Here's a thought. Say you are at a magic show, and the performing magician asks for someone to help from the audiance. If you are a magician, should you secretly let him or her know that you are a magician? And if this would bother him, having another magician on stage, participating in his act? Was just wondering about ethics of this situation.

If you were to go up, you shouldn't say. I personally find performing for magicians nerve-wracking, and it would put extra pressure on me mid-show.

Should you volunteer at all is another question. On one hand, you would say all the right things, and know what not to do (unless you're deliberatly going to try and show them up, which is just evil). Which means you might be an improvement on some volunteers.

On the other hand, you would have to act suprised when you may not be. A lot of effects benefit greatly from the lay-person's natural reactions. I'd stay seated.

From my experience, volunteering has never been a matter of choice. I just got yanked out of the audience by every performer I ever saw, (this is one of the reasons I took up circus skills myself, see my post in the "choosing volunteers" thread). I never had any trouble playing ball for the good ones, but the obnoxious ones (the sort who see their audience as moronic fools to humiliate and degrade as they please to make themselves look good) really did test my good nature.

That said: here in Leeds, most of your audience will be performers in some capacity or other. it's that sort of town. This means it's nigh on impossible to get booed off here, because everyone's sympathetic. If you're no good you just get ignored (which is even crueller in many ways). Also, passing circuses find that Leeds' audience's reactions to the dangerous, high flying stuff are less "Oh no, I can't look!" and more "yay, I want a go!".

This would be a great time to test your own acting and performance skills. Act amazed when he completes the trick....and shocked...

What a great way to help a fellow performer! Just be a great assistant, and make it impossible for anyone to even guess that you're into magic. (Say 'hi' to the performer after the show, but make sure no one thinks you're his shill) ALl the best from L.A.! -Gerry

From the standpoint of a person who has had a choice between a magician and a non-magician as a volunteer assistant, I really would prefer to have a non-magician. Most magicians know how to behave themselves, but it only takes one "nut" to mess up a show.

I was at an IBM Convention when Kovari got a member of the audience up on stage to help him. The idiot (not Kovari) went into his color-changing knife routine. This was doubly stupid, because you couldn't see the knives from the first row!

George handled it well, but it left me with an awful taste in my mouth.

OTOH, I know how to behave on stage. Dorny, who is now a legend from the past for most of us, had great skill as an audience volunteer. He never messed a show up for a fellow magician. You could trust him.

So, if you go up, don't let on that you are a magician. If the fellow asks to borrow your ring, don't give him the gaffed one. It won't help. Really.

And if he is doing the coin in the bottle, it won't help to give him your special coin. Just be normal.

Remember normal?

I had a very interesting expirence at a convention a couple years ago. Now I don't perform card tricks, but I am a very quick eye and am frequently asked to critique other performer.

At the close up contest a visiting Magician asked me to come up and watch him to make sure he didn't have it hidden in his hand/in his pocket/etc.... he kept on asking me if I saw the slight and everytime I answered "yes" because I actually did and there was no way that the audience didn't see it too. There are times when you honestly can't lie.

The poor guy really had no way of knowing though that the only woman in the audience was into magic. Too this day I still feel kinda bad about it, but I can't help but remember the laughing faces of the judges (some of who are good friends of ours).

So how many times did you make him do the move?

I have had this happen to me as well it seems that every time I go to a fair or theme park I get picked to be an "assistant" I try to be as nice and respectful as possible even if the performer is less than graceful with his slights as I would not want someone on stage attempting to show me up. I have gone up to the performer after the show and introduced myself and depending on there attitude I have let them know that I am a magician. The reason that I say depending on there attitude is because as we all know sometimes magicians can get very standoffish kind of like dogs peeing on trees the whole this is my territory thing. And I really do not want to take part in that. If Magician is a good guy (most are) I may chat magic for a moment, wish them the best and be on my way. I think it is a karma thing, be nice if you are chosen and hopefully all of the people you pick to come up on stage will be nice to you.

Sorry good guy or nice lady. Did not want to be un-PC

Treat people how you would want to be treated yourself. If you picked a magician, what would you want him to do?
Nick