Maybe it's just something I'm reading in to the problem without basis, but whenever this has happened to me I look back on it and say "these people attending the event were probably expecting little more than a party, and wished I would shut up and let them get on with their partying." And I can't see a solution to that.

The problem with corporate shows (at least the handful I've done) is that you are regarded as one of "the help" by the event planners/organizers. This is telegraphed to the rest of the audience. This is why I prefer doing theater shows.

The only way in a corporate setting to end this once and for all is to make sure your contract gives you 100% control over the venue - lights, music, etc. And you must insist on a stage with a procenium and curtain. THen and only then can you take full control of your show and also the audience. Of course, this is probably most coporate gigs can not give you. Hence, why I don't do them...

I get the same feeling and I agree there is little to do while on the stage.

If this IS the case it is an important lesson in managing an audience and client's expectations. They should KNOW you are coming!

It usually doesn’t happen too often in Corp shows, I can only think of a few times it has for me. Public shows, like fairs or malls, are different. But sometimes, the late night and spirits get to a corporate crowd before you can.

I find it a BIG help to have the CEO/Manager/Boss do my introduction.
Everyone shuts up when the boss talks.

I also send a “Helpful Hints” page that includes;
“We want everyone to enjoy the show. However, should anyone become overly loud or disruptive, please have management ask the offending person to stop the disruptive behavior, or at last resort, remove them.”

Other hints that help are to tell the wait staff not to clear dishes during the show, and to turn off any background music that may have been playing during dinner. I also suggest that they schedule the start time of the show to just after desert has been served.


On two different occasions, separated by several years, I’ve had shows where it was the boss and his buddies who were making all the noise in the back by the open bar. If all else fails, just play to the people who are watching. They’ll usually sympathize with your predicament.

A younger, but very good, magician in my area performed
at a corporate holiday party last weekend.

He’s usually a fine performer, but the dinner ran late,
there was tension in the air, and he went on over an hour after his scheduled show time.

After I heard from him:
“The client did this”
“The restaurant did that”
“The audience did this”
“The hotel manager did that”
“The waiters did this”
“The spectator’s did that”
All the reasons it was not a successful evening.

I did not buy any of what he said, accusing and blaming everyone.
For each excuse he gave I countered with a:
“Couldn’t you have done this-or-that instead?”

At the end of an hour, the younger magician admitted,
he’d put HIMSELF in a victim role, and then played it well all night.

He had not taken charge of his show or the event,
and had let circumstances rule the evening.

If, as a professional, we don’t take 100% responsibility for our gig,
then we can’t begin to FIX what went wrong and address those issues,
so they will never, ever, get over on us and happen again.

Yes, we’ve all had ‘off’ nights,
and accidents can and do happen.

But if we look squarely at what we can do to find solutions,
we become stronger and stronger as entertainers
and as business people.

My thoughts,
Walt

Nicely said Walt...I agree, an entertainer should have a basic knowledge of audience/stage management.
I performed a little over 1250 shows over the last 6 years...and I can't remember the last time I had this problem. I guess I have had a run of good luck...
James

Wow, what terrific thread. I am in total agreement with Nicholas and Walt. The stuff that guarantees success! It is up to me to take responsibility and control of the situation.

One thing that I would add to the great counseling here is to contact the facility a week or so prior to the gig. Find out the layout of the room, what their sound system can do or not do. What they will supply for a platform and drapes. Are there speakers in the back of the room? Can they be controlled? Can I be seen in the back and to the sides? Is there adequate lighting?

I always take the time to visit the facility either days before the event or I at least arrive 2-4 hours before the show to make certain that I have solved all problems. If the project requires me to fly I always fly in at least a day or two early. And I have NEVER had a client say no to the added cost of travel when they understand that I want to be there to make certain that their event is a success.

There was this one time in the late seventies when my new client, Owens-Corning Fiberglas engaged me to perform at a special dinner for about group of their largest distributors.

I knew that I was in trouble when every time I spoke there was a sound of people talking all around the room. I must admit it took me a couple of moments to catch on.

No one mentioned that the Distributors were from other countries, most from Japan and many of them had interpreters repeating my words.

I simply slowed down a little and allowed the interpretation to happen.

