|
|
Go to page 1~2~3 [Next] | ||||||||||
NJJ Inner circle 6437 Posts |
I am putting on a one man stand up theatre show next year in a small 120 seat theatre. The show will be a demonstration of "real world magic" and will include magical methods applied to the real world. This includes gambling routines, con man, fakir and a small amount of mentalism. Its not an exposure or debunking show and will be framed around the idea that "much of what they will see will be fake, much will be real and some will fall into that grey area somewhere in between"
The show will run for 50 minutes (with a 20 minute support act) and I'll be charging $15 per head. I don't want to make money from this show but since I am putting up my own cash ($3000) to put it on, I want to make sure I get the 215 people needed to break even. What are your experiences with this kind of show? |
|||||||||
joshlondon Regular user 169 Posts |
It's fun to do. I did one a few years ago and I marketed my a** off. Your goal is that you need to have a reason why these people should put up $15 for a magic show. With my experience, I bought a mailing list of all the people that live near the theater, and mailed them something. Here's how it went (by the way I am a huge fan of Dan Kennedy, not Dave Dee, Dan's methods work): 4 months before the show I sent out a flyer, 2 weeks after that they got a letter about 2 pages long explaining why they should come, etc. 2 weeks later the got another letter giving them a half off coupon. 2 weeks later one last letter. Then every month before the show they received a short letter, "Hope you come this is going to be really cool, bring the kids, etc.
From those mailings I was planning on doing 3 nights, it ended up I had to book the theater for 2 months and every show was sold out. Marketing is the key to success, if you do it right you'll succeed. Also, make sure they know that it is going to be a "gambling expose, mindreading, a little magic, etc" type show. People get turned off when they hear the word magician. They associate it (and please don't send hate mail) with kid show magicians. I started a company a few years ago that dealt with marketing if your interested in what I can help you out with PM me and we can chat. Hoped this helped. |
|||||||||
icentertainment Inner circle 1429 Posts |
Why don't you want to make money???
Direct Mail is OK but it's going to cost you Money for a mailing list- which you only really get to use once unless you buy the big list. Then you have to send each letter buy post- how many stamps is that. If you are selling to the commnity why not get some free publicity in the Local newspaper and also invite your exhisting customer data base. Visit some of the local clubs like toastmasters and spend a few weeks there networking. at this point you havn't spent much. As for prices I like to compare theatre shows to going to the movies- it's $15 for the movie Plus $5 coke $5 Popcorn =$25 ( and I saw star wars 3 times $75 ouch) so 15 dollars is not unreasonable- If you really want to offer your local cinema a free show for and advertising stand- I bet the people that go to movies would be your customers Also your local video shop- Get on good terms with them and put a flyer up. Get in with local Food companies if possible to help fund the room hire- they can provide coke & popcorn they have to sell it and they provide some of the room hire. Then you'll want to do After show sales like Svengali decks and what ever while everyones in the mood.- even anounce it in the show like Paul Danials. A recent show like that in Sydney was Pat Trick did a gambling theme show with a chance to win $1000 or so for 1 luck audience member- but you may want to check out the Aussie Department of Gaming & Racing- you may need a licence (about $50 per show) |
|||||||||
joshlondon Regular user 169 Posts |
Good point IC. When going around to different businesses ask if they want to put a business size advertisement in your Playbill that people receive when they come in to the theater. It's a great way to make some money to cover the cost of things.
As for direct mail, I think it is the best way to et people in a theater and off their butts. Imagine walking down the street and seeing a sign that says, "Magician XXXXX is at...." That is not very effective advertising. You should target people who have children, because they love to go out and have a good time. When someone does buy a ticket or two ask their name and address (they automatically go into your mailing list) and in your next letter you send out make a mention that Susan and Tom, their neighborbs across the street are coming to see the show, and you should too. The people who get those kinds of letters think, "Hell, if Susan and Tom are going we have to go too!" Just my thoughts on what worked for me. Plus a mailing list isn't that expensive, if you want a great company who only charged me $150 for 5,000 corporate names/addressed/etc, PM me and I'll give you the guys name and email. |
|||||||||
NJJ Inner circle 6437 Posts |
Quote:
On 2005-07-19 11:45, icentertainment wrote: Very true...I don't have the budget for that. I am, of course, happy to make money but it is not the goal of the show. In other words, I don't want to sacrifice my ideas for audiences. It is more selfish project and is more about pleasing me then appealing directly to potential audiences. I.e. it is art over entertainment Quote:
Publicity stunt is a must Quote:
As for prices I like to compare theatre shows to going to the movies- it's $15 for the movie Plus $5 coke $5 Popcorn =$25 ( and I saw star wars 3 times $75 ouch) Indeed, $15 is pretty cheap for what they get. I would need 300 people to break even! Quote:
Also your local video shop- Get on good terms with them and put a flyer up. Venue has a bar in it. Quote:
Then you'll want to do After show sales like Svengali decks and what ever while everyones in the mood.- even anounce it in the show like Paul Danials. Its really an after show sale type of act. If I was to do BOR it would be a book of bar bets or scams.... Quote:
Nigel's show was totally gaming whereas this is a combination of several types of 'cons'. They lines will be blurred as to what is a con and what is real. Routines will include -Skinner Monte where, even they pick they right card, they're signed money still vanishes into my wallet (you can beat the game but you can't beat the conman) - Blockhead, Glass Walking, Pyshic surgery: a recreation of skills that fakirs and quacks use to con people - Russian Roulette with knives - Psychic Powers presented as really body language, behaviour influence etc. |
|||||||||
Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
I am not sure after show sales are a must after a theater show. I am not sure but did Blackstone do that?
