Coffee Shop Magic?

worldwideme · Apr 18, 2010

has anybody done any magic in a coffee shop? because here in my small hometown the only big-ish locally owned shop is a coffee shop. its not part of a franchise, which is why i think it would be easier for me to get a gig there.

it would be sort of a table hopping situation i guess, even though the tables are very small. and its a coffee shop, so people are usually there just chatting with friends. so magic wouldn't seem too intrusive in that situation.

any thoughts? has anybody else done this sort of thing before? what kind of effects (other than Mojoe) play the best in a coffee shop like atmosphere?

Some Effects I was considering:

Stairway
Stealth Pen
Pressure
Joker Sandwich routine
Body Language routine, (pulse reading, palm reading, vocal differences, facial expression)
Las Vegas Card Cheat routine
Spongeballs
Coins Across (Noblezada)
One-Coin Routine (Noblezada)
Cards Across
Crazy Mans Handcuffs
Four Aces Routine (magician cuts to, spectator cuts to)

i carry everything on that list with me on a daily basis, so pocket space isn't a big worry. well except balloons for pressure, which shouldnt be that hard to store. only one card routine requires set up, and its a simple set up practically resets itself.

penguincdude · Apr 18, 2010

I would check out some of Alvo Stockman's work from Penguin Magic. He has lots of effects designed specifically for Coffee Shops or that could easily work in a coffee shop. Also, they're very casual effects if you're looking for that.

AlfieWhattamMagic · Apr 18, 2010

I belive theres a coffee shop section on Penguin

worldwideme · Apr 18, 2010

the coffee shop section on penguin is basically the same as the alvo stockman store. haha

AsherF · Apr 18, 2010

I would look into some paul harris work. I would think that a coffee shop would be perfect atmosphere for his work. the right setting to preserve the moment of astonishment... in TA there's also The Weirdling which is a coffee card effect.

canadamagic · Apr 18, 2010

Does the coffee shop serve with spoons? Little thought, have you considered mentalism, spoon bending? (I am not sure if that is the proper termanology)

worldwideme · Apr 18, 2010

canadamagic said:
Does the coffee shop serve with spoons? Little thought, have you considered mentalism, spoon bending? (I am not sure if that is the proper termanology)

they might, i was gonna scope that out and see if they served forks, liquid metal.
i wish they had like a little mini-stage. but they dont.

Shodan · Apr 18, 2010

My first public performance was at a coffee shop; my girlfriend worked there before she was my wife. I did it for the experience, for free and it was a lot of fun. I made sure people knew I was there - posters in the windows the week before - and it went very well for a first performance.

I've entertained the idea of trying for something like this on a once a month basis, but have been too busy to get round to it.

Another bit of advice: don't change your repertoire for the environment, ADAPT what you know TO the environment.

Cheers,
David.

worldwideme · Apr 18, 2010

awesome Shodan, i'm planning to do it for free to. i really want to gain some experience in the restaurant/ table hopping field so when i want to do it for money, i can give a good show.

Reapx · Apr 20, 2010

i havent done a performance in a coffee shop before. but i do know that they are really laid back and relaxed. so i would suggest to keep the tricks more laid back. and the list you gave i think does that. and with crazy mans cuffs id suggest maybe adding slink from daniel garcias bent touch slink dvd its a really good trick and works wonders after doing crazy mans cuffs.