Street Magic Help

Jun 30, 2008
33
1
Hey guys, my names Matt and I'm 13 years old. I've been doing magic for a little over a year now and I'm thinking about doing street magic (blaining, not busking) and I need some advice. 1) I know I have some good tricks but I'm afraid that they won't impress people. What should I do to assure myself that I will get good re actions
2) Nervousness, how did you get passed it (if you did ;) )
3) Presentation, how do you present yourself?
4) Age Matters, If someone at a mall saw me doing magic, I don't want them to think I'm a kid that just bought a magic set, I think maybe one way is to get great re actions because then people will see the people's re actions and be impressed.
5) Trick limits, how many tricks should you do for an individual person and for a crowd.

Thanks a bunch!

-JustATrick
http://www.youtube.com/user/justatrick
 
Sep 1, 2007
457
0
San Diego
2) just DO IT, go out there, before you do whatever you do take a big deep breath and close youre eyes, say to youreself how this isnt different than rehearsal, just do it. it works for me

3) i present myself like this. i walk up, say excuse me...im blah blah...and i blah blah, do you have a moment or 2? I am very witty and sarcastic sometimes
4) the age barrier is ALWAYS there UNTIL you perform. if you perform well they will lose sight of youre age and see YOU as YOU as a magician.

5) individuals i do about a 5-7 minutes set, which comes to MAYBE 4 effects, a lot is patter and interaction.
a crowd....it depends, you always want them going "man, i wish he showed me more" other than "that was way to much magic, he went on for too long"
 
Jan 15, 2008
225
0
in the royal court
as for myself with the nervousness and stuff, i started just performing for family and friends of family, from there i gained reputation and confidence and from performing to people you sort of know theres not so much pressure and you start getting experience until your ready, but i guess this tip i if your just starting... anyway haha i hope it helps cheers^^
 
Dec 17, 2007
858
2
Canada
Okay you just have to perform if you mess up there not going to chase you out of town with pitchforks. Also if you are good at the effects then they will get a good reaction. I say if you are nervous witness is perfect for you. Age will always matter but nothing can get to if you won't let it.And I say about 3 tricks and work your way up start simple finish strong. Hope this helps.



-Michael
 
May 4, 2008
207
3
NYC
for nervousness: just start off with a quick, simple, eye-candy trick, nothing too long with a lot of sleight of hand because u might be nervous at first and mess up your sleights...and as you keep doing tricks to people, you will gain more confidence in yourself. Just tell yourself that it's okay if you mess up because if you do, you can just do a simpler, effective trick such as stigmata or something like that. Also, when you're nervous, you might tend to rush your tricks. DONT. NEVER RUSH YOUR TRICKS, always build up the moment such as a reveal so that it has a bigger effect on the spectators. And remember to ALWAYS PRACTICE YOUR TRICKS so that they are pretty much flawless because then you will feel even more confident in your tricks.

for presentation: JUST BE YOURSELF. Don't change your personality or else you wont enjoy performing. Also, DONT rehearse the patter you learned inside a DVD or a book since that is not YOU. If you're a sarcastic person who likes to joke around (like me, sometimes) then do that in your performances, no need to be like David Blaine.

age doesn't really matter as long as you have great tricks to show. Actually, I think when you're a kid, you have more attention since people might feel bad if they reject you. And to prove them wrong that you DONT have a magic kit, just to a crazy closer that creeps them out.

me, personally, I dont have a limit to how many magic tricks I should do. I only do however many I feel like doing...and however many I'm set up for at the moment. And I might not even DO some of the tricks I'm set up for due to the environment (number of spectators).

hope that helps :)
-Tomo
 

morpheis91

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2007
199
4
Philadelphia
www.myspace.com
I was just out doing street magic for the first time ever. i normally do strolling gigs so i am pretty used to approaching people. I was doing some street magic to promote for my coming soon website phillymagic.com and i just was out there to get some good reactions on film and to have fun. I had a business card (i'd recommend getting one) so after i showed them some stuff and thanked them for their time i'd give them a business card. Everyone above is right just be yourself. tell them why you are out there, if you really don't have a reason find one. a suggestion is "hello, im (your name) and i am out here promoting for....." gets people to just stop and say ok. especially if you are you younger, most kids at thirteen look pretty young so people tend to be more inviting. But for me the main thing is not to get down if people say no. i used to be in sales and i was used to people saying no to me. my friend who was performing with me sucks at approaching people so after a while he stopped and just let me do most of it.
 
Mar 2, 2008
412
0
I am the same age as you. I am not a shy person so i can talk to anyone. What to do for appoaching people/nervousnes is that i sometimes have my freinds around me. I don't know why i just feel more loose. Or what you do is just cowboy it up and do it. After that first trick your set. It will usaly go away because you can start talking to the person like there going to be your freind. Plus it is easier to prefrom to adults then teenagers just to let you know.
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,572
2
34
Leicester, UK
www.youtube.com
If you're nervous about something like this, I might suggest taking a friend with you (preferably someone who also does magic) and getting them to watch you, eventually you'll start to gain a crowd as people come over to see what this strange man/woman with the cards is doing. :) Of course, this is only fair if you offer the same oppurtunity to your friend, where you watch him/her. Y'get me? :)

Of course, it's useful to have a friend there anyway. Make the most of that kind of situation if you can... Card to Spectator's Pocket comes to mind. ;)

- Sean
 
Dec 10, 2007
627
0
Texas
1) I know I have some good tricks but I'm afraid that they won't impress people. What should I do to assure myself that I will get good re actions
2) Nervousness, how did you get passed it (if you did ;) )
3) Presentation, how do you present yourself?
4) Age Matters, If someone at a mall saw me doing magic, I don't want them to think I'm a kid that just bought a magic set, I think maybe one way is to get great re actions because then people will see the people's re actions and be impressed.
5) Trick limits, how many tricks should you do for an individual person and for a crowd.

