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Bob Sanders Grammar Supervisor Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
Perhaps "Going Pro" would have been a better title. We have skated all around the issue but never really gotten down to brass tacks. Here is something that I wrote and posted months ago in another topic and has been or will be published overseas in foreign magazines. I think it also needs to be in Tricky Business.
***** One of the real differences between magicians with an act the ones without one is how often the same act is repeated before a paid audience and the quality of the audience. For years I owned a personal management and booking agency. Talent buyers like to get what they think they are buying. They expect consistency. Presentation is a much better mark of a professional entertainer than originality. Even in the TV and movie industry, which employs many of the best-known and highly paid entertainers, there is little to no originality. Capacity for convincing presentation is the key. This is on purpose. The purpose is to entertain the audience. That includes drawing and holding the audience. Rarely does a popular singer have to learn a new song as compared to a beginner, unknown, unestablished singer. Failure to have a consistent act is almost automatic rejection for good agency representation. Professionals in the business fully understand this. They deliver the goods! Until they do, they struggle with delivering a different mediocre routine nightly to the same mediocre audience. They both think they are original. They are both wrong. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Not having a real act is doing the something over and over (changing from one to another not ready for primetime presentation). The most successful pros have a real act. Save the “original” stuff for magic contest. It’s a different venue with different expectations and different payoffs. They are fun for magicians. They are not a very good career path but they weren’t meant to be. They were meant to give the contestant a place to experiment and the audience free entertainment. They also are a great tool for increasing convention attendance. For the contestant, it is a chance to perform, a chance to be seen, a little publicity among magicians, bragging rights, and a chance to document effects or presentations as part of his/her repertoire as of that date. The prizes are seldom enough to cover expenses of attending. It is not the same venue as being contracted to perform for a paid audience. Expectations, payoffs, audiences and futures are quite different. Fit of the routines is critical. From my forty plus years of observation, a well-polished professional class act will usually fail miserably in a magic contest. However it will get repeat commercial bookings for decades. A winning magic contest routine is very seldom a commercial success beyond the first round of bookings, if any. They certainly don’t excite experienced booking agents. Enjoy! Bob Sanders Magic By Sander July 8, 2005 ***** Entertainment at the professional level is a business. It is not judged by the same standards as hobbies, contests or interesting ideas. While these things are not mutually exclusive they are also not compatible in the market place. Agents aren't in the business for their health. They are deal makers. Many of the best ones will never see your act, no matter how good you are. They get contracts for their clients. Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
Jim Snack Inner circle 1338 Posts |
Well said, Bob!
Jim |
Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
To add anything would seem pointless.
Bravo Bob. The words of a true pro. thank you for sharing!
Danny Doyle
<BR>Semper Occultus <BR>In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act....George Orwell |
Steven True Special user Bonney Lake,WA 765 Posts |
Again Bob speaks the words of a true Pro. You always have the best and most useful posts.
Steven |
Regan Inner circle U.S.A. 5726 Posts |
Thanks Bob!
Regan
Mister Mystery
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Bob Sanders Grammar Supervisor Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
Thank you gentlemen! Considering the sources, I am honored.
Bob Magic By Sander |
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Tricky business » » Getting an Agent - Acts, Originality, Contests, Etc. (0 Likes) |
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