Stage magic show

Sep 25, 2018
7
1
hey guys, I’m trying to build my new magic show And I’m having some trouble looking for ideas and magic tricks to buy. I use to use some of magic tricks like a rope routine, torn and restore card, with comedy, etc. however, now I’m more interested in renew my tricks, doing something different. I purchased the “amazebox”, and the great gatsby book test. I’m not quite sure what else to look for. I’m kinda getting interested in mentalism, and I know is a big transition from magic to mentalism. If you guys have any ideas and suggestions.

Thanks
 
Mar 4, 2018
101
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Just like close up magic, it's the magician that makes the tricks and not the tricks that make the magician. Stage magic is a different beast than what you are probably familiar with in close up magic. Your script needs to be way more on point than what a typical close up show's script is or the whole show will fall apart. With strolling/walk around magic you kind of have more power of when your performance starts and end. Stage magic you kind of lose that power since the audience is expecting a set length for your show so it's really hard to back out of something if something is going wrong. Also a major difference is in strolling magic you can get away with doing magic tricks at people. For example I see people performing a trick called Double Cross at people all the time without motivating anything they are doing and still get great reactions. It doesn't work that way on stage. You need to be able to motivate everything you do with the script you write because you will not get away with doing tricks at people, at least not a great reaction.

So my advice is to shadow a stage performer if you can. This can be in person if it's an option or someone online that you can watch videos of or read about. I know Dan White has written has had some great articles written about him when it comes to him preparing for a show and what is thought process is like. I can't recommend that you find a solid stage performer and try to learn from them. Also, most stage performers that are legitimate are pretty nice people from my experience and might give you some helpful advice if you shoot them an email.

Lastly, you are going to want to build up your breadth of knowledge when it comes to stage magic. Mark Wilson's Complete Course and the Tarbell series are fantastic places to get started on having a breadth of knowledge of what stage effects are out there. Scripting Magic by Pete McCabe is a bit pricey but will really help you in setting up your stage show. Maximum Entertainment by Ken Weber is also a good choice. The Dan Harlan lectures on Penguin on stage magic inspired by Tarbell are a great visual resource you may want to look into.

After you have shadowed a stage performer to some degree, know what you want to write about with your stage show, and have increased your knowledge of stage effects out there you will know exactly what effects you need to put in your show. I could give you a list of close to a hundred stage effects that may work for me but not work for someone else. By developing your own thing you will find the presentations that work for you and that will make you a better magician. I wish you the best of luck!
 

RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
@jasonkillsx had a great response.

There are two routes you can go with a "stage" show. The first is large scale illusions. If that is where you want to go, I can give you some guidance there.

The second is doing smaller effects that play big. For that, start with Mark Wilson's book and read it cover to cover - even the effects you don't think you would ever perform. Think about why the effects work. There is a lot there that you can learn through thinking about the effects. Also, it gives you a bunch of ideas of plots and methods that you can use.

Second, get a subscription to Genii. It comes with access to the archives. That is over 75 years of material. There are illusion plans from Ray Osborne (I'm thinking prior to 2010 he had a column), there are columns on card magic by Roberto Giobbi, there is mentalism by Max Maven, there is the original Miser's Dream routine and discussions of classic magic apparatus by Jack Gaughn. I would direct you to Jim Steinmeyer's Conjuring columns. Most of the material in those columns is very appropriate for stage. If you like what you see, Jim has a great book called Conjuring Archive that contains all his Conjuring columns that he did for Magic magazine. About half of my parlor show is based on Jim's material (from Genii, Conjuring Archive and his other books). What I like about Jim's Conjuring columns is that he provides the script. In most cases, I'm able to adapt that script for my use because Jim's sense of humor aligns perfectly with mine.
 
Sep 25, 2018
7
1
Thank you so much @jasonkillsx and @RealityOne , those were great points and I’m going to start my research. What I think about my show is having small effects (with small tools), doing more mentalism and predictions tricks. On Christmas I will practice a small presentation with my family, and then start moving to small gigs in a coffee house to gain confidence.
 
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