Danny Doyle
<BR>Semper Occultus <BR>In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act....George Orwell |
|||||||||
NJJ Inner circle 6437 Posts |
If you had a $0 budget to sell a theatre show what would you do.
Me? I would focus on free publicity and organised a sponsership deal for fundraising. |
|||||||||
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Nicholas,
I would like to chime in here as my wife and I just did this almost exact same thing this past April. The only difference was the show we presented. We also had a small 200 seat theater and the problem of getting the seats filled and to do marketing but on a limited budget. It turned out that we did very very well and we did not have to break the bank to do it. I will try and explain a few things that we did below. I hope these give you some ideas of what can be done in the way of marketing, without a ton of upfront cost. The bottom line, as others have pointed out, is that you must market and market well to people in your target market and do so well and often. - First ask if the theater has a mailing list and/or an e-mail mailing list that you can tap into. Many of them do and have membership lists. They may not be able to give it to you, but if you ask them, most will place your information out in an e-mail or will also place your information in any mailings they send out to their membership. This they can do at nos coast to you as long as you supply them with the information and images etc. All it takes is asking. - Ask the theater if they have a newsletter that they put out. If so, ask if you might be able to supply them with an article spot that can go in it. If you want to give the theater even more incentive to do so, do what I did. I gave them sole rights to all concession (food) sales at the shows as long as I was able to sell my BOR table stuff there before and during intermissions. They loved the idea and therefor it made it easier to ask for these items. - Find out if they have a theater website. Get an image and a short bio of the show and let their web tech place it up on the website for exsposure. - Make up and design some large posters. These can first be placed up at the theater as most have boards out front or in the lobby of upcoming events. People can stop by and read them and get intersted in the show. - Make up flyers of the show with all the information. These can be made up yourself at low cost as long as the quality is good and sells the show in the best manner possible. I always ask if I can place some of the flyers on the information table at the theater. This way when people are in the lobby, your information is there for the taking. I also use my flyers to place up at grocery stores with an envelope that has nicely designed information cards. I just always ask first if I can place these up. Most stores will not have a problem with you doing this if you ask them first. - Get in touch with your local schools. If your show is targeting family audiences, then this is an ideal way of getting your flyer and information into their hands. We called a lot of small and large private schools and public schools and were allowed to get hundreds of flyers in the hands of the kids and their families. All you have to do is call and ask. Private schools are a bit easier then public ones, but both can be done if you ask. - Use the internet. So many people are not aware that there are community websites and community calendars and event listings for places in and around the theater that you are working. Use these as they are free. We placed our information FREE in over 20 different online calendars and event sites. They are easy to locate and I can help you or others find them if you need some help. It only costs you time, but gets you some good exsposure. - Get your name and event out into the local papers. Most papers will have an events section or a weekend section. They will place your information in there for free if you give it to them 2-3 weeks prior to the event taking place. We did this and got great and free exsposure in the papers around us. - Ask the theater if you can do some magic at one of their family events or one of the events where you think the audience would be about the same for your own show. Just offer to perform a little before the show and offer to do it for free as long as you can hand out flyers and talk about your show there. Most will eat up this opportunity and it gets your name out even more. - Write and send out press releases about the show and get them into the hands of papers, radio and TV. You can get some great coverage if done right. We did other things, but all of this was done with very littlemoney coming out of our own pockets. It made a huge difference and we filled the seats at this small theater and made friends with the owner in the process. If you or anyone else would like some other ideas or specifics, please let me know. We did exactly what you are trying to do and I would love to help you out if I can. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
|||||||||
Brent McLeod Inner circle 1792 Posts |
Nick-
