What to do?

Jan 25, 2018
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Chatfield mn.
What should I do when someone tells my audience how I did the trick and they are rite. Should I use magic to make it look like the trick was done differently or something else.
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
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Well, you're probably not going to like it, but look back over your performance and try to figure out what you're doing that's making them think this is OK/what they are supposed to do.

This kind of situation is almost always caused by the performer. Something in the performance is telling them, "My job here is to bust this guy."
 
Feb 16, 2015
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Also you can either just say “yes, you’re right. That is how I did it” it’s not real magic don’t worry so much.

Watch some David Williamson and Chris Ramsay. From David you get the impression that he doesn’t care how the trick is done he is just having fun and Chris is just a cool guy with lots of good advice.

Also you can just lie and say they were wrong. It works more than you think.

Defiantly agree with Chris but sometimes people are just clever!
 
Jan 2, 2016
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California
Should I use magic to make it look like the trick was done differently or something else.
That could work. Changing up your patter and presentation could remove any doubts in their mind if they have any. Like if they see you do a trick that uses a double lift which they learned on YouTube, change it up so it doesn't seem like you're using a double lift. I'm not sure what your patter is but it's easy to overjustify everything. Stating the obvious like "I take the top card" or "this ordinary deck" has the exact opposite effect on your audience so now they start to question whether it's actually the top card or not

There are tons of methods for dealing with this. One would be to just shrug it off and not address it. You could say something like "That's how I'd do it if I was a muggle" if you want.

Or you could address the fact that they got it right and say something like "Oh wow you got me! You're pretty good. Let me show you something better."

Depends on your personality as a magician as well.
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
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Defiantly agree with Chris but sometimes people are just clever!

It isn't a matter of being clever. It's a matter of engagement, and reward. Audiences who call out methods think they will get more personal satisfaction (ie: reward) from messing up the performance. The performer's job is to make the opposite true.
 
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Feb 16, 2015
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It isn't a matter of being clever. It's a matter of engagement, and reward. Audiences who call out methods think they will get more personal satisfaction (ie: reward) from messing up the performance. The performer's job is to make the opposite true.

Completely agree I just also believe some people enjoy figuring out a trick no matter what you do and sometimes that is fine.
 
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May 26, 2009
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It's not always the case that your performance was lacking. I remember one time I performed for a group of people, I forgot what the trick was - but that one guy mentioned going on YouTube, and even though didn't watch tutorial for that specific trick, suspected I did some of the moves from the tutorial he watched... which I did.

Anyway - I don't like attention-seeking smart a$$es, so I cut him mid sentence, handed him the deck - 'show me' I said. Obviously he did a horrible demonstration and made a fool of himself. One other response I get is 'Well I can't' to which I reply with 'Oh' and move on with other tricks.

My advice would be to brush that one person off your shoulder - don't succumb to their level. The other people are there to watch you, not him.
 
May 26, 2009
65
5
I would disagree because the heckling would've happened first. If a heckler is present, he will heckle irregardless of your performance style.
 
Feb 16, 2015
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"Magicians stop thinking too soon." Al Baker.

To this I couldn’t agree more. We do just get lazy and not put in the extra effort to fool or entertain.

Also you are very right that the performer usually are to blame for people feeling like they can call out and expose a trick. That is usually to do with audience management and a cetian attitude from the performer.

In ‘the books of wonder’ Tommy Wonder said that it is half the performer and half the audience. Some people just want to figure out a trick. That is how they enjoy the magic. This you can either fight against and cause more problems by trying too hard to prove them wrong or by getting upset. However you could just realise that some people are like this and move on.

This was my point good sir
 
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WitchDocIsIn

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Sep 13, 2008
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Someone saying, "I'm going to look up your methods" is being prompted by the performance to do so. That comes from the presentation (or lack thereof). That's the performer's fault, and if that same person is engaged and entertained, it will never occur to them to disrupt the show like that. Further, giving away the props and putting the focus of the performance on a member of the audience is literally giving your show to someone else. One day that will bite you on the back side.

Some people just want to figure out a trick.

There's a difference between someone wanting to figure out a trick (which I do assume happens in most shows) and someone announcing possible methods to the general audience.

The first is just a personality trait. The second is a failure on the performer's part.

The performer must be able to offer a valuable and entertaining experience to the audience, and then they must be able to follow through on that promise. If they cannot convince the audience that what they are offering has value, or if they are not able to sufficiently follow through on that promise to provide value, the audience will act out in some way. Maybe that means shouting out possible methods to lower the performer's perceived value, maybe that means bad mouthing the performer to friends ("Yeah, I've seen that guy, he sucks. His tricks are so obvious."), or maybe that's outright disrupting the show.

The point is - in almost all cases, it can be avoided by a skillful performer who understands how to set up the show so that it obviously will benefit the audience more to watch/experience the show, than to disrupt it.
 
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RealityOne

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Nov 1, 2009
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I pretty much agree with what @ChristopherT has said. Let me expound on a couple of points.

1. A performer should be in control of their performance.

Part of this is presence - how you carry yourself, the significance you give to your magic, how you view the relationship with your spectators. Think about it, would the person do what they were doing if you were David Copperfield?

