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oweosc12 New user 70 Posts |
Hello everyone,
So I've been practicing magic for a few years now as a hobbyist (performing for friends and family only) but I'm really interested in taking my magic to the next level. Whilst I am very capable with a deck of cards (i've spent hours and hours and hours learning and perfecting slights etc), I think that there are two big barriers that are preventing me from furthering my magic career. 1) I have a lack experience/confidence. Since I've only really performed for friends and family I haven't got much real-world experience. Now the obvious solution to this would be to "just go out there and perform!" And oh boy I would love to do that. But because I'm inexperienced, this has a knock on effect to my confidence as a performer. The idea of going up to a stranger to perform and getting rejected or messing up intimidates me greatly. I know the way to get over this is to keep performing in a situation like this and eventually you just get over this fear. But as of now, I'm not sure I could even go up to someone in the first place and perform a trick to them (its not that I don't have the ability but I don't have the confidence from a lack of experience.) 2) Secondly, I have no idea how I make the transition from performing for friends and family to performing at restaurants bars etc (even if I do it for free.) Did you guys ever go through similar problems and if so what did you do to overcome them? Thanks! |
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davidpaul$ Inner circle Georgetown, South Carolina 3086 Posts |
There are so many opportunities to gain experience and build confidence. Your post sounds like you want to walk up to strangers and show them something. Seek out venues where you would be a welcomed
addition. Charity or fund raising events. Independent Living Facilities. They are always looking for entertainment. These aren't nursing homes where many residents have cognitive difficulties. Independent Living residents are usually in their 50's 60's 70's. and very receptive. Clubs organizations have get-togethers that you could perform tableside after a meeting. Keep your eyes open. Look for opportunities and let people know what you do or would like to do.
Guilt will betray you before technique betrays you!
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Poof-Daddy Inner circle Considering Stopping At Exactly 5313 Posts |
Davidpaul$ advise is always good when it comes to "worker" info. He walks the walk as well as talking the talk. As for nerves/lack of confidence, that is something you just have to face head on. I guess I had a fortunate childhood, moving around a lot and always meeting new people. Eventually starting a career driving truck cross country really helped as That was when I took magic to the "semi-pro" level and had a captive new audience at every truckstop to practice on. 5 years later, when I got laid off for a couple years, I was able to get two weekly table hopping gigs, that led to several birthday parties (that really paid well) and some bigger events like craft fairs and festivals. I eventually settled in as a full time magician / bartender / Emcee at a comedy club until "life changes" sent me back on the road.
I got diagnosed with throat cancer 5 years ago and had to come off the road. After 2 bouts with my cancer re-acurring, I am disabled now but stil find time (when I can) to do volunteer charity gigs that help raise money for the cancer center at my local hospital (who I could never fully repay all the charity help they provided me when I needed it). Pick a cause... any cause... and go to the center to see if there is anything you can do charity wise to get experience. Also, consider other venues. I took up some basic balloon twisting and would get a local food vendor to hire me to set up beside their booth. They would pay me (in food plus a nominal fee) and I had a tip jar. While waiting in line for balloons, mom and dad would grab a slice of pizza instead of wandering down the the sub wagon... My client sold more pizza because I kept the lines moving but always there and with my fee plus tips, I could rack up a pretty good couple hours pay. Be creative, that is my advice and when you get past the nerves, shop yourself around a few local bar/restaurants. No matter what you decide to do... go do it. It is the ONLY way to beat those nerves. Good luck
Cancer Sux - It is time to find a Cure
Don't spend so much time trying not to die that you forget how to live - H's wife to H on CSI Miami (paraphrased). |
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davidpaul$ Inner circle Georgetown, South Carolina 3086 Posts |
Thanks Poof-Daddy, I will echo your kind comments back to you. Whenever I see a post by you I always make a point to read it.
The dreaded NERVES. Poof-Daddy said it well. You just have to do it. No matter how much you practice and the countless hours you put in we "fail" in front of a those audiences outside our comfort zone. It is just the nature of the beast. Do your best and learn from your mistakes. Spectators are not shy about calling you out on your performance, but that's how you learn. As time goes by and provided you learn your confidence will grow. CONFIDENCE is key. Not arrogance rather confidence in your ability and the confidence that your spectators will enjoy you and what you do. This will take time but it sounds like you are on the right road. Stay on it. Have Fun. This is Important as well. Then the doors will start opening to you.
Guilt will betray you before technique betrays you!
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coachawsm Regular user 150 Posts |
Maybe David Stones Book "Close up - The real secrets of magic" might be a good thing for you. He talks exactly about the how's, the where's, stage fright, approach techniques etc.
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MeetMagicMike Inner circle Gainesville Fl 3501 Posts |
Good advice above. When I started I was a waiter and just did a few tricks for my customers for fun. Apparently, they liked it because soon the other waiters were having to run my food because I was too busy doing tricks (not a good thing). The manager said he wanted to talk to me about my magic tricks and I thought I was going to be fired. Instead he asked me to JUST do the magic and let the other serve the food.
