Little Help with Parlor Magic.

Apr 2, 2017
95
49
California
Hello Friends,

I am in need of some advice on a small gig I am doing for a friends restaurant.

My friend owns a restaurant and they are going to have a comedian do a show and wanted me to do some magic (5-10 minutes) before to warm up the audience.

I have never done magic like this before, I am mostly a strolling walk around kind of guy. Almost all of my material is close up and as I said before I have close to no experience outside of close up.

I was thinking of something along the lines of 3 trick: Fast opener (bottle production?), Some kind of smaller but fast-ish effect for the middle, and a take on a Gene Anderson torn and restored newspaper with the comedians name reveal as a finish.

Sorry if Im beating a dead horse but I am a bit nervous about doing it since they are very close friends of mine.

little more info: They want me to do it the first Wednesday in may so I have some time to practice anything new so not looking for anything too complicated. I have already told them I am a bit nervous and it is out of my element and they said they don't care and just want me to be apart of it and to have fun. Finally, I don't think I have to mention this but want to try and answer any and all questions ahead. I will do it for free so of course I am not charging my "walk around" fee for the event.

Thanks again and I appreciate any and all Input!

-Ned
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
5,877
2,945
For 5-10 minutes I would only do one routine myself, but one or two is fine if you pace it correctly. Trying to do 3 could easily feel manic. 10 minutes goes fast on stage. And slow, at the same time, sometimes.

Opening with a bottle production and moving into something visual and somewhat story-based would be a good way to go.

Try to avoid requiring a volunteer from the audience, unless you can recruit someone ahead of time. I have done that before - basically go around before the show, pick someone, and tell them, "I'm going to be performing later and my time slot is kind of tight. Would you mind helping me while I'm up there? Just so I don't have to look for someone and run out of time, you know?"

Remember that anything you do has to be visible from some distance. So you'll want things that happen at chest/face level. Slightly bigger props than you'd use in close up, generally. Things like Cards Across work because the value of the playing cards isn't important. But if the climax relies on someone in the back knowing you're showing the 10 of Clubs, you're going to see little reaction.

As for what to perform - that's really going to come down to your character, style of performance, audience, and so on. I focus on parlour performances so pretty much my entire repertoire suits that size performance, so my suggestion for possible material is kind of a vague arm wave in the direction of my office.

I would probably do a PK Touch routine, personally, and I'd make sure I grabbed volunteers before the performance started. Or I might do my book test - again, grabbing a volunteer ahead of time. Or maybe a remote viewing routine I've developed. But I'm a bizarre mentalist - I do strange things. If the crowd is more like a 'pub' crowd I'd probably do my razor blade swallow and then put a needle through my hand. Or my version of Smash and Stab.
 
Apr 2, 2017
95
49
California
For 5-10 minutes I would only do one routine myself, but one or two is fine if you pace it correctly. Trying to do 3 could easily feel manic. 10 minutes goes fast on stage. And slow, at the same time, sometimes.

Opening with a bottle production and moving into something visual and somewhat story-based would be a good way to go.

Try to avoid requiring a volunteer from the audience, unless you can recruit someone ahead of time. I have done that before - basically go around before the show, pick someone, and tell them, "I'm going to be performing later and my time slot is kind of tight. Would you mind helping me while I'm up there? Just so I don't have to look for someone and run out of time, you know?"

Remember that anything you do has to be visible from some distance. So you'll want things that happen at chest/face level. Slightly bigger props than you'd use in close up, generally. Things like Cards Across work because the value of the playing cards isn't important. But if the climax relies on someone in the back knowing you're showing the 10 of Clubs, you're going to see little reaction.

As for what to perform - that's really going to come down to your character, style of performance, audience, and so on. I focus on parlour performances so pretty much my entire repertoire suits that size performance, so my suggestion for possible material is kind of a vague arm wave in the direction of my office.

