In different occasions (cocktails, banquets,…) I thought interesting to begin by joining the crowd while pretending to be a waiter of the event's staff and doing some gags to break the ice.

First some gags, "subtle" enough not to be too obvious:
- While serving drinks, hold the plate much too low (why is he doing that?).
- Pretend to fall asleep.
- Check the horizontality of the tables with a spirit level.
- Serve people clumsily.
- …

Ant it can go crescendo:
- Pretend to drop a bottle which is in fact empty and fixed on the plate.
- Make a giant straw appears.
- …

Also add magical quick effects:
- Make a straw floating.
- Spoon bending à la David Williamson.
- …

The rest is also based on improvisation with regards to the situation.

Let's jazz on that and give your ideas on the 3 categories:
1) Subtle gags.
2) Big gags.
3) Magical gags.

Here we go…

Floating Glass

If you are going to bend spoons, why bend them like David Williamson. Get the Banachek DVD and learn the real work.

I'm not knocking David, Banachek is a specialist.

I agree Bill Bancheks PK Silverware would go down much better.

One of my favourites, especially in a bar atmosphere. A little piece of flash cotton in an ashtray.
(Make sure no one has a heart condition.)

The old classic Floating bread roll.
Lotta Bowl, Foo Can, Cups and Balls.

As a waiter, sneeze and pull a silk out of your mouth.
Pull an appearing cane out of a straw.
Pretend to get tips from everyone by pulling coins from their arms or ears or...

How about the rubber roll. easy and fun to do.

I went to a Corporate Function in San Antonia (Armadillo won the race at Lone Star Brewery) and we had a speaker typeguy that was introduced at our evening banquet as an RAF pilot during WW II that saved the father of the President and CEO. When he was introduced (after the build-up) he was giving a standing ovation. He began speaking and was getting applause throughout the first five minutes or so. Then I looked at my table-mates and we all wondered what he was talking about seems he was "double talking" and had everyone in the room going. During the diner before his speech there was this really stupid and clutsy banquet waiter -- you know the type -- He sat down at the table next to ours and bummed a cigarette, drnk somebody's drink, took a picture of himself, then he started heckling the speaker giving punchlines before hand etc.

Of the 1,000 people in the room I don't think there was a dry eye from the riotous laughter.

At the end he dropped the English accent and drawlled with his Texas accent and ointroduced him-self and his son. He was a radio announcer and comedian in Texas.

This leads to the point that I Had a video of this. I loaned it to someone and it gone the route of the Vista Dome!

I have done a few corporate gigs where there have been phony speakers, and the result is always great.