Hello all,

I am thinking about performing for birthday parties or something. Maybe at bars for tips and at the renaissance fair as a paid guest (not sure I will get kicked out or not)

The questions are how many tricks should I perform?
How long should a performance last?
Is doing easy tricks that perform themselves a good idea?
About how much should I charge for a birthday party and such?
How do I go about advertising for Birthday parties and such?
At parties, can I show the same routine I did for one party at another different party?

Are there any other helpful things that you can give me?

Take care,

Brent

Brent,

The Magic Café is loaded with specific topics that deal with your questions. Learn to use the search function and you are on your way.

I'll start with the second question:

How long should a performance last? Think of it as a skirt on a pretty girl. It should be short enough to be interesting and long enough to cover the subject.

Good Luck!

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

WOW. I mean, WOOOW.
That was just the most clarifying answer ever.
I'm just astonished. And I'm not being sarcastic.
Cheers to you, Bob!

Kindly,

Pedro Haluch

I think you're first going to have to choose; birthday parties, bars and Renaissance Festivals all require a different set of effects. I think I would start with close-up as that is something that can be carried with you and you'll get a good reaction from one or two excellent routines.

Ok.
I'll give you a few short answers on that, so you don't have to look everything up in the Café.
How many tricks sohuld I perform?
It depends on the kind of presentation you are making. if you are working in restaurants, you will mostly be able to do only 3 or 4 tricks before the food arives or anything like it happends. In bars it's almost the same thing, but be prepaired to hear some drunk "More!" and do a whole routine for a bunch of guests. If in birthday parties the matter is actually the amount of time, and not the quantity of tricks, which brings us the next question;
How long should a performance last?
Well, as I said, number of tricks and performance time are related. I would say, again, that Bob's answer is by far the most clear one. So, I'd just add that, for parties, a 30 minutes routine would be nice, IF you are expected to do so. I'm usually hired to do some magic tricks in parties, but I don't have a time only for me; I go from desk to desk, group to group, almost as in a restaurant. You only want to do a 30 minutes presentation if you were said to: no one wants to lose 30 minutes of a party watching a guy that wasn't actually supposed to be there.
Is doing easy tricks that perform themselves a good idea?
If I got it correctly, you are asking about (almost) self-working tricks. About these, only a few words:the effect is in the spectators mind. Since they don't know if you are feeling all the labour pains so the trick works or if it works by itself, the presentation should be a prime point; if they believe that's an extremely hard trick, or, the actual goal, that it's real magic, then you are done.
About how much should I charge for a birthday party and such?
Tuff question. It depends on your show's quality, your previous jobs and such. There are tons of threads discussing this, it won't be hard to find.
How do I go about advertising for Birthday parties and such?
Picture this:
-So Tina... my kids birthday was great! You should have gone! I hired a magician, and the kids just loved it! I actually enjoyed it a lot too!
-Realy? A friend of mine is looking for something special to her daughter's birthday. Can you give me the magician's telephone?
You are set. Oh, and bussiness cards are also very useful. I always carry mine with me.
At parties, can I show the same routine I did for one party at another different party?
Well, I must admit I have 2 routines, and I alternate them. But the truth is: they are the same. I only change the storyboard. As I said, to the spectator 100% of the routine is the presentation. I change the order of the tricks, and the background story (also very interesting in themed parties), so that THEY don't notice that it's the same routine. But that's not a big deal. I've had people watching me 4 times and still coming after me to say "Congratulations on your work" and such.

I hope at least one line of all this was useful;

Kindly,

Pedro Haluch

I agree with Bob. You could put each of the original questions into the Search function and come up with a stunning amount of information on each.

I don't particularly have a problem with going over and over subjects. I have discovered that doing so many times draws out newer ideas and constructions that are helpful. But, the data base of the Café is a perfect place to check out subjects of interest and then focus your questions even further.

Best,

Thanks guys. I will ponder this all and search the forums for more answers and helpful stuff.

Brent

Don't forget your local library for books! You will learn more from books than you ever will from YouTube or by byuying what looks like a "killer trick" and doing the instructions.

Magic is like swimming - if you insist on learning by throwing yourself off into the deep end, don't expect to be pretty as you flounder! But if you take it slow and _learn_, then you can _build up_ a nice looking set of effects.

Ed