1.) Find the ones YOU like best. If it doesn't impress the audience, then go back and make changes to it -whether it'd be patter to actually making a variation of the trick.
2.) I did by performing... when you first perform, normal people would get nervous unless you're really that good which wouldn't make you normal. Anyways- Just keep performing, and performing, and performing. Soon it will wear off.
3.) Personally, I do card flourishes, and if someone comes up to me and asks me to do something, or ask me what i'm doing etc. I'll either be invited, or offer to do a trick for them.
4.) Kid... I'm 14 years old. I've done freaking shows before. Age doesn't matter.
5.) Do as many as you'd like. Just don't repeat a trick. Magician rule.

Kid... Don't feel so limited when it comes to art. If it's a hobby of yours, it's about having fun, and doing what you love.

Take care

-Eugene
 
Apr 28, 2008
596
0
Hey guys, my names Matt and I'm 13 years old. I've been doing magic for a little over a year now and I'm thinking about doing street magic (blaining, not busking) and I need some advice. 1) I know I have some good tricks but I'm afraid that they won't impress people. What should I do to assure myself that I will get good re actions
2) Nervousness, how did you get passed it (if you did ;) )
3) Presentation, how do you present yourself?
4) Age Matters, If someone at a mall saw me doing magic, I don't want them to think I'm a kid that just bought a magic set, I think maybe one way is to get great re actions because then people will see the people's re actions and be impressed.
5) Trick limits, how many tricks should you do for an individual person and for a crowd.

Thanks a bunch!

-JustATrick
http://www.youtube.com/user/justatrick

I don't have any real experience of street magic as it's not really my thing, I prefer performing in college, cafe's, bars etc but most of your questions apply to magic in most situations so I can hopefully help a bit.

Reactions, If you're not too confident about your effects then try them on friends first. You will then know that the effects work but really there's nothing to worry about. Generally, people like magic and there's no reason they wouldn't react except if you were forcing it on someone who didn't want to see it.

Nervousness, the only way to get past this is to get out there and perform, as soon as you get a couple of good reactions you'll relax and realise there's nothing to worry about.

Presentation, it's really important that you are yourself, don't attempt to be Criss Angel or Blaine as you'll look stupid and it will seem very unnatural.

Age. Honestly, if I was in a restaurant or cafe i'd probably be really annoyed if a 13 year old came up to me and tried doing magic, but in a street setting i'd be a lot more receptive. If you find people who aren't really doing anything or perhaps look a bit bored they will probably be quite happy to see some magic regardless of your age.

Trick limits, there's no rule on how long you should perform for, although you I think you will leave a better impression if you leave them wanting more. When I first started magic i'd show people absolubtley everything I knew and i'd go on for ages. This, wasn't a good approach as people start to get bored after a bit and annoyed that you're taking up too much of their time. If you have a larger crowd then you could go on longer than if it's just for one person.
 
Oct 30, 2008
232
0
www.youtube.com
I don't have any real experience of street magic as it's not really my thing, I prefer performing in college, cafe's, bars etc but most of your questions apply to magic in most situations so I can hopefully help a bit.

Reactions, If you're not too confident about your effects then try them on friends first. You will then know that the effects work but really there's nothing to worry about. Generally, people like magic and there's no reason they wouldn't react except if you were forcing it on someone who didn't want to see it.

Nervousness, the only way to get past this is to get out there and perform, as soon as you get a couple of good reactions you'll relax and realise there's nothing to worry about.

Presentation, it's really important that you are yourself, don't attempt to be Criss Angel or Blaine as you'll look stupid and it will seem very unnatural.

Age. Honestly, if I was in a restaurant or cafe i'd probably be really annoyed if a 13 year old came up to me and tried doing magic, but in a street setting i'd be a lot more receptive. If you find people who aren't really doing anything or perhaps look a bit bored they will probably be quite happy to see some magic regardless of your age.

Trick limits, there's no rule on how long you should perform for, although you I think you will leave a better impression if you leave them wanting more. When I first started magic i'd show people absolubtley everything I knew and i'd go on for ages. This, wasn't a good approach as people start to get bored after a bit and annoyed that you're taking up too much of their time. If you have a larger crowd then you could go on longer than if it's just for one person.

The part about the people who aren't doing anything isn't necessarily true. I just walked up to a guy who was sitting alone in a park, doing absolutely nothing, and asked him if he wanted to see some magic and he just said no. Rejection is discouraging, i felt like i didn't want to do anymore magic that day. Damn guy ruined my fun.
 
May 8, 2008
1,081
0
Cumbria, UK
The main thing, I've found, is to just take it when they reject you. Don't bug them with 'Oh pleeease, you'll regret it.' Just thank them and walk away to find another vict...um...spectator :D
 
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