If this is the direction of magic, I can see why magicians have such a bad reputation. The routine you suggested indicates several important points:

1. You have very little experience in putting together an act. There is nothing wrong with this. Everyone has to begin someplace. But you can't get a one line solution to this complex issue. I would recommend that you take a look at resources such as Magic and Showmanship by Henning Nelms. This will give you the theory that you need to put together and present a professional looking show.

2. You do not have the effects needed to perform a 1 hour show. Again, there is nothing wrong with this provided you have the time and money to get the necessary effects and perfect them into a professional routine. What you have so far will probably only take 8 to 10 minutes to perform. In order to put togethr enough effects to bring your show up to a one hour performance, be prepared to spend the $200 that you are being promised for this show - and be prepared to spend it up front.

3. You do not have any experience performing for kids. Again, there is nothing wrong with this so long as you have the time and ability to learn everything you need to before your show. Many good books are available for the child entertainer. Get your hands on those resources and learn everything you can from them. Performing for kids is perhaps one of the toughest gigs you can ever accept. A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that kids shows are a good way to make some quick bucks. They're dead wrong. If you are just in it for the cash, get a job at Burger King instead. At least then, you don't damage the Craft or ruin a child's birthday in the process.

4. You haven't grasped the "big picture". You are being hired by your dad's boss. If you screw up, you also create an embarassing situation for your dad. In other words, this is not just some ordinary gig where you are being hired by some stranger. This is IMPORTANT.

5. You haven't checked out your competition. Who performed last year? What effects did he do? What personna did he portray? What did the kids like about the show? What didn't they like? You don't want to be performing the same stuff or making the same mistakes as the guy they hired last year. THEY EXPECT YOU TO BE BETTER. So, your job is not only to put on a good show, but to put on a better show than the guy they had.

In short, YOU HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO even before you consider what kind of tricks to buy. On behalf of all professional and semi-professional magicians, I sincerely hope you take this advice to heart. If not, you will end up hurting the Art of Magic, damaging your own reputation, and embarassing your dad in the process.

Np Man

Glad I could help. Do your sponge routine, kids like them.

Thx for repeating what soupersexy said. This is why he posted, for help.

Agreed...

You guys aren't the best magician in the world, neither am I but I do feel obligated to help any entertainer who is in need. Whether they are professional, ammateur, or beginner. You have to learn from somebody and if nobody wants to help you then you will go nowhere.

You guys are making it really pressureful on Anik by telling him that not only is his carreer at stake, but his dads is also. This is true but it is unnecessary to rub it in.

Be a little more courtious to the fellow magi or rising magi. Nobody just wakes up and is a professional magician. We all had to build ourselves and our business up from somewhere and this is what Anik wants to know...how to build yourself up and what to do for a show.

I believe in him because he seems commited and ready to perform. With a little practice and thinking and routine arranging he should do really well.

Anik, you do not have to go out and spend $200 on a show. I put together the entire Ron Connley "Say No Show" for school assemblies for approximately $105.

Start with what you have and buy/make more as you go along. ANything that you see that you think you can make, go ahead and build the thing. I have built many of my own props from scratch for very cheap. Props such as:

Bowling ball from brief case ($7 and a donated bowling ball)
Fearson's levitation box (FREE Donated milk crate)
Black Art Production box ($7 made of cardboard and wrapping paper, this was one of my earlier props that I do not use anymore)
Cardiographic ($10)
And MUCH much more

You can develop nice,good length,entertaining routines for any prop whatsoever and run that through your show. My birthday show contains roughly 16-17 tricks/illusions approx. 45 min-1 hour.

If you do want a big thumbs up from the parents then you could do what I did for my early shows...

Get a chick pan, and a pet hamster. (these should not cost too much)
Print a picture of a hamster that looks similar to the one you by off of the computer.
Do a routine where you talk about the hamster as you show the paper one and talk about how he is feeling a little flat lately. Let the kids pet the paper hamster and have it jump at one or two(it will frighten them but they will find it funny). Lay the hamster in the pan and close the lid, VIOLA! A live animal production.

Live animal productions always add to the show. I use a rabbit now that my hamster has passed on.

Any live animal works great and goes well with the kids and the adults.

Ignore this post...I posted the same message twice.

How long 'til this gig? An hour?! That's a long time, my kids shows run from 30 minutes to 45 minutes MAX. I then am normally hired to do balloon animals. As for rope, if you do professors nightmare with the correct presentation, it not only cools the kids down after a hyper trick, but also fills in 3-5 minutes.

By providing the comments that I did in my previous post, I was not trying to be negative or sarcastic - just realistic. I did not indicate that Anik should turn down the show - but the reality is that he has A LOT of work ahead of him and, if he intends to continue with th gig, he better realize how much work he has ahead of him and how serious the show really is.

Whether Anik wants to listen to the advice is up to him.

Yeah, but I do not think that the reality of the situation is as bad as you made it out to be!

Maybe. But isn't it better to err on the side of caution and do a fantastic job, rather than underestimate the situation and disappoint the client?

True but you can't live life(especially as a magician) always being cautious, you have to improvise a lot cause you never know what is going to happen and it is really hard to stop something!

