ENTER: Devil's Advocate
Opening - This should be fast paced, music enhanced, and better get the crowd excited in 3 minutes or less
While this is the standard, it is not carved in stone. Many acts, especially the classic manipulation type acts, started slow with very deliberate action. Check out Lance Burton's Dove Act or that of Shimada and of course Channing Pollock, they had a very methodical pacing with everything being done in a very deliberate manner with things slowly building in pace. There are numerous award winning acts that do the same thing.
Why Would Rick Say This, Then?
Because opening with high energy is the sure-fire way of capturing the public's attention and establishing the Who & What you are. The acts I'm describing are the "artists" and "Gentlemen" of Magic who used eloquence as a "gimmick". Yet, they still held to the 30 second rule -- within the first 30 seconds of their act at least two effects happened that generated audience intrigue. This can be anything from removing a flower from your lapel and causing it to turn into a silk and the silk into a cane and if you are like most, a bird appears either from the silk before the cane or on the cane itself. There's a succession of effects but not in a high energy sense of things -- pacing and teasing is just as important in those opening moments.
Depending on your personal style and motif an opening can run from 3-10 minutes; the longer sequences typically have a transition point. Using my old act as an example; I opened with birds and then the music changed up to a "disco beat" (hey, it was the 70s); I had shifted into card fans, a costume change (from formal tux to a glittery jump suit complete with card pips along the side seam of the pants) and from this we did a Tri-Angle Illusion to get the girl followed by the MisMade Lady. . . just under 10 minutes total.
Many classic acts do a similar shift (less the big props), moving from the birds to cards or coins, etc. and ending with a finale production of some kind.
Identification Piece - This effect(s) should be a bit slower paced and one of your favorites. 6 minutes or more
With your opening you have (hopefully) established the fact that you are a magician and all going well, the audience will believe you're even a good one. This point is where you do introduce yourself and if you're like most of us, this is where you reflect on when you first got into magic and why. . . I don't encourage artsy-fartsy material here, you want to keep the audience energy high, so a bit of comedy can be appropriate. Contrary to what Rick says, I think you can get way with a far shorter sequence; Henning would do the Anderson Paper Tear and I believe Lance did the Floating Elvis (his Floating Bird Cage . . .the canary's name was Elvis).
My suggestion for the short "personalized" sequence is because it is an ice-breaker. . . the first words out of your mouth, and you want the public to like you as you speak. Keep it simple and amusing! Use it as a segue into an audience participation routine. If it's a Family Show & Venue I would strongly recommend something involving at least one kid. Blackstone did the Bird Cage while others would do a Head Chopper or some other silly gag. If it's an adult show you want to present an APPROPRIATE adult routine and even that hinges on theme, atmosphere and the client type; too, in corporate situations and especially sales award banquets, this is where the CEO or other VIP is magically produced so they can do their thing followed by a reprise of you and the magic. At this point you can do a second "Big Dumb Executive" effect [NOTE: A BDE is called such because you have to keep the operation so bloody simple that a College Grad can understand what to do, when, how and why.]
With that segue completed you can get back to the show. . .
Involvement Piece - This is where you can choose a member of the audience and bring them up on stage for a routine
(the identification piece is purposely before this to establish yourself and build some trust before someone needs to become a volunteer) 3-4 minutes
This is what we frequently refer to as "Chair Time" . . . think of Copperfield doing the Floating Rose or the version of Ring Flight in which the ring ends up in a rose, etc. Even bits like Confabulation fit into this niche; a semi-intimate routine between you a usually a female guest.
Good Solid Magic for the next 10-15 minutes
This is where you do your big feature piece. If you have a large scaled effect it goes here. Most acts that are first starting out will want to go with the plays big, packs small pieces and for that reason I wouldn't suggest a Sub-Trunk or Assistant's Revenge type piece. . . they're quite large. A Broom Suspension, Parlor styled Asrah, Shooting a Ribbon Thru a Lady, etc. all pack small and play fairly big. You could also go with a Floating Ball or choreography of effects that tell a story. I frequently did the Orange Bowls in tribute to my Mentor followed by the Orange, Lemon, Egg & Canary vs. a larger piece.
Confirmation Piece - This should be your finale / standing ovation effect 3 minutes
The finale is where you hit them hard BUT, if you want to get them on their feet there is one almost solid guarantee -- go Patriotic! This is especially so with family audiences in the U.S. When you play the Elvis Patriotic Melody and wave a flag, you WILL have that standing ovation complete with tears in people's eyes and after show pats on the back, thumbs up and thanks for remembering the troops or not being afraid to honor the nation. . . I've seen this in so many shows over the years.
The effects you can do around this range form the Abbott "Spectacular Finale" to producing a Corvette on stage from nowhere. . . feel free to ask, I've got a long list of bits that work well.
There's a heck of a lot more that can and should be weighed, but for a simple 40-50 minute stage act, this is the formula.
, nice notes I may say... I am not an experienced performer and will definitely use this advice. Thanks
