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brandonford1982 Veteran user 304 Posts |
Sorry for the late responses. Finishing un packing in my new home. Any ways. THANK YOU so far for all of the great responses so far! Donald your input truly has been worth a lot. I do not plan on taking this endeavor until at LEAST the end of this year begining of next year. Yes I do want to do this the RIGHT way. So I think that the best thing for me to is start by getting some of the materials you all have mentioned and decide which will be a better pursuit. Either PR and tons of Advertising or Fundraising or both.
PS I have thought about a lot of expenses like vehicle, advertising, etc.. But I forgot opne of the plainest expenses GAS! Wow that's gonna be expensive! Mabey I shall start my touring off small Like around the Surrounding Communitites Here, Then work thru the state, and then region and then Nation........ start with a small tour and then grow and develop into a big tour. That way if I lose money it wont be nearly as much..... PSS Touring shows lose money?? Can I ask what the most anyone hasd lost on a tour has been? And was it ever made back? |
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IllusionJack Veteran user Las Vegas, Nevada 376 Posts |
Hey Brandonford-
For my job, I tour as a manager for Broadway shows. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have if you send me a PM. Yes, it is possible for the shows to lose money. It all depends on how your contracts are set up. But, any show, particularly a large show, is expensive to run. Cast/crew salaries/per diems; advertising (Print, TV, radio); local union crews payroll and fees (if applicable); tour vehicle purshase/rental, upkeep, fuel, road tolls; airfare; local transportation; lodging and hotels; catering; insurance (often required by venues); hotel rooms; supplies; equipment and rental (lighting, audio, dry ice, etc.). Presenters will sometimes bear some of these costs, and they will almost always take a commission on your ticket sales and merchandise sales. Advertising in particular is a necessary and expensive part of the whole deal. For the show I most recently worked for, a week-long run in a major city sometimes ran up for $50k+ for advertising and marketing. The lowest I ever saw for an engagement was $5k. Of course a magic show is often much smaller than a full scale Broadway tour, but everything is relative and applies to any show. The idea you mentioned of touring around locally is a good one. David Copperfield and a few others have the national tour market for magic. Television exposure for them is what made that possible. I'm interested in doing the same thing you're wanting to do with my own magic show. But I will definately be content to play communities in my area, or small communities, like in community theatres, small theatres, high schools, etc. It is often possible to rent these facilities and when you rent them, you have the run of the place for a day or two. And, as an added bonus, it is easier to fill a smaller theater and easier to advertise to a smaller community. If you do it right, the families will come out to see you because magic is so unusual! And, they will appreciate it greatly. --Jack jack-stephens.com |
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Chezaday Inner circle Naperville, IL 1673 Posts |
Randy .. thanks for the interest .. in fact it's not a bad idea. I've always been interested in getting a book on the market about illusions .. on the road would be a great chapter or two. Until then I do write about some of our adventures in the News section of my website. I'm not really a writer by trade ... but there's a ton of people out there that say it's a fun read. I'll add the book to my list of things to do .. it keeps on getting longer and longer.
Steve |
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Irish_matt Loyal user St.Louis, MO 204 Posts |
As a former touring rock musician I would say your idea of start touring around your local market is best to begin with. Road test your show without having to go too far and see if it works out for you. If you give yourself a good solid base.. it gives you somewhere to come back too. Getting local media attention is much easier than getting national press and media. Start small and build up.
Life on the road can be pretty tough.. the longest straight tour I did was about 5 months and believe me.. it gets old very quickly. The 4 day trips that Steve does would be a very good way to get it going without breaking the bank. Matt |
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David Goldrake Loyal user Las Vegas 226 Posts |
Dear Brandon,
You may also want to have a (close) look at this book: "How to be your own booking agent" by Jeri Goldstein I read it some years ago and at the time I thought it was very isightful. It ended up being really helpful. It may do the same for you. Regards, D |
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Pete Biro 1933 - 2018 18558 Posts |
Years ago I toured with a show (as an assistant) but never any jump over one day's drive.
Check what Kramien has written for the real work. Peter Raveen wanted to tour a big show ... he was able to make a HUGE amount of money doing a hypnotic show... he'd then invest it all in an illusion show and lose it all... then back to the hyp show!
STAY TOONED... @ www.pete-biro.com
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brandonford1982 Veteran user 304 Posts |
Hi everyone! Thanks again for all the useful information. After CAREFUL considerastion I have decided the best way for me to "tour" would be through using my show as a fundraising program. I have purchased John Kaplan's Course about 7 months ago shortly after this thread began. Since then I have invested time in learning the program and re working it to fit my needs. We are almost complete with that. Whats left is the promotion materials. We started marketing the program to shcools is 4 counties surrounding me. We are starting with elementary schools and are adding middle schools as we speak. Are tour shoudl be set for this spring. So I just wanted to drop everyone a line and let them know where the plan stood. I NEVER knew how hard and time consuming just to get the "tour" off the ground would be. Thanks again for all of the advice and I will keep everyone posted.
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Jim Snack Inner circle 1338 Posts |
Brandon,
This has been an informative thread and it sounds like you are a little more grounded in your plan. To answer one of your initial questions, my Success in Magic course, while it does have a section on working theaters and another on promotion and publicity, is probably not what you are looking for. John Kaplan's program sounds like a better fit. The Success in Magic course is more about building your business in a regional market. Specifically, what you need to do to get a full-time business going, mainly with a "club act." I don't recommend that anyone start out trying to market an illusion show with assistants. To make a bigger show work, you will have to travel a more and cover a bigger "nut." Even with a bigger show, you will find that you will work more and probably take home more money with a good commercial one person club act that can play just about anywhere. But if a big show is your dream, go for it. Just remember, you will need a number of solo routines to fill out the show, so keep working on that "club act." Break a thread. Jim |
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brandonford1982 Veteran user 304 Posts |
Jim Thanks for bringing that up. I forgot to mention that I designed 2 different shows for this project. One is a "club act" with a few illusions in the show.I found illusions that would require very little assistance but one would make the illusion bigger. TYhey were also illuisons that someone could help but not necessiarly know the secret. Some will know but some won't. That way I can still do illusions and use just a couple of teachers or Group members. I spen about 30 minutes during the day of the show showing them what they need to do. Example. "Hold the tip over trunk and spin it around with me, etc" Tere are only 3 illusions in that show and the rest is my solo act.
Then I have my Full scale Show that does cost more and it has more illusions in it but again they are illusions that are easy for assisants to help in. In those shows I will bring in a few trained friends to help. All in all I think I have a good product to sell and I don't think there are too many magi's in Florida doing the type of show I am...... |
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