I've spent the last year or so preparing for restaurant work. I've spoken to a professional about the subject, bought Kirk Charles's book (and read it several times), picked out a variety of tricks that are hard-hitting, entertaining, and ideal for a walkaround environment, filmed and critiqued myself performing my effects, and of course, practiced practiced practiced. I know I'm not ready yet, but I am hoping to be within a few months.

Here's my question. A friend of mine who I have performed for has mentioned a restaurant that regularly has tableside magic. It seems like a pretty professional establishment, and I like the idea of not having to sell the manager on the idea of having magical entertainment. The downside is, the restaurant is in another city, over an hour away. Do you guys (especially the professionals here) think this would be a good place to start? Or should I concentrate more on restaurants in my local area?

Thanks,
~Mike

Mike, with all the information you have given I do believe that you are a politician. All those words and not a thing to help you make a decision.

You say the restaurant is an hour away. If you live in New York City, thjat could be about 10 blocks away, if you are in Iowa it could be 80 miles away. So your idea of "an hour away" will help.

Then you state that "a friend and I" already perform there. This is a little confusing because if you already do perform you are not looking for your first gig, you're look for your senond one.

But, why do you want to spend 2 hours getting to and from a gig when you could get one close to home? If you want to work as a magician then you have to sell your ability and services.

Peter

Thanks for the reply, Peter.

I live in a small college town in North East Ohio. The restaurant I am looking into is in Cleveland. It is 60.52 miles (one hour, eight minutes) away from me, according to mapquest.

I don't already have a job there. The restaurant was suggested to me by a friend that I have performed for before (not in a formal show, just casually). I have never performed in a restaurant before.

I realize that it doesn't make much sense to drive that long for a gig. The only reason I'm considering it is that Kirk Charles's book suggests that restaurants that already have magicians may be a good place for beginners to start out. I was just curious if the pros though the drive would be worth the experience, or if they even agreed with the position at all.

Sorry if my previous post confused you.

Thanks again,
~Mike

Mike, what Kirk should have added is you should see other restaurant magicians at work first to get an idea of how to do the walk around. It may be easier to go to Cleveland but I would try closer to home.

BTW You probably have Don Pablo's up there, they no longer pay entertainers, but will let you work for straight tips. If you just want experience you can try them. However, don't stay there long!! If you're good make them pay! Don Pablo's just went through bankruptcy so that is why they stopped paying entertainment.

Peter

Thanks again for the advice, Peter. Much appreciated. I was leaning towards restaurants in my own area, but I wanted to see what other people thought of it. I will probably check the Cleveland place out to see more restaurant magicians in action (so far I've only seen one, and he knew that I was a magician so I probably did not get a typical show) but as far as getting a job I will stick to restaurants closer to home.

No Don Pablo's up here, unfortunately, but there are several other restaurants here such as Applebee's, Longhorn, Red Lobster, etc. that I can look into, as well as non-chain restaurants and bars. Until I'm ready for that, though, back to practicing.

Thanks again,
~Mike

You should go there 3 or 4 times to gain experiance and to get your approach down. Also people who own restaurants go to places like that to scout for entertainers. Impress there and you might get a job without working as hard.

Also forget Applebee's. The VP had a bad experience with a clown a few months back and sent out a new policy to the other branches, not to have any more live entertainers (music and karioke(spelled that wrong) are excluded).

Dustin B

Well...if the restaurant already regularly features tableside magic, then you would be intruding on another magician's job.

Spend more time investigating the restaurants in your area. If you can't decide ona restaurant, perhaps you read the wrong book. Get Jim Pace's Restaurant Worker's Handbook. He tells you exactly how to research, select, and approach venues for restaurant work.