I just did 2 shows this weekend. The 1st party planner didn't know what he wanted. Entertainment. . . He wanted me to entertain while people ate. I have a lot of audience participations effects. It didn't work. It interrupted the dinner and I didn't get quality help. The second night the planner wanted the same thing. I sold him on doing tableside walk around instead of a stage show. He didn't know the difference. It went splendidly. We all had fun. Those who wanted to talk could, while other tables who wanted a magic got a show. The audience was pleased and I received $150.00 tip.
Unless the audience KNOWS they are an audience they won't act like one and you will be a distraction or someone to be endured.
I played in a band and thought the dynamics would be the same as in magic. ABSOLUTELY NOT! A band is just Muzak. Backround noise. Many people treat a magic show the same as a band playing. . . in the backround. They don't know they need to give full attention to the performer. If you can't hold an audience it's going to be a long night. I just realized I'm not a very good STAGE performer, but I'm a good Close-up man. From now on I'm selling close-up & walkaround to the would be planners.
-Gary

Gary,

The first shows failure is all your fault. You should have know never, ever, ever do a show while people are eating. That's is fundamental and taught in every performance magic book and I'm sure it's written somewhere on The Café.

The reason is because people want to eat and enjoy the company of others, not see some guy struggle through a stage show which he has no experience doing (as you said).

Just because a planner doesn't know what they want doesn't mean you should sell them on anything just to sell them. Because if they say, "Ok that sounds good, I'll book you," and you deliver a bad performance as you did in the first show you'll never see that client again and it'll be a blow to a "performance roll" you could be on.

Now after the second show you know you like walk around more, make that your niche. Instead of being the kind of magician who offers a stage show, close-up, walk around, kid show, etc. just offer walk around.

That will set you apart as an EXPERT in walk around magic as opposed to all the other "jack of all trades."

Josh London

I have only had a few situations were this is a problem, at one the senior partner of the law firm got up to talk first and they didn't listen to him either. In this case and were I have had a problem with talkers is that a number of people were standing up-so I make a point to the person in charge that the first thing to do is to get everyone seated.

That said I agree that as a performer you need to take charge and responsibility for getting things done right, but also agree there are some situations that you just need to grit your teeth and get through.

I had an epiphany about this a number of years ago. The first night I had a large group that looked to be perfect and the show went OK but I felt the response should have been better. The next night for a different group I arrived and it was a small audience of lawyers all dressed in identical power suits and when I walked in you could feel the tension and stiffness in the room. When I was introduced no one applauded. But the ice broke and I got a standing ovation.

Now here is the point-did I get better overnight? Mo! it was the same me and the same show but the audience was different. So always remember that a show is a collective activity among the audience and the performer, so don't think that when you have a great show its because you're great or that when it not so good it is always because you are not so great.

Gil Scott

To assume that there is a solution to every problem is just plain crazy. Sometimes the bear eats you, and to be a Monday morning, arm chair quarterback is just too much baloney for a seasoned performer to swallow. As I said before, you go with the flow, and knockem dead at the next show.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Al

As some of the guys said before, it is very important to be in a total control of your show as well as of the venue you are performing at. I do all sorts of shows, but mostly illusion shows and stage/cabaret shows in all sorts of venues. I had audiences as large as 4 500 people and I always make sure that the total control over the show and the venue is in my hands.

As for the control of the show, it is very important to have a show that will keep your spectators' attention 100 percent of the time. Of course, you and your show need to be good enough to keep your audiences' attention within a certain time frame, but as most of you are experienced performers, there's no need to underline that. In creating a show, being a good magician is just not enough. You need to know how to compose a show out of different elements - routines, how to bring their attention to the culmination with a great spectacular effect and how to relax them with a lighter routine when they are just about to have too much of excitement and when they are completely mesmerized, so that you can kick them off with another spectacular finale or so... The show dynamics is something that needs to be planned well and applied in your show whether it's a close up, stand up, kidshow, cabaret show, stage show or an illusion extravaganza. I was very lucky as I have worked a lot with top pros in the area of having my show look right - theatrical directors, producers, choreographers, consultants on acting, etc. But you don't have to hire the complete production team in order to plan your show. You can explore and read books or watch DVDs on this topic as there are many. The most valuable of all that I would like to recommend to everyone is a good old "Magic and Showmanship" by Henning Nelms.

