So I am ready to take it to the next level. Been doing kids shows for almost 20 years. And ready to take it to the next I wanna wants to learn strolling magic. So I was my biggest question is what kind of stuff do you do? Where do I start?

You don't need to learn much, for strolling magic you could get by on:

-Extreme Burn
-Invisible Deck
-Sponge Balls/Bunnies
-Crazy Mans Handcuffs
-Shell Coins Across

-Chicago Surprise
-Twisting/Daley Aces
-Multiple Selection
-Ambitious Card
-3 1/2 Clubs

When I was working (I'm retired) I did a lot of trade show hospitality suites in Chicago. They were fun to do, and I didn't carry any different props than I used in my school assembly show (Kdg. -- Senior High). I had planned my show to be able to play almost anywhere for almost anybody.

I used what the young guys call the "Slydini Silk Knots", my golf ball routine, The Elusive Silk Vanish, 4' rope and 4" ring, + a TT & books of matches. (The G.W Hunter Impossible Knot (rope) alone, could fill 15 minutes!).

It all fit in pockets, and, nothing needed reset. All "generic" props, NO MAGIC SHOP "TOYS"!
'

The biggest difference is that you will have no 4th wall. (Although as a Kids performer you probably are not too reliant on that.)

I always come with way more Magic tricks than I need. You can work with as few as 3 tricks. The last strolling gig I did, I performed 10 different tricks but only because I get so few Close- Up gigs that I wanted to "keep my hand in" on some more tricks.

Connect with the Audience with your greetings and small talk as well as your tricks. Listen to them and laugh when they say something funny and engage the non volunteers watching.

It is all about making people feel like a part of a special experience.

You probably have all the people skills you need. You just need to remember to use them under fire.

I'll post later with some trick suggestions.


-Mary Mowder

"Bead and String Mystery" from Jeff McBride's "Magic from the Edge" is a wonderful trick to get everyone involved. Not an earth shaker but great fun and it is a "now do it for me" type trick. I didn't think much of this simple trick until I tried it.

Any trick where one Vollunteer finds another's card is good if you have fun with the people. I use a simple control to the bottom and a Hindu shuffle as the Volunteer drops a face up joker into the pack to come face to face with the the spectator's chosen card. Before the reveal mention that if the Volunteer misses the chosen card, this is the Vollunteer's trick and you had nothing to do with it.

I like a cash trick like Tokoyo Penetration (you can get " Clean thru Clear Thru" for a similar effect that is available today.) I also do T & R dollar but not in the same set.

If you do Ring & Rope, you can use a smaller ring and thinner rope and work smaller for Close-Up. This is particularly good for when a crowd gathers because you can perform up and out to make it bigger when needed. Don't bother with a full routine, just do one at a time with lots of interaction in between.

There is a difference in size between cocktail type Close-Up and picnic Strolling. Slight changes in your props can make your Magic look more appropriate to the venue. For instance, Ring and Ribbon looks more classy than Ring and Rope . Of course, practice with the new props first. A change in ring size can mean a change in handling.

-Mary Mowder

Once you have some tricks you can do, you will need a friendly audience for your first few gigs.

I'm often bemoaning my lack of Close-Up gigs (probably because my website is aimed at Birthday and Family events). One way I do get Close-Up gigs is as an add on to Family Stand-Up shows. These audiences are low stress and easy to interact with. You'll need some non-card tricks and at least a couple should allow for the Spectator to touch the props.

You will have to adjust your performance and repertoire for Adult gatherings but having some experience will make that easier.

-Mary Mowder

Probably the best advice I can give is do what works for you. Once you find the Magic and routines that work for you, stick with them, work with them and get smoother at doing them. Them you will be more comfortable and can focus on your people skills and presentation. That is just as or more important then your Magic. Like Mary said, connect with your audience. Good luck.

Here’s an unedited clip of me performing at one of my residences in the UK, complete with the usual distractions of waiting staff interrupting performance! Hope you like it!!!

If you want, you can offer strolling magic just for kids (or primarily for the kids), I do that kind of often. Often it's a combo of show(s) and strolling. Make sure to offer it if it seems like a good option for the client, even if they don't ask, not in a pushy sales way, just mention that you do it, that it works out great. With kids events they often hire balloon twisters and face painters, which is fine, but then kids often wait in line for a long time, are bored in line, and with balloons they often pop and fall apart, and kids like face painting but it's not exciting like magic, and it's very common, not unusual. So with strolling magic, no lines, and they are very entertained, and you can entertain a lot of people, so you can mention that in a helpful, not pushy way, if they are trying to decide between you and balloons/face painting.
With kids, sometimes even at big events, you will get some kids that follow you around like the pied piper, so have plenty of material, even if you leave some of it in your car as back-up. Sometimes the event will have a smaller than expected crowd so you need lots of material, or you may want to just switch to your regular show if you get swamped with kids all at once, which happens once in a while. Be prepared like 1960's Batman, he carried shark repellent around with him all the time but when he needed it, he had it. Having said that, for kids gigs, I mostly just do 2-4 tricks per group/person, and mostly end up doing around 6-8 different tricks throughout the event. I carry my stuff in a buskers pouch, which is fine for casual/kids events.

