I am 13 years old, and have been performing magic since I was 8. In my five years of magic, the only things I have attempted are friends and family. I have done street magic before, but not enough to be good. I have been in restaraunts and playing with a deck of cards and had waiters come up to me and say, "What's up with the deck of cards?" This leads me into any card routine. I do magic at school every day as well, which is good practice for street magic. I am just wondering the best way to attempt street magic. For me, asking has never been intrusive. The way I have always asked is just walked up and said, "Can I show you a magic trick?" I had one situation in which I saw an 8 year old playing with a deck of cards. I walked up and said, "Hey, your pretty good with that deck... Might I try something with it?" Happily he said yes, and I proceded to do an ambitious card routine. He called his father, mother, and grandfather over and I began to do my coins across routine. Strangers soon crowded me, and I had to keep doing tricks. It left everyone astounded, and I have gone up to people and they will say, "Hey, you were the guy who made the card rise!" As a magician, I am always creating new material, as well as attempting new stunts. This means that if someone recognizes me, I can always show them new stuff. This is my take on street magic. Please answer the poll.

You should really read some of the posts and topics on this section.

This exact "problem" has been addressed numerous times.
I am sure you will find your answer.

Thats also maybe why no one has answered you, as its been answered before.

But to give you a direct answer. I would keep walking, which is how I expect most people to react.

My advice is to get the "Street Magic" i.e. "Blaining style" out of your mind.

Instead learn the practice and art of busking. Rather than you going up to the people, the people will come to you. Plus, this situation allows for a tip.

Good to see you posting!

I'm not a fan of going up to strangers and asking them to see something. It's not a matter of nervousness, it's a matter of not being annoying. Make people come to you, it shouldn't be the other way around.

Found a break in work, so I figured I would pop in.

Again though (to original posters and others out there)- any one can just walk up to a stranger asking to show him a trick, but a true performer can and will have the stranger come to him.
Keep that in mind.

Best place for a teen/kid like you and I is to pratice with friends at school, get used to seeing/talking with new people. I am a very shy person when it came to talking to people, but now I can do it very easy because of street magic. Then realy try on the streets, since your 13, I would try your naborhood, then if your good there ask your parents if they will let you do some tricks out on the streets, I would say bring a parent along becuase of your age. This dosnt mean anything, but safty is good to have as a kid. Now if your my age, your parents might let you go on your own. But give it a try! I dont think anyone was good in street magic until they learned to overcome fears like talking to people. Good luck!

-Kyle

ps: 5 and 1 Transpo is a good trick to start off...


I like that idea! I will make sure I keep that in mind.

Thanks! In my mind I still don't see people coming up to me on the streets... less I had a camera or a burst of flames or something... But not Cybil Cuts or card springs.

If you have a camera, that generally means your going up to them... like blaine and criss.

Real performers like Don Driver, Gazzo, "Paddy", myself and others... we are buskers. We bring the people to us, we dont need cameras or fire.

You need to learn a bally or such a catch to bring them to you.

Before you go out on the streets, you should learn more about it.
Pick up some books and dvds by Don and Gazzo, those would be a good place to start, and allow you to see a real performance.

David is RIGHT!!!! There are many ways to draw a crowd and I don't do a bit of magic until I have a minimum of 5 people stopped (for a sidewalk show, circle shows need larger crowds.) Just one of the ways I use to draw crowds, and it gets them faster than anything else I have seen is Don Driver's method. You never say a word, you don't even look at the people and the crowds gather. On his DVD he even draws people away from a break dancing group!

Yes I am not going to tell you what it is, you can buy the DVD from Don and learn it like the rest of us did. You can look at Gazzo's DVD and see how he draws people in, it is totally different than Don's and it works. Kozmo has a different style that works for him. You have to buy and study the DVDs and keep trying until you find the way that works for you. But EVERY SWINGING MAGICIAN can do it, IF you want to.

The way that will NEVER work is "want to see a trick?" Or flourishes, people will stop to watch the flourishes but when you stop and start your show, they disappear faster than the fog on a sunny day.