No. Professionals improvise only when they have to. Practice and preparation are always the key. The more you practice and the more prepared you are, the more professional your improvisation looks (if and when you should ever need it). If you don't prepare or if you uner-prepare, that's when you risk looking foolish and disappointing your audience in the process.

To this day, however, I have never heard a magician complain that he blew a show because he over-prepared. Don't get me wrong - I'm not trying to come across as being a know-it-all, and I'm not trying to suggest that I'm the greatest magician in the world.

I do, however, have close to 30 years of professional performing experience. Trust that I may have made my mistakes and learnt a little something along the way.

Kyle,
There is no way that LanceIII knows when to improvise, he doesn't have a show to improvise from.
He has no show right now. IF the show isn't until October as he says he does have time to get his act together. But even then he still needs to get out there and put on a few free or really cheap shows to get his timing and technique down.
Once he does a show he'll see that he needs some re-adjusting. I've never done a show the first time and left it as is. Especially since this is his FIRST show he is going to need to change things, then he can go out and ask for cash. Right now I find it to be a total rip off to agree to deliver something that he doesn't have.
That goes out to so many of the others out there, start getting a show NOW, then when somebody asks you if you can do a little show for them you don't have to get on here and look like a total idiot asking someone to give you their routine. Cause if anyone did, it's because they didn't have much to give anyway.

Lance III is not even the one who started the topic so I have no idea as to why you referred to him.

Practice can help.

You do not have to know how to improvise from a previous show...that is why it is called IMPROVISATION. It is spontanious and acting off of the moment.

But I think that you took what I said a little incorrectly.

1st off, you do not know Anik’s improve ability,

I do not even know yours or Aniks (evidentally yours must not be that good).

(Let me just go ahead and say this, I have never EVER practiced or organized a show. All of my shows are improvised from start to finish and I have been doing them that way for 5 years. All of my shows are different and that is one of the things that the crowd really likes. I have been told so by spectators on many occasions and I have a ton of repeat bookings. I practice the illusions and tricks individually in my spare time and then I perform the show on the act of the moment and use tricks which I had practiced earlier. I have no organized show routine but yet I can professionally improvise an entire show in a very entertaining way. I am not bragging, I am just telling you like it is. Every show save for one or two has been a big success and usually gets me more bookings.)

Anik has taken drama so at least he knows how to Improvise properly. Whether or not he is good at it, I do not know.

I think that as long as the audience is happy and entertained, that is ALL that matters.

Some magicians practice themselves to death and bomb, others never practice and bomb. Some practice and do well, others do not practice and do well. It really depends on the person and their mood towards the art. If he wants to do well, and tries to do well, then chances are HE WILL DO WELL! Anik is learning and learning well.

Anik mentioned that he did some close up stuff for his dad’s boss.

That right there is improve in action, because I am fairly certain that he did not have an organized close-up routine. Obviously he did well because the guy wanted to hire him for $200. Of course Anik must learn crowd procedure and child handling, but once you get the hang of it, it isn’t really that hard. He is about to discover whether or not he was “born to perform” for adults or children or both.

Kyle the great it is IMPOSSIBLE to improvise an entire show like you described. If you are talking about doing a child's birthday party, you have to do some planning. I doubt you carry every single one of your tricks with you to each gig you get, so there's some planning right there. Also, many children's effects require set up, and I don't think you set up each and every trick before a show just in case you happen to want to use it at some point during the 45-60 minute performance. I seriously think you are crediting yourself for a little bit more than you actually do.

As for whoever started this post, I would go and talk to your dad's boss. I was put in this exact situation, but the pay was less. I wasn't prepared to do a birthday party, but I accepted anyway. It was my manager from work, and I went to talk to them about the fact that while I was an o.k. close up magician, I didn't think I was prepared to do a show. We talked some about what all would be performed, and I told her that I would be willing to do the show for free since I had accepted. She postponed the birthday party a weekend to give me a little extra time, I went, performed, didn't do all that great, and learned a ton about kids. She offered me a tip, which I accepted, but I was definately pleased that I turned down the original offer and talked to her.

Just talk to him about it, let him know exactly what's up! Good luck to you though!

How much do you wanna bet?

I carry two trunks and a cardboard box to each gig along with backdrops, a rabbit, and a sound system.

I have a truck so it is easy to carry many things.

I set up a bunch of tricks and illusions before the show and use them as I feel or when I want. After the show I still have quite a few set up that were not used (some shows I have different props left over than others)

You say it is impossible. We are magicians, we take the POSSIBLE out of IMPOSSIBLE!

You also said that You think that I am giving myself too much credit. DON't Judge me! You have never seen my show before so you have absolutely no right to sit there and say that I am giving myself too much credit. I am highly enthusiastic about my work and the way that I do it! The way that I work my business is one of the things that sets me apart from many other magicians and entertainers!

I do in fact carry more to the shows than I should. BUT I DON'T CARE! I enjoy my work and I like being able to have every show different. This is great in the fact that no two audiences see the same show. Which is excellent for repeat bookings. I develop my own routines for tricks but the tricks are in no certain order!

Just because you think that it is impossible to improvise an entire show does not make it so!

Note: This is just for birthday shows, school shows require much more.