Starting Street Magic? :: (My Thoughts)

[ZacEckstein]

Okay, Here we go...

Honestly, you just have to do it. After the first person, I swear to God, it will be as easy as breathing. You just have to get passed that first person... I remembered the first time I decided to do street magic, I wasted an hour just sitting there because I was so nervous ( You will probably the same way)... And I decided to go for it. And luckily, they wanted to see magic!

Side notes::

* You are going to get rejected a million times. People are generally busy. Performing at a fair is ideal by the way.

*Don't get discourage when you get rejected 10x's in a row. Trust me you are going to get pissed.

*You are probably going to get the shakes while you perform. That will go away over time. There isn't a remedy for that. except for experience.

*Sometimes your effects will go wrong (about 10%-5% of the time.) Have a back up. My back up is "Hand To Mouth" By: Dan & Dave. Be prepared for that because it is going to happen.

* Know what you are saying. No "Um's" ,"Uh's". You know what I mean? I am not saying have a set patter. (I am even against that).

*Despite what people say being your self is NOT overrated. Don't get a character unless it's your self. You want to be seen as a Magician as a whole, not a guy who can do magic. There is a difference.

- Zac

 

[jake the snake magic]

Okay, Here we go...

Honestly, you just have to do it. After the first person, I swear to God, it will be as easy as breathing. You just have to get passed that first person... I remembered the first time I decided to do street magic, I wasted an hour just sitting there because I was so nervous ( You will probably the same way)... And I decided to go for it. And luckily, they wanted to see magic!

Side notes::

* You are going to get rejected a million times. People are generally busy. Performing at a fair is ideal by the way.

*Don't get discourage when you get rejected 10x's in a row. Trust me you are going to get pissed.

*You are probably going to get the shakes while you perform. That will go away over time. There isn't a remedy for that. except for experience.

*Sometimes your effects will go wrong (about 10%-5% of the time.) Have a back up. My back up is "Hand To Mouth" By: Dan & Dave. Be prepared for that because it is going to happen.

* Know what you are saying. No "Um's" ,"Uh's". You know what I mean? I am not saying have a set patter. (I am even against that).

*Despite what people say being your self is NOT overrated. Don't get a character unless it's your self. You want to be seen as a Magician as a whole, not a guy who can do magic. There is a difference.

- Zac

I have experienced most of this except the first person thing you noted. It took me a while. I am generally a little shy so i guess it depends on who you are. I mean I still get nervous asking depending on who it is you are going to ask. But good advice man.

-Jake

 

[SKSleighofHand]

I think this is a great tips especially for someone who is starting street magic.

 

[ZacEckstein]

I think this is a great tips especially for someone who is starting street magic.

That was the intention! Glad you liked them!

 

[GusEds]

Sharing the wisdom!

So I guess this marks your turn out of the streets?

Good luck to you bro!

G

 

[badz]

dude!!!!
off the streets???!?!?!

 

[phrozunsun]

Okay, Here we go...

Honestly, you just have to do it. After the first person, I swear to God, it will be as easy as breathing. You just have to get passed that first person... I remembered the first time I decided to do street magic, I wasted an hour just sitting there because I was so nervous ( You will probably the same way)... And I decided to go for it. And luckily, they wanted to see magic!

Side notes::

Overall, good post, I'll add a bit to it....

* You are going to get rejected a million times. People are generally busy. Performing at a fair is ideal by the way.

If you get rejected, then you asked for too much. How did you open the interaction? If you said "Wanna see...." then imagine that I just pushed a big red button that triggers the Family Feud "X".

You need to start with smaller motions and stack them. "Hey....come here one sec, I need to borrow you....watch...." and then start going. Notice, two things: First, you broke down the action into two seperate parts, as opposed to asking for both at the same time. Second, you didn't ask - you just told them in a way that was commanding, yet polite. It'll take someone with a really strong personality to overtly not-comply.

Also, keep your body language OPEN, inviting, and most importantly a concept I call "clean". Ever go to a casino and see how the dealers/cashiers ALWAYS need to flash their palms/open hands to the camera (it's a loss prevention thing)? Learn that behaviour. Show yourself to be "clean" and safe as frequently as possible.

*Don't get discourage when you get rejected 10x's in a row. Trust me you are going to get pissed.

Again, if you don't ask and instead command, they don't have the option to refuse.

