Just returned from a Christmas Party Gig

[RickEverhart]

Hey guys,
Just got back from a company Christmas party gig. It was for 75 people and about 25 of them were kids between the ages of 4-16. It was from 5:30-7:00 pm and then the big jolly guy was supposed to show up at 7:15. The location was in the basement of a Elk's Lodge.

I arrived at 5:10 to scope out the lay of the room(s) and meet with the client. We chatted about how he wanted the evening to go and made sure we were all on the same page.
The kids effects I took were organized on my right side jacket and pants pocket and on my left side was all of my teen-adult material. This made it easy to approach the tables and know depending on who was sitting where what pocket I needed to go to.
I do not normally brag, but I felt so confident tonight and the reactions were insane. I wished I had someone videoing but I didn't think my client would want an extra body in the room filming their private Christmas party.

One thing that played really big tonight (in front of the boss) was taking a few colored 9 inch silks and having kids involved at the table and doing things with them. This was a great visual so when the boss came in, he saw lots of kids working and doing thing with silks, laughing, and having a great time as I entertained. To me....he knew that I was doing exactly what he had paid for with the little ones.

I had a feeling that he would follow me around a little to see if I was worth the $175 price tag for 90 minutes.
That is when I really turned up the game and destroyed adults with some more difficult material. The screams and gasps and people cheering were a huge adrenaline rush and people were asking for my business card.

The boss pulled me aside and took me to his boss that was located in another room. He wanted me to perform a few more things and he knew it was already 7:00 (time was up), but I always have a positive attitude and know that "Giving more than what they paid for" normally pays off for me.

I impressed the boss so much they added another $25.00 on top of my $175 and sent me home with a plate of Christmas cookies as well.

All in all it was a great night to do what we all do best. Bring smiles, laughter, and wonder into people's lives.

Just thought I'd share this. I know some of you guys enjoy reading these.

 

[renome]

I'm very glad for you, you obviously impressed and it also sounds like you had a great time, which is also a part of the definition of a successful gig, if such a definition exists.
Anyway, well done!

 

[RickEverhart]

You are exactly right. I had a blast at this gig. It was so much fun to see the enjoyment I was bringing to these people tonight.

 

[Crede]

Echoing renome above me, it definitely does sound like you had a fun and successful gig!

Since I don't perform for money, I have little knowledge about, say what gigs are "better" than others, but a Christmas one sure sounds fun (and I'm Jewish, haha)!

I know some of you guys enjoy reading these.

Well, I do, so keep them coming

Thanks you for the story!

 

[Jewish_Illusion]

im also jewish if you couldn't tell from my username but it sounds like you had a graet time.
i personally have a bunch of hannukah gigs lined up for me which im pretty excited about but i dont do strolling.
maybe i should give it a go.....

 

[DannyT]

Rick!!!!
Way To Go Man!
Sounds killer!
Smart way to separate your material. Haven't really thought about organizing my tricks like that. Good idea.

You must be pretty excited since people were asking for your card. That's the best thing that could happen at a gig.
Sounds like an amazing memorable night!
Good job.

 

[RealityOne]

Rick:

Awesome job. I can tell that you had fun and that probably made your spectators have more fun which made you have more fun and so on. I like the pocket management.

One of the things that I think differentiates you from other kids performers is that you can slay (or is it sleigh this time of year?) the adults. Even with the kids, it is strong magic rather than mere silliness.

 

[RickEverhart]

Thank you fellas for all of the compliments. Danny, I probably gave out 25 business cards last night so you would hope that out of them, I will get a return call on one or two. David, you are right, and that was sort of my little secret of how I get booked more than the other guys in our IBM ring. I'm pretty versatile in that I perform tons of great magic for little kids all the way down to about age 5 and then I can turn right around and "sleigh" (that was funny) the adults as well with hard hitting close up work.

 

[Jamie D. Grant]

Anyone can get a tip. The fact that you got cookies tells me that you are 100% awesome! Great work!

 

[Jacob L]

Great post Rick, thanks!
I'm trying to distinguish myself as not just a kid's magician (since I really only have sponge bunnies for my table hopping set) because I do have stuff for teens and adults. It's difficult though to do the adult magic for the adults when there are a few 5 and 6 year olds who wouldn't get it. When I hand out my card I tell them I do magic for teens and adults as well, but I wish I could show them, but then I feel like I'm isolating the little ones, you know?

