Can street magic be used on stage?

MaSh

MaSh

Mar 20, 2009
20
0
Al Wakrah, Qatar
Hey all

Some people concentrate more on street magic and cardistry (like me) and less on stage types. So what should we do if we want to perform on stage? The problem is that only some street magic tricks can be used on stage. And for the rest of the show what should we do? We don't want our audience to be disappointed because not all can see what's happening, right?

Be realistic please.
Creative answers are also welcome.
 
JustinHMagic

JustinHMagic

Oct 26, 2008
33
0
Minnesota
you said it

I just had the same problem. An Illusionist was coming to town. My mom happened to be working for the theater and over heard something about it. Me mum was just asking for the dates of the show. Some how she told the lady running it that I did magic. The lady instantly wanted to meet me. We set up a time I auditioned and blew her away. But, she immediately saw the problem...street magic is intimate. Its a special bond with the individual. The magic is happening in their hands. So with less then a week I jumped on here and picked up Thread. With Thread I picked up two tricks. The gypsy thread and Tread. I opened the show and got some great reactions. As I finished up the Thread I annouced I would be in the Lobby during intermission to show some close up magic. Then after the show I left once the last person left. I have picked up some gigs from just this one show. I love street magic. If you like card magic, grab those card manipulation videos by Dan Sperry. If already have them, they're great. But, I want to only do polished magic for people. There is no way I would get up on stage and drag the crowd threw a presentation of my card manipulation.

What kind of tricks are in your arsenal?
 
R

r.zhang

May 3, 2008
618
1
I'm sorry, but I hate it when people say street magic on stage as opposed to closeup magic. Anyway, it's all in how you stage a trick and how you present it. If you stage something well, then they should have no problem understanding. An alternative is to get a camera to project yourself onto a screen. Of course, if it were me, I'd take the oppurtunity to get away from the closeup for a bit and try something new that does work on stage. It's all part of growth and learning to break out of your comfort zone.
 
Reactions

Reactions

Mar 15, 2009
77
0
Minnesota
What I've found is this:

- For some simple card tricks, you can use oversized cards. Audience members love these, and no one really knows why.

- There are many great stage tricks that are easy, stunning, and inexpensive. Fantasma has somepretty cool effects, but there are plenty of other places as well.

- Finally (as you mentioned), you can twist tricks to different settings. You can easily perform Control in front of a large theater of people. All you need is a spectator and a microphone.

I don't really do much stage, but when I do do my occasional show, I usually do these effects:

-Linking Rings
-Basic magic with large cards
-The invisible deck (normal size)
-Production of a glass of pepsi
-Production of an extremely large rock from my shoe
-Cups and Balls
-"Mathemagic" (a spectator thinks of a number, and some impossible calculations are done in under 15 seconds)
-Hand Scam
-"Money Mischeif" (a large sum of money is borrowed from a spectator, and apparently burned - only to reappear in their pocket.

If anyone wants to learn some of these less known effects, message me.
 
William Draven

William Draven

Dec 1, 2008
3,526
126
Las Vegas
www.facebook.com
As to the original question of weather or not "street" magic A.K.A. Close Up magic can be performed on stage or not I guess really depends on what equipment you have at your disposal.

Penn & Teller use a few close up bits in their act from time to time, but it's broadcased to the entire theater by use of large projection TV screens and TV camera's that are in tight shots on the action.

A lower budget solution would be to bring one or two audience members on stage with you and perform for them. Let them be the eyes and ears for the rest of the audience, and let the rest of the audience enjoy the effect vicariously through the two chosen spectators.

If you go that last route though I would advise that you don't run your entire show like that. You can get away with it for an effect but I wouldn't press your luck beyond that.

Also if you are a close up guy with out any stage show in your arsenal, my advice is not to book a stage show unless you know you can put something together!
 
A

ajp500

Mar 2, 2008
412
0
Mac king said it him self that his show is all close up on stage but for a few tricks. If you present it right, its possable.
 
Cliff|Bumgardner

Cliff|Bumgardner

Sep 19, 2007
1,027
2
North Carolina
www.twitter.com
In my opinion, it is the mark of a true performer to take something very small and make it play as a much bigger piece.

Masters of this that are worth your research are:
Mac King (as mentioned)
Amazing Jonathan (He may be mostly comedy, but nearly all of his work is small but plays huge)
Dan Sperry
Jeff Hobson
Penn & Teller


Watch some videos by those guys and see how a small effect can play much, much larger. The key to this in my opinion is making the ROUTINE what people are interested in, not the effect. Mac King has a 5-10 minute long routine based on Las Vegas Leaper. The effect is very small and short, but the routine around it builds the effect and makes it a wonderful piece.

Just a few thoughts.

C
 
MagicShadow9

MagicShadow9

Jun 10, 2008
1,277
0
You little stalker!
I saw this problem coming long before i started doing stage shows. Which is why i suggest you learn some stage magic as soon as you can. It'll save you the rush when you really do have to perform on stage and you got nothing.

So i learned some simple stuff like Fiber Optics, D'lites, and Linking Rings. I threw those 3 together in a show and it went great!
 
MaSh

MaSh

Mar 20, 2009
20
0
Al Wakrah, Qatar
MagicShadow9 said:
I saw this problem coming long before i started doing stage shows. Which is why i suggest you learn some stage magic as soon as you can. It'll save you the rush when you really do have to perform on stage and you got nothing.

So i learned some simple stuff like Fiber Optics, D'lites, and Linking Rings. I threw those 3 together in a show and it went great!
Click to expand...


How about ringtone, tarantula, and some from TA? Do you think they will look great on stage?
 
J

James Smith

May 31, 2008
1,914
0
This was my big problem when I wanted to do a talent show at school. I realized that most of my stuff was close-up. So I ended up not doing it. Too bad, because this is my last year at junoir high.
 
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