*You are probably going to get the shakes while you perform. That will go away over time. There isn't a remedy for that. except for experience.

I can't say I totally get it, but I can get how other people might get nervous. I'm more nervous performing around people I know, because if I screw up, then they see me all the time and I'm constantly reminded. Random people however, will come and go.

*Sometimes your effects will go wrong (about 10%-5% of the time.) Have a back up. My back up is "Hand To Mouth" By: Dan & Dave. Be prepared for that because it is going to happen.

Great idea. My "out" is probably one of the best known outs out there..."and I'm going to snap my finger and your card is going to rise to the top....and I'm going to snap it again, and it's going to change to the....(turn over card as you're saying this).....<card name that you're turning over>....(smile devilishly)....Nah, I was really just messing with you there...here, we'll do it for real this time...." and start over.

* Know what you are saying. No "Um's" ,"Uh's". You know what I mean? I am not saying have a set patter. (I am even against that).

Yeah, I guess this is all practice.

*Despite what people say being your self is NOT overrated. Don't get a character unless it's your self.

Agreed, though, your next sentence can completely contradict that. See my reply.

You want to be seen as a Magician as a whole, not a guy who can do magic. There is a difference.

- Zac

Not necessarily.

Best thing I ever heard is this little thing about comedy:

A comedian tells a joke, the joke is funny. A comedian tells 3 jokes, he's a guy telling a few jokes that are funny. A comedian strings together a whole set, he's a guy that's funny.

So do I want to be a "magician"? Not necessarily. I'm just being me, and being me is just being an interesting guy who happens to do magic and mentalism. I do other things, and talk about/demonstrate those things too.

Now if you want to be a "Magician", great...be one!, but to say "You want to be seen as a Magician" isn't the case for everyone. Just some perspective.

 

[RickEverhart]

Z-magic,

Thanks man for posting the helpful hints. I wish I would have had some of these words when I first started out years ago.

Also, I rewatched some of your video performances again yesterday. It is so good to see someone else out there "actually" creating magic for people and not just sitting at home pretending or only making half a** you tube tutorial videos.

Good luck in your next avenue.

 

[ZacEckstein]

Overall, good post, I'll add a bit to it....



If you get rejected, then you asked for too much. How did you open the interaction? If you said "Wanna see...." then imagine that I just pushed a big red button that triggers the Family Feud "X".

You need to start with smaller motions and stack them. "Hey....come here one sec, I need to borrow you....watch...." and then start going. Notice, two things: First, you broke down the action into two seperate parts, as opposed to asking for both at the same time. Second, you didn't ask - you just told them in a way that was commanding, yet polite. It'll take someone with a really strong personality to overtly not-comply.

Also, keep your body language OPEN, inviting, and most importantly a concept I call "clean". Ever go to a casino and see how the dealers/cashiers ALWAYS need to flash their palms/open hands to the camera (it's a loss prevention thing)? Learn that behaviour. Show yourself to be "clean" and safe as frequently as possible.



Again, if you don't ask and instead command, they don't have the option to refuse.

Umm, You pointed out some nice things, but I know for a fact you will get rejected. If you don't mind I would like to go more in depth... If you live in a small town (like me), you actually won't get rejected as much. I still am not sure why this is, but I talk from experience. Now, if you are going to a big city, you seem to get rejected a lot more. Again I am not sure why but I guess that's just how it goes. You think in David Blaine's first special everyone said yes? No. Even he got rejected a lot. But again you said some good things in their.

So do I want to be a "magician"? Not necessarily. I'm just being me, and being me is just being an interesting guy who happens to do magic and mentalism. I do other things, and talk about/demonstrate those things too.

Now if you want to be a "Magician", great...be one!, but to say "You want to be seen as a Magician" isn't the case for everyone. Just some perspective.

I guess you're right in the fact, only if you are performing for people you know... if you are performing for someone on the strreet, well, you want them to remember you indefinatly for the rest of their lives. I personally am not sure how people remember me... I come across as a soft spoken characrter in my performances, yet the audience still listen very intently. I think I screw up getting remembered as a magician becaus I give a quick 1min lecture after every performance talking about "my tricks arent magic", "magic happens in your mind when all is said and don, and when you are astonished that's real magic", "i hope I was able to give that for everyone today". And all that jazz.

