help on stage act

harrybob222 · Mar 9, 2011

there is a talent show going at my college in a couple of weeks time and i would like to perform however i do not know how to start my show

i would love to do a trick where you borrow a spectators phone and smash it (a comical routine) but i do not know where you could buy this type of effect from

i have my own version with a ring but will only work with rings (and other small objects)

but i need alot more tricks than this i feel ....

i have a cool jumbo card transposition effect but i think this would clash with the smashing ring or phone trick as they are two transposition effects

i would like to do some effects with money

i really need some help with this... im quite energetic when it comes to my magic so i will be doing moving around and having a laugh alot (more like some comical routines)

any help is welcome !

Big Cheese · Mar 9, 2011

I reccommend you do Fiber Optics, one of my favorites.

harrybob222 · Mar 9, 2011

i have never really done rope magic bt i shall look into it thanks !

DannyT · Mar 9, 2011

harrybob222 said:
i would like to do some effects with money

Look into Asi Wind's "Time is money".
Great trick.

William Draven · Mar 9, 2011

You could also try searching the forums for "stage act", because there's about a half dozen threads on the subject at the least.

Justin.Morris · Mar 10, 2011

Suit jacket escape has lots of comic potential

harrybob222 · Mar 10, 2011

William Draven said:
You could also try searching the forums for "stage act", because there's about a half dozen threads on the subject at the least.

oh ok didnt even think of that thanks for your time

William Draven · Mar 10, 2011

no worries mate! I remember some good advise in a few of those threads. I hope you can use it.

Craig Browning · Mar 10, 2011

Hmmm... show in two weeks and you don't have an act.

DON'T DO THE BLOODY SHOW!

Would you hitch a horse up behind the wagon it's "puling"?

This is the biggest mistake most young aspirants make; they have huge dreams of being "the man" but they have yet to go through the effort of creating an actual act, let alone a "show". They likewise fail to recognize that you must start on that effort months, even years prior to the gig.

Every winner of FISM that I've known over the years took two to three years to prepare; Richard Ross's award winning Clock & Rings routine was practiced for two years without anyone seeing it, before he did it in public for the first time. This is what it takes to be a "Magician" vs. some jerk that does tricks. Shimada and I spoke about his famed Bird appearance on the cane and how similar it was to my own; both of us had invested over a year in developing the method let alone the perfection factors. In the day, we were the only one's to have that bird appear at the tip of the cane however (he, long before I however).

You don't slap together a "routine" and expect to get positive end results. If you want to shine, they take your time to create an actual act that you know better than the back of your own hand and then, go out on a stage and shine!

Every year, starting in around mid-September, there will be a dozen and one posts in which people want to create an Seance show for Halloween. Unless you are a very experienced worker of Bizarre Magick the likelihood of abysmal failure is almost assured. Most creating a magic show filled with tricks & whistles rather than understanding the psychology of a Seance and how less really is a hell of a lot more. For this reason, it takes close to a year or longer, to create a theatrically sound Seance program. Most pros that work this genre are marketing and booking such a show six to nine months prior to the season -- they have a product to sell!

If you have no act, you have no product and thus, you should not be contemplating any sort of booking; including a "Talent show" in which you want to make a solid first impression. Hit them hard your first time out and "they" (the people that saw you) will make certain you move forward with your dream. Do an under-rehearsed, slapped-together, incongruent mosh of a mess on the other hand, and you'll be viewed as the typical weekend warrior showing off a handful of tricks.

Which do you want to be?

harrybob222 · Mar 10, 2011

Craig Browning said:
Hmmm... show in two weeks and you don't have an act.

DON'T DO THE BLOODY SHOW!

Would you hitch a horse up behind the wagon it's "puling"?

This is the biggest mistake most young aspirants make; they have huge dreams of being "the man" but they have yet to go through the effort of creating an actual act, let alone a "show". They likewise fail to recognize that you must start on that effort months, even years prior to the gig.

Every winner of FISM that I've known over the years took two to three years to prepare; Richard Ross's award winning Clock & Rings routine was practiced for two years without anyone seeing it, before he did it in public for the first time. This is what it takes to be a "Magician" vs. some jerk that does tricks. Shimada and I spoke about his famed Bird appearance on the cane and how similar it was to my own; both of us had invested over a year in developing the method let alone the perfection factors. In the day, we were the only one's to have that bird appear at the tip of the cane however (he, long before I however).

You don't slap together a "routine" and expect to get positive end results. If you want to shine, they take your time to create an actual act that you know better than the back of your own hand and then, go out on a stage and shine!

Every year, starting in around mid-September, there will be a dozen and one posts in which people want to create an Seance show for Halloween. Unless you are a very experienced worker of Bizarre Magick the likelihood of abysmal failure is almost assured. Most creating a magic show filled with tricks & whistles rather than understanding the psychology of a Seance and how less really is a hell of a lot more. For this reason, it takes close to a year or longer, to create a theatrically sound Seance program. Most pros that work this genre are marketing and booking such a show six to nine months prior to the season -- they have a product to sell!

If you have no act, you have no product and thus, you should not be contemplating any sort of booking; including a "Talent show" in which you want to make a solid first impression. Hit them hard your first time out and "they" (the people that saw you) will make certain you move forward with your dream. Do an under-rehearsed, slapped-together, incongruent mosh of a mess on the other hand, and you'll be viewed as the typical weekend warrior showing off a handful of tricks.

Which do you want to be?

thanks so much for that post but i fear i may have said something wrong in my original post (sorry) i have performed stage acts before a few times and know how to structure them and they went well the only problem was they didnt fit my personality

also its some time in april they moved the date along so i have a-bit more time to prepare and practice my routine

but i WILL take your advice and if i dont feel i can perform it flawlessly i shall not do the show THANKS SO MUCH for the help !