He asked me how long it would take me to put together a set. I said a few weeks. He said, "you start tomorrow". I've been doing it for 30 years and currently work three restaurants. I just wanted to let you know my path. It's likely not your path. Just keep practising and perform whenever you get a chance and keep your eye out for opportunities. |
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WitchDocChris Inner circle York, PA 2614 Posts |
Jamie D Grant - The Approach.
It's a workbook for becoming a paid strolling performer, and the best one I know of. As for getting real world experience... well, the harsh truth is, suck it up and do it. Most likely you'll quickly realize it's not as scary as it seemed and you'll get comfortable with the idea of performing in front of strangers. Personally, and this was recently reinforced significantly for me, I find it much harder to perform for friends, family, and those I respect than total strangers. If you bomb in front of a stranger there's a solid chance you'll never see them again.
Christopher
Witch Doctor Psycho Seance book: https://tinyurl.com/y873bbr4 Boffo eBook: https://tinyurl.com/387sxkcd |
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Glenn Morphew Elite user Chicago 486 Posts |
Oweosc12,
What WitchDocCris says is true if you think logically about it. You will not likely ever see a stranger again, so don't put any added pressure on yourself. An acronym for FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real. If you can perform for friends and family you can easily perform for strangers who you'll not likely ever see again. Of course, you don't want to make any mistakes but if you do, you do. It isn't the end of the world. Don't make it a bigger deal than it really is. Here are a few other thoughts that might help you. It's a good strategy to start off performing the best, EASY tricks you know. That will take off some pressure because you don't have to worry about doing challenging moves. You should do everything you can, to reduce any pressure you might initially feel. As your confidence grows, then start to ramp things up a little. Before you know it, you'll confidently be performing your A material for people. Also, change your mental focus. Take the focus off of yourself and put it on the gift you are trying to give your audience. And you really are in fact giving them a gift. The gift of experiencing close up magic. Do your best to relax and have fun. Create a magical/fun experience when you perform. When you do, your audience will have fun with you. I hope a few of these ideas resonate with you and help you on your fun, rewarding journey. Best of luck, Glenn
Visit www.povmagician.com for
The Rub-a-dub Deluxe Suite The Morphew One Hand Top Palm Bob's 3 Shell Boot Camp and more... |
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davidpaul$ Inner circle Georgetown, South Carolina 3086 Posts |
And..... you would be wise to invest in some of Glenn Morphew's teaching dvds. His dvd on the Top Palm changed my card handling (life). Great teacher as well as performer. Now back to our regular scheduled program. (sorry)
Guilt will betray you before technique betrays you!
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Poof-Daddy Inner circle Considering Stopping At Exactly 5313 Posts |
Quote:
On Jan 16, 2018, Glenn Morphew wrote: This alone is a great point. I have been doing magic for so long, I forgot about my humble beginnings. When I first started performing for strangers, all I had was a Scotch and Soda set, a Svengali deck and a regular deck that I could do maybe 5 or 6 simple effects with (Twisting the Aces was the best one in my wheelhouse). The great reactions I got from these led me to buy more VHS sets and build my arsenal.
Cancer Sux - It is time to find a Cure
Don't spend so much time trying not to die that you forget how to live - H's wife to H on CSI Miami (paraphrased). |
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dcjames Special user 577 Posts |
Hello oweosc12,
You've received some awesome advice in the above posts. I agree with everything stated thus far and would add that if there are any Magic Clubs (SAM, IBM, etc.) in your area, it would be beneficial to join / attend those meetings as well. Nothing better than performing for and with fellow magi who can give you hands on pointers as well as practice performing outside of your comfort zone. And the best part is, if you make a mistake they've all been there too and, even better, there's no exposure to the general public. When I first became interested in magic, like you, I performed for family and friends and then started doing effects for coworkers at the office. That lead to being asked to perform for their children's birthday parties. The next thing I knew, I was getting calls from the parents of other children who were in attendance and it really took off from there. I performed as a semi-pro (never quit the day job) kid show magician for many years. Word of mouth is truly the best advertisement. Wishing you success in all endeavors, dc
“Magic is very easy to do - poorly.”
Tommy Wonder The Books of Wonder Volume 2 |
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tvbuzz New user Portsmouth, New Hampshire 57 Posts |
All the advice above has been great - I would additionally advice you to go to a local fair, mall, park (anyplace with groups of people) and just take out your cards and start playing with them.
As people walk by you, just make eye contact. When someone looks friendly enough and you feel comfortable simply ask if they would like to see something. Chances are .... just taking out cards will draw a crowd on its own. |
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fingerjack Special user CT, USA 574 Posts |
Some great advice here. Kudos to all.
MAGNAPALM - The World's first psionic magnetic implants that is changing the future of magic http://youtu.be/EDmg2bp_Cas
WASHED AND DRYED - An squeaky clean incredible full deck transformation! http://fingerjack.wix.com/washedanddryed |
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ajb6864 Special user Greece 637 Posts |
All really good advice above, especially starting out with easy magic. The other reason, as well as taking pressure off 'the moves', is to allow you to concentrate on your delivery. By that I mean making yourself interesting and likeable. This will take you as long to perfect as learning any magic trick, but is equally if not more important. You may already be blessed with a sparkling personality (I wasn't) but it is ultimately this that any patron will be paying for - entertainment!
A final thing, is to keep your routines short, punchy and simple. Most venues that you'll probably be trying material out initially will require quick and simple effects, whether because you have limited time to impress or because some of your audience may be slightly inebriated! Hope that helps? Alan |
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sennheiser New user Germany 68 Posts |
Really great advices.
Quote:
On Jan 16, 2018, coachawsm wrote: This book is a true help to get some gigs and its really easy to read. |
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sennheiser New user Germany 68 Posts |
There is also a free ebook by Andi Gladwin "Going Pro".
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/magic-......o-ebook/ |
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magikcid Regular user 148 Posts |
I really feel if you don't go out there you will never get it. You need to be in front of people. A lot. You are gonna mess up. So what. Material will fall flat, but you will learn. If you never fail you have no reference from which to improve. Every out for a trick came from doing it a lot.
I got my first magic kit when I was 3 years old. But I really didn't get into "real" magic till High School. My friend was trying to get out of gambling and we both messed around with magic so he just got his license and we were off to Mecca Magic in NJ and Tannen's in NYC. At first we performed all over high school and he started getting his fans and I had mine. When people heard you did magic they would inevitably say "Show me a trick." When I got to college, it was kind of just habit for me to do magic to anyone and everyone. I met a lot of good friends that way. Whenever my friend got back from Albany (where he went to college), we messed around getting gigs or doing street magic or restaurant gigs. Things went up a notch when I started doing magic at a local bar. I did it for fun and I got to know everybody there. I did it for free. And people would start bringing their friends down to check out the local "magician". The owner loved me because people came down and I never charged him money. To tell you the truth I got a lot out of that experience. Learning to deal with drunk, belligerent people really taught me a lot about what tricks play well and what type of tricks to do when. One night everybody got in on the trick and I was doing magic for one of the regulars and his friend had managed to get his car keys. Well I did "Paper Balls over the head". Everyone was laughing along as he had no idea what happened. His friend ended up taking the napkins and putting it on his friends dashboard. Now this regular just had to know what happened and I replied "You really don't want to know." And he's like, "yeah, I really do." Long story short to his mind the napkins materialized in his car, and later they disappeared from them as well. Too many memories. I later went on to do gigs professionally and get paid, really well. But if I had to give one piece of advice. Go out there. Do gigs for free. Eventually you will know when to charge. How will you know. People will ask you to do a gig and they'll say.."How much do you charge?" The more you play this mind game with yourself, the worse it is. If you work at a service job, or one where you meet people. Ask them to pick a card. Pick your best stuff and find ways to make it better. What we do makes a difference. You might make someones day. And you will make a lot of friends. And you will become a better magician. This post was not intended to be this long and I realize now that if I had not gone out there, I would have lost out on a lot of amazing memories. I'm 46 years old now. Thank God I didn't know any better and just went out and did it. The real magic isn't in the tricks. The real magic is in the difference you make. So what the heck are you waiting for... |
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Jell92 New user Denmark 93 Posts |
Hey Oweosc12,
It sounds like an awesome idea to take your magic a step further. nd I promise you that you will not regret it! Concerning the confidence problem, then I can assure you that everyone of us has been nervous before we started performing for "real" audiences. And the only way to overcome it to say "**** it", and jump right into it. Maybe you should grap a deck of cards and head to a restaurant, ask the waiter/waitress if it's ok that you perform for some of the guests. When you have presented you the first time - then all the fear is gone, and you will have an absolute blast! Concerning your next question, about how you get jobs. Hmm I would recommend, that you get a website. Does not have to be all that professional but just so that you have something to show your potential clients, and then they have an opportunity to find you. But of course another option is to just head out to different restaurants and show the owners what you can do with a deck of cards. If you show them a card trick or two then they will see what a magician can do, and that the guests will love it! Hope you can use that to something:) Andy http://cardtrickmaster.com |
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davidpaul$ Inner circle Georgetown, South Carolina 3086 Posts |
Quote:
On Mar 23, 2018, Jell92 wrote: Just a word of caution regarding restaurants and the above advice. "Grab a deck of cards, head to a restaurant, and ask the waitress/ waiter if it's ok to perform for some of the guests." That MIGHT work in Denmark, but you will get throw out quicker than you can say Ace of Spades.
Guilt will betray you before technique betrays you!
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MasterGrip New user 62 Posts |
Compromise your artistic integrity and do these tricks for the rest of your life
Red Hot Mama Slop Shuffle Triumph 2 Card Monte Solid Deception |
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