Advancing. Experience.

Oct 2, 2008
336
0
UK
Jinai.deviantart.com
Anyhow people, its....i dont know what day it is right now, all i know is i have work tomoz. I have a question about experience in performing and advancing in what you do. Because this is what i do.

I have read from people that performing voluntarily is also a great way to advance in experience; i have been performing for street people only and i just wanted to know more about the approach on voluntary performances. Right now its for the experience only. I've read about performing in places like, hospitals (with adults and kids), community centres, for charity, etc, which is another great way to vastly improve, i just want to hear from the ones who have performed in places like these:

1. What is it like there?
2. What sort of effects do people like to see. I love Lapse from DM, but i dont know if its suitable for something like hospital magic, patients could be offended. Do they prefer something like what Joel did on "Thoughts on Working", a fun routine. Hope you get what i mean.

Thats it for now, cant put things into words, too tired. Thanks.
 
May 3, 2008
618
1
Basically, take what you know and try to break it down into it's simplest form when you're doing things for children. Whatever that may be, it can be effective as long as it feels organic and easy to follow. I used to volunteer at a summer school and I would show kids around 6 to 10 the simplest things I knew and those would always get the biggest reactions; double lift to show a wrong card and change it to the correct one, etc. Just last week I made a kid, couldn't have been more then 5 years old like 3 feet tall, go "what the f*ck" with a double lift. Cards will amaze them no doubt, but you'll need to switch it up eventually with spongeballs, DLites, etc.
For older crowds, it's best to show them something that makes them think. Lapse is a perfect example of something I would use. It's good to go with something less visual and more on the mental side. It could be different for everyone of course. it doesn't hurt to trying to be funny as that helps to cater to most types of spectators. Volunteering and performing at events is very demanding as you need to be on top of your game and learn to satisfy each type of spectator. The experience that you get out of it however is gold.
 
Nov 20, 2007
4,410
6
Sydney, Australia
Anyhow people, its....i dont know what day it is right now, all i know is i have work tomoz. I have a question about experience in performing and advancing in what you do. Because this is what i do.

I have read from people that performing voluntarily is also a great way to advance in experience; i have been performing for street people only and i just wanted to know more about the approach on voluntary performances. Right now its for the experience only. I've read about performing in places like, hospitals (with adults and kids), community centres, for charity, etc, which is another great way to vastly improve, i just want to hear from the ones who have performed in places like these:

1. What is it like there?
2. What sort of effects do people like to see. I love Lapse from DM, but i dont know if its suitable for something like hospital magic, patients could be offended. Do they prefer something like what Joel did on "Thoughts on Working", a fun routine. Hope you get what i mean.

Thats it for now, cant put things into words, too tired. Thanks.

1. When you perform at such places, people are firstly usually more accepting and appreciative than just randomly performing on the street because you're giving up your time for them and they understand that - as opposed to street, here, you're not intruding as much (of course this still varies depending on situation to situation). What it's like ultimately will however depend on who you're performing for. A group of sick kids will still be more active than a nursing home, and like any performance, they'll all have their nuances.

2. Again, depends on the audience. Most of the time however, they'll be up for most things - obviously, don't stop your heart at a nursing home, don't perform an effect whose presentation contains cancer and death in a hospital, etc - all those obvious things. It depends on the audience, but just remember it's important for you to still be you, and whether it's your personality which augments your magic or your magic which augments your personality, have fun and they will too :)
 
Oct 2, 2008
336
0
UK
Jinai.deviantart.com
Dlites huh, i only want to stick to cards as a performer. So i dont think i will be using any of the sort. Anyway thanks for the kinds replies. But what i ment when i said "Thoughts on Working", i was talking about not just performing tricks, but sets, or routines, or what ever it is called.

I have a few more questions:

3. When performing at set places, usually how long do you perform for/supposed to perform for/requested to perform for?
4. This is kinda a personal one, but because of my eagerness to improve, i dont know if what i already have can be used to help me. I am a card guy, and i strive to improve. What should i do?

Sorry again people, its 3AM, got back from work 4 hours ago, struggling to recollect my mind. Hard days man. Thanks for your time.
 
May 3, 2008
618
1
Dlites huh, i only want to stick to cards as a performer. So i dont think i will be using any of the sort. Anyway thanks for the kinds replies. But what i ment when i said "Thoughts on Working", i was talking about not just performing tricks, but sets, or routines, or what ever it is called.

I have a few more questions:

3. When performing at set places, usually how long do you perform for/supposed to perform for/requested to perform for?
4. This is kinda a personal one, but because of my eagerness to improve, i dont know if what i already have can be used to help me. I am a card guy, and i strive to improve. What should i do?

Sorry again people, its 3AM, got back from work 4 hours ago, struggling to recollect my mind. Hard days man. Thanks for your time.

You can perform whatever you're comfortable with but it's best to have 2 or 3 tricks on you that are not cards. Coins, rubberbands, etc. because in their minds if you can do magic then you wouldn't only need a deck of cards. Adding several types of magic gives a more organic feel. If you could pull off doing just cards, all the more power to you.
When you go to perform, you'd perform for how long they've asked you to stay which of course will vary. An 2 or 3 hours would be good, but there's a lot of downtime where I would just talk and have a fun conversation.
I am unclear of what your last question means, but I'd say that take what you already know and get it out there to test it. If you're wondering if it's enough to entertain people for a couple of hours (if that is what you mean) then develop some strong routines and get your stuff out there. If you do this a couple of times you'd get the feel of what you need to improve on and things that you'd need to learn/fix. Develop different presentations and test those out. If you want to get better, I would say that this is a way to grow as a performer. Perform the simplest things you know and find ways to tweak the spectator's reactions.
 
Nov 20, 2007
4,410
6
Sydney, Australia
Dlites huh, i only want to stick to cards as a performer. So i dont think i will be using any of the sort. Anyway thanks for the kinds replies. But what i ment when i said "Thoughts on Working", i was talking about not just performing tricks, but sets, or routines, or what ever it is called.

I have a few more questions:

3. When performing at set places, usually how long do you perform for/supposed to perform for/requested to perform for?
4. This is kinda a personal one, but because of my eagerness to improve, i dont know if what i already have can be used to help me. I am a card guy, and i strive to improve. What should i do?

Sorry again people, its 3AM, got back from work 4 hours ago, struggling to recollect my mind. Hard days man. Thanks for your time.

If you want to stick with cards, try and find some card-related mentalism, which is what I do. But yes, you should have some non-card stuff in there, if only just a little, and, obviously, your card stuff should be varied and not just pick a card stuff.

3. Depends on the place. If you're performing at a restaurant walkaround, just a few tricks, and it depends on the timing of the food. There isn't really a set time - if you're booked for a show, you do the show length. If you're booked for a wedding - as long as you allow yourself to get around to everyone, etc., you should be fine.

4. Hey man, I totally get what you mean. I think there just needs to be a balance. It's great that you're motivated and stuff. Just make sure you're not going everything too fast - make sure you're taking the time to really learn the stuff (as opposed to temporarily recognising it and moving on). That said, don't let that stop you from seeking out whatever it is you want to learn. Just make sure you're actually learning it and thinking about it and taking it into account.
 
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