Street magic is not Blaine or Angel, their crowds are called "extras," extra's make union scale wages by acting like an audience that gives a rat's patootie, which is some serious acting when it's Blaine and Angel leading.

I too own Dons DVD, and Love it. Bought it directly from him as most of us do. He's a great guy, and is more than willing to help out new guys.

As Paddy "re-enforced", there are several ways to gather a crowd. And that "hook" (as I call it) varies from performer to performer.

Study the real performers and learn as much as you can from them, and use it to your advantage. ITs there for that reason.

I have never seen a real busker gather a crowd doing fancy cuts or flourishes. I am sure with the perfect presentation it could be achieved. But there are much much better ways to get the crowd.

Though, just about anything can get a crowd... but holding the crowd through both the "hook" and the performance... thats the key.

You might be able to get a crowd with flurishes, but as Paddy said, whats the chance they will stay once you stop to change over to the real show?
Very very remote, I think.

Fancy card stuff just doesnt belong in the busker relm, I believe. Thats just my personal feeling. Especially since cards arent very weather friendly either. I used to busk down on the coast- the "board walks" and the humidity and ocean water and wind... they took a toll on my cards any time I took them out. If it wasnt one of them, it was another.
But again thats just my take on it.

So pick up some books, and some dvds.. watch them, read them, study them, Apply them.

To be honest i wouldnt watch a hit and run artist as i simply have better things to do the majority or the time. I dont watch people that approach me, i watch people i see with a crowd that are good.

Thats great but we are magicians we know what the perfect answer is and what answer we want. I thought the poll was about to approach people not what we would say to a street magician.

Any way when I approach somebody I introduce myself, ask them if they want to see a trick, I usually do a simple but cool trick, then I do about 2 great mind blowers, thank them and walk away.

Actually, the poll is about how we would react to being approached by a 13-year-old "street magician." The thread, though, seems to be about how to approach people.

If I'm walking down the street, I'm generally far more interested in getting where I'm going then in having magic inflicted on me -- same goes for situations like waiting for a bus or sitting on a bench minding my own business. Thus, if I'm approached by someone who wants to show me a trick, I decline or walk away.

How do I approach people on the street to show them magic? Well, as you might have guessed, I don't. I don't really support that kind of "performance." When I do magic on the street, I busk, which, as has been said here many, many times, is not so much about approaching people as it is about getting them to approach you.

I still am unsure about how you would do that. I have had many, many times where I will be walking up and a stranger will walk up and say one of two things. Either "Hey, you are the guy who did so and so..." or "So and so has told me so much about you! Show me a trick!". I have actually had pretty good reactions with street magic. One time, (Granted, you will have to understand that I was not going to do magic, and there were conditions here that would not normally be there...) Anyway, I was on the street and there was this about 9 year old kid on a bench with his Dad, playing with a deck of cards. He was not playing a card game or anything, just shuffling. I walked up and said, "Hey, you are pretty good with that deck of cards!". He looked at me and then his mom like "Daddy... help...". I then said, "I do a few magic tricks and I will show you one if you like." He quickly handed me the deck of cards, and after a few tricks he was spellbound. Needless to say, his mom was really impressed to. She called a whole bunch of people over there, so I had a crowd of about 9 or 10 people crowding around me. I borrowed some coins and stuff and did the muscle pass and a coins across routine and things like that. Anyway, I guess that was my version of busking... I am unsure how that would work in everyday conditions though. I still don't understand. I feel that I cannot set up a table or anything like that, but I can only do things like flourishes and other things. I would get more "You are on crack!" Looks than I would "I want to watch this!" Obviously, everyone has to have there own style of busking, but I am wondering... How do you busk? This is becoming a completely off the original topic thread, but how do you people busk? And how do you get paid doing it? Thanks for reading and I hope responding!

There are numerous topics over busking, there are numerous books and articles over busking... look the up.

What you are doing is not busking, its not street magic.. its blaining... which really isnt even real.

Flourishes arent for busking either... get that out of your mind.

Let me get this straight, you approached a 9 year old kid, that you didnt know and started talking to him. You are asking to get arrested. In fact any allegation and i can pretty much guarantee your parents would be picking you up from the local nick.