I need a little help

May 13, 2011
9
0
So this may be a little long so bear with me. I was performing magic for a while and it had been great (by the way this happened like 2 or 3 years ago). Then i went to highschool were i was doing magic with ups and downs. But the scool was filled with hecklers, almost everybody was. This experience really hurt my confidence to the point where i gave up magic for almost a year. I started doing magic again since january this year. But that bad experience still haunts me. Now when i do magic (outside school) i get a really bad dose of the 'shakes'. I barely can to tricks because my hands shake terribly, and I cant do any flourish right, even tough home i do it fast and fluid. So any tips how can i handle these terrible shakes? I mean i couldnt even finish doin pandora because of my shaky hands. And the strangest part is that before that bad experience in highschool, which shattered my already low confidence, i didnt had shaky hands and now is at the point of me being unable to do magic let alone flourishes. Please guys give me some tips how to make them go away or at least handle them. Thanks in advance.
 

RickEverhart

forum moderator / t11
Elite Member
Sep 14, 2008
3,637
471
46
Louisville, OH
Extreme,
Your first problem is that high school can be a very tough crowd to please. You are basically performing for the same audiences all of the time and they expect to see something new and great at the drop of a hat. Many students / kids at that age view magic as "dorky" because they have never experienced watching a live performer do close up right in front of them. They do not understand the dedication and commitment it takes to pull off some of the things we do. Also keep in mind that once you are out of h.s. that you rarely see or run into any of those kids again for the rest of your life. Don't let them bring you down.

You need to keep performing for other people / audiences to calm the nerves down and turn it more into an adrenaline rush where you are excited to show people your skills and not afraid of messing up. Do I mess up sometimes? Yes....we all do if you are performing long enough and on a frequent basis. You only improve and will get better.

Hope that helps some and don't be afraid to ask questions here.
 
Jun 6, 2010
796
0
Nashville, TN
Extreme,
Your first problem is that high school can be a very tough crowd to please. You are basically performing for the same audiences all of the time and they expect to see something new and great at the drop of a hat. Many students / kids at that age view magic as "dorky" because they have never experienced watching a live performer do close up right in front of them. They do not understand the dedication and commitment it takes to pull off some of the things we do. Also keep in mind that once you are out of h.s. that you rarely see or run into any of those kids again for the rest of your life. Don't let them bring you down.

You need to keep performing for other people / audiences to calm the nerves down and turn it more into an adrenaline rush where you are excited to show people your skills and not afraid of messing up. Do I mess up sometimes? Yes....we all do if you are performing long enough and on a frequent basis. You only improve and will get better.

Hope that helps some and don't be afraid to ask questions here.

... What he said :)

Except the thing about them seeing magic as "dorky". Well, at least at my school...
 

RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
Robi:

Talk to your audience before you begin performing. Introduce yourself and find out their names. Develop good patter for your effects and practice the effecrs with the patter.

What this does is put you at ease and calms you down. If the people you are performing for like you, you wont be worried about them being hecklers. Practicing with the patter will also make your performance more automatic. You will be more comfortable once you start talking.

Also, find some good self working material. That way you can focus on presentation and not worry about the sleights.

All this gets you in a comfort zone and removes any anxiety.

Finally, just get used to talking to people and establishing a rapport without magic. If you improve your ability to tqlk to people without magic, you will improve your ability to perform with magic.
 
May 13, 2011
9
0
Robi:

Talk to your audience before you begin performing. Introduce yourself and find out their names. Develop good patter for your effects and practice the effecrs with the patter.
The thing is that I perform casually like I dont go outside knowing I will do magic, but I have a deck of cards in case of. Lot of the I go to (insert large cofee corporation here) and I do magic to people who didn't even knew I was doin magic before we were friends....
 
Jul 7, 2010
61
1
try easing into the performance. Start just by talking for a minute or two. Use this to learn people's names and waiting until they just seem like people before getting out your cards or coins or whatever.
 
Dec 18, 2007
1,610
14
64
Northampton, MA - USA
ENTERS THE OLD CURMUDGEON. . .

I'm going to be nit-picky for a second and I beg you to not over-personalize what I'm about to say, you're far from being alone on this particular raft; but given how poor your spelling and grammar is in the original post I'd have to say that you might be cutting similar corners when it comes to your magic. If you have bad study habits and general discipline when it comes to "life" it will be reflected in your work, regardless of what that work may be. So as the Buddhist might suggest, maybe you need to look in the mirror and see your part in what creates these conflicts and in so doing, willingly choose to see what you need to understand and accept in order to change things -- to heal the condition as it were.

We all have type-O situations but most of us also have spell & grammar checks that tell us when we've used the wrong word or wrong version of a word and of course, misspelling, so there is no real excuse on the writing front. On the speaking front however, there are no checks other than your own desire to be "good" if not "better" in expressing yourself and being a clear communicator. When your instructions are 100% clear to everyone watching and some jerk/jock decides to screw with you, it's he that ends up looking bad, not you. Similarly, when you present yourself with a strong sense of presence and command, you can't help but generate positive reactions from those hearing your voice.

When I first started working in this business I had coaches teaching me how to properly speak the script and how to project my voice in a manner that showed command, confidence and strength. Even 25 years after those early days I have directors as well as experienced friends from the biz who will "suggest" specific wordage changes and pronouncement corrections in that such things really can make all the difference in the world when it comes to how people see you and what you deliver. So take some pride when it comes to this side of things and I'll lay money on it that others will start seeing you and what you do in a completely different way, giving you far less hassle and maybe even a bit of encouragement. I know such things allowed guys like myself, Kevin James and Franz Harrary to create special "stunts" for the High School Home Coming Half-Time shows. . . producing the cheer leading team or even the players. . . all sorts of things.

Better yourself and in so doing, your skills and I can assure you a more positive sense of reception from your peers.
 
Jan 5, 2010
658
2
Alabama
Here's a quote from Tommy Wonders' book "Books of Wonder Vol. 1"

"It is imperative ten that we gain confidence in our work. The best and probably the only way to gain this confidence is by working constantly. In the forge of frequent performance, all doubts we harbor about ourselves and our work should eventually disappear, for experience teaches us there is nothing wrong with ourselves or with our work."

If you aren't confident, or you're looking for the audience to give you confidence, you're going to have a rough time performing AT ALL. If you aren't 100% sure in your own mind that you are ready to perform this effect and know that it will go smoothly, then you shouldn't be performing it. Anything else that happens will just shatter whatever sliver of confidence you have left.

So... get some stuff you do well together, and go perform it over and over again for REAL people.
 
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