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Doc Willie Regular user 160 Posts |
I have been at this for less than a year, but I will be doing my first walk-around in about 6 weeks. This will be a Red Cross Fundraiser (I am a volunteer with the Red Cross) and two members of my club have also agreed to work the crowd during the cocktail hour.
I would appreciate any pointers, especially if there are already threads in this forum that may be of help. So, for starters, should I ask for a couple waist-high cocktail tables to be set up so I can do table top card effects? Or should I restrict myself to stuff I can do with my two hands? |
Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts |
Wear COMFORTABLE SHOES!!!
Re your last paragraph: two hands, and, your pockets (you are strolling!) Do "eye candy" VISUAL material. (When I do/did walkaround gigs, I carried 4-5 props (NO magic shop toys! --Use GENERIC props (rope, ring, coin(s), silk or handkerchief (knots) cards, color change knives, safety pins, book of matches, TT, ETC. Keep moving! I average 2-3 minutes per person, or small group.
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
I wouldn't ask them to set up tables. One reason is if you get used to bring able to do it no matter what conditions then you are always ready no matter what.
Danny Doyle
<BR>Semper Occultus <BR>In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act....George Orwell |
Kyoki_Sanitys_Eclipse Inner circle 1513 Posts |
Hello Mr. Oslund. I've seen you recommend the dissappearence of a lit match a couple times and love the effect. May I recommend Darwins extension of using smoke to restore it
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Mary Mowder Inner circle Sacramento / Elk Grove, CA 3659 Posts |
If you build your repertoire around things that don't use a table (quick or easy or reset, good angles, easy to carry, etc....) you are ahead of the game.
Think about weather and pockets early. Force yourself to just do what you can carry on your person without looking like a pack mule. Know which tricks go in which pockets. I look weird frisking myself because I don't pay attention to which pocket holds what. I'm in the habit of carrying way too much. it isn't necessary and you'll end up doing the same 5 or 6 tricks anyway. Carry one trick that works for Kids, even if it is an Adult gig. Have at least one Trick that is not a Card Trick. Knowing how to start can be a problem. I'm not saying it is the best but I've found that saying..., "Hi, I'm here to add to the festivities, would you like to see some Magic, up-close?" or "Don and Marie have asked me to entertain their Friends here this afternoon, would you like to see some Magic, up-close?" works fine and explains your presence quickly. There are better sales techniques which I hope others will offer but I know this works fine if said with confidence and a welcoming smile. Nothing works if you are looking at your shoes and sweating. If people are avoiding eye contact and take the hint. There are a variety of reasons people don't want to watch and that's OK . If they see others are enjoying the Magic, they may change their mind (or they may not). Find something that looks Magical and do it for color, a bit. Like doing a flourish or a quick coin trick, just to let it be known that you are competent. Don't do this at length in hopes that people will approach you and ask to see Magic, you will just look like a nerd doing tricks to yourself in a corner. Think of three ways to move on like "Well. I'll be wandering , so I hope to see you again" etc... It sounds silly but I see a lot of Magicians desperate to come up with more to do because they can't move on. Learn to say thank you when you are complimented. Laugh when your audience says something funny. Their win is a win for the group (which includes you). After your first gig, debrief and ask what worked and what could have gone better. I was so glad to just "get through" my first few gigs that I lost getting some valuable info. that could have been garnered from the experience. Remember the crowd wants you to do well and there is a lot of great energy to be had from that. Imagine yourself performing for a friendly giving crowd and carry that image with you. I was not great to start and I'm still here. I'm betting you will do better. Best of luck (and hard work). -Mary Mowder |
warren Inner circle uk 4138 Posts |
Hands is the way to go, walk around magic is one of my favorites but having said that it's very rare I use a table when working the tables but I find I can get away with much more when standing as far as my coin magic is concerned
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Tom Fenton Inner circle Leeds, UK (but I'm Scottish) 1477 Posts |
Mary's advice is pure gold.
"But there isn't a door"
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RayRannala New user Tampa, FL 32 Posts |
Mary nailed it. Thank you!
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KC Cameron Inner circle Raleigh, North Carolina 1944 Posts |
Starting out, do tricks you are comfortable with, even if they don't fit the above criteria. Once you have confidence and have a repertoire of pocket magic, do it like Dick says. No need to bring a lot of magic at first, because you will be doing the same few tricks at every table. If you do repeat business, then bring some different magic the following time.
The best advice is to have fun! |
improver New user 6 Posts |
Awesome advice Mary, I found your post really helpful, thank you for posting it.
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Zlugx New user 1 Post |
First of all, mucho kudos to Mary for a wonderful answer.
