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greens12382 New user ohio 3 Posts |
Hello everyone. I was just wondering, what effects people use for restaurant magic? Can you give me an idea of what I should learn to do to impress with the given amount of time? I'm going to be applying at some restaurants after the seasons. I just don't know what are good-walk around effects.
Thank you very much. |
Peter Marucci Inner circle 5389 Posts |
Once again, I'll mention this:
Greens, you appear to be going at this backwards. Have an act FIRST, then you can start thinking about a job at a restaurant. Doing table-hopping is a tough row to hoe; you'll eat up material faster doing that than anything else in magic. So you had better have a couple of hours worth of material that you can do PERFECTLY. Granted, you'll only use a couple of effects at a time but if this is on a regular basis, those "hours" will vanish pretty quickly. You'll also face every possible situation: drunks, bad angles, cranky kids, you name it and it will happen (and some things that you can't even think of). So you'll have to be able to think instantly on your feet and adjust accordingly. The most important thing a restaurant performer does is make the customers like the restaurant; then he makes them like him; then he makes them want to come back; and so on. About two feet down the list comes the actual magic! (There will now be a pause so all those who do exactly the opposite of what I mentioned can point out how successful they are.) |
RandomEffects Veteran user Boston, MA 323 Posts |
I do the exact opposite of Peter!
Sorry, peter I could not resist. Actually, Peter makes some very valid points. But it seems like you are also looking for which tricks to do. Those are really up to you but keep in mind the most important thing for any trick- INSTANT OR NO RESET TIME. this is so important and it's often something that you will realize after you ignore it. First by having an instant reset you allow yourself the ability to instantly walk up to the next table, hopefully your act will already have piqued their attention, and your job is half done. Walk away and you have to work to get it back at every table. Ray, earlier used a trick that involves flash paper at the end of it, I am not giving away anyones routine, but as he says "it grabs the next table attention and he slides over to it. I have seen him in action at CEMK and it works. Secondly this is a job! The manager has hired you for so many hours to perform, not to run back to the closet after every table. Everyone needs breaks during a performance, but every seven minutes is excessive. Trust me I lost my first job working in a restaurant because of this, and that first job is so hard to get, so don't risk yours. At some point we might even get around to which tricks to perform, Mat P.S. Someone else can go over the three sets of five rule my fingers hurt. |
jondabach New user 46 Posts |
To answer it simply - I do lots of card tricks with no set-up: ambitious card, card to wallet, some Paul Gertner stuff. I also do crazy man's handcuffs, and occasionally I'll make up a routine when I get bored.
Oh, one more thing - tricks with rings like ring and string (the ones that rely on sleight and not gimmicks because those tend to break) are good. In the same mentality, I would stay away from anything expensive like a trick deck or a collector's workshop thing because people grab stuff with their greasy hands all the time and it really doesn't allow you to use most of this stuff again. And do a trick or two with a dollar bill - pen through bill, misled, a bill flight into something, bill switch - something to get the money out of their wallets. It will help you with tips if you're looking for them. |
NYKnicks5 New user 72 Posts |
Very nice idea about getting money out of their pocket, Jonabach. Although I do not have a restaurant job, I always carry a couple of rubber bands for Crazy Man's Handcuffs, a pen-thru, and a pack of cards. Learn as many effects as you can that require little or no prep with a pack of cards (by little I mean a card reversed on the bottom or something). Focus on tricks that involve the spectators as much as possible, whether it is borrowing an object or performing magic in their hands.
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Chris Gold New user 83 Posts |
This topic is two years old...
Chris Gold
TS Entertainment INC Hollywood, CA |
KirkG Inner circle 1391 Posts |
Stop thinking that working a restaurant is the beginning rung on the performance ladder. This is where you go when you have the chops and tricks down and some people skills. Restaurant work is just to advertise you to other paid jobs, so don't put out bad advertising.
Kirk G |
Adammcd Regular user Greensburg PA 132 Posts |
Quote:
On 2004-02-17 19:02, Chris Gold wrote: Yet still relevant.... Peter mentioned 2 hr.s of material. How much of that would you say is normal nonrepeat for customers material? Does this 2 hr.s include special material for repeat customers? I have a good 2 1/2-3 hr.s of stuff but it isn't all functional at one time...That's a lot of pocket space...
The last thing you ever expected, should have been the first.
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