Professional Acts

Sep 2, 2007
1,182
119
31
Houston, TX
Last night, I went to Eric Evans lecture and saw his street/busking routine. It really got me thinking... Here lately I have wanted to put together a stand-up routine that could be done in old folks homes, out on the streets with large crowds etc. I don't want a huge stage show, just something stand up.

Once I get done typing this, I am going to search on youtube and see if I can't find some professional acts to watch and get some inspiration from. I wanted to post this to see if some of you could post up some links to any professional acts you think I should watch.

I'm not doing this to steal tricks, or sets or anything like that. I just want to see what a well structured routine looks like and what I should shoot for.

Thanks,
Rob
 
Nov 27, 2009
456
3
Here's the obvious choice for an act to look at if you want to do street stuff, Gazzo. You may have already seen this, but here's the link in case you missed it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F25K-ZbtUU

This is just part one of three, and this is only his famous Cups and Balls routine. If you want to learn other aspects of street performing, the book the Art of Crowd Keeping is great as well as the YouTube series by MagicGeek called How to be a Street Magician. Episode 1 of that series can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jRO-nJHmdE

These are the resources I know of. I've never looked specifically for street magic routines on YouTube but I've given you what I can.
 
Nov 15, 2007
1,106
2
35
Raleigh, NC
This is a full evening show of Ricky Jay's, a lot can be taken away from it-and I think it's a good show all together.
Ricky Jay and his 52 Assistants

Albeit strange, it was successful as a street routine... The Amazing Jonathan (very young indeed)

I'll post more if I can think of them, Gazzo (Above) is a great performer, but please don't do his cups and balls exactly like him (I've seen at least 3 performers Locally who do His cups and balls...)
 
Jan 21, 2009
82
0
Write it from scratch.

No, really. You can get caught up in looking at other people's acts and not accomplish anything more than collecting uneccessary data--data that you'll discard later on anyway because it won't fit with the kind of show you want. You don't need the inspiration. It's just an excuse to rely on what others have done previously. Screw that. Have some cojones.

It's more difficult to write it from scratch, but ultimately more rewarding. Your show will have integrity, and integrity makes it untouchable. It won't be the kind of show where you're not sure what to do next when they don't respond to you. It'll be the kind of show that you can do again and again regardless of their reactions because it's not written off of them; yes, you do play off of your audiences' reactions. But you don't write the show based on their whims. You know magic better than they do, and you know what you want to say and do with it. All they'll be able to give you are their past impressions and expect you to repeat, and top it, at the same time. That's an impossible situation.

Write the show with what you want to say in mind, whatever it is that magic means to you. You're a magician, you do magic for a reason, that should be evident.

Here's a way to keep the core strong. Don't write it around a theme, or around a trick. The structure shouldn't dictate what you do; the core does.

Ask yourself, "What do I find magical?" Are you the kind of person that finds objects moving around imperceptibly magical? The kind that finds recitation of unknowable knowledge titillating? Dig deep. This is the reason you fell in love with magic. It was because magic did something to you, shaked up something that you thought was sure, and then never let you go. For example, my first with magic was a simple conjuror's choice, not even done well. But I couldn't let it go because I had no explanation for how I could choose something so openly and freely, and yet have it be so predictable (yeah, I was a sucker. Still am.) That was magical to me; that's what I aim for. And this, your answer to this, is what's going to drive your show. It is your engine, your alma matter, and your core.

And then ask yourself, "What do I find entertaining?" Do you like the trivial dancing of comedy, ever so dangerously dangling on tragedy's edge? Or are you into clever puns and wordplay, the kind of curiousities that one tends to overlook in daily life? Maybe you like seriousness, and find the high stakes of drama absolutely engaging. I don't know; whatever it is, that's going to dictate the kind of audience you'll play best to. Pepper the same brand of humour you enjoy, or the dramatic solemnity you're gripped by, into your show. This is the seasoning, this is the tilt, the colouring of your show.

If you have those two, whatever you do will be rock solid to its core. It won't be some monstrosity patched together from other people's ideas. Compare, first Street Magic special by David Blaine, and his later ones. The first are solidly purely him; the tricks he does are the ones that he knows and loves to do. You can tell that they're consistent with his character (which happens to be a slightly exaggerated version of some of his aspects--never too difficult to play. Side note on that, is that you have to be congruent with what you're playing. If you're talking about Psychological experiments done by Coue and you look and talk like a redneck who's never even picked up a book, no one's buying the words out of your mouth. You don't have to play yourself, but you have to play whomever it is you're playing genuinely.) Whatever your character is also has to naturally follow your show; if you build your show based on what YOU believe in and what YOU want to say, then that's going to be easy. It won't feel like ideas have been unnaturally superimposed.

