Help with... everything

[blahblah]

okay hi

I was wondering for people who work magic here, how do you do it, ha ha, what I really mean is this... Im 13 at the moment but when im older I wanna work in bars doing magic, I also want to work private parties, and maybe a festival or two. so how do you start? at the moment im just getting better at magic/flourishing, I perform a bit but not much, at the moment I want to get the practical type stuff out of the way so that when im older I can concentrate more on how to actually get gigs and how to be hired

next help thingy, at the moment I don't really know what I like to perform (if that makes sense)... I mean like, I like macabre magic, like wounded, but I don't really want to spend a whole load of money on something, after I just got AoA 1 and 2 for christmas, im sure alot of you are gonna think "just perfect that stuff" but when I got it I realized, that most of this isn't my thing AT ALL. I don't like (most) of the effects. so im not sure what to do, should I buy more magic? should I perfect what I have (which I seem to be doing anyway) should I work on my character and presentation? I dont really know what to do now..

Ill tell you what I like in case that helps
I like stuff with blood, interesting sleights, beautiful coin magic (like coin two), decent mentalism, card mentalism (depending on the effect/method), stuff that involves life, dark(ish) magic, very few card tricks nice flourishes.

if someone suggested some kinda of "Plan" I could follow that would be great, at the moment I dunno where im going

so if someone could help with that kind of thing then please reply.

thanks

 

[Squ!rrel]

It's essential that you go out and perform more, there's no point perfecting a load of material without testing it, it's possible that it might not work too well in the real world and may need a lot of refining. The only way you'll find out what works is by getting out there and performing. I honestly don't know how you can dislike most of AOA, especially when you haven't even tried using it, in my opinion it's some of the best stuff out there. Often an effect may not seem to suit you but you should see if you can rework it until it fits your character instead of instantly dismissing it.

 

[blahblah]

yeah I mean like, I just do not like the idea of what most of the effects in the two books are like, dont get me wrong, I like the books, but I dont seem to get on with most of the effects.

I do perform but when I perform its either for people in school, family but not very often on the street (if that makes sense).

I guess I mean I dont know where to start on the books, theirs so much stuff, and theirs lots of stuff I dont like (not just in the books, but everywhere) that I dunno where to start.

 

[LuseifHo]

Alright
if you seriously want to get out and work in the real world
you need the look. No one will want to hire a slob wearing t-shirts and shorts just holding a deck showing everyone tricks. If you looks professional, people will be more willing to hire you. Get a business card, be confident, etc. You could show people with power some of your stuff and hope they got a job for you. You could also start with connections. Work at friends places or parties and make more connections (via the business cards). If you made a memorable impression and people enjoyed your company, then they will automatically come to you. And what you said "get all the practical stuff out of the way" isnt 100% correct. Although skill is needed to be a magician. It is crucial to be a great performer rather than a great magician. If you can bring life into a party but only show a few tricks, people will still love you.

Build a character, make it work, branch out, make connections, make an impression, get gigs, get steady.

 

[blahblah]

im 13.

im not trying to work yet, im saying I dont know what practice, or anything like that.

 

[Squ!rrel]

im 13.

im not trying to work yet, im saying I dont know what practice, or anything like that.

Pick an effect from AOA, refine it to suit your character and work out a presentation for it. You say you like card mentalism effects, there's quite a nice one in AOA where you spread the deck and ask the spectator to think of a card. You then fan the deck and upjog a card, they name it and it's the card you upjogged, I can't remember the name of the effect right now, maybe Deep Thought?

 

[FOO:L]

shouldve asked steerpike while he was being un-banned

 

[Tally]

Well since you already know what you like, find products that include your likings. I'm going back to the basics of card magic now because I haven't learned it yet.

Anthony Nguyen

 

[LuseifHo]

im 13.

im not trying to work yet, im saying I dont know what practice, or anything like that.

I seriously cant tell you what to practice
its not like i can list out sleights and after you get them down youre perfect.
Practice what you want man. what sparks your interest? go after that!
you like gore and darkness, go for geek
you like mind reading, go for mentalism
doesnt really matter.
magic is only lives through the interest of the performer. If you dont want to do something, then you wont do it well. Practice what you like. You dont like the AOA? (youre crazy) then dont perform its tricks. I personally love the books, theyre more of creativity boosters. try out some of the tricks on people and see what happens haha.
but seriously, persue your interest. I have interest in everything so I study everything. But i dont overdo it. I go at my own speed. I focus on things for periods of time so that I feel confident about it. Then i try to mix my styles together to mold what i know into what i can do.

 

[Randomwrath]

I would say finding your character and sorting your presentation should be your next task. Make sure you have a strong performance and your own unique way of doing each trick (not necessarily move/handling wise, just patter, personal touches etc.) as this will set down who you are as a magician. Next, make short little routines with a variety of material in and perfect them. I'd recommend having at least one completely impromptu routine, just for convenience. Really think about these, mixture of magics eg. some cards, some coins etc. with a killer finisher. Once all this is sorted, perform as much as humanly possible. At school, to your parents, to your friends, to random people, whenever you want. Eventually you will catch someone who can set you up or recommend you. This way, when you start performing professionally, you will have your foot in the door. This would be my recommendation.

