We haven't played in the deep end of the pool for awhile so I thought I'd thrown you all in (well, except for that whole actor debacle but I'm trying to forget that ).

Please focus your responses beyond technical mastery of card and coin (because I still haven't got my pass down).

Okay Yak, I'm going to jump right in on this one, hopefully I won't cause too many waves.

When I do strolling close-up performances there is really only one thing that I'm thinking about. "Would these people pay to talk to me?" Not to see magic, but just talk. Essentially what I am saying to myself is, "Am I interesting?" I can't tell you how helpful this is in becoming a good performer - to me, "tricks" are so unimportant. I wish more people (not just magicians) would think about this.

I'm sure our members will have some interesting thoughts to follow this post and I look forward to discussing my viewpoint further. And making any necessary clarifications.

Yours very truly,

Eric

Given that you are competent in your close-up routine, Eric makes the #1 point on a list of what makes a good close-up worker. There is nothing more disturbing than to be sitting with friends at a table when a buffoon barges up to the table and says in an irritating tone of voice, "I'm going to show you some amazing magic." I want to say to him/her, "I want to show you the door."

The point I would like to put on the list is to dress and look like a person that you would pay to talk to,i.e., a professional. This does not mean you have to have wear a $200 suit. It means that you should be neatly dressed. Your clothes should be clean, pressed and not in disrepair. Your shoes should be polished, etc..

Another point. Your personal hygiene should be impeccable. Obviously, you should not smell like the local dumpster (Unfortunately, I have had close-up magicians perform, that should have not been close-up) You should be clean shaven, or if you have facial hair it should be trimmed and neat. Your hands and nails should be clean, since they are often focal points of your presentation. Brush your teeth and use mints, et. al., to keep your breathe fresh (there is nothing like a blast of bad breath to turn off a customer).

Some of you will say this is old fashioned stuff. You play for the "rave" and laid back types, etc. who do not care. So what! David Blaine played for some of these types of people, but you may have noticed that he did not emulate them in dress or hygiene. He just met the two rules I discussed.

I will end now, as there are many others out there who will want add to the list.

I agree with all the "mechanical" issues that Marelli has put forth (above), but there is another area of consideration that I think is equally important.

Motivational speaker Dennis Whatley, in paraphrasing Dale Carnegie, once said that your goal in interacting with others is to have them say to themselves: "I like talking to him, because when I talk to him, I feel good about myself." Whatley's ideas were framed within a discussion about general business and personal success, but the concept holds true for close-up performers - more than many of them know.

If you're going to succeed in that arena, you have to make your audience like you, and enjoy being with you - and the easiest way to do that is to make them feel good about themselves. It's all about SINCERETY; as Laurence Olivier (and others) said "...if you can fake that, the rest is easy". Volumes have been written on this subject, but a great place to start is still Carnegie's "How to Make Friends and Influence People."

Regards,
Thomas Wayne

To follow your tack Marelli, I've heard tell that magicians should not wear cologne. Is there some logic behind this or was someone just jerkin' my fast and loose chain?

I think the point on the cologne is that it can be overpowering and some folks may be allergic. Surely you've about passed out when some woman who poured half a bottle of perfume on herself walked by? Then there are the guys who shake your hand, and your hand smells of "English Leather" for a week! I use after shave (after I shave), but just a bit, and I always put it on with my LEFT hand.

Having said THAT...

If you have read any of my books or articles or been to one of my lectures, you know that I HATE bad magicians! Especially arrogant, bad-mannered, bad magicians. I will just quote from one of my Visions articles where I relate true stories about a couple of these guys in my area:

Bad Example #1:
He wears a Tuxedo in a restaurant where the clientele wear tee shirts, jeans and sandals! Right off the bat, he looks like a dork! Then he has a laminated "Magic Menu" safety-pinned to his lapel (with a list of what seems to be the only 10 effects he knows or will perform!). He walks up to a table and asks them to read the list and tell him what they'd like to see. Now this is bad enough, but I've actually seen the following scenario play itself out: Guest-"How about number two?" Bad Magician (a.k.a. B.M.--take either meaning!) "Oh, I'm sorry, but I don't have that set up to do for you at the moment. Please pick another." Guest- "Okaaaaaayyy, how 'bout number six?" B.M. "Well, I've already done that one ten times tonight, so pick something else." Guest--"Ok, how about zero, the one where you disappear?"

