Some Advice....About Bad Gigs

[Luis Vega]

Hello everyone!!

I know I haven´t post anything in sometime...but I wanted to share a quick story of yeterday´s gig...

We as magicians are supposed to give our best in all situations... be it a paid gig, when performing to our families and even when we are asked to perform a one quick trick (like everyday...) but we must be careful on how appealing the situation is...

Last night I had a Gig in a halloween party... but it was a disaster... for some reasons..

1.- I was hired to perform a 30 minute show on a "stage" for around 60 people.
2.- after that I was supposed to perform table hoping for 30 minutes
3.-the show started at 10:30 pm

Now this guidelines where given when I was hired, and they same pretty straightforward... I didn´t see a problem with them.

And when I arrived last night I found out that:

1.- The stage... was very small and also was located in the center of all tables... and since behind it was a pool, there were a lot of colums around and the people couldn´t see me... it´s literally the worst stage location I have ever been

2.- There were around 6 tables with 10 people on them...

3.- The people was supposedly arrived by 10:00, because I asked the patrons to perform the show BEFORE dinner because after the people are less receptive (they are having after food conversations, they are having booze...maybe too much... they want to step and dance...etc) but people was just arriving at 10:00...

4.- the patrons wife got a little scared that people was hungry...so she ordered the food to be served inmmediately... and came to me and told me to pospone the show a little bit... around 12:00am!!

5.- The lighting was a halloween lighting...that means very low, lot´s of dark light...

As you guys can guess it was going to be a very difficult gig...and it was... I performed at 12:00, people were very little focused, there where a lot of waiters walking around, diminishing even more the visual of the show, because of the lighting I had to cancel 2 tricks of the show, since they requires good lighting, fortunately I NEVER lose my cool... even when I pass people to the stage and they were a pain in the ace...

Now while I agree there were problems with the patrons since the begining... there are some things I could have done to prevent or even arise from the situation... but I got carried away since the hiring, because they sounded very organized and nice and they paid well...

Here are somethings I could have done...

1.- I could have asked for a picture of the stage before hand... since it was the patrons house, it should not have been a problem..

2.- I should have been more strict with the time of the show... I shouldn´t have accepted to pospone the show 2 hours... even if I was free after that gig, I should have said that I cannot do that.

3.- Even in the light of disaster... as a final measure, I could have say the patrons that I was not going to perform a show in those conditions... but instead of walking away, I could have offer to perform just table hoping a little longer and reduce the fee... and this is why...

It´s not about money...it´s about having a reputation, since I am sure that, even with my great attitude and stage presence...the conditions didn´t allowed me to give a 100% and people are not happy with the show...no matter how hard you try or even if you appear a tiger on stage... if they cannot enjoy it because of the noise, the lighting, etc... it´s on you... and they will blame you... even when it was not your fault...

Let this be a lesson for everyone... while most of the time, the errors are not ours, we can do a lot to prevent them...and never be afraid to walk away if you feel you won´t be able to give your 100%... even when there is good money!!

Happy Halloween everyone!!

 

[Justin.Morris]

Thanks again for sharing Luis. I've had my own share of crummy gigs, but it's always good to glean wisdom from the challenges of others.

I've never asked for a picture of the stage before, interesting idea

 

[RealityOne]

Luis:

Great story and great advice.

I'm not sure about asking for a picture of the stage in advance -- they probably didn't figure out where it was going to go until they started setting up. A better idea is to ask them about general conditions (inside or outside, lighting, number of people, number of tables, etc.) and give them YOUR requirements -- everyone seated, nobody seated behind the stage, no music or other distractions during your show (I've heard horror stories about DJs at weddings), etc. Depending on the show, I'll check out the venue ahead of time. Regardless, I will get there early so that I can change anything that doesn't work.

Ken Webber's Maximum Entertainment has a lot of really practical advice on managing your performance venue. A lot of it really comes down to being a pain in the ace when it comes to your performance. I would move tables, adjust lighting, use a sound system and rearrange furniture. I've never heard a good story come from performing in bad conditions.

In your situation, it sounds like you handled it very well. A lot of what we do is adaptation. I think I would have done exactly what you did... agree to go on later. But I might have suggested to do walk around before the stage show -- that could have gotten the people more interested in your show because you had a chance to establish a connection. The part that is hard is that magicians are often their own stage managers. Wouldn't it be great if we had someone else to take car of all this?