Once you are sure that your show is good and you are about to get a new gig either through your agent or by the client directly, you should move to the next component - organizing the show. Your show is an event and you need to have it organized properly to get the best out of it. Every time I'm asked to perform, I do a very detailed research. Many magicians just take the gig and go to the venue without any idea what awaits them once they arrive. And here comes the big and very important factor - not every show is suitable for every venue. Actually you can do almost every show in every kind of venue but a lot of times either the show or the venue (and most commonly both) will have to undergo some minor or major adaptations. It is of a vital importance that these adaptations are done on time (some period of time ahead) and not just moments before your performance is about to begin.

When I'm about to perform the show, I have my usual questions to the agent or client that I will perform for. I always ask them to give me detailed answers to every question. I will gladly share my list of questions with you now. It has helped me a lot and I'm sure it will help you. If the clients are ignorant to my emails or phone conversations with questions or give me just a short reply, I start bothering them with questions and they can even start hating me, I don't care. But I'm sure they will love me after my show! Rather that then having them love me before the show and hate me afterwards!!! I need to get to know what kind of venue it is, the exact size of the audience, the audience seating (straight in front of me in rows, in a semicircle, full circle around me, theatrical seating, cabaret seating with tables, standing cocktail style, etc.), audience demographic (who will be my audience - family audience, kids, adults, men only, women only, senior citizens, businessmen, VIPs, rich'n'famous, the disabled, etc.). This is so that I know whether the show they have asked me to perform suits the type of the venue I'm booked to perform at (sometimes they have crazy ideas - they want to have a levitation in the show and there are people seated behind me, or they want me to perform big illusion show for a group of 4 years olds without any adults present in the room cause mom and dad want to show how rich they are, or I'm asked to "please do just some small stuff" in a convention center with 1 500 audience members). This way I can suggest them that what they wanted is not the right choice for their venue and I immediately suggest them the right type of show (I have many different types of shows) or in some cases I get to know what awaits me so that I can do some minor adaptations of the show itself. To give you an example, here's my negotiation with the Arab Sheikh who invited me to do a private illusion show in Qatar for his son's birthday "Ok Sir, you want me to do a 1 hour 20 minutes illusion show for your son's 4th birthday in your grand ballroom... May I suggest several nice routines for kids in between the illusions, only then the show will be a total success. And it would be pity not to have all your friends - the parents of the other kids be there during the show, the show is truly spectacular and your friends will talk about it a long time after that. Oh, and I suggest a 45 minute show - no shows for kids are longer than that as the kids can't keep their attention longer than that. It will be cheaper than the 80 minute show you wanted and it will still be truly spectacular!!! And please hire the nicest stage with curtains and lights as per my technical rider that I will send you - this type of show has to be done on a raised stage so that it leaves a maximum impact on the audience". This time I got all that I wanted for my show and it was a huge success, but even if he couldn't have fulfilled my requests, I already had several different versions of the show and several solutions in my mind so that it could even be performed in the circumstances given.

As my show is mainly stage work, I make sure to get the detailed stage floorplans the way they have planned it, floorplans of the backstage area, photos of the venue and the stage, I make sure whether there will be a raised stage, PA, etc. For smaller shows, you can simply go to the venue and check it out (in many cases this is not possible for me to do as I tour all over the world and the venue is usually in another country), but whenever I can I go to the venue and check it out. If the seating, the shape or size of the stage or so is not right or if the sightlines are not the best ones in some parts, I do a lot of planning discussing and applying different solutions regarding these issues (I have the seating rearranged, I ask them to add some curtains or proscenium to the stage, rearrange the lights, replace an illusion or a routine that can't be done on that stage, etc). All this is really a lot of work but I always make sure that everything is 100% oriented in such way that the show looks well in that venue and that they enjoy every second of it.

I also do the additional research on the venue on the internet, by reading about it, looking at the photos of it, asking friends who have been there either as performers or the audience, etc.

Then I make sure to have a technical rehearsal - sound and lights so that the show runs absolutely smoothly with the maximum impact to the audience.