 

[Chris W]

Being confident as you are really helps the magic. It's pretty much the same thing with other areas. Confidence is key. Thanks for the story, and definitely keep them up. I'm one who loves reading about it.

 

[Hepdini]

You got it Rick!

Great to hear you had an amazing night. Being versatile with all ages makes you more valuable. I was a at a Christmas Party last night (just for fun) and tried to walk around with some stuff. Went much better than I thought with the teens...but after hearing your success, I want to try my night over! I am going to two parties next week and will be taking your motivation with me. Also have a short show in my classroom on Thursday.

Rick--I always look forward to your posts. Consistently positive, motivating, and thought provoking!

 

[RickEverhart]

Thanks for all of the compliments and feed back guys. I really want to have someone film me so I can get some videos posted but my past couple gigs just didn't seem like places that were appropriate to have a film guy following me when I'm being paid to be at someone's private party. I'll keep my gig stories coming!

If anyone has specific questions...fire away and I'll answer them the best that I can.

 

[AndyW]

I just did a Christmas party too, for and adoption agency. Lots of kids about 50 of them. I noticed some of the kids enjoyed some of the card tricks I did for the adults. Did you notice that at your party? The favorites upon the kids though were sponge balls and presto printo.

 

[RickEverhart]

The favorites for the little ones were silk vanishes, Budda Money Mystery papers, sponge balls, and linking the ring onto the dangling chain (not sure of the official name). For the teens and adults it was CMH, Alan Wong's Star Gazer, Free Will, Biddle, Sloppy Triumph, This One / That One flustration count packet trick, Ultra Mental Telelthought Wallet 2, Mismade Bill, and Banachek's PK pen.

The little ones that were 6 and under did not really care at all about card tricks that their parents were doing (and I knew they wouldn't) but any of the older kids liked watching their parents get fooled and go nuts. It was a neat situation because I would approach a table and entertain the kids first and then after two or three effects for the kids, I would perform one for mom and then one for dad. The whole family enjoyed the magic.

 

[Pete Pridanonda]

Hey Rick, glad to hear this story from you, very interesting to read about your experiences because that is how we as performers learn to improve. Have you ever seen the trick called the Okito Voodoo Doll? This works perfect for kids, teens, adults, or old people.

 

[Jacob L]

Daaang, you were packing a lot for the adults, huh? Haha.

All those effects seem great Rick, I was wondering if you could comment on my concern in the previous post I made, about not isolating a certain group. I do balloon animals at the restaurant I where I perform, and I usually follow up with Sponge bunnies for the kids. After that the parents usually give me a tip and I'm off, but I'd like to perform for them, just in case they have any events that are not birthday parties. So do I just take the tip and continue performing, or would that come off like I'm asking for more? I REALLY don't want to come across as one-dimensional and appear as I just perform for kids, because I have a lot of experience with teens and adults as well.

Also, another quick question, who do you get to film for you? (Not just Rick, but anyone who has a film guy) Do you use a close friend, family member, magician friend, non-magician friend? What seems to be the best option? Also, where are good places to have a film guy? A corporate event, a restaurant, parties? What places seem more appropriate?

Thanks!

Jacob

 

[renome]

Have you ever seen the trick called the Okito Voodoo Doll? This works perfect for kids, teens, adults, or old people.

I'm seriously starting to think you're Buce Kalver, although he's successful enough that he doesn't need to advertise on every forum thread of every magic site.
Still, you never know!

 

[Pete Pridanonda]

I'm seriously starting to think you're Buce Kalver, although he's successful enough that he doesn't need to advertise on every forum thread of every magic site.
Still, you never know!

I am not Bruce Kalver nor do I look like him, I'm just a person who happens to love this effect so much becasue it feels so magical when it rises up on my hand and gets astounded smiles and reactions from every one of my audience So far I haven't seen anyone that can do this effect without having to tense and bend their fingers a lot and that's why I feel that this effect is special and that it should be my job to help anyone that owns this effect to eliminate the hand tensions. I also love performing this effect in everyone of my shows or casual performances or walkaround gigs throughout the day because seriously, the smiles that I've received from this effect made me feel really happy. I hope you understand what I'm trying to say.
Also, i'm kinda glad that you think I'm Bruce Kalver, would love to meet him in person!

 

[renome]

That was sarcasm, you know that thing when you say something but you don't really mean...ah, forget it, I'm already off-topic.