Bad Example #2
Even worse is the guy (B.M. #2) who doesn't have the sensitivity, sensibility or just plain sense to know when NOT to perform or approach a table! "Hey, did anyone lose a white knife?" he asks. The patrons, obviously disturbed by his intrusion say no and turn away. "Oh, well how about a black one?" The man at the table says, "Cute, but we're discussing our children's custody in our divorce right now, okay?" B.M.#2 "Hey, I understand! It takes two people to make a marriage work, just like it takes two knives for this trick, one black and one white..."

What makes a good close up magician? First and foremost, it takes a good PERSON! Someone who is performing for the love of magic and for the love of bringing a little fun and joy into the lives of people. NOT someone who is in it for his own ego gratification.

There is a well known "up and comer" in california whose lecture was highly recommended to me by someone. I happened to be at a convention where he was lecturing, so I grabbed a couple of my buddies and we went. About five minutes into his lecture, he said, "What I'm about to tell you is the most important thing you'll ever hear at a magic lecture." Well, I perked right up. What did this 20-something guy have to say that was so important? "When you do strolling or table-hopping magic, don't be 'squishy.' Don't walk up and say, 'Hi! How are you? What's your name?' Don't ask them if they want to see magic, and don't take no for an answer if they say they don't want to see anything right now. You need to understand that people are like little sick kids, and you're the parent with the medicine. They might not WANT the medicine, but they NEED it, and it's your job to cram it down their throats if you have to!"

Shocked and instantly angered I stood and said, "That is the single WORST advice on performing I have EVER heard in my life!" Then my two friends and I walked out.

What makes a good magician? Someone who understands the performance is about the AUDIENCE, not the PERFORMER!!!!!

Couldn't agree more, Scott.
It's hard to believe that there are performers out there who fit all three categories that you mentioned, but it's true!
I've seem similar or only slightly different performers and, in every case, they focus on themselves rather than the audience.
It doesn't matter how good an act they have; with that attitude, they're doomed from the start!
The best advice I ever heard, in essence, was that, the way to see if you were a hit with the audience, was:
If you weren't doing magic, would they still want to talk with you?
In other words, are you a likable enough performer that you can win an audience over on your own, without using a crutch, like magic?
Trouble is, the very performers who might benefit from this advice aren't reading it!
cheers,
Peter Marucci
showtimecol@aol.com

I think it has to be said that if you are a really nice person, have an engaging personality, easy to talk to and likeable, this does not make you a good close-up magician. You still need to be able to perform good magic. I agree with everyone that when you are entertaining people who do not know who you are or why you are interrupting their conversation, you have to be a likeable person. However, this makes you a nice person to talk to and not a good close-up magician. A juggler will not be judged on how funny he is but rather on how well he can juggle.

The strange things is the public think that Blaine is the greatest close-up magician in the world. I doubt whether they would want to pay to talk to him as a person though!

Having said that, my approach to groups is to let them know that they are going to have a really entertaining time. It may be 3 minutes before I actually get to a magical effect. I spend time finding out about the group; them finding out about me and building up a rapore with them.

I have a couple of mottos for performing close-up magic:

When you perform, always think you are the best magician in the world but know that you're not.

What you have to offer must be more interesting than what you interrupted.

Regards,

Jon

Sounds like everyone is in agreement on this one. Thanks for the replies.

Yes, must agree with all the comments made here on close up, but point out to Jon not all the lay public think Blaine is the greatest close up magician in the world. I recall reading a non magical magazine article in the U.S. a couple of years ago that pulled him apart!

And surely when the lay audience have seen you or I they think otherwise?

Usually the bad performers cannot talk about anything BUT magic. It is important to be able to have a decent, good mannered conversation with just about anyone.

Peter summed it up well though when he said about this thread;
Trouble is, the very performers who might benefit from this advice aren't reading it!

Its the same with books like Strong Magic and Find The Stuff That's You. For the most part, the people that could really benefit don't!