 

[Jack]

Here's my two cents.

You seem to have your head on straight so that's a good start. You sound like you want to be inspired. Like you haven't found anything out there that has really wowed you and made you want to move in it's direction.

If you don't know what you want to practice do some watching. Go to artists websites look at their effects. Who are some magicians that you admire? You said you like "dark" magic so a lot of Paul Harris isn't going to be for you but his methods and ideas are things you can learn a lot from and rework. Sean Fields may be up your ally. His trick "SAW" where you pull a mint from your neck is pretty good and d+M uses it in a video on his site. Paper Crane Productions (Dan Hauss and others) is another good group of "off beat" magicians with great ideas and effects.

Don't worry about working professionally yet. You got a while. Finish school, go to college. College has great opportunities to work (maybe not get paid) at parties, on campus, at restaurants in town, etc.... You'll get life and performance experience there and help to build a reputation. And who has more connections than a college? Oh and as far as "dark" or macabre magic goes in the real world... unless you have a TV show it's not that marketable. People don't want to see a whole act of it. They usually walk away after a "bloody" or geek trick so end with one don't make it all you are.

Hang in there. You're just in a lull and will snap out of it soon. Either that or magic may not be for you.

Cheers!

 

[Mr.MadMan]

im 13.

im not trying to work yet, im saying I dont know what practice, or anything like that.

I have two words:

Do Street!

There is nothing better than doing street in that age.
You will get how you preform doing street. I did street for a year non stop and ive evolved so much. Ive got how i preform and what kind of style im going for.

You will get the confidence from there too!

 

[coastaldude]

Well if you want to work professionally I would stay away from the darker magic until you make a name for yourself because bars, restaurants, and the such don't want to see you pull thread out of your neck and then cry blood.

I have been doing magic for less than a year and am working semi professionally whenever I get a gig. I will tell you what I believe you should after practicing all types of effects and achieving a reasonable skill level with it.

Spongeballs- I do these with kids and kids only, adults may like them but with the limited time you have I prefer some more hard hitting mentalism or card magic personally. Get the sleights down and get them natural and you're set. Not necessary for bar magic (I hope)

Money- Coins I stay away from because while they are friggin sweet when done properly I can't do them very well and I would prefer something more visual like some bill effects. UV nightshades, 5 and 1 transpo, and 2 dollar window are the ones I perform when I get some money out.

Cards- You will want to keep within simple hard hitting effects that can either reset in front of the spectators or something impromptu. Panic, Omni Deck, and several others at my disposal work so well and you should know about 10 impromptu tricks that don't ruin cards unless they are signed.

Mentalism- My pride and joy, the bread to my butter. The problem with mentalism and table hopping is a few things, people at bars may be drunk or buzzed or slightly incoherent. The second problem is making it believable without disturbing your guests to much, in the way that you don't want a group of people freaking from a crazy trick, trust me it will happen. A few tricks that I do all the time are Mind Power Deck, Lexicon Phenomena, Lie Detector, billet switches (tears get messy). I also use my electric touch allllllll the time for my mentalism tricks and holy hell does it get reactions.

Overall find some tricks that you love and you can perform well that can reset quickly and in front of people. Keep working at them and when and if you decide to do this stuff professionally then you will be ready and by the time you get to it there will be some crazy ass tricks out. So best of Luck

 

[Dmagic]

Well, I know you don't want to work, so you might not want business cards yet, but make connections. The thing with professional looking business cards is they tell people that they will have to pay you and that you're good. For material, take it slow, maybe focus on coin magic and get bobo and a few DVDs. I would recommend David Roth or David Stone for coins. Roth is more table work, Stone is more in the hands. Hope this helps.

 

[blahblah]

okay first I have a pretty good foundation in all the "mains", I can do coin magic quite good, im alright at cards, and I (think) im pretty good at presenting mentalism.

also, I already have an awsome "contact" that can get me hired for festivals, I think im gonna do festivals to start with, I can easily get contacts through them http://www.streetsahead.org.uk/ I know the people who made this company.

but anyway! thanks for the replys, at the moment im looking through the AOA books, and theirs a few things I like the look of (re-capped, million doller mind reader or whatever its called), im back to school soon so Ill perform their.

about street though, I have done it, but people always seem to reject me, I dunno, maybe I just dont pick the right place. UNLESS im with the people I busk with (sometimes) the problem their is that its hard to find a time when we can busk together.

also I know im gonna sound arrogent, but I dont get nervous anymore when I perform, I think its from doing the busking but I never get nervous anymore...
so I guess im gonna work more on a routine now, Im gonna make a routine that I can do improputu with almost NOTHING on me (control, coin magic, coin mentalism, mentalism).

thanks for the comments, also I DO like the AOA books, im just a bit daunted at them and the amount of card tricks they have in them.