My Routine

b+w

b+w

Dec 10, 2008
89
2
York, United Kingdom
Hey guys, in two weeks on saturday, I will be performing at a secondary school about 40 mins from where I live at a Ball. It will be a table to table close up format, so I have come up with a routine which may still need refining, with card tricks. Here it is:



The Biddle Trick

Tivo 2.0 (Dan and Dave)

Hand to mouth (Dan and Dave)

Invisible reverse (Chris Kenner)

Roleplay (Daniel Madison)

Heritage (Daniel Madison)

Hedberg all over (Dan and Dave)

Witness (Lee Asher)

The Chaser (Kevin Ho)



This is my main rough routine which I will be performing table to table. I do however have "a few more tricks up my sleeve" like the queens and tivo transpo, just in case someone later requests for a trick and I have something to show them.

My question is is this a strong routine? I'm kinda asking the more experienced close up performers amongst the forum. Shall I mix it up throughout the night? All critical comments are welcome, as this is only my second paid event.



Thanks in advance.
 
MagicShadow9

MagicShadow9

Jun 10, 2008
1,277
0
You little stalker!
Well i never use any of D&D's tricks in my routines. I just think they're simply "Look at how cool i am with cards" tricks. Also, there's no room to connect with the audience during their tricks.

Anyways, as for the routine, it's way too long. A strong solid routine should consist of 3 to 5 effects. Here's a small guideline:

Opener- The main rule for openers is that it must be quick, and amazing. This is the trick used to grab the audiences attention. If you start off with a long trick, the audience's attention will start to shrink, which is not good. But the opener has to be the weakest effect in your routine.

Middle Tricks- It's good to have 1 to 3 middle tricks, no more than that. These tricks have to be arranged in order of impact. Meaning, the weakest trick should go first, the second weakest should be second, and the strongest should be last. However, all these tricks must be stronger than the opener. Also, these tricks can be longer than the opener because you already have their attention.

Closer- This is it. You have to end with a bang. This is the strongest trick in your routine. This can be as long as you want. But is has to be stronger than any other trick you have done already.

Encore- You also have to prepare for the possibility of an encore. If the crowd loves you too much, and wants one more trick. The rule about the encore trick is that it must not be the same subject as the closer. For example, if your closer was done with cards, it's best to do a coin trick or a rope trick. This is because you have already done your strongest card trick, if you do another card trick it's not gonna be as strong as the closer, so the sense of progression is lost.

The key to a good routine is a sense of progression. Each effect must be stronger than the last. The train must keep moving forward. If one trick is weaker than the last, then the train will be moving backwards. Once the audience realizes there's something wrong with the train, they lose interest and will get off at the net stop.

Now a i said a good routine can't be too long. But if you really wanna do all your tricks, you can create several routines and perform a different one for each audience.

Now i don't know if you're gonna be on stage, doing walkaround, or table-hopping. But if you're doing walkaround, please take my advice into consideration. Also, if you're not gonna be doing walk around, please still remember this stuff the next time you do have a walkaround gig.
 
Dmagic

Dmagic

Nov 8, 2008
80
0
U.S.
Heritage would be a weak closer. I use time is money by Asi Betesh (signed bill under spectators watch). Have something strong like that to close with. I also agree with MagicShadow9. A great DVD for table hopping is David Stone, the Real Secrets of Magic. He gives you time-tested tips a routines.
 
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