I would probably do a PK Touch routine, personally, and I'd make sure I grabbed volunteers before the performance started. Or I might do my book test - again, grabbing a volunteer ahead of time. Or maybe a remote viewing routine I've developed. But I'm a bizarre mentalist - I do strange things. If the crowd is more like a 'pub' crowd I'd probably do my razor blade swallow and then put a needle through my hand. Or my version of Smash and Stab.

Seriously, Thank You! This is some excellent advice. I really, really appreciate it. Mind if I PM you if I have additional questions?
 

Luis Vega

Elite Member
Mar 19, 2008
1,838
278
38
Leon, Guanajuato Mexico
luisvega.com.mx
Hello Friends,

I am in need of some advice on a small gig I am doing for a friends restaurant.

My friend owns a restaurant and they are going to have a comedian do a show and wanted me to do some magic (5-10 minutes) before to warm up the audience.

I have never done magic like this before, I am mostly a strolling walk around kind of guy. Almost all of my material is close up and as I said before I have close to no experience outside of close up.

I was thinking of something along the lines of 3 trick: Fast opener (bottle production?), Some kind of smaller but fast-ish effect for the middle, and a take on a Gene Anderson torn and restored newspaper with the comedians name reveal as a finish.

Sorry if Im beating a dead horse but I am a bit nervous about doing it since they are very close friends of mine.

little more info: They want me to do it the first Wednesday in may so I have some time to practice anything new so not looking for anything too complicated. I have already told them I am a bit nervous and it is out of my element and they said they don't care and just want me to be apart of it and to have fun. Finally, I don't think I have to mention this but want to try and answer any and all questions ahead. I will do it for free so of course I am not charging my "walk around" fee for the event.

Thanks again and I appreciate any and all Input!

-Ned

I would do something with a member of the audience... like an easy mind reading routine, or levitate his/ her ring... also you can do a card trick with somebody in the audience.. you can force it and appear it below a table or any imposible location...
 
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RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
I would avoid a bottle production or something flashy in the beginning. In a restaurant situation, people will not be paying attention at the very beginning. You need to draw them in, get them interested, build the impossibility and then demonstrate the magic.

I agree with Christopher that you should do one, maybe two effects in ten minutes.

For something like this, it is important to stay within your comfort zone. I would avoid anything that requires a volunteer... just so that there is one less thing to worry about. If you are comfortable with cards, stick with cards. Six Card Repeat is a great effect, especially opening for a comedy routine. If you have a Genii subscription, there are a lot of great parlor routines in Jim Steinmeyer's Conjuring column. Check out his Emperor's New Deck routine. Guy Hollingsworth's Drawing Room Deceptions has a lot of great stand up card tricks. Handsome Jack has a lot of parlor effects too. Roberto Giobbi has a book Stand Up Card Magic which has, strangely enough, stand up card magic.
 
Apr 2, 2017
95
49
California
I would avoid a bottle production or something flashy in the beginning. In a restaurant situation, people will not be paying attention at the very beginning. You need to draw them in, get them interested, build the impossibility and then demonstrate the magic.

I agree with Christopher that you should do one, maybe two effects in ten minutes.

For something like this, it is important to stay within your comfort zone. I would avoid anything that requires a volunteer... just so that there is one less thing to worry about. If you are comfortable with cards, stick with cards. Six Card Repeat is a great effect, especially opening for a comedy routine. If you have a Genii subscription, there are a lot of great parlor routines in Jim Steinmeyer's Conjuring column. Check out his Emperor's New Deck routine. Guy Hollingsworth's Drawing Room Deceptions has a lot of great stand up card tricks. Handsome Jack has a lot of parlor effects too. Roberto Giobbi has a book Stand Up Card Magic which has, strangely enough, stand up card magic.

Thank you for your insight! I appreciate it. I’ll take a look at some of the stand up card stuff. I am definitely more comfortable with cards and coins :)
 
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