Performing to Strangers
- Thread starter ArcticChibi
- Start date
Thanks! The best part is that I did a quarter bend for the girls last week, and they told me they went home and put the bent ones into a box of 'cool stuff' they keep as mementos.
That's great! I love hearing about audience experiences. It just makes you feel good knowing that you made somebody have such an awesome memory that they'll hold it forever and remember you.
People commonly come under the misconception that the way you dress affects whether or not a person will be willing to watch you perform. O beg to differ with that at least. My common attire is a T-Shirt depicting a heavy metal band, tattered jeans, a hoodie, and a chain the hangs from my wallet down my knees. But somehow, with all of that, people rarely reject seeing my "street magic".
I strongly believe that it's how you approach people and what you say to them that marks the line between ACCEPTED or REJECTED.
Put it this way, someone walks you to you while you are at the local shopping mall. This person, He or she, os dressed nicely and is clean cut. However, when they walk up to you holding a deck of cards they ave a monotone voice, are uninteresting, and you detect some slight attitude in their voice as they say:
"Um... yeah...hi... I'm doing like card tricks. And l-like, I was... wondering if you wanted to like...watch...um... see one. Okay. Is that cool?"
Okay... that might be on the extreme side by a little, but you know exactly what I mean. If a person seems friendly enough and very personable they are usually given a chance. but when a person comes across as boring, dull, uninteresting, rude, arrogant, corny, oor annoying the person is rejected by his potential spectators. Here. Take that same scenario in the mall. But instead, picture me, Jeans, Hoodie, Chain, Boots, Slipknot shirt, long hair. I aproach the person, look at what I might say:
" Hey there. I was just walking around the mall and wondered if you had a second." (Generally people think you are asking for the time or something smilar to that.) "Awesome! I am actually a magician and I was wondering if you want to see something kind of cool?"
This might be exagerated as well, but you understand the basic point behind it. A key art of it is "reading people" as well. Read body language in order to find the most open people who have time and might be willing to see something kind of different and exciting. Peoples motions can tell you what they are thinkng, how busy they are, and if they are open to seeing something new. So just be personable and friendly when approaching the right kind of people and you should have not many problems findinag people to enjoy your maic. I hope this is some help. Message me for more advice.
Dylan P.
My suggestion would be to consider anybody your approaching not as a 'target' so much as someone you would like to befriend. Simply walking up to a group or someone standing around and introducing yourself, starting some sort of dialogue with them before you bombard them with your latest shocker, is generally the most effective way of going about it.
There's an saying that's sails along the lines of "a stranger is simply a friend you haven't met yet". Slightly idealist, but it's something we might like to keep in mind if we are to approach random people in the middle of a mall.
Ty
There's an saying that's sails along the lines of "a stranger is simply a friend you haven't met yet". Slightly idealist, but it's something we might like to keep in mind if we are to approach random people in the middle of a mall.
Ty