Check if you are performing for the right audience...
Hello Everyone...
So I´ve doing the transition from close up /stand up magic...to stage magic from some months now.. and it has been really difficult...and for sometimes I thought is was going nowhere...until some days ago..
As a preface, I´ve been working on a Rock And Roll Themed Bar here in my city, for some months now I have been doing table hoping and stage... usually stage is kept as a surprise between bands and since I am testing all my stage magic for a theatre show I am willing to perform on stage everytime I can....
Anyway it has been always a very difficult task to perform on this stage, people often seems very distracted, sometimes a little hostile and difficult to control... and sometimes I really don´t want to perform I still do it since it´s practice after all...
My stage routines were improving but I was seeing little advance on my audience control, and sometimes I was thinking into giving up...
Anyway I had a show some days ago, It was made along the magic club here in my city and I was one of the seniors to perform..it was a paid show which means we had to sell some tickets and all the money was aimed to fund some things we need in the club (like sound system, invite magicians for lectures, etc)
So I was going to do an excerpt from my theatre show "Mind Over Matter" since this place we were going to perform has a little theater and it´s big enough to be considered a theatre show...
I was the first to go... and to be honest I was little confident I was going to have a good performance from the past experience on the bar I worked...
I totally rock the place!!.. I had the audience eating from my hand, I talk and behave relaxed and had absolute control over the audience, I was amazing and people after the show told me that my part was definitely the best in matter of how I spoke to them, my routines and how well produced my part seemed...
I was really puzzled why this happened... and I came to some conclusions...
1.- People that drink are the worst audiences for obvious reasons...regardless you have great audience control or not...
2.- People NEVER appreciate something that is given instead of earned (in this case paid)
3.-People that actually goes to see a magic show, ACTUALLY try and enjoy the show... instead of just having a surprise magic show
I was now very much eager to do my theatre show... since I realized this things... obviously I am not going to stop performing on the bar, since now I realize that´s what gave me my stage presence on the paid show...
Anyway I wanted to share this and I hope it helps you... opinions or comments are welcome!!
Hello Everyone...
So I´ve doing the transition from close up /stand up magic...to stage magic from some months now.. and it has been really difficult...and for sometimes I thought is was going nowhere...until some days ago..
As a preface, I´ve been working on a Rock And Roll Themed Bar here in my city, for some months now I have been doing table hoping and stage... usually stage is kept as a surprise between bands and since I am testing all my stage magic for a theatre show I am willing to perform on stage everytime I can....
Anyway it has been always a very difficult task to perform on this stage, people often seems very distracted, sometimes a little hostile and difficult to control... and sometimes I really don´t want to perform I still do it since it´s practice after all...
My stage routines were improving but I was seeing little advance on my audience control, and sometimes I was thinking into giving up...
Anyway I had a show some days ago, It was made along the magic club here in my city and I was one of the seniors to perform..it was a paid show which means we had to sell some tickets and all the money was aimed to fund some things we need in the club (like sound system, invite magicians for lectures, etc)
So I was going to do an excerpt from my theatre show "Mind Over Matter" since this place we were going to perform has a little theater and it´s big enough to be considered a theatre show...
I was the first to go... and to be honest I was little confident I was going to have a good performance from the past experience on the bar I worked...
I totally rock the place!!.. I had the audience eating from my hand, I talk and behave relaxed and had absolute control over the audience, I was amazing and people after the show told me that my part was definitely the best in matter of how I spoke to them, my routines and how well produced my part seemed...
I was really puzzled why this happened... and I came to some conclusions...
1.- People that drink are the worst audiences for obvious reasons...regardless you have great audience control or not...
2.- People NEVER appreciate something that is given instead of earned (in this case paid)
3.-People that actually goes to see a magic show, ACTUALLY try and enjoy the show... instead of just having a surprise magic show
I was now very much eager to do my theatre show... since I realized this things... obviously I am not going to stop performing on the bar, since now I realize that´s what gave me my stage presence on the paid show...
Anyway I wanted to share this and I hope it helps you... opinions or comments are welcome!!