We do a lot of similar shows in Big theatres including fundraising etc We get crowds of upto 700 at regular shows!-the main points we find are- Theatre e-mail lists are not reliable-we did 1 a while back with over 8000 members -on the night only a dozen or so were there We always find out during a show where the people came from etc-Helps us in our marketing You must get into the schools as Kyle mentioned above-we do a short 10 min promo at an assembly & make sure evey person in that Hall has a flyer for the show We usually run off 300-500 A3 & A2 posters & get these in the area at least 3-4 weeks before the show We always do a mail drop of our flyers in as many houses in the suburbs usually a week or 2 prior to show-Takes 3-4 hrs-we run 5-10,000 A5 B/W Flyers which are smaller versions of our Colour A2s etcWe don't leave flyers at a shop because we can go back a month later & there still there,Shop keepers don't care!!-You must put flyers in peoples hands Give away a certain amount of comps-freebies to newspaper people etc-They are your best publicity-I usually levitate a Mayor or school principal on the beach etc-costs nothing!!! Generally by donating to a school a $100 money tree with scratch & win tickets etc-they let us in to assemblies & can raise funds by selling tickets to win all the scratchies on the tree etc-There greatful plus a few free tickets to the teachers Main point we find is - you must fill the hall on the first day-comps, schools etc etc-500 people plus paying customers- you make the money at your second show, all paying customers -through all the publicity & word of mouth form the first show that was packed out!!! Everyone is talking about the show the next day-If your only doing 1 show what a waste of publicity etc Just a bit of our techniques we use in certain shows You must do 2 shows if you want to cover all costs etc as well-1 vary rarely works |
|||||||||
NJJ Inner circle 6437 Posts |
Thanks for all the great tips! I should point out that this is an ADULT show. It will feature blockhead, glasswalking, blood appearing in an egg, pyschic surgery, gambling routines etc...
KIDS UNDER 12 WILL FREAK OUT! I thought I might offer cheaper tickers to charities for fundraising. e.g. They buy for $10 and sell for $15 and pocket the change. I'm also looking for good ways of describing the show on fliers and posters. Since it is not a magic show but a demonstration of cons, I don't want to use words the conjuror (no pun intended) up images of magic show. E.g. "Classic Cons Brought To Life" "Stunts, Scams and Deceptions recreated by a professional trickster, con man and master of deception." "Fakir. Pyschic. Gambler. Fraud." |
|||||||||
Brent McLeod Inner circle 1792 Posts |
Nick-
Our shows are all adult shows-Teenage students would be the youngest etc-Even though we get into the schools etc thts soley for promotion of the main show -The show is for the mums & dads, a night out without the kids etc- We also us Hypnosis as the second part of the show etc All the shows are for Adults at night!! We name our shows based on fun,entertainment & you are the stars of the show etc-We don't promote the word Magic in any shows as they wont sell!!! |
|||||||||
NJJ Inner circle 6437 Posts |
Here is a skeleton copy of my draft publicity plan. I have not gone into too much detail here...
Four Months (mid October) Finalize Poster Design Print posters and fliers Three Months (Mid November) Mail out to charities offering discounted tickets for them to resell. Focus on charities with my target audience as members Early tickets on sale Press Release One Two Months (Mid December) Press Release Two Mail out to charities Poster and Leaflet Run One Email One (my mailing list plus dozen or so more I have access to) One Month Poster and Leaflet Run Two Mail out to charities Press Release Three Two Weeks Close charity bookings Press Release Four One Week Perform five minute spots at The Multicultural Fringe Festival (this is an evening outdoor festival for alternative artists held at the theatre I am performing at) Perform two small street shows (including the glasswalking and blockhead parts of my show) as a part of the Major Multicultural Festival. This is an outdoor food event with several thousand people. This is a busking style show where I hand out fliers. |
|||||||||
Jim Snack Inner circle 1338 Posts |
Nicholas,
I think you might need a few more personal appearances. Certainly to get your charity partners excited about the project. You should plan on attending a few board meetings and/or staff meetings for the charities and doing a little magic. You might want to make a personal appearance at your local newspaper and try to land a feature story. Also, try to book a few morning drive time radio interviews the week of the show. Banachek has a "Radio Magic" set of CDs with ideas for routines you can do on the air. Jim |
|||||||||
NJJ Inner circle 6437 Posts |
Jim - Thanks again for some more good ideas! I will certainly make sure I am prepared to do those extra shows. In my city, the commerical radio stations are very, very, very commerical. Every last second of airtime is designed to make the station money. They will not support ANY commerical event that is not paying for advertising on the station.
