Those folks had the "X" factor. They entered the room and brought a recognized energy. The herd is drawn to them.

Mere mrotals need to have a winning personality and work on flaws.

Yes, unfortunately appearance does matter in show business, but as Christopher pointed out personality can overcome this. It works in certain situations but not in others and it has a lot to do with the mind set of the people doing the hiring. I’m disabled and have been and actor on a professional level since college. For the most part, I’ve been hired due to stereotypical thinking, to play hospital patents and for background extra work. This is because as we all know, disabled people, when they’re not in the hospital stay in the background of life. Seriously, it depends on perceptions and how you come across during your audition. Once I auditioned for a court drama wearing a three-piece suit as an experiment. It was a cattle call for extras, so I still only played a observer in the court gallery, but I did overhear the casting people, arguing over whether or not to upgrade me to a principle role addition.

In magic, you are the scriptwriter. You create and present material that suits and compliments you and your personality. This decreases the possibility that the people doing the hiring will focus simply on your appearance. It is important to be neat and clean, but I seriously doubt minor physical flaws will hinder you as a magician looking for work. That said, there will be times when you audition for morons. It’s pretty evident who these people are, and in the long run you’re probably better off not working for them. My point is, concentrate on accentuating your talent and personality first. I doubt you’ll fail to get jobs if you keep that in mind.

There is NO DOUBT that this is a total mind thing, (both yours and theirs...) fortunately, THEIRS can be influence by yours if you have the confidence, are prepared and learn well how to 'wrap the package' (Dress appropriately well!) and truly focus on THEIR most pressing wants needs and desires first.

I can’t tell you how many time I have found out in retrospect that I got most gigs over others because of theses things: Mind, Confidence, Well wrapped package, and MOST OF ALL focusing on the wants, needs, desires and outcomes of others over others who didn’t take that time to invest in themselves as well as in others and this arena!

So, in short, LOOKS DO MATTER, but we have a LOT more control over that than we often give ourselves credit for.

REMEMBER:
I was the fatter guy and I STILL have enjoyed a 12 year ongoing re-elationship with the very planner who thought that the ‘other guy’ (Again less fat than I) was too fat.

Do you think that my confidence, comfort, wrapping and ‘solutions minded, service first’ focus might have helped?

I’d say so!

As stated, that is how I get 99.9% of my work. (as I am sure is true for most of YOU, though you may not even be aware of that fact…) NOW is a good time to pay attention to your attributes and use them to truly SERVE others as well as your own success!

Thinking of YOU and your Success!

I am at your service and in HIS Service,
Deano (willing to serve others success) in Reno
<><

As many of you know, I am a deaf magician. However, I am proud to say I am a deaf entertainer. But, this certainly did cause me a period of time when I wondered about apperances and what others thought of me. That they would see my hearing aids and not see my magic. or that the hearing aids would bother them and make then feel so uneasy about the magic that I am doing and the solutions I am providing.

What I learned was that I was really my own worse critic. I was the one afraid to go on stage. I was the one nervous about how others were going to look at me. All the tension and anxiety about how I would be perceived mainly stemmed from my own discomfort about how I looked.

Then I started to realize something. I realized that if I am comfortable with myself and who I am, then I can make others feel comfortable to. If my audience realize that I am very comfortable about being deaf, then they feel more at ease and I do as well.

Over the years, being deaf and wearing hearing aids has actually become a part of the show my wife and I put on. I talk about it openly and freely at times in the show and joke about it as well. It has given me a chance to let others know that I am fine with it and they can be fine as well.

So I guess what I am saying is that you tend to be your own worse fear. If you are a professional and you let your audiences know you are comfortable with who you are and how you look, they tend to feel comfortable with you.

My disability and handicap has now become a benefit and a plus to the work and shows I do. I now have the ability to talk about overcoming handicaps in my show and it has made a difference in a lot of folks who have talked to me directly following a performance.

Feel comfortable with who you are and how you look and be a professional at all times. It can and does make a difference.

Kyle

Kyle
I competed against Ron Jaxon (who is profoundly deaf) at the Cutlies bar close up competition in 2006 at Colon Mi., and I did not stand a chance competing against this real pro. Ron knows just how to uses his handicap to get big time laughs.

You are right indeed. Ron and I have talked on many occassions and I consider him not only a great friend but a very creative thinker in magic. He and I both have the same philosophy about being deaf performers and not allowing our handicap to change the way we do our magic, how others perceive us or how it entertains our audiences. We have even spent many hours talking about how being deaf has been a help to our magic and coming up with ways to include it in our routines. If anyone has not seen Ron perform, you are missing out. If you get a chance to see him, please do.

Kyle

Thanks guys (Now I need a new hat.. LOL)

Ryan. Here's how I look at it. If there's something about you that you feel is a sort of "defect". in other words something you feel needs to be fixed and there is a way to do so. Then get it fixed. This is not for you magic though. This is for you. In the long run it'll help your magic because of confidence issues but you can give a good show no matter what.

Now on the other hand if it's something you can't do anything about. Then you can use it. Flip the situation around and make it something unique that sets you apart. But here's the big thing. You have to decide if it's something you want to be known for. If you made jokes or used this would you be upset if someone described you something like this:

"Did you see the show last night? My favorite was that guy with the gap in his teeth. He was hilarious".

Now this person liked you but what they remembered was the fact that you had the gap in your teeth and the only reason they remembered that is because you called attention to it. People talk about my act and if they don't remember my name they'll surely say, "That deaf guy" because I use it and it gets a lot of laughs. It's a matter of describing the material you perform not the person you are. If I didn't use my humor about my deafness they'd describe me, if at all, by the tricks I performed. "That guy who made the rose float around the room" or something like that.

The bottom line is it's really only effecting you on a personal level. You need to either fix it for yourself, ignore it or use it. But something like that will not effect your show in a negative way unless you let it. I'd get it fixed if you can. Unlike my deafness this is something that can be fixed. But like I said. That's for you. Not your magic.

Here's a little insriation. Watch these videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StKW1BoRpus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaOmjJToBM4&feature=related

Notice their looks and "differences". And they're a couple of the greats!

Ron Jaxon

NICELY stated Ron. You have to be comfortable with yourself first. As a deaf magician myself, when I first got my hearing aids I was very self conscious of them and how people would perceive me. That was because I was not comfrtablw with myself and with who I was. being a deaf performer way back then was a hard thing for me to fathom so I hid that part of me in all performances.

Times change and I am now so comfortable with my deafness that I use it in my shows. It has become a part of my style and a part of who I am on stage. This is because I know that being a deaf magician is not a bad thing for me. I want my audiences to kow about it and I want them to also know I am comfortable with it. It makes me unique.

Kyle

Some performers have used their 'flaws' as part of their 'recognition factor.'

Terry Thomas had a tooth gap.

Peter Lorre and Marty Feldman had bug-eyes.

Bing Crosby had prominent ears.

Jimmy Durante was as famous for his huge shnoz as his talent.

And then there's Tiny Tim...

I'm 61 years old and I have never worried about the gap in my teeth until tonight. Now I'll be afraid to smile for the rest of my life.
[/quote]

This made me laugh so bad. Lol I don't think people will not want you back if you have a gap on your teeth. As long as the show is good and people have a great time, you'll be fine.

"you don't get a second chance at making a first impression...."

A few (less expensive) options that can help with confidence issues for those who have teeth gaps...

http://www.imako.net/common/content.asp?PAGE=137

http://www.yellowbookleads.com/mirror.as......id=13054


Lyndel

Wow... how interesting is that?