I was generalising about the amount of people who think Blaine is the best, but it's amazing how the effects seem to be bigger than him.

People do say things like, "You're the best magician I've ever seen." only to find out you are the *only* magician they have ever seen.

The funniest story regarding magicians and non-magicians relates to a party held by a good friend of mine and great magician. He had invited a umber of magicians and non-magicians to his house. We were sitting out in the garden and the non-magicians were all on one side and the magicians were on the other. My friend said to us, "Why don't you go over and talk to them?" to which someone replied, "We tried but they don't know who Vernon is!"

Jon

Yakandjak, you really like to stir up the cauldron don't you?

I'm in agreement with everyone here.

I'd like to include and/or repeat:

-The ability to read people well.
-Excellent social skills.
-Good manners.
-Proper grooming.
-Appropriate magic for the audience.
-Well rehearsed routines.
-Self confidence.
-Smiles everyone, smiles!

And here are a few extra waves for the pool...

I think the two most important things are originality in style and yes, personality, as Mr.Guinn pointed out so well.

My role model as far as those two things go is not even a magician; laugh if you want, but Garth Brooks would be a good showman for any magician to learn from, I think. He has a very original and unique brand of country music; you never hear him doing what is currently "in style". He also loves his fans to an incredible extent - how many entertainers would stand up for over 20 hours straight signing autographs and talking to people without stopping to eat or go to the bathroom? You can see his love of his audience in his concerts as well - often he'll get the audience to sing an entire chorus along with him; I've seen a few of his shows on TV where the audience was louder than he was!

It might seem like a stretch of the imagination to apply all this to closeup magic, but those two qualities certainly help - and I think they help more in face-to-face magic than they would in stage work, even.

Hey, I've been known to go 20 hours straight without stopping, but then, maybe it just seemed that way to my audience

Anyway, you have confirmed what I always suspected, 20 hours without going to the loo or eating? The guy must be a robot lol.

Blaine must have studied under Garth for his ice block ordeal! lol.

Paul.

quote:
I think the two most important things are originality in style

Hi,
whilst I think originality in style could be an asset. I would not by any means consider it an essential element for a close up performer. unless he was a magic comp performer. Most lay people have not seen enough close up magic to make such a distinction (in my opinion) as long as the performing style fits the performer and the performer is likable,competant and entertaining.
phillip

Who me? What'd I do now?

Hey Yakandjak,

I wonder how many detentions you got in school?

If possession is nine-tenths of the law, then I think you must be possessed!

I am not certified to remove asbestos. I do not have power of attorney over first graders. I will not barf unless I'm sick. I will not conduct my own fire drills. I will not dissect things unless instructed. I cannot absolve sins. I will stop talking about the twelve inch pianist. Goldfish don't bounce. Beans are neither fruit nor musical.

I think that was all of em. Nine or so. Or was that Bart Simpson. I still can't seperate fantasy from reality.

I'm reading all these suggestions about grooming, being a good entertainer, and being someone they'd pay to talk to. I mean those things are important, but certainly not the most important.

People have their friends to entertain them and make them smile. I think first and foremost you should knock people out with magic that seems to have no explanations. Sure there's a place for "the entertainer" but I don't like the idea of the magician being the guy who gets people smiling by pulling sponge bunnies out of their ears.

First and foremost knock em dead with killer effects. That's what they'll be talking about the next day. That's what separates magicians from everyday entertainers. David Blaine is case in point. I think that's the very reason a lot of performers don't like him. His showbiz is that there is no showbiz. To me, that's giving magicians a great name.

We're just normal Joes who can absolutely blow your mind and alter your sense of reality. Not a bad thing to be. Or pay money to see. Just my opinion.

Platt

I totally disagree. You can do the best magic in the world, but if you're boring, or even worse, an arrogant jerk while you do it, no one will care! They will hate you, they will hate magic, and by association every other magician in the world, not giving the ones who really get it a chance, or at least putting those performers at a true disadvantage.

All the greats in close up--Leipzig, Vernon, Jennings, Thompson, Skinner, etc--understood what Leipzig put so well: People don't mind being fooled if they like you; if they are being fooled by a gentleman!