But if I can expand the topic just a little. I'd like to follow up on something she said about rummaging through the pockets. I always do the same thing, and I also overpack, and tend to leave a small box at the front register with second-lap material. I've always wondered what systems folks have worked out to map out their assorted pockets and pouches, and would love to hear what some of the experts here have to say about it. I usually have my four pants pockets, shirt pocket, and a small server-style apron with two pockets around the waist. With all that cargo space, I SHOULD have a system to track which coins and cards go where, and the occasional trick or two that needs a reset before the next table. Any advice is most welcome. Many thanks. |
MeetMagicMike Inner circle Gainesville Fl 3501 Posts |
Zlugx,
At one point, like you, I tried to carry a bunch of stuff. Each of my pockets contained one or two tricks. I also had a wallet that carried several packet tricks and another with several coin tricks. I stopped doing that. Now I just carry a deck of cards, sponge balls, and some coins most of the time. I can do several different routines with the sponge balls and coins. I can do many routines with cards. I have other props I can switch in and out but I generally don't have more than four props on me at any one time. Sometimes only cards and sponge balls. Learn to do a lot with a little. |
Doc Willie Regular user 160 Posts |
Well, I did the gig, and it went well. It would have been hard to fail:
1. I was in a situation where I felt comfortable, and knew enough people to get conversations started. 2. I was sharing the floor with other magicians, including my teacher. If things went south for me, I could just stop performing and follow them around. 3. I had a script which was from my own experience as a Red Cross volunteer, and fit my tricks ("shelter magic") into that. There were four magicians for a crowd of about 80. We had an hour for work the cocktail crowd. We engaged everyone including the wait staff. As things settled down for the speeches part, I went around to each table and ask if everyone had got some magic. Got several takers. I had three sets of three set up, but did not follow them. I did whatever I felt like at the moment. Of my nine tricks, I did not do two, which were "pick a card" routines. The full ungaffed deck never left my pocket. I messed up a few times, mostly flashing stuff or doing clumsy double lifts. The couple times I got caught I just plowed on through, followed with another trick that "got" them, and left with a success.. I had fun. Lessons: Much of the advice on this thread and this whole subforum ( would you believe I went through 40 pages of it?) was very helpful. Reading many of the stories of situations folks have faced in the past help set my mind at ease, knowing there were ways of dealing with them. There is a category of people who when they watch magic, are not sitting there to be entertained. They only want to figure out how you did it, and are ready to seize on any slips. I made lots of slips that nobody noticed, but you get one of these characters and you are being taught a rough lesson. Mine is: the stuff I thought I knew pretty well -- I did not know it well enough to do it error-free under the pressure of performance. Rule 4, 5, and 6: Practice. Practice. Practice. Yep. 9 tricks is more than enough. There were a few moments when I which I had this deck or that prop to seize the moment of a conversation, but not enough to make it worth carrying around a bag of stuff. Thanks to all who willing to share their expertise and experience here and elsewhere. I stand on the shoulders of giants. |
ScottMN New user Baton Rouge, Louisiana 72 Posts |
Thanks for following up with how the event went - it sounds like it was a positive experience for you (and as they almost always are - a learning experience too)!
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davidpaul$ Inner circle Georgetown, South Carolina 3086 Posts |
Yes...Thanks for the follow up. It is so very true that when you are under the pressures of performing the effects that you thought you knew well you really don't as you mentioned. Keep performing as much as possible. After a little over 2 decades of performing just last night at one of my restaurant gigs I learned a lesson from a little girl because I was careless.
A needed wake up call from an effect I've done thousands of times and just got lazy. Congrats on the gig. Your audiences are your best teachers. You are on your way, keep it up.
Guilt will betray you before technique betrays you!
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Mary Mowder Inner circle Sacramento / Elk Grove, CA 3659 Posts |
Congratulations!
I'm so glad you let us know how it went. You are right about some people just wanting to bust you. In time, when you are more relaxed and have a few laugh lines, you will run into those people less often. Some Magicians stay and try to win them over. Personally, when I run into these types I move on quickly. Life is short and there are others there who want to see Magic and they will be good experience for me to eventually be able to entertain even the hardest nut. Entertainment is the key to most of this. You don't see a lot of people trying to grab Mike Close's hands or to bust Bill Malone. They keep the audience's minds occupied fully. No one starts out very entertaining(ly?) but it is helpful to know that the better you get, the less you will see these types. You were right to just do what you felt and not do your sets of three. The sets are a good net till you can "feel" what is right. Sounds like you did well. It can be very hard to perform when there are more experienced Magicians performing as well. You have examined the experience and learned from it so "good on ya". Remember to really be aware of the things that went well. Big pat on the back for you Doc Willie! -Mary Mowder |
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