I like to think that I'm playing a game with my spectators and only I know the rules. If they pay close attention and follow the rules as I explain them, they will be rewarded with something amazing. Now, I don't do this in a way that I come across as being a show off or Alpha male or wanting to be the center of attention. It is more like, "do you want to come on an adventure... then follow me..." Throw in Tamariz's veils of magic about love of magic and love of the audience and there is no way someone will disrupt a performance.

Part of this is professionalism. If you come across like a professional people will treat you as a professional. Your presentation should be polished. Your sleights flawless. Your timing perfect. Professionalism also includes how you dress and how you act.

This also means that at no point do you relinquish control by handing a spectator a deck, letting them examine the cards, etc. They see what you want them to see. They do what you want them to do. You are in charge.
2. A performer's performance should be interesting

This means your presentation needs to be more than say-do-see patter where you say what you are going to do, do it and then tell the audience to see the result. If your focus is on what you are doing, the audience's first thought will be how you are doing it. With that said, trite, hackneyed or bad presentation ("let's pretend this card is someone you love...") isn't much better than say-do-see.
Your presentation needs to be scripted. Winging it does not come across as either interesting or professional.

Draw your audience in, structure the routine and presentation to engage them on multiple levels.
3. A performer's character should be likable and interesting. Nobody is going to interrupt someone they see as likable and interesting.

4. Think about how you get the audience not to care about the method.

Watch some David Williamson and Chris Ramsay. From David you get the impression that he doesn’t care how the trick is done he is just having fun and Chris is just a cool guy with lots of good advice.

I've posted elsewhere on Ramsay's advice about hecklers. The vast majority of performers will get more hecklers using Ramsay's style and you won't be able to use his so called methods of dealing with hecklers effectively.

What should I do when someone tells my audience how I did the trick and they are rite. Should I use magic to make it look like the trick was done differently or something else.

In addition to what Christopher said, upgrade your skills and methods. Avoid "tells" which are movements that tell the audience that you are doing something out of the ordinary or something that looks fishy. A lot of beginners do things like stop talking when they do a sleight or look at their hands when the do a move. Make your sleights look like the regular motion of what you are doing. Practice so that you can do a sleight while talking or on an off beat.

I forgot what the trick was - but that one guy mentioned going on YouTube, and even though didn't watch tutorial for that specific trick, suspected I did some of the moves from the tutorial he watched... which I did.

Don't perform anything that is on YouTube.
 
May 26, 2009
65
5
Don't perform anything that is on YouTube.

Have you been on YouTube recently?

And beside, my point was some of the moves were picked up or in some cases can be guessed. Laymen can understand the concept of double lifts, false cuts, palming etc just by watching a few videos here and there. Hecklers may just randomly guess an effect by piecing some of the moves they may have seen on YouTube and portray it as THE explanation for the trick, even when they are wrong.

Although that scenario is very rare, it has happened - its always a possibility.
_

Also, I do agree with a lot of the points - I would also say that heckling has a lot to do with how the magician portrays him/herself and the setting they are performing under. A magician is less likely to be heckled while on stage, or while having their crew following them with a camera (TV, documentaries, Vlog - W/E the reason is) than a lonesome magician walking the street performing for random people, or in a bar for instance.

A street magician may have all the professionalism needed, is likable & interesting - but it cannot be denied that some people heckle for the sake of it irregardless of the magician performing. More information is needed before concluding 'Heckled? It's the performers fault'.
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
5,877
2,945
We're just circling back to the previous discussions on exposure at this point.

I'll just state simply this: It is almost always the performer's failure, somewhere along the way. Bad choice of venue, poor audience management, lack of proper preparation, not reading the audience correctly, bad scripting, lack of personality, etc - these are all failures of the performer, and it's not until all of those points have been addressed that one should even consider that someone disrupting the show is, "One of those guys."
 
Dec 1, 2017
8
19
I find if you aren't giving your routines enough justification and storyline the audience will feel like the only purpose of the trick is to fool them which challenges them. 2 card monte example...
"I'll show you a card trick, look at these cards, hold out your hand" <<<NO NO NO
"I'll show you something I saw in vegas, there was a street hustler who had a deck of cards and got me to hold out my hand" << YES

I agree with Christopher, it's easy to blame the audience and yes you get the odd spectator now and again but it's ultimately how YOU perform and justify the situation as an experience you want to share, as opposed to a scam you want them to try and figure out.
 

RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
Have you been on YouTube recently?

No. I'm too busy reading books.

Laymen can understand the concept of double lifts, false cuts, palming etc just by watching a few videos here and there.

Go stand outside a store and ask 100 people what a double lift is. If one gets it right you will be lucky.

Most problems with a performance is a "tell" by the performer that they did something. Add that to a performance that challenges the audience to figure out how it is done because there is nothing else to hold their attention and you have what you call a heckler.

We're just circling back to the previous discussions on exposure at this point.

Those who learn magic by YouTube get heckled as a result of YouTube. I love the irony.

I'll just state simply this: It is almost always the performer's failure, somewhere along the way. Bad choice of venue, poor audience management, lack of proper preparation, not reading the audience correctly, bad scripting, lack of personality, etc - these are all failures of the performer, and it's not until all of those points have been addressed that one should even consider that someone disrupting the show is, "One of those guys."

If you look at your own performance it is in your power to improve. If you blame the spectator, you will never improve.
 
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