Now it sounds as if this should be done with illusion shows only.... Absolutely not! I do this kind of a research even when I'm booked to perform a stand up show in a small club or close up. It is a time consuming hand hard process to have everything negotiated to the tiniest detail, but it's worth it, believe me. Soon people will hear how good your shows are and you will be able to charge much bigger bucks with the same show and a little bit of organization.

This way you will get the maximum out of your show, and you can be sure that it will occupy your audience's attention.

If it is a venue or an occasion which is not strictly show oriented and where my show is just a part of the overall concept (big corporate dinners, etc), I know that there will be a great chance of having some people in the audience who actually don't want to see the show and these individuals are most dangerous. I then make sure that there will be someone to warn them if they talk (staff, waiters, security guards or so) or move them if necessary (to the other room or to actually kick them out if they get over the edge). Even though I'm aware of this fact, this rarely happens - even the biggest magic haters start loving my show as the show itself is having this in mind. I have even performed a full scale 1 hour show to the audience standing cocktail style and not only that all 700 people watched the show, not only that they didn't talk, but they hardly moved at all!

Of course, you should always plan the timing of your show in such way that the audience does not get drunk prior to the show. Performing for a drunk audience is the worst nightmare a magician can have. So if in your research you get to know that a certain venue is a place where there are lots of drunk people either do your best to have your show as early as possible or refuse the gig completely. In corporate functions or similar occasions make sure that you perform early and do not compromise the time of the beginning of your show.

Planning and proper organization in cooperation with your client can keep you quite safe from a lot of possible trouble with audience. Here are some bits of business that keep the audience quiet:

1) If you are doing a stage show or a cabaret show, and if you have parts that are performed silently to music, make sure that your music is loud enough so that it is not possible to talk easily.

2) In parts of your show where you have a spoken patter, have some quiet music (suitable for the routine that you are performing) running in the background, it gives an atmosphere to the routine and it gives a completely different feeling and impression from what the same routine would look like performed to patter only. Try it and you'll be surprised (just make sure that it is instrumental music and something that absolutely fits the theme of the routine and the patter as well as your rhythm of speaking).

3) If you speak during your show (this applies for stage shows, cabaret shows and even stand up shows), use mic even in venues that are not very big. Even if you have studied acting and how to project the voice, nothing can compare to the mic. You can be 100 percent sure that everyone will hear you and you'll save your throat a trouble. Did you know that the most common reason for having a talkative audience is the fact that they can't hear what the performer is saying. A routine with a spoken patter is accompanied with this patter and unless it is a highly visual routine, it can be boring or difficult to understand. And if they see something they don't understand and they don't hear you talking , they will find it more interesting to talk to each other. I use my wireless headset 90% of the time. I even use it in very small venues - I was booked to do a close up show in a very tiny bar with 4 tables and a crowd of some 20 people and I had the receiver attached to the small audio system they had in that bar. And although it was a bar - a place where people usually talk a lot, no one said a word during 40 minutes of my close up show.

3) Hecklers - there are many different ways to deal with hecklers, the books have been written on this issue, so I won't discuss it here... The most important thing is - learn more than one way to deal with them (never in an impolite manner) and use your creativity!

4) A million dollar advice!!! Ok, I'll share this with you you'll love it. It does happen to every single magician that the audience is sometimes not focused on the show and that they start talking... Here's a little trick... I have learned it from a 75 year old professional magician (one of my mentors) who is a very very experienced performer and who did a nightclub circuit throughout the world for more than 50 years. It's amazing!!! Ok, so let's imagine you are performing a routine with a spoken patter in stage/cabaret. You have performed this routine hundreds of times, it is audience tested, the audience loves it, etc. But as it sometimes happens the night is bad, the venue is full of idiots who just can't stop murmuring or even talking loudly as if you were not there. You stand there on stage and you perform your routine and talk, and the audience talks too. What do you do? Simply start lowering your voice little by little over a couple of seconds until you almost reach a level of speech where you just move your lips as if you were lip syncing and there's no voice coming out of your mouth. Do not emphasize this fact nor should you make any find of your voiceless speech, just pretend as if everything is perfectly normal and perform your routine normally as if you were really speaking. Although you are doing this on purpose, the audience will perceive it in a completely different way. They won't be aware of the fact that you did it on purpose - they will become aware of the fact that they are too loud. They will think that you are still speaking in the same level of tone and that they are so loud that they can't even hear you. A lot of audience members will become quiet at this point and they will even start hushing the audience members who still talk. Within 10 seconds you will get a totally quiet room and of course as they are shutting up, you gradually normalize the level of your speech. Just continue the routine, do not repeat the parts that you said while "lip syncing", just pretend as if nothing happened. It is amazing and it works every time!!! Many performers intentionally or unintentionally start raising their voice when they have a talkative audience and this has absolutely no effect, they will gradually become louder too. But with the "lip syncing method" they'll get quiet every time. And it works with every kind of audience group (i think the drunk audience is the only exception here as nothing can bring them back to normal). I know lots of local magicians who perform for different age or social groups follow the advice of my mentor and it works well with 5 year olds as well as with adults, with college students as well as with rich snobs and VIPs. Try it and you'll be surprised!!!!

