Newbie

[Ayden]

ok well I started learning magic from my cousin ( about 3 years ago) because of my pure interest in it and so far have only performed for an entertainment purpose for friends and family. However for the past few months my employers have been courting me to do tabletop for a new Japanese steakhouse we're opening. Naturally I'm hesitant to put myself out there like that (unproven as i am) but they believe that my talent is more than enough to provide the entertainment they're looking for. So as a newbie i thought i could get some feedback on first time experiences, tips and pointers, pay (i offered for free but they insisted i give them a reasonable price), and any other helpful advice is welcomed.

As far as I know the following would be expected of me ( if it helps):
-3 hours on our busier nights
-a tabletop routine most likely lasting 5-10 minutes
-and maybe possibly a routine for our late nights.

Any help/advice is much appreciated and thanks in advance

AL

 

[adjones]

Most restaurant magicians charge a minimum of $100 per night. I recommend you look into Kirk Charles' Guide to Performing Restaurant Magic.

Also, the Restaurant Forum at www.penguinmagic.com/discuss has a goldmine of info. And no, I'm not advertising for other forums, as I was accused of recently- just informing the OP where he could find some of the info he needed.

Good luck!

 

[Mr.MadMan]

I really reccomend David Stones "The Real Secrets Of Magic" Volume 1 and 2. Those are videos just for table hopping. He gives tons of advise on how to preform and gives a lot of routines with coins, cards, and ropes.

 

[DLeerium]

ok well I started learning magic from my cousin ( about 3 years ago) because of my pure interest in it and so far have only performed for an entertainment purpose for friends and family. However for the past few months my employers have been courting me to do tabletop for a new Japanese steakhouse we're opening. Naturally I'm hesitant to put myself out there like that (unproven as i am) but they believe that my talent is more than enough to provide the entertainment they're looking for. So as a newbie i thought i could get some feedback on first time experiences, tips and pointers, pay (i offered for free but they insisted i give them a reasonable price), and any other helpful advice is welcomed.

As far as I know the following would be expected of me ( if it helps):
-3 hours on our busier nights
-a tabletop routine most likely lasting 5-10 minutes
-and maybe possibly a routine for our late nights.

Any help/advice is much appreciated and thanks in advance

AL

Hey Ayden welcome to T11

I myself am also a newbie, but I feel I want some real world experience in restaurant magic as well. I have done a bit of researching and I think these resources may help.

-http://www.elusionist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62915
-Live podcast at penguin magic
-Live at the jail house DVD
-David Stones "real secrets of magic"

I think these provide good info about performing on a larger scale.

 

[D ICE R]

Some points I often use:
When you actually preform start off with very simple direct magic.
Try to make your first piece last less than 2 minutes and as slight free as possible just after the waiter/waitress has taken either the drink order or main order. (Usually a dead moment in dinner time) The only reason I mentioned the slight bit is because at the table you want them to be amazed first and if you only have one or two simple slights then your confidence will build so quickly.
Show the wait staff something before it gets busy. You want them on your side.
When you come back for a second performance at a table show them something that they can have a souvenir from. For example an ACR.
Never go to a table more than twice unless they ask you to come back. If you do make your last piece something really crazy, A good idea would be something like indecent or believe.
Try no not limit yourself too cards either (I know all my advice has been using cards so far.) Sankey has some good material that does not use cards or coins, supernatural, anytime anywhere, also looking Art of Astonishment.
You can be extremely coy and get one guest at another table to be a stooge. (be careful that it does not look forced though.)
As for the show on a late night I would recommend against it for a little while. It is something completely different going up on stage to a table.

pm me if there is anything else you want to ask.

David

 

[Ayden]

thanks everyone so far... i've been up to date on some of the material (david stone) but the penguin forum had some good tips. keep the advice coming

 

[bd]

As to the type of magic to perform, I would suggest:

- Metal bending. (Penguin Magic: Morgan Strebler Store)
- Mentalism effects.
- A cups and balls routine. (Youtube search: Gazzo)
- Look into sponge balls; it's just an idea.
- Something involving coin transpositions (Antigravity Coin gets good reactions. Basically, once you learn the sleights for coin magic, you can do anything you want)

If you're going to use cards, I would suggest looking into tricks that involve more than one spectator. At a table of five people, for example, a simple card trick won't be as effective as something like sponge balls.