Now, take a look at his latest special. It's not him anymore, it's not all completely him. You can see the cracks. He's playing tricks suggested or chosen by his advisors, and they're not all congruent with the Blaine of old. There's stuff there that's filler, or playing to the audience, rather than him playing from his heart. Always play from your heart, or you'll just be another sell out who gave his soul to the crowd. And when the crowds all gone because you're old and done for, you'll be alone, with nothing to show for it. Ain't worth it man. Need I even point out that whingy maggot sucker Criss Angel? No? Good.

So, write the show on your own, with solely your intentions in mind. By intention, I mean what it is that you want to convey (What is it that I find magical? What do I find entertaining?). And don't worry, you won't get it right the first time. No one does. The point is that it's yours. Let the show's shape be dicated by it's needs. If you need more structure than that, write it with a beginning, middle, and end in mind; but always be ready to discard your previous ideas if something more fitting is found, or something more fitting is needed. Don't be afraid to spend nights working the problems out in your head. Learn to love that part, and you'll have something no one will be able to copy. The kind that they'll imitate, but never understand.

Or just go the cookie cutter route. That's easier and less heartbreaking. No one will hold it against you. This stuff's tough, man.


avec ma coeur,
--b
 
Last edited by a moderator:
May 4, 2011
9
0
33
Write it from scratch.

No, really. You can get caught up in looking at other people's acts and not accomplish anything more than collecting uneccessary data--data that you'll discard later on anyway because it won't fit with the kind of show you want. You don't need the inspiration. It's just an excuse to rely on what others have done previously. Screw that. Have some cojones.

It's more difficult to write it from scratch, but ultimately more rewarding. Your show will have integrity, and integrity makes it untouchable. It won't be the kind of show where you're not sure what to do next when they don't respond to you. It'll be the kind of show that you can do again and again regardless of their reactions because it's not written off of them; yes, you do play off of your audiences' reactions. But you don't write the show based on their whims. You know magic better than they do, and you know what you want to say and do with it. All they'll be able to give you are their past impressions and expect you to repeat, and top it, at the same time. That's an impossible situation.

Write the show with what you want to say in mind, whatever it is that magic means to you. You're a magician, you do magic for a reason, that should be evident.

Here's a way to keep the core strong. Don't write it around a theme, or around a trick. The structure shouldn't dictate what you do; the core does.

Ask yourself, "What do I find magical?" Are you the kind of person that finds objects moving around imperceptibly magical? The kind that finds recitation of unknowable knowledge titillating? Dig deep. This is the reason you fell in love with magic. It was because magic did something to you, shaked up something that you thought was sure, and then never let you go. For example, my first with magic was a simple conjuror's choice, not even done well. But I couldn't let it go because I had no explanation for how I could choose something so openly and freely, and yet have it be so predictable (yeah, I was a sucker. Still am.) That was magical to me; that's what I aim for. And this, your answer to this, is what's going to drive your show. It is your engine, your alma matter, and your core.

And then ask yourself, "What do I find entertaining?" Do you like the trivial dancing of comedy, ever so dangerously dangling on tragedy's edge? Or are you into clever puns and wordplay, the kind of curiousities that one tends to overlook in daily life? Maybe you like seriousness, and find the high stakes of drama absolutely engaging. I don't know; whatever it is, that's going to dictate the kind of audience you'll play best to. Pepper the same brand of humour you enjoy, or the dramatic solemnity you're gripped by, into your show. This is the seasoning, this is the tilt, the colouring of your show.

If you have those two, whatever you do will be rock solid to its core. It won't be some monstrosity patched together from other people's ideas. Compare, first Street Magic special by David Blaine, and his later ones. The first are solidly purely him; the tricks he does are the ones that he knows and loves to do. You can tell that they're consistent with his character (which happens to be a slightly exaggerated version of some of his aspects--never too difficult to play. Side note on that, is that you have to be congruent with what you're playing. If you're talking about Psychological experiments done by Coue and you look and talk like a redneck who's never even picked up a book, no one's buying the words out of your mouth. You don't have to play yourself, but you have to play whomever it is you're playing genuinely.) Whatever your character is also has to naturally follow your show; if you build your show based on what YOU believe in and what YOU want to say, then that's going to be easy. It won't feel like ideas have been unnaturally superimposed.

Now, take a look at his latest special. It's not him anymore, it's not all completely him. You can see the cracks. He's playing tricks suggested or chosen by his advisors, and they're not all congruent with the Blaine of old. There's stuff there that's filler, or playing to the audience, rather than him playing from his heart. Always play from your heart, or you'll just be another sell out who gave his soul to the crowd. And when the crowds all gone because you're old and done for, you'll be alone, with nothing to show for it. Ain't worth it man. Need I even point out that whingy maggot sucker Criss Angel? No? Good.