I hope my advice will be of some help to everyone!!!

Merry Xmas!!!

Consider the last two posts. One just assumes, without any real information on what happened at this event, that it is all too hard and there is nothing to be done.

The other offers TONS of useful advice.

I don't mind giving up, but only when I have tried everything else!

I have met Diamond before when he was working in Taiwan at the "Around the World" entertainment resort. His stage show was very nice. You can see many of the shots on his website that were taken at the resort in Taiwan.

All the best,

JoJo

Great advice above from Diamond

I only work corporate & cabaret & even tough league sports clubs, having a good show helps as well

I guess I have been lucky in 20 yrs I have never had a show lose control but have come close a few times & usually these are the cheaper paying gigs & probably an hr later than you were scheduled to perform & the alcohol flows faster etc...

Pre planning is the key, visting venues , speaking to people in charge at the venue & company involved & experience on the night for problems, having an allotted time, stick to it if possible,liase with the maitre d at restaurants etc, have the seating facing you-close the bar during the show etc, as well as phones off & gambling machines not used!! to go on before dessert but after dinner & before the partying starts etc

If the audience is loud my music is louder, they cant help but focus on the show- if I have to drop talking routines I will, good comedy with well known people in the company not necessary the boss etc always works well!

As a close-up performer, I walk in with a bit of an ego. My attitude is that I'm a Star and an act that is not to be missed. If you are going to be rude and heckle me, I'm going to thank you for your time and walk away. I've got other people that DO want to see my act, so I move on to them. Other times, instead of moving on, I'll specifically turn my back to the person so they can't see and continue performing for the group. They'll get the picture and you get to continue your show.

In some situations, I usually don't even finish the routine. I've got better things to do than to take any crap from an egocentric (or possibly drunk) spectator.

I must say that these tactics usually only work because of the close quarters and that close-up magic is very personal. Additionally, I can find other people to work for in a huge crowd, so the client is never upset that you walked away from a performance.

QUESTION: What do you guys do when it is the CEO/President/High-Up Exec (who may not have necessarily been the one to directly hire you for the event) that is being rude?

Harrey Hay

Hay Harrey
Welcome to the magic Café. I like your style, and I would hesitate to tell other magicians just how cocky I really am at a party, but it is good to hear that I am not alone. My experience with rude people is that it is never the higher ups but the lower ups that have to show off, that being said when a man is rude to me I go for his wife and after I put a smile on her face she will bluntly tell her husband to shut up.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Al

Great post Diamond, but next time don't hold back! (kidding!)
He's one of the reason I just love the Café', lots of good
information and advice.

I work nightly in a dinner theater and we've had our share of
audiences that talk. I've found for the most part it's because
of their percieve value of the show. They have either gotten in
with a discount (a friend or reduced show price in our slow times)
or they're part of a group, so the company has paid for their
ticket.

Because of all of this their perception of the show is lessened, it
didn't cost them that much, or anything at all! So why should they
pay attention!

I have also found over the years that the more I get paid for a show
the better they treat me and the better the audience is! Again
it all comes down to their perceive value.

Another technique I'll use to make sure they're "with me" in the show,
is to use the CEO or some "big-wig" on stage. If the boss is up there
you know they're going to be paying attention, if only to see if you're
going to make them look like an idiot! (by the way don't do that, you
might not get paid!)


