I just did 3 shows with a professional one in a country club one in a restaurant and one in a church. I learned a few things i made a couple of bucks. I didnt perform i just helped with balloon sculpting ( i learned how to make santa hats and candy canes ). The magician i was working with has been doing shows for 28 years, is a vice president of his local SAM, Has been to countless conventions, and so on. The one thing i learned from him was that structure really doesnt matter. All you people say on the forums is make one routine and stick with it. This man did most of the same tricks but not in the same order. He taught me how you need to know how to adapt....How to speed up a show slow it down cut it short a bunch of things. He taught me how you can do 7 tricks for one show then do a show right after and only do 4 tricks and have the same amount of interaction. He told me that never just bring your 5 props to do your show and expect it to work. He said remember to stock up on as much stuff because you might do the same opener for every show but after that you can read the audience and be able to tell if they just want silly or if they want magic. I dont know if that advice can help anybody but it is certainly helping me.

-thank you for reading

What he didn't tell you was that you need the experience from doing structured shows BEFORE you have enough experience and ability to improvise. It takes a lot of hard work to make it look so easy.

Kent

I totally agree. I am also saying that when doing shows if you have a routine always bring back up....because you never know what will happen.
-thank you for your time