So, write the show on your own, with solely your intentions in mind. By intention, I mean what it is that you want to convey (What is it that I find magical? What do I find entertaining?). And don't worry, you won't get it right the first time. No one does. The point is that it's yours. Let the show's shape be dicated by it's needs. If you need more structure than that, write it with a beginning, middle, and end in mind; but always be ready to discard your previous ideas if something more fitting is found, or something more fitting is needed. Don't be afraid to spend nights working the problems out in your head. Learn to love that part, and you'll have something no one will be able to copy. The kind that they'll imitate, but never understand.

Or just go the cookie cutter route. That's easier and less heartbreaking. No one will hold it against you. This stuff's tough, man.


avec ma coeur,
--b

Damn, I am really feeling that advice. Well said!
 
Sep 2, 2007
1,182
119
31
Houston, TX
@Blaireau and JButterfield, thank you so much for your input! Both of you have helped a LOT more than any of these video's I have been watching! I will definitely take all of your thoughts and considerations in and work out a show for myself. It's gonna take some work but I'm determined that I can do it!

I think the hardest part for me is finding how to smoothly transition from one trick to another and having them all flow together and make sense.
 
Nov 15, 2007
1,106
2
35
Raleigh, NC
For transitions, having your main message (core, as used above) as a guide you can transition easier. Start by stringing three tricks together with a common theme. Do this with any three tricks in your repertoire, create a premise for them and string them together. It's sometimes easier to do with similar tricks (3 different rubber band tricks, 3 card tricks...etc) but can be done with different objects.

If you can do 3 tricks together, then you'll have a better sense of how to string a show together.
 
Aug 17, 2010
411
4
@Blaireau and JButterfield, thank you so much for your input! Both of you have helped a LOT more than any of these video's I have been watching! I will definitely take all of your thoughts and considerations in and work out a show for myself. It's gonna take some work but I'm determined that I can do it!

I think the hardest part for me is finding how to smoothly transition from one trick to another and having them all flow together and make sense.

I know it's my pleasure, and I'm pretty sure I speak for Blaireau on that as well.

Making up the act is difficult but rewarding. This is where you can really define your character, develop a theme, have a dramatic build, and a million other things that come with having an act rather than a bunch of tricks.

Remember, the 'sense' that it makes doesn't have to withstand a ton of scrutiny. Granted, it shouldn't be jarring, but it only has to seem to make sense at the time; it won't be picked apart like a novel may be. Doing magic for people's entertainment is plenty enough motivation.

Part of my schtick is that I'm not that good with cards. And that seems to hold up, but when you consider they've already seen me do a few coin tricks to gather the crowd and start the show, it wouldn't make sense on that level. There's no real way that I'm going to try something I'm not good at in front of a crowd of people, and it seems very unlikely that I'm not rehearsed. But I've never been called on it; it makes sense at the time.

In the movie Citizen Kane, the plot is driven by the title character's last word - he says "rosebud" and dies. I've seen the movie a dozen times, and finally noticed that when he dies, there's nobody in the room to hear his last word! It's a masterpiece of filmmaking, and even after a bunch of viewings, this flew right past me. Likewise, you needn't give your act an internal logic that is unassailable; it just has to fly at the moment.

If you have things scripted, including where the props go and what you say to cover the transitions, even changing props happens almost invisibly. A gag, a bit of back and forth with the crowd, a quick trick, a hat line... these are the things that make an act polished, and make people gloss over the weakest point of your show; when you have to put something away and get something else out.
 
Check out Chris Cross. He does street contortionism but the method of getting a crowd and everything remains the same. I'm good friends with Chris and he has helped me a lot with my street performances.

Speaking of which my street magic/busking for money routine is always about getting a crowd in as I perform it as if I where on stage like any other act you might see in Covent Gardens in London or other busking places. You know the guys that ride around on unicycles and juggle? That sort of stage thing.

My act is a longer version of Professors Nightmare called Circle of Time (not sure who did this), My twist on blockhead, and I finish on a balloon swallow. Throughout the whole thing I'm trying to get my crowd to make as much noise as possible to get more people interested.

At the end of the day though, street theatre is all about getting the money in the hat. Don't be disheartened if you don't get a lot sometimes, because some audiences just won't pay, but you will learn when to stop the act when you realise the crowd won't grow and you will learn to get the money in the hat! A good thing I do is as it is the children that will put the money in most times, I make them a balloon model. For some reason mums and dads love this, and so put some extra money in your hat.

Just a few tips there matey! Hope I helped a bit :)

Simon_Magic
 
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