When all is said and done, sometimes the only thing you can do is grin
and bare it, pack up, go home and cash your check! After all it could
be worse, you could be flipping burgers for 40 hours a week just to make
a tenth of what you just got paid!

Thanks for your great words about my Taiwan show JoJo!!! Are you the juggler from Australia who used to live in Kaoshiung with family? I remember you and I hope you are doing well (and I hope to meet you some day in some nice and exotic part of the world!!!). My show has grown a lot (I'm performing a lot of illusions and big stuff nowadays) since then but I still remember those days in the Around The World park... You can see some parts of my new shows at: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=MagicOfGeorgeDiamond . Please send me a PM, I'd love to keep in touch with you.

Speaking of weird things going on with audience or with the venue, talking is just one tiny little bit that can go wrong. And there are many other factors, some of which can not be under performers' control that can stir or even upset the audience. Here are just a few examples of what happened to some colleagues of mine and to myself:

a) Audience member rocks on a chair during the show in a cabaret setting on a cruise ship, the ship makes a very sharp turn, the chair breaks the poor guys falls down and breaks his arm. Also everything on stage starts moving as well (due to the rocking of the ship and majority of the props and tables being on casters some on stage and some in the wings).

b) A friend of mine used to perform in a small dinner theatre. The place was tiny, but nice, but the architect who designed the place has put the kitchen very close to the stage and the kitchen is separated from the showlounge only by a bar. The poor guy used to perform a great show, and no matter how loud his music was, the sound that dominated was the sound of cooks tenderizing the meat my banging on it as hard as they could (it was a sort of a steakhouse, so they did it all the time).

c) Audience on cruise ships. You can't imagine what these people are capable of sometimes. Talking is the least they can do to spoil your show, Actually most of the times the audience is nice, but still sometimes we get some wicked dinosaurs there. They sometimes assume that if they have paid for the cruise, they can do whatever they want to. The best cure for that kind of audience is to have as much as possible hilarious comedy elements in the show and that should keep them quiet.

d) Performing a show for senior citizens. At times they think they are whispering to each other and they are actually talking in the loudest tone possible. Fortunately the other audience members never get to hear them, but I do and it does tend to deconcentrate me a lot.

e) Mobile phones and the audience members who tend not to turn them off (accidentally or on purpose).

f) Repairman working in the room next to a showroom in a big resort (they are setting up the sets for some corporate celebration or so).

g) The worst nightmare of all (and it can really start rumors and lots of whispering in the audience) - the sound technician plays the wrong music at a certain cue.

I hope you guys have some creative solutions for these or similar moments!!!

I really cant improve on the advice that Diamond gave, but something I read a while back stuck in my craw.

Having been on both sides of this one, as both a performer and a producer, I can't help but reply to the person who said clients sometimes treat you as "hired help" I'd like to say that no performer working in a corporate or meeting environment-no matter how good they are-should ever forget that that's exactly what they are: hired help.

They're not paying you because you're so good, so entertaining, so clever or so humorous. They're paying you because they have a job to do, and they think (or thought) that you could help do it better.

There have been times when I've seen performers belittle or get nasty with an audience when things weren't going right.

I have to admit I've seen, and been involved in, some real disasters. One client once booked Rodney Dangerfield, and then put him in a big concrete room with the worst acoustics in the world. The reverb was so bad no one could understand a word he said. Literally.

That night, he really didn't get no respect.

But he gave his show anyway.

Another time we were doing a show in the ballroom of the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego right by the naval base. Everything went great in tech rehearsal, but come show time, the wireless microphones picked up the radar from an aircraft carrier parked just outside the ballroom windows, and about every 45 seconds, all you heard was a "whoop" sound as the radar went around.

After we got the whole audience to yell at the aircraft carrier, in unison, to "Please go away!" , and they still didn't move, the show went on anyway.

That's what being a professional is all about: not letting your ego get in the way of doing the best job you can, no matter the circumstances, for the people who hired you.

That doesn't mean you have to be meek, humble, or apologetic. Take pride in your work, in yourself, and in your performance, and don't tel |the audience how good you are... show them! But do it by being professional, not confrontational!

Remember, it's a very short trip from unprofessional to unemployed.

Willy