 

[ZacEckstein]

dude!!!!
off the streets???!?!?!

Sorry to say but yes...

 

[phrozunsun]

Umm, You pointed out some nice things, but I know for a fact you will get rejected. If you don't mind I would like to go more in depth... If you live in a small town (like me), you actually won't get rejected as much. I still am not sure why this is, but I talk from experience. Now, if you are going to a big city, you seem to get rejected a lot more. Again I am not sure why but I guess that's just how it goes. You think in David Blaine's first special everyone said yes? No. Even he got rejected a lot. But again you said some good things in their.


I guess you're right in the fact, only if you are performing for people you know... if you are performing for someone on the strreet, well, you want them to remember you indefinatly for the rest of their lives. I personally am not sure how people remember me... I come across as a soft spoken characrter in my performances, yet the audience still listen very intently. I think I screw up getting remembered as a magician becaus I give a quick 1min lecture after every performance talking about "my tricks arent magic", "magic happens in your mind when all is said and don, and when you are astonished that's real magic", "i hope I was able to give that for everyone today". And all that jazz.

Guilty. In retrospect, I made that sound like some sort of magic bullet, when I meant to make it sound like you'll get rejected MUCH MUCH less. Again though, I stand by the fact that it does alot to curb rejection.

Small steps make it easier to comply. In sales, it's called a yes ladder. It's also HUGE in the pickup world. why? Because it works.

Think about it. Some guy stops you and says "come here for a second.", you don't think much of it and comply. Then "how watch this...." and you don't think too much of it and comply. And so on. and the more you invest, the more likely you're going to just keep rolling with it thinking "It's probably going to be over soon, let's just finish it..."

If someone says "I want to perform for you", you've made it clear that they need to give their undivided attention for something they may or may not enjoy, and that sense of obligation is the cause of their rejection.

As for big city differences, there's probably one basic reason: if they reject you small city, they have to keep seeing you and will feel guilt. In a bigger city, chances are you won't really see them again, and overall, growing up in a big city makes you more callous for that reason.

That being said, I'll be on the streets of Toronto, definitely not a small city. So yeah, I hit rejection sometimes, but overall, I get many more positive reactions than negative.

 

[ZacEckstein]

As for big city differences, there's probably one basic reason: if they reject you small city, they have to keep seeing you and will feel guilt. In a bigger city, chances are you won't really see them again, and overall, growing up in a big city makes you more callous for that reason.

That being said, I'll be on the streets of Toronto, definitely not a small city. So yeah, I hit rejection sometimes, but overall, I get many more positive reactions than negative.

Same. But the reason in big cities you are getting rejected is because of homeless people who say the exact same thing you are saying for people to say. In small cities there are not as many homeless/scam/crazy people. But then again, my opinion from experience. You may be right though.

 

[phrozunsun]

Same. But the reason in big cities you are getting rejected is because of homeless people who say the exact same thing you are saying for people to say. In small cities there are not as many homeless/scam/crazy people. But then again, my opinion from experience. You may be right though.

that's really only an instance of my base case though. There's not too many homeless people in small cities. Before people have a chance to really slip into issues like that, people help them out (unless of course they're some sort of unwelcome nuisance). You're much more likely to chip in $10-$20 for little Jimmy's prosthetic leg drive in smalltown, USA then you are to drop some change in the cup of Homeless dude in NYC...

 

[ZacEckstein]

that's really only an instance of my base case though. There's not too many homeless people in small cities. Before people have a chance to really slip into issues like that, people help them out (unless of course they're some sort of unwelcome nuisance). You're much more likely to chip in $10-$20 for little Jimmy's prosthetic leg drive in smalltown, USA then you are to drop some change in the cup of Homeless dude in NYC...

I am not really sure what you mean nor the relevance... what do you mean?

 

[ZacEckstein]

Z-magic,

Thanks man for posting the helpful hints. I wish I would have had some of these words when I first started out years ago.

Also, I rewatched some of your video performances again yesterday. It is so good to see someone else out there "actually" creating magic for people and not just sitting at home pretending or only making half a** you tube tutorial videos.

Good luck in your next avenue.

Thanks man, I really appreciate it!

 

[ZacEckstein]

Sharing the wisdom!

So I guess this marks your turn out of the streets?

Good luck to you bro!

G

Actually, I have one last video. It'll be posted tonight!