The nice thing is that it’s easier to detach from the clock than the original pin attachment that came with the Time Hacker trick. This arrangement is easy to change if it gets worn down. I’m glad I stumbled onto this solution!
Also in my routine the clock is “broken” so it doesn’t matter that the the clock is non functional at the end of the routine.
Frequently I get asked by magicians what it’s like to perform at a fair. One of the main questions is about where I keep my stuff and hang out between the shows. Usually there’s some sort of green room, which usually doubles at the storage room for your props.
Here’s the green/storage room from the fair last week.
You can see that every act has their own table and there’s an table for drinks and snacks.
Here’s my table:
I try to keep all of my props set up whenever possible, so that I’m not doing a full set up every morning and pack up every night. I simply move my gear to the green room at the end of the day.
Every fair gig is different, so sometimes your storage is simply a closet and sometimes you have more formal green rooms with couches, microwaves and fridges.
Last week I learned a lot about using the Pitata Magic Time Hacker/UTP. For example mine’s range was only reliable within about 10 feet of the unit when using the remote control. This isn’t a deal breaker, but something that is good to know and be aware of!
The bag that I have the clock in has the top edge rolled down, so I can peek inside and see if the hands have moved, this is a bit of security so that I know at least it’s gotten some sort of signal and moved before I take it out. I do still need to figure out some sort of “out” for when it doesn’t work.
I’ve also started a habit of hitting the clear button before I key in the time. The feedback from the clear lets me know I’m in range…or at least gives me the sense of security that I’m in range!
In my opinion, push button electronic tricks are some of the hardest tricks to do! There’s soo much that can go wrong with them, and it’s not like sleight of hand, where you can sleight of hand your way out of a problem! If you just blindly take out the clock and it misses the signal, you’re screwed!
I’ll keep working on this as I really like the routine I’m working on, and hopefully it’s something that sticks in my show!
One of the tricks that I do is my version of the Invisible Deck. It’s really just a card prediction and not really an Invisible Deck, but that was my starting point, so I call it that. I’m always looking for new methods that work better and came across the trick Portent.
Here’s the blurb for the trick:
One of the hits of Canadian Alain Choquette’s popular stage act!
The magician predicts ahead of time the exact identity of a card freely chosen by a spectator not a stooge.
The prediction is sealed in an envelope, which was hanging above the heads of the audience! No sleight-of-hand, no magicians’ choices, no forces, no manipulation, no switches, no electronics. The magician touches neither the deck, nor the envelope. This is recommended only to stage & cabaret performer.
This trick hasn’t been made for a long time, but you can still find them for about $75. I found the instruction booklet for $5 and bought that.
I’m glad I just bought the booklet, as there’s a HUGE condition missing from the trick. You need a second person to do it, which 100% makes it a trick that won’t work for me. I’m glad I just have $5 into this trick and not $75. If you’ve got a second person, and working in a more formal venue, it not a bad method.
This trick is one of the reasons I’m weary of any trick that’s advertised basically as a list of what it’s not. When I see that, frequently there’s a play on words with the things on the list or it’s a very impractical method.
this is the beginning of my fair season and I was going through and fixing, cleaning and upgrading props. One of the props in my show is a bowl that holds a ball of yarn. I use a plastic bowl instead of glass because it travels better and is much lighter!
Over time the bowl has really gotten beaten up and it was time to replace it.
I probably hung onto the old bowl for too long, but I liked it because it’s half the height of any plastic bowl that I’ve been able to find. Sometimes you don’t realize how bad things look until you see them next to a new one!