Much of my standup repertoire got its start with table-hopping at restaurants and strolling at parties. There's so much material that works in strolling situations - silks, ropes, balls, coins, cards, etc. I go for practicality first, so it usually fits in a pocket or I carry something small from table to table.

Hi,
I work Professionally in the corporate strolling & stage show market only,approx 23 years

Moving to strolling depending on your demographic is not as easy as 1 thinks , bit of fine tuning you should be fine however
Mary Mowder made a great point about that 4th wall, strolling puts up a whole lot of challenges.
you will find 5 or 6 effects is all you need, sometimes you can perform 2-3 effects for a group and swap for some effects in your 2nd hour etc
I also keep 1 or 2 special group effects for call backs to a really great group that enjoyed your earlier sets.. always a fun way to finish.

You will need to fine tune these effects to your absolute best, they must be a mixture of visually impressive, comedy always works well and make them interactive about your guests not you.
You have to know how to approach groups and get them wanting to see something without actually telling them what you do, the classic fail line-Do you want to see some Magic.. NO
I have a unique approach that I learnt from Tim Ellis many years ago regarding waiting staff.


You have to be able to read people very fast, they may hate magic, you have to wind up very quick, they maybe as business people or medical staff deep in conversation about a serious matter, you can walk away and see them later, Ive seen Husbands & wives having huge arguments so again be careful and read body language!!
You will find complete strangers in the same company who don't know everyone else, make them included,

Have fun and make them the stars, even if your only there a few minutes, do tried & audience tested routines and try not to do 2 card tricks in a 3 piece set etc..variety is the spice of life & not everyone likes card tricks like you do...

Good luck and hope you enjoy a new area for your skills which sound a lot of 20yrs with childrens events

cheers

People have pretty much given great advice.

I consider myself prepared for strolling magic if I have 3 sets prepared. Each set consists of 2-3 routines lasting 3 - 5 minutes.

Another thing that's often not discussed is knowing when and how to approach people. For example, probably not best to perform while people are eating. Reading the energy of your audience and venue and matching it. Some of my strolling gigs have been large and loud banquets, others have been smaller intimate venues and I tailor my act to match my setting.

I knew a bartender magician who was often hired to perform internationally, flying first class roundtrips

His version of walk around was to NOT walk around. He'd set up at a table and wait for people to come to him

On one hand, he doesn't reach as many audience members. On the other hand, the audience he DOES get are specifically and intentionally present to see HIS magic

No need for approaches, no need to risk being invasive. You're visible, part of the entertainment, yet still have access to lapping if you want to

Regarding the risk of being invasive. As a restaurant worker, I learned "so" much doing just that.
People skills, approach and timing as well as winning over a table from being indifferent to laughing and applauding. You learn, to a degree when not to approach, although when I made that observation, the patrons asked me why I didn't stop by their table. Taking risks is essential to growth. I've had some negative experiences but it was worth the risk. ( as long as you learn from your successes as well as failures )

One cannot truly succeed without failing first.

?? my first kid turned out all right, 4 year scholarship and all that. My second was different but not "better"
Both were successes. We failed to have any more children despite a lot of practice.

So, as usual, any "universal statement" is probably inaccurate.

When I decided to get into strolling magic, it really helped when I defined the criteria for material selection. From my research and planning, I settled on several rules:
I must be able to comfortably work out of my pockets. I usually wear a tailored suit (when appropriate) and I want it to look right without bulging pockets, and I don't want to have external storage like a pouch or side sack (not my aesthetic). This makes pocket space even tighter.
I need stuff that is angle-proof or at least highly manageable and adaptable. Many strolling gigs can have surrounded conditions.
I need an instant reset or reset in front of the audience - including returning everything to the correct pockets. I don't want to have to go off and reset after every group.
Everything must be able to be performed in the hands and in spectators' hands (better if they need only one hand). In other words tables are optional not necessary.
These rules are for pure strolling gigs. I definitely loosen these rules for table hopping though.

Through my experience everything you perform at a strolling gig does not need to be performed in the spectators hand(s). I perform many effects that don't require putting anything in a spectators hands. If you go by that rule you are limiting yourself and will be leaving out some fantastic effects that are performed in your own hands. One effect that is fantastic for strolling that does not require a spectators hand is Pointless by Gregory Wilson. I do believe that you will want to have at least one effect where the magic happens in the spectators hands but not every effect.

"performed in the hands and in spectators' hands (better if they need only one hand). In other words tables are optional not necessary."

The sentence that is key to the rule is, "In other words tables are optional not necessary."

Ah! Sorry Mr. Collet. I misinterpreted your post.