Just curious how long it takes you to set up once you arrive at a venue. Especially if you use a backdrop and tables.
Or, what do you consider an acceptable amount of time to set up?

I'm doing full dress rehearsals for a show I'm preparing to launch and want to limit my set up time to 10 minutes or less. That includes backdrop and 3 tables, banner, ditch bag, one small aluminum case I work in and out of and a catalog case that holds most of the larger props. 10 minutes to set up seems reasonable to me. What are your thoughts?

Birthday or Stage ? <> ours / Birthday 3-5 min no banners etc. <> Stage 20-30 min, including. 3 cases, Table, Chopper, PA, 6 x 12 foot folding screen-for background. Again, no banners, flags. signs, etc. <> Just Us and the "MAGIC"

For birthdays and preschools, usually 1 or 2 trips from the car and a 2 or 3 minute set-up once I'm in the room. If I don't bring my pa, then usually just 1 trip. For bigger shows like schools and camps of 200 - 300 people, 1 to 3 trips from the car and a 3-6 minute set-up once in the room. But I never use backdrops anymore. At home or between shows it takes me 3-10 minutes to reset my stuff, then when I'm at the gig it's a pretty quick set-up. I use a big square pizza delivery backpack (in addition to a Lefler table and thick briefcase) which is lightweight and because it's on my back it saves me an extra trip.

My banner is part of my main table skirt.
Thanks for the replies!
Stage, parties, whatever. All input is welcome. It gives me a good idea of where I stand compared to folks who have more stage/ parlor experience. I have been doing close up and walk around for years, but am expanding out into other areas.
Thanks again!

When I was performing I allowed myself at least a half hour for set=up, regardless of the type of venue.

I like to arrive 45 minutes-1 hour before the show. Set up usually takes 20-30 minutes and then I like to have a little thought collecting time for myself after set-up.

Search the threads for comments by Dick Oslund and invest in his book.
https://donsmagicandbooks.com/products/c......-dvd-set

Do none of you here actually conduct a soundcheck? That alone would take more time than some of you are stating.

A soundcheck for me takes about 10 seconds, but I mostly do bdays, summer camps with up to 300 kids, preschools, a few festivals, libraries, not many big corporate gigs, and I don't usually use music. Occasionally I'll attach my sound into the venue's system so that takes longer. I use a Bose S1 using the battery, and a very simple and quick mic and receiver (battery also) which is perfectly good for most of the gigs I do. I want my set-up to be quick and simple. I don't rely on the venue's sound, but if they have a nice set-up with a headset mic I'll use it. I don't mind spending good money on a mic and receiver set-up (Shure or whatever), but I couldn't find one that is all battery, I don't want to mess around with extension cords and relying on their electric working or being nearby or easy to find, I've run into problems like that, and it adds extra time which I don't always have. If I was doing higher end gigs that would be a different story.

Thank you all. It's interesting to see the different takes on this. Some want to be set up quickly and some take more time.
I guess it depends on the venue to some extent, but maybe there is no one, or best way, to go about it.
I think my ten minute goal will work well for me. A few extra minutes if I need my PA.
Thanks again.

Setup
backdrop - 3 minutes
speaker and microphone - 5 minutes
open show - 15 minutes ( fuel with candles and appearing cane )
chicken magic - 4 minutes
all other magic tricks
- 15 minutes

about 45 minutes .

This is in the kid show forum so presumably we’re talking about kid shows and primarily birthday party shows.

If you’re driving across town doing three or four shows a day you CANNOT AFFORD to have setup any longer than a minute. Because often times you get stuck in traffic and you’re arriving at the venue a few minutes before showtime and you cannot keep people waiting.

Yeah, Futureal, I don't think it has to be that fast (1 minute), but unless you are charging a lot and just doing 1 or 2 shows a day, 30-45 minute set-up time doesn't make sense to me, unless performing is more of a hobby. There are guys who specialize in doing really elaborate shows for mostly wealthy people, and they charge 1K-3K, or whatever, for a show. I talked to 1 guy in an Asian country, this was like 10 years ago, but if I remember right he charged at least 2K for most shows, but he had 2-4 assistants with him performing, doing sound, bringing in props, setting up a big fancy backdrop with decorations, etc. I considered doing that for a minute, but I'd rather keep it simple, I can entertain them really well without the bells and whistles, and maybe make as much $ per day anyway.

Very true except for the minute set-up which obviously cannot be done. If I have more than 1 show a day I make sure to schedule them far enough apart to allow time for set-up. When they call to schedule I let the client know I already have a show that day and tell them when I can be there. If it works for them, great! If not, I move on and thank the client for the opportunity and tell them hopefully I will hear from them in the future.