On Mar 2, 2016, Bill Hegbli wrote:
I watched the 1st 7 minutes. I don't know what you were doing, but you must learn how to present yourself in front of a group.

You were dancing all over the place. So you were making your audience bob and weave their heads. Stand still and speak clearly, you like to talk fast at times, keep an even tempo to your speech. There are exceptions to this of course.

Know what you are going say, write a script and memorize it.

You let the audience start interacting, because you were not saying or doing anything. This is called, dead time. You must keep control. They will not start talking at you, if you know where you are going and what you will do next.

Face the audience all the time, center stage. Don't rock to and fro. Place the volunteer to your right or left of you, they can be further back or forward depending on the routine. You constantly play and address the audience. Look at the spectator, but then turn and speak to the audience, so they will hear you.

Have your props next to you, so you don't have to run all over the stage to go get them. You may need a small table, with your props just off stage center. If you do have to move to get a prop, return to center stage, then speak to the audience. Remember, the audience is watching every move you make, because they don't want to miss anything you may do.

Never ever hush the audience, sheeeee.

That seven minutes, should have only taken you 3 or 4 minutes if you practice the things I have mentioned.

Keep working on it, and you will improve your presentation skills.

Watched the rest, as the guy said, I have no idea what you were doing.

You really have to practice your tricks. Even putting things in envelopes should be done confidently. I have not idea what the effect was, as you did not tell the audience what you were doing, or what was you were going to do.

On Mar 2, 2016, Bill Hegbli wrote:
Thank you for your reply, but didn't I see you put your finger over your mouth a couple times in the video.

Another piece of advice, dropped pants is seen on the street, but on stage, it is not acceptable. Notice when you turn your back to the audience, which you should never do, by the way, did you think your pants looked appealing in dress edict. The rule of thumb for performers is that you should be better dressed then you attending audience so you stand out, so everyone can tell who the central personality is.

On Mar 3, 2016, Bill Hegbli wrote:
I suggest you read Henning Helms Showmanship for magicians, and Maximum Entertainment by Ken Weber. You can get them from Penguin Magic.

On Mar 20, 2016, Mindpro wrote:
Well, first congrats on your second show.

I watched most of it as well (not at one time though). I understand you are newer at this but one can not accept that as an excuse for anything. Audiences still have expectations and subconscious means of what and how they act, respond and accept of a performance.

The first thing that I noticed immediately within seconds was all of the "ums" and lack of setup. Even after your opening remarks the audience had no idea what it was about and very little about you. You can't rely on "I knew most of them" as that will not help you progress at all. In fact hat will work against you at this stage of your performing.

In all this is a great example of someone who knows a few things (tricks/effects) but does not know what to do with it. It lacks structure. It was simply a few tricks/effects strung together. There was no "performance". Remember in performing or entertaining, your tricks are of least importance. It's you as an entertainer that determines how well a performance prevails.

Here's a few quick things...Lack of control, no audience management. This needs to be established immediately or you only lose more control as you go. No true setup to educate or inform the audience of what's forthcoming, their roles and expectation of them. No proper setup of you or what you are going to present or accomplish.

Timing - timing needs work. Tighter, direct and fluent is important. Mentalism itself is very long, boring, tedious and drawn out to most, with usually only minimal payoff if not structured and presented properly. 7 minutes in as Bill said could have been a sold 3.5 or 4 minutes.

Stagecraft - you turn your back on the volunteer way to often when not needed. You look at your hands when working with the cards, envelopes, PK, etc. The way you speak to and handle on stage volunteers/assistants needs though, purpose and control.

Transitions - No or weak segues or transitions, again when combined with no setups equals flat presenatation and restless uninvested audience.

Scripting & Blocking would improve this exact performance ten fold.

In reality this is why you don't perform for family and friends, especially in the beginning period of getting your act together. It prevents you from getting real responses, insight and true reads. It can also create concerns and problems you do not need at this point in your progress.

Again it was the performance, the entertaining that was weak. Figure out you, your role, character and presentation BEFORE ever adding the tricks.
NEVER put the mic down! The minute a performer does he has lost control - period. It was quite evident. Also we could barely hear the participants because you weren't using the mic on them either. A mic and proper sound is absolutely crucial to the success of any performance and entertainer. It is your best weapon and forfeited it from the start. A violation of entertainer's rule #1. Whether it is needed or not use it. It's there for more reasons than you may realize at this point. Audience members were talking to audience, crazy, no control.

All reactions, responses and interactions from the audience should be predetermined and scripted. People were shouting things out, taking and worst of all you as the performer acknowldged them compromising the routines and entertainment value to the others in the audience.

Body Language - most of your body language was to the on stage volunteer, not the audience. Most of the show you were sideways to the audience. Again, stagecraft first. Audience as a whole first. Respect the audience.

I understand why you shussheed the audience. It was needed. But you went abut it the wrong way. Again, if properly set up while stating your need absolute silence (or something to that affect) it could have prevent you having to shhh them. Same outcome, better means and implications. This like so much else (other than the effects) was not well thought our or prepared.

PK touches is supposed to be an impactful, hard-hitting routine. It will not happen with talking, giggling and restlessness from the audience. It lost its entire impact and effect. You did not train your audience properly from the beginning. The interplay with the volunteers was too casual. She opens her eyes, puts down her hand, isn't focused and following directions the audience is laughing and talking to you. Terrible.

The tone of the whole performance was "free-for-all" which works greatly against you. Also why are you referring to your "mentalism" as magic? It sends the wrong signal to the audience and encourages them to act and respond as they did. DO you want a magic audience or a mentalism audience? Two different things with two different expectations and means of execution. Too much silence on your part makes the audience want to fill it, which will cause the show to sink quickly and you to lose even greater control. At one point it gets so bad that the audience is shhhhing each other!

To me this is a theory act. Something that looks good on paper or in your mind but does not transfer well to actuality. There was no build, no emotions of drama, mysterious, suspense, comedy (intentional) or surprise. No theater.

Mentalism, far more than magic, needs to be polished, tight, properly structured, setup and executed with the performer firmly established.
You need practice, scripting, blocking, understanding of performance and stagecraft and should really consider to start working with a director, coach or mentor.

So, how do you think it went? I applaud you for being open to feedback!