Derren,

Wondered how, in your early days, you moved from the closeup situation to parlour and then stage?

The reason I ask is that I've been performing closeup professionally for a number of years but I'm getting more and more of a desire to perform TO an audience. I've drafted a 1 hour ACT which is in it's infancy, but how do you go about moving in that direction?

Regards

Andrew

You're better off with a 45 minute act. An hour will be very hard to book, and is very long.
For me, I only ever had done close-up until making the TV show. The only 'parlour' I'd done was occasional mini-act at a convention. Once the TV got underway, I needed a cabaret/corporate after-dinner act, so I put one together, which became the first half of the previous tour. By that point I had a manager and the beginnings of a profile, so the ball was slowly rolling. However - I only had 5 gigs in the first year, whereas I'd had a couple a week for a year or so before that. Bizarrely, my fee had gone up tenfold overnight, but no-one knew who I was to pay it. But those who did were expected to cough up a larger sum. I had to borrow money the first year, and then it started taking care of itself.
It's definitely worth making the move. It's a shame to see how low-profile even a world-class close-up magician is working the tables at an event, compared to the after dinner entertainment on stage.

Get 45 minutes together with an arresting start and an unforgettable finish, and make sure you work it through with someone else who can give you honest feedback. Have it scripted and solid, of course.

Hope that's of some help,
db

That's a very helpful reply Derren and the answer to a question I was about to type up. You must be a mindreader...

That's a great help and also an eye opening as I had no idea you worked only closeup right up to the tv deal.

Quick question, what is your favourite environment, the closeup or stage, regardless of fee.