One of the chains that I work with had a change in managment, who then cancelled all entertainers. They did this last August. Well I had so many other bookings I didn't bother to try to replace those 4 restaurants.

January came along and I didn't have any more gigs booked so I had to go get some more restaurants. Went to one place and the G.M. tolld me he didn't have a budget for entertainers but took me up on a 2 night audition. I tell everyone that my audition is garaunteed, if they don't like me I will pay them $50 for each night that I am there. Well it was going to be 2 Fri. nights for my audition, last Fri was the first. After I was there an hour he walked over, handed me a $50 bill and now I will be there Fri and Sat nights.

The hostess told me that he had a magician and balloonist there before and she heard one of his regular customers tell him "about time you found someone who knows what the edited he's doing."

Plus I made $150 in tips that night. Not bad for an old man.

Congratulations, I recently got ahold of the GM of a restaurant about a job and there was already a magician working there for almost a year but he was only 14 years old....I don't want to steal his job so I'm having second thoughts about going for the review. I contacted the individual to get a hang on what kind of stuff he does and it is very simplistic like an ACR, sponge ball routine, hot rod, Just little easy stuff like that...Of course I planned on doing some of those routines as well but incorporating it into a better routine with a big kicker...What do you think I should do if he offers me a job and opts to get rid of the younger kid working their? Should I opt to find another restaurant or try out anyways ? Help would be appreciated.

Well, I don't know how old you are, but if you do magic for a living to keep yourselft alive then i would take the job b/c the fourteen yr. old prolly doesn't need the money as much as you do.

This is the real world if you are a better magi then take the job. To be honest, the 14 yr old is probably doing all of us a disservice by doing gimmicks and silly stuff like that. So do your audition, make your bid and take the job.

Thanks for the advice, I'm actually only 18 and was going to wait until I was 19 but I feel I'm ready now, The worst that can happen is I don't get the gig or I decide to wait until next year, I guess I will let him know who I am and where I stand at the audition and hopefully someting good will come of it. Thanks for the advice Paddy.

take the job from him.

you will be doing the kid a great service.
if he has to wait until he's older before being [edited] up the a$$ for no reason at all, it will be that much harder for him to take it. Plus, now he doesn't have a family to pay for or bills to cover. The financial damage will be minimum.


It's best that this kid gets this lesson over with now so he learns that sometimes life just isn't fair.

That sounds reasonable although this kid has his own website and has been doing birthday parties etc. lately, I've met him at a local ring and he isn't that great at alll....

then it looks like Paddy's speculation about the boy was probably right on target.



what are you waiting for?
ruin his 'career' before he makes a bad name for magicians everywhere

Hmm, as magicians should we not stick together no matter our skill or cultural even age differences? I see no point in getting that performer no matter his skill out of his job. So what he's fourteen, big deal, he got the job before you, it sounds like he was ready before you were, go find another stomping ground. And to those of you who say he has no financial obligations, how do you know that? Maybe he is from a poorer background, he could even be saving for college, the point is as magicians you stick together, there's already few of us out there, don't aid in our diminshment. I'm personally sick of flaming and the crushing of people's aspirations on these forums, you may call it constructive criticsm I call it destructive. I'm only eighteen as well, but I know well enough to leave well enough alone. Take this into consideration, or disregard it like I'm sure it will be because I don't have a little "Born to Perform" insignia underneath my name.

Cheers,
Alex Schaeffer
18 years young. magician.

First post count doesn't matter. If you had emperor penguin under your name, I would still say what you said was wrong.

If I'm better then another magician, I will take their job away if it pays enough. I'm not trying to be mean, but it's either him or me, and I would rather it be me getting paid. I could care less how old or young they are, if I'm better, I will get the job.

Now it's not to say that I will go out and look to take other's jobs, that would be disrespectful. But I wouldn't feel bad at all for going into a resturaunt, performing better, and kicking a kid out of a job. It's not because I'm a bad person, because I will talk to that other magician and give him some tips. But what it comes down to is that I need to work to make money.

The whole logic behind your arguement is completely flawed, because you're assuming that magicians are some how special. They are entertainers, the better you entertain, the more jobs you will get. And sometimes, you will be taking jobs from others. That's life. If you aren't willing to do that, then you will fail.

No.

He needs a lesson in life, now, at a young age. That is just cruel of you to plead with us to delay this lesson.


And it doesn't sound like he is that good of a magician. He is just hurting everybody else's chances. Because of this, he should be punished.

Survival of the fittest, or in this case, survival of the most talented and better suited for the job. Like I said before, the 14 yr. old doesn't live by himself where he has to support himself and himself alone, thats why there are parents there. You said you are 18 or 19, well I think you need the money more than that other kid. Thats my reasoning behind all of that. Tell us how it goes.

Take the kids job if he starts ugly and moaning how you "stole" his job then just teach him the most important lesson he will ever learn
"life's a B!#(%" end of story.

Paddy:
Just write a book already!
Do it! Do it now!
Just compile your posts, add some chapter numbers, and get it bound.
I'll even give you an endorsement, but for goodness sakes, just write the freakin' book.

Already have under my real name. Penguin doesn't sell them so I don't mention them or where to get them due to Penguin rules.