Well, after lurking on this board for a few months and of course practicing my butt off, I am finally going to perform at my companies Christmas party. There will be about 200 people sitting in groups of about 8 - 12 people. I plan to table hop.

Here is a list of routines I will perform, any feedback or recommendations from you guys would be welcomed:

- Audience Vision - From Jack Kent Tillar's "Trio"
- Remote Vision Cube - Tim Wisserman
- Par-Optic Vision - From Richard Osterlind's "Easy to Master Mental Miracles" Vol 3
- Fourth Dimentional Telepathy - From Richard Osterlind's "Easy to Master Mental Miracles" Vol 3
- Reflections - Outlaw Effects
- PK Touch - Lior Manor
- The Marble routine used with the CPII dress edition
- Wire Grams
- Spike

that's it, I will break this down into 2 or 3 routines for each table and then repeat. I have a ton more routines, but in order to get to each table, I have to keep each performance short and by only doing 2 to 3 routines, I should be able to accomplish that.

Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions, BTW the show is not till 12/14

The CiscoKid

You didn't say how long the party was going to be. That will be even at 12 per table is 16-17 tables, so at 8-12 you are looking at 16-25 tables. Three trick sets, especially mentalism, could easily take 15 min a table provided everything moves smoothly. That would be 4 hours for 16 tables and 6 hrs 15 min for 25 tables. You need to divide the actual time the party will go on (that is actual time you will be allowed to perform during the party) by the number of tables and see how much time that gives you and adjust your routines accordingly, even one or two effects including introduction time, getting the attention of the table, resets etc., can easily take 10 min per table. At 10 min a table you are at 2 and 2/3rd hours if you only have 16 tables. I think your plan is a bit ambitious as you have it laid out and you need to rethink it a bit.

Thanks Photius,

The party is 4 hours long, I guess my inexperience is showing, I never even thought of timing my routines. I will go back and time each one and adjust my plan.

Thanks,

The CiscoKid

Congratulations!

Working for four hours will take it out of. Wear shoes that are kind to you! Rehearse your stamina too! Your closer will need to be with the same enthusiasm as your opener.

Enjoy! We wish you success!

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Good luck!! I could se me doing this a few years down the road. But my job has 1000 employees!!! That'd be crazy!

Good luck Cisco,
Probably worth negotiating with the organisers if its ok to cover most rather than all tables. It is beneficial to you as a new performer to spend longer than 10 minutes at several tables where you are going down well and you are particularly enjoying it. It is also likely to happen anyway - and if you are to do any mentalism as Photius points out this will take quite some time. I would point out to the organisers that functions normally engage 1 magician per 100 people and so inevitably you can't reach everyone, even if you do 4 hours. BTW, I would worry how that 4 hours is going to pan out. Will a disco/band come on within that time span - I suspect it will be so(?) I'd caution you to consider a few possible difficulties. I negotiate to perform before any music starts and certainly before it gets loud and turned up. Performing close up magic to a loud foreground of lively music is, for me, a pretty awful prospect that I avoid at all costs. Indeed, I have turned down bookings where the music will be on loud whilst I am performing.
I can't comment on your material as I don't know any of them except for Wiregrams which I endorse as having a very good impact. However, I know that anything Osterlind puts out will be very good. A tip I would give is to play your first couple of tables differently to the rest - select material that you are the most confident with from your list. Open with an opener that you feel is sure fire rather than because it constitutes being a good opener. If it's good enough to be in your repertoire it's probably going to be ok as an opener. Getting off to a great, confident start will set you up for a good night.
Good luck!

You're getting good advice here, so I'll just wish you good luck. I know you will be the best magician they have seen that day, so go forward with confidence and have fun!

Congratulations! Take the plunge with confidence and excitement. Performing for those you know - I think is the hardest. You will rock!

Lots of things may happen during the 4 hour period. There will probably be many interruptions. People will be eating, being served, speeches may be made, awards or gifts given out, other entertainment (DJ?) and/or other things which also may be on the program. Be prepared to go with the flow. You don't have to do 15 minutes per table. See how it goes. Really, you are there to mingle, have fun, and be part of the ambiance. Enjoy yourself: you know these people. Have fun. If it is not fun for you, it won't be fun for your coworkers. Be careful to stop or otherwise adjust your volume when the boss is speaking or the organizers are trying to get everyone's attention. Try not to interrupt or prevent the food service personnel from doing their jobs. For years I entertained at my former company's Christmas party and got paid for being there! A great way to get to know the staff in an entirely different way. Good luck!

:magicrabbit:

Thanks all,

I am truly thankfull for all the support I am getting here and of couse the great advice.

We had thanksgiving dinner at our house this year and I performed for about an hour for about 20 people and all I can say is WOW, what a rush. I have been testing out my routines one at a time for friends, but never this many people and not a full routine.

It went perfect! Man, I had a ball. The look on their face was truly priceless.

It was a great confidence building experience. I can't wait to perform my first offical performance, although, I am not getting paid cash, my company is paying for all my props and supplies. CP11, Real Ghost, etc... ($$$) Yahoo!

Thank you Richard Osterlind for really inspiring me and thanks to all the contributors to this board, I try to ready every new post to add to my knowledge

The CiscoKid

Be careful with spike though.. I mean it!

the hellraiser quote is made for this routine:
"angels to some, demons to others"

CiscoKid,

I think that you will really enjoy this. It's also wonderful to get to perform some of the same tricks over and over with different responses each time. If your experience at the party is as good as your thanksgiving was - you'll want to check out table-hopping soon at a local restaurant....

Thanks guys,

MichielTummers, I started off using Scorpion from Outlaw and have upgraded to Spike a without any problems. BTW, that was my closing routine and it was great, I was breathing heavy like I was very nervous and kept biting my lip and suddenly without any indication I slammed the first cup so hard that the people in the front jumped out of their seats, one lady let out a little cry. It was very dramatic.

It is 110% safe!!!!

Thanks,

The CiscoKid

Question to Photius:
In your personal opinion, how long should a show be for a professional magician?
In a general sense. I'm not asking for myself, but in a general sense to those that are rather new.