There's another.

Hey people read his thread again - he's 12! Of course he's not ready.

And how many of you were "ready" on your first gig? (at 12!) Listen, he isn't going to get ready between now and then. And the only way for him to be ready is to just do the show.

He might screw up. He might do fabulously. Either way, he's 12 and the only way to learn is to just do it. And I promise, he's not oging to destroy "our art" if he messes up a trick. Really. It's okay.

Give Evan some credit - at least he's asking 2 months ahead of time and not 2 days.

Evan, at this rate bud, you need to show up doing what tricks you might already know. The tricks you do in this show aren't nearly as important as your practice of being in front of, and interacting with people. At 12 years old it's just not probable that you've mastered interpersonal communication. So use this opportunity to really work on how you present yourself. How you speak. Slowly, calmly.

Above all - practice listening. How you learn to interact with other people is a million times more important than a cool gimmicked pen.

As for tricks, for my first gigs (yes plural), I did simple, self-working magic that was easy to do.

-Scotch & Soda
-Hopping Half
-Thumbcuffs
-Insible deck
-DeKram deck (note - this is a regular deck all around so it can be used for a multitude of magic)

The french drop isn't a bad suggestion either. It's a basic move that can be used to build other routines.

Those are just a few ideas. Maybe you own these. Maybe you don't. Thumbcuffs can be had for maybe $10 or $12. Invisible decks run around $7. DeKrams about $16. The two coin tricks vary by manufacturer. (Note - don't get the magnetic version as they can't be examined)

Good luck. Have fun. Use this one to work on people skills.

-Robert

You'd better be glad that Paddy or Sluggo isn't replying to this post. I actually gave some pretty good advice.

Let's analyze your post a little.



Was I ready at age 12?...Probably not. Was I a magician at age 12?...Of course not. Would people take me serious as a magic performer at age 12?...Well you can bet that almost no one would be so lucky at this age. Don't get me wrong, there are some young ones out there who would be able to gain respect as a performer at this age...but they are far and few between, not to mention I can guarantee they had a lot more practice under their belt and more than a few gimmicks to work with.



Keep in mind that you can be ready mechanically but not entertainingly (if that even makes sense). What I mean is, you can be able to go through the motions of performing an effect but still not be able to keep the attention of your audience by makeing it entertaining. Additionally, you need to have more than three effects. Knowing a few magic tricks doesn't make you qualified to "do the show", nor does knowing a bunch of magic tricks. And no, doing the show is not the way for him to be ready. In fact, it may be just the opposite. Trying to do a performance when you are clearly not ready may be just enough to discourage you from ever wanting to do it again.



This all depends on the gig. If this is a paying gig, then absolutely not. Don't do it. It does matter if he screws it up because of being totally unprepared. You don't take a paying gig to become ready. If it's not a paying gig, then as you said, have fun and good luck. Also, if he's read through various posts before his own, I give him credit for asking the question at all.



Sorry Robert, you do have some good advice, but I still stick to as few of the gimmick effects as possible. With what you've listed for your first gigs, if performing a set for a group of people it my go something like this:

I pull out two coins, a half-dollar and a copper coin (do the effect).
Now, I've gotten rid of the other half-dollar and I've pulled out a different one (or two...do the effect)
Well skip one.
Now, think of a card. Ok, your card is now upside down in this deck (great effect by the way).
Now I'll put this deck away and pull another deck of cards to use for another trick.

Don't get me wrong, those are all great effects, but if that's all you have and you don't know any regular card on coin effects, then you'll find yourself all bulked up with props that can only perform one effect each, not to mention it will be easier to get confused where everything is (example - "Where's that deck of cards?...Oops. That's the wrong one. Let me find the other deck."). That is why I say to learn effects that require no gimmicks.

People skills, as you said, are a must. The way you interact with people, in Evan's case probably adults, is key.

Please don't take offense Robert. As I said, you have some great advice. But again, if this is a paying gig, then don't think Evan should do it. Instead, he might offer to perform for free and see how it goes.

We'll wish him luck in whatever he decides.

creecy,



Glad? You say that as if I should be intimidated by Paddy. That's not the point. The point being that there's a rash of "you're not ready" syndrome around here - from Paddy in particular. But he and I already had some exchanges about that. I see where he's coming from, though I we don't always agree.

That's fair.



This is not something you can accurately guarantee. You know of very few, if any, other 12 year olds performing.



Why yes, it makes sense. You said exactly what I said...



Only you weren't as articulate.



Not only is that comment presumptious, it's contradictory to what you wrote previously about being entertaining.

Me? I'm not very good at finger flicking or ambitious card tricks. I have arthritis so fancy shmancy doesn't work for me.

When it comes to magic I entertain people. Impressing magicians with whatever you define as 'non gimmicked' isn't my bag.

And as for your description - unimaginative at best.



Hey creecy, step away from the kool aid and think about this situation.

He wasn't contacted by an event planner for a Fortune 500 company. At best the person who hired him knows him personally and they're going to give him a few bucks to do some magic tricks.

He's not going to "ruin" the trade show business. And he's certainly not going to burn a corporate client.

The people who hired him know he's very young. Trust me when I say this...they're not expecting Bill Malone.

That's okay. He's got to start cutting his teeth somewhere.

And yes - best to him.

Robert

You're twelve, and you got a walkaround gig... That's just weird.

OK people I know I'm not ready but I want to still do it to learn. It is for a small audience and I have come up with a nice routine for the tricks, I have gotten idea's on how to reset the gimmick quicker if it requires a gimmick. I have also gotten more tricks, which DONT require gimmicks. I still have 2 whole Months left to prepare, and I am allowed to cancel within a 2 week notice. I also warned him at the begging that I was not that experienced but he said "From what I've seen you do, you are amazing!"

Sorry, but it sounds like a "cute little kid" act that you are going to do. Like they say never go on stage against a kid or an animal, they win every time on "cuteness."

Oh well none of you have seen me perform, and I will show the person who I am performing at some magic about a month before the show to decide if he wants to reconsider. ONCE AGAIN I DID TELL HIM I AM NOT AN EXPERT.

have fun Evan

Evan,

Buddy I say go for it. Have a good time. If you make some mistakes, so what?

Like I said in my first post - really focus on your people skills on this one. Tricks you can learn with some practice and a mirror.

But being a likeable, entertaining person, that's something that takes time and practice in front of an audience.

I messed up plenty when I was first starting out.

Go have fun. Do your very best. You'll be great.

Robert

I know you're only 12 but Pyro Perception is a great trick to do for any kind of walk around. It packs small and plays big. Plus the gimmick allows you to use the trick with 4 different cards so setup can be adjusted to cause instant reset. I think your scotch and soda idea is good, for the setup just run off to the bathroom when you're ready to do it again. Also a good sponge ball routine can really make a walkaround

SOunds Fun! Let us know how it goes and what you learn from the experience!

Self Tying Shoelace by Jay Noblezada and Liquid Metal Starring Morgan Strebler im 14 years old and I always do these at parties I get some of the best reactions out of these tricks

hope this helps

gary

That's the easy part. Get the Don Alan Greater Magic DVD. He has a great way to reset the trick, and was one of the guys who helped to popularize it.

Unless there are so few people for the amount of time that you're performing, you don't need many routines. I typically plan the gig so that I do 1 or 2, sometimes 3, routines at a table.

Phil Plus deck is easy to add and is a great effect.

B'Wave is nice. David Eldridge has posted his routine, online. Great presentation!

There's nothing wrong with doing simple tricks, until you are good at handling difficult audiences and understanding the subtle aspects of presentation.

I agree .

Your 12 years old I know it may seam like you have everything down and just need some tricks , but its not the tricks that make the spec. amazed. Its how you present the tricks. I could buy 50,000 worth of magic does it mean im a great magician? no. remember its how you present the tricks that will amaze your audience.

bobos coin magic-book very good
royal road to card magic- very good

learn tricks at which you can borrow normal dekcs of cards , and normal coins.

Congrats on the gig Evan.

There has been some good advice given. The only problem I see is your age - not that it's bad to be performing so young, but reactions CHANGE when you're young.

I work at the local magic shop, and there is this guy that comes in who is 12-13 and he is pretty amazing for his age, definately one of the better young magicians around. I've seen him go up to people and do some really cool stuff, and the reactions that he gets are

" Aren't you a clever wee boy "
" *pats head* that was really tricky "

Just be prepared that people may not react the way you expect.

All the best

Scott