|
|||||||||
Brent McLeod Inner circle 1792 Posts |
Weve had an interesting couple of weeks here
We are performing a 2 hr show in a smaller town we have never been to! We have hired a 600 seat theatre for a great price & hassled to bits the lady that runs it-but in a nice way!! Every few days we are on the phone checking our flyers A2 & A1 have been distributed & put up as well as 3000 smaller ones handed to people etc So far we have 5 large seperate colour ads & articles about the show-at no cost in the local papers We have 2 radio spots with giveaway tickets on the day of our show this week as well as we rang the 3 biggest schools in the area & have a 10 min promo spot at there assemblies the day before the show-each person in the halls will be handed a flyer about the show as they leave as well. When we roll into town every shop, car & person we see will get a flyer & we will perform a quick trick where time permits -we are very outgoing & have lots of fun with all the people We are aiming for 400 people at our show for the first time in this small rural town-we also are giving a speech & a few effects at the local rotary club meet as well-All this publicity & set up is free-It all helps Our biggest cost is printing the flyers in colour for large & B/W for A5 SMALL You have to take charge of all aspects of your promotion & keep on at people helping you-But in a nice way & make sure they understand what they have to do Last Fri we performed in a small Tourist town -(first time) avearge crowds of around 150 for previous shows we know of that tour there- We only pre sold 60 tickets-Oh No!! But with 2 days of a blitzkrieg by us arriving early we crammed in over 300 in there Local Hall & have been rebooked for future shows We book & pay for all halls ourselves-No agents or the like & fly into the towns with advance cheap airfares as its too far to drive Go get em Nicholas!!!!!!!!!!! |
|||||||||
Jim Snack Inner circle 1338 Posts |
Brent,
Sounds like you are really working hard to sell tickets, and that's exactly what it takes. There are a number of printing companies on the Internet that can do four color printing at a reasonable cost. Check out http://www.tu-vets.com/ for one. Getting ten minute spots at the schools the day before the show will get the kids talking about the show. Make sure everybody gets a flyer, even consider printing a free trick on the back of the flyer to give it abit more value. Also, give a few free tickets to the kids who help carry your stuff to your car. That will really generate some excitement. Or if ticket sales are really slow, consider including a two-fer coupon on the flyer, two tickets for the price of one, or better yet, a free children's ticket when accompanied by a paid adult. Keep plugging away. Jim |
|||||||||
NJJ Inner circle 6437 Posts |
The biggest problem I am having at the moment is creating a clear message that communicates what the show will be about. I could write several paragraphs about all of the stunts, scams and deceptions I will include but I want to keep it short and sweet.
I'd like to conjuror up in people's minds an image of the classic con movies (The Sting, Colour of Money, Ocean's 11 etc.) "Watch as Tricky Nick, one of Australia’s leading tricksters and conman, recreates the world’s greatest cons, scams and deceptions live on stage." |
|||||||||
Jim Snack Inner circle 1338 Posts |
Nick, is it possible to include some sort of publicity stunt? "Beat Tricky Nick!" for example. Book a few radio or TV interviews. Include a discussion of classic cons, etc. Then challenge a radio DJ to try to win $100 (perhaps to go to his or her favorite charity).
Jim |
|||||||||
Brent McLeod Inner circle 1792 Posts |
Quote:
On 2005-08-08 20:49, Jim Snack wrote: Jim- Thank you so much for the extra advice about the children & tickets-will certainly look into that-cheers! I have never worked so hard at promoting than in the last year mainly because we never deal with with the right person at theatres etc So we take a lot on board ourselves-sometimes it works sometimes not!! Nicholas"s show sounds really good I hope all is working well for him The angle of scams etc hes using is Brilliant!!-great promotion tool But man it is hard work!! promoting-the show we know will work as we have polished it in clubs etc but takes a background seat while all this is going on !! Show -'Business' is right!!!!!!!! |
|||||||||
NJJ Inner circle 6437 Posts |
I've found a local printer who will do 300 posters and 500 leaflets plus do the design of both for $500.
I'm going to push charity ticket sales by encouraging charities to buy cheap tickets and resell them at an increased price. "Tricky Nick" has a very high profile amongst children. This could be both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, I have a large group of parents who know who I am but on the other hand I have a large group of children who might want to come along to this very adult show. |
|||||||||
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Tricky business » » Theatre Show (0 Likes) | ||||||||||
Go to page 1~2~3 [Next] |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.09 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |