I spoke with an agent the other day about cruise ship work.
He said ships are looking for something different, not the usual illusions, magic.
I suppose those ships have seen everything and are tired of the same old thing.
Have any of you had this experience when approaching cruise ship work and what did you do about it?

I agree that anytime you can give a prospect soemthing different and unique, you are doing yourself and them a big favor. I wish I could answer your question in more detail, but I mainly do the festival and fair markets and can base my answer only on the needs I am findinf from them. I would assume thought that if you could offer soemthing new and unique, you would only be giving yourself more opportunity with a cruise line.

Kyle

David,

This is a problem a lot of performers face, especially magicians. If you read marketing books, like Guerilla Marketing, the authors argue that one of your first tasks is to define how your services are different from anyone else in the market.

Most of the time, this doesn't mean changing the product (in this case your show) it means changing 'the pitch'.

On your website (you see I did my homework), you call yourselves Innovative Magic, so what's innovative about what you do? This is not a slam, I'm trying to suggest a way of thinking.

It's natural for agents and clients to want to see a show that jumps out from the rest. Remember, they are receiving 10-30 packets a day. And their job is to figure out which one to use. Unfortunately, competition for these jobs is tough, and the people you are pitching to are jaded, so it is hard to interest them, unless you surprize them.

Magicians have a particularly hard time becuase there is a tendency to 'commodify' our art. How often have you seen a festival poster that advertises " Magic Show" without reference to who will be working. Try to imagine a club that advertised "Rock and Roll Group" or comedy club advertising "Opening comedian, Middle Act, and Headliner"?

So what do you do? Make sure your promo (web, video, print) focuses on what makes you unique. Next see if you can get the agent to see you live, so he can see for himself how well the show works. If you get the agent excited then you have a much better chance of getting him to suggest you, above everyone else, to the cruise line.

PS My experience on the ships is that showmanship and personality are just as important as the size of the show. On the other hand, if you're not the funniest, most charming guy on stage, than you have to think BIG when it comes to illusions. I came across one performer on Royal Caribbean who did 4 big illusions in one 30 minute set. That was along with smaller routines in between.

Best of Luck,


Peter Gross
http://www.funnymagic.com