theory11 — Magic Tricks & the World's Finest Playing Cards

Need help with a stage routine

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Jul 14, 2013
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Ok I guys I have two weeks until I have to perform for a Christmas party and I have to do stage and I need help on what I'm going to do I know I'm going to put some mentalism in and I'm also going to slot the the advocate by Daniel Madison in there I was wondering if u guys have any suggestions on what I should do thanks :)

I don't normally do stage I do close up :)
 
Cancel the show in that you're not ready, it's that simple

No, I'm not kidding. You don't sell a show that doesn't exist; if you didn't have a Holiday show ready to go two months ago you should never have accepted the gig. This is the sort of lackadaisical antics that hurt magic and the reputation of magicians.

Sure, I could give you a list of things you could do but you wouldn't do any of it justice with just two weeks rehearsal time left (if you started right now).

Take the material you are used to doing and add in a special seasonal effect such as producing Santa (see Mark Wilson's magic course. . . build Santa's Workshop a.k.a. the Arabian Tent and use it as your finale). An alternative would be the Chinese Snow storm but again, you don't have time enough to practice it and get it down pat. . . during the confetti fall however, Santa could just walk onto the stage.

RIGHT NOW is the time to be planning and pulling together material of Valentines & Easter as well as your summer program. You start on the Halloween stuff in March alongside the end of year shows (Yule & New Years). . . that is, if you want to shine as a polished and solid act. This is exactly why talent buyers want to see video; so they know what the product is going to look like. It's why so many legendary acts didn't change much over decades of time and why the working pros isn't up to speed when it comes to the new trendy tricks hitting the market.

I hope you understand my response and take it to heart.
 
Craig Browning said:
Cancel the show in that you're not ready, it's that simple

No, I'm not kidding. You don't sell a show that doesn't exist; if you didn't have a Holiday show ready to go two months ago you should never have accepted the gig. This is the sort of lackadaisical antics that hurt magic and the reputation of magicians.

Sure, I could give you a list of things you could do but you wouldn't do any of it justice with just two weeks rehearsal time left (if you started right now).

Take the material you are used to doing and add in a special seasonal effect such as producing Santa (see Mark Wilson's magic course. . . build Santa's Workshop a.k.a. the Arabian Tent and use it as your finale). An alternative would be the Chinese Snow storm but again, you don't have time enough to practice it and get it down pat. . . during the confetti fall however, Santa could just walk onto the stage.

RIGHT NOW is the time to be planning and pulling together material of Valentines & Easter as well as your summer program. You start on the Halloween stuff in March alongside the end of year shows (Yule & New Years). . . that is, if you want to shine as a polished and solid act. This is exactly why talent buyers want to see video; so they know what the product is going to look like. It's why so many legendary acts didn't change much over decades of time and why the working pros isn't up to speed when it comes to the new trendy tricks hitting the market.

I hope you understand my response and take it to heart.
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What happened to you man, you're so much kinder to people. Is it the Christmas spirit? :)
Long story short, I agree with everything Craig said. On another note, if you really do close-up, you can have a video projector and a camera so that people can see the top of the table on the screen as you do close-up.
 
Dismic they are only trying to help you. Throwing a show together last minute is never a good idea. If you are adamant on doing the show then it'll be best to stick with what you're use to doing. Toby's suggestion regarding the video projector is a great idea.
 
If you do a show for free then it better still be a good show. That is how you start to build your reputation as a performer and get known, but getting known as the sloppy, unorganized magician who threw together a poorly structured show last minute is not the kind of reputation you want to start off on. First impressions, my friend. Don't screw them up.
 
1. Make a list of the effects you wanna do. 2. scratch off half of them because they likely suck. 3. Write a script so you know what to say 4. Never leave them wanting less. 5. Do the show somewhere ANYWHERE else first. Open mic, invite ten friends to your house (Assuming you have ten friends), whatever BUT get that one bad shaky performance out of the way. 6. PROFIT! (tho' probably not)
 
Dsimic said:
I'm not getting paid I'm doing it at my own will so next time don't be so rude
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If you think I'm rude you would have died, dealing with the mentors I've had over the years. . . I was being kind and realistic. I know it burst you dream bubble, it had to! You needed to come back down to earth and understand that knowing a handful of tricks and their mechanics is NOT what's involved with creating Magic let alone a show.

You must start with a basic script and hopefully, some form of plot that leads your audience towards some kind of climatic point. When you write a script you must do so with proper grammar and know how to properly pronounce the words (and no, I'm not picking on you but I will point out how David Blaine was praised with the fact that he spoke more clear and concise than he used to do when he first hit the scene. People equate such skill to intelligence as well as professionalism. . . and before you say it, some of the most professionally minded people I've ever seen work, were hobbyists not working pros; they have the luxury of time on their side, and as such, the ability to perfect their routines).

Aside from your script you need to block out your act so you can use all of your performance space effectively and too, you need to rehearse your "Outs" -- what to do when an effect goes wrong -- this can be more important than the routine you have envisioned.

As you can see, creating an act is far more involved than having a pile of tricks and doing the ones you like most . . . the one's that make YOU look more special and awesome than you really are.

As you should be able to see, I wasn't being rude or cruel, quite the opposite.
 
Dsimic, listen to Craig what he is saying is completely correct. Recently I have been asked to do a parlor style show after being seen performing close up. I've turned it down. I do have a parlor act that I have done in the past and could still do, but since most of my work has come from close up shows and strolling I have neglected to rehearse it for a while so I wouldn't dream of performing to people in a formal setting. If you don't even have the foundations of a show you shouldn't be agreeing to one.

Look at it like this, if you were prepared you could do a a good show and get more bookings. You stand up and do a poor show, you will lose any reputation you had as a magician to be asked in the first place to do a show.
 
Dsimic said:
I'm not getting paid I'm doing it at my own will so next time don't be so rude
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And you're going to cancel it of your own will. You have no actual show together two weeks out from the performance, but you think you can pull off mentalism?

You say you're not getting paid. Well then the audience is getting exactly what they paid for.
 
Steerpike said:
You say you're not getting paid. Well then the audience is getting exactly what they paid for.
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This is wittier than what I was going to say.

Keep this in mind - you are only as good as your last show. No matter who you are or how much they paid to see you, if you sucked at your last show you suck. This attitude of "It's a free show, I can wing it" is one of the plethora of reasons magic gets no respect. If we, the people performing it, don't respect it why should anyone we want to watch it do so?
 
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