1st gig help

Nov 28, 2018
22
10
Hi guys, I was recently asked to do my older sister’s 17th birthday (I’m 15) and I would really appreciate tips on what to perform and how to approach people in this sort of walk around setting. (Btw All those who are coming are female)
Thanks
 

RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
A couple of questions....

1. When is the party?
2. Can you provide more detail about the party and how you are going to perform? You mentioned walk around... what are people going to be doing while you are walking around? How many people? Where will the party be held (restaurant, house, banquet hall)?
3. How long have you been doing magic?
4. Who have you performed for in the past?
5. What resources (books, DVDs, downloads, gimmicks) do you have?
6. What effects do you typically perform?
 
Jan 19, 2019
92
57
Hello Tym68,

I am 17 years old and I have been in your position when I was starting to get gigs.

I would suggest you to know three good tricks if you don't have a routine. If you already know a few good tricks then that's what you should perform for the party.

As far as tips on approaching people. Be friendly and smile. You could say "would you care to see some magic?" "Would you like to see something cool/amazing?" "Do you want to see a trick?" etc. Since this is your older sister's birthday she might help introduce you to her friends, if she is nice and supportive. There is no secret way to approach people, you just have to keep approaching people and keep trying, even when you get rejected. You will eventually feel comfortable approaching people the more you do it.

Here are my most important tips: Rehearse and practice before to prepare for the party. Be yourself when you are performing. Don't fret or get too stressed if things don't go as planned because this is your first gig and it is experimental. Most importantly, have fun when you are doing magic for people.

If you are still nervous about the event it's okay because I have been there and all of the magicians you may look up to have all been there.

I hope this was helpful. I will come back to this thread if you have any more questions.

Break a leg, and let me know how it turns out.

Sincerly,

Spencer Elvis
 
Nov 28, 2018
22
10
  • It is 3-7 ish but I am only supposed to be performing for an 1-2 hours

It is in a house and for 50ish people(who will likely be lounging around conversing)

I have been doing magic for about just short of 1.5 years

I have performed to mostly those at school family and friends as well as on the street

I have most of the most well known books such as royal road and expert etc
For downloads I have quite a few, mostly close up, for example: Eric jones’s Isshkabible sandwich
Gimmicks include: invisible deck Sven pads scar etc

I usually perform transpositions acr biddle acaan card2pocket card to lemon colour changing back of selection etc And usually have a mentalist theme when I don’t perform with cards.

Thanks
 

CaseyRudd

Director of Operations
Team member
Jun 5, 2009
3,393
3,801
Charleston, SC
www.instagram.com
  • It is 3-7 ish but I am only supposed to be performing for an 1-2 hours
It is in a house and for 50ish people(who will likely be lounging around conversing)

I have been doing magic for about just short of 1.5 years

I have performed to mostly those at school family and friends as well as on the street

I have most of the most well known books such as royal road and expert etc
For downloads I have quite a few, mostly close up, for example: Eric jones’s Isshkabible sandwich
Gimmicks include: invisible deck Sven pads scar etc

I usually perform transpositions acr biddle acaan card2pocket card to lemon colour changing back of selection etc And usually have a mentalist theme when I don’t perform with cards.

Thanks
Hi Tym,

I think RealityOne was asking when the party is, like a specific date. Is it two weeks, a month, several months before the party? The more time you have the more you can prepare. Let us know how much time you have before the day of the party.

Secondly, the 50 people that are going to be there, are they going to be in various different social groups around the house to where you would be doing strolling/walk-around magic? Or will they all be in the same room and you are front and center of attention for that whole group for an hour.

It sounds like you have had a little bit of performing experience which is good, however this is quite the step up to doing a set for an hour or two compared to maybe one or two tricks on the street. Make sure you are ready to take the next step instead of saying yes because you feel obligated to do it. Ultimately if you are uncomfortable with the situation and feel like you are not prepared, you are free to say no and not perform at this time. It's ok to say no! Don't be forced into saying yes or doing any gig that comes your way. This is important for all the future gigs you may encounter.

If you are comfortable with the situation and feel like you can put on a solid set, it's time to look at your repertoire and pick out what you will perform. My advice is to pick the effects that you can do right now with your eyes closed and know you won't flash. These should be effects that feel completely natural to you and have the least possible risk of messing up or feeling nervous about. Performing should be fun for you and be about the way you present the effect; it shouldn't be a memory task trying to remember all the steps to the trick.

With that said, effects like the Invisible Deck and utilities such as the SvenPad are low risk and high reward. You will be able to focus on presentation more than executing the trick, and this will allow you to buy more time as you aren't simply rushing through everything. You want to make sure you are pacing yourself and not performing one trick every minute. You'll soon run out of tricks and then find yourself with needing an additional 30-40 minutes of material if you rush. Take your time.

Other effects you listed such as Biddle and Ambitious Card Routine can play really strong with groups. Biddle can happen in their hands, and little things for an ACR such as what Blaine did on his TV specials where the bent card pops to the top visually plays bigger than you might think. It's the little things that really make these effects have that lasting power.

I would also suggest into looking at some self working card tricks if you have a lot of time to prepare. You can find some really amazing self working card tricks out there and the beautiful part about them is that your spectators do pretty much all of the work! No worrying about sleights or messing up anything on your end. If it involves instructions, make sure you articulate them well to your audience and make sure they understand what you are telling them to do.

Hopefully this helps you out a little bit in preparation for the show!
 
Nov 28, 2018
22
10
It is in 3 weeks from now and there will be various social groups around the house.
And as Casey said I think I will stick to lower risk tricks and self working ones so I can focus on the presentation.

Btw how many tricks would I need for 2 hours walk around from table to table/group of people
Would I only need 2-3 routines and rotate through them as I change groups

And also how many phases would you recommend for each trick; for example acr

Thanks so much for all your support and advice, I really appreciate what you guys have told me.
 
Oct 19, 2015
317
220
Sounds like fun, but very challenging. I recall when I was 15, walking around a room of mostly 17 year old girls would of been enjoyable but very stressful for me... On top of that doing that for 1-2 hrs. is a long time with only 2-3 routines, unless the routines are multiple tricks that burn some time. Doing some goofy math...50 people with maybe 4-5 in a group would be like 10-12 groups. That would say if you work for 1 hour each group should take at least 5-6 minutes (this sounds doable with 2-3 routines) but, if you go 2 hours each group would have to be entertained for 10-12 minutes...still doable depending on the time your routines use.

Most importantly, have fun and enjoy all the pretty girls...
 
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RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
@Casey Rudd's post is great advice.

I'd add couple of suggestions from Royal Road: Poker Player's Picnic, Designed for Laughter, Piano Card Trick, Do as I Do, Intuition with Cards and Ewephindit. All easy to learn and to perform.

If you have or can get sponge balls, a really simple routine can go a long way.

@Timewise64 has good advice about timing. Try to have around 3 groups of 4 effects. You can alternate the first two groups as you move around and save the third group for if you perform for a second time.
 
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