I'm looking for good one liners that can be used as openers as soon as you get to the table. Something that is gently self effacing (to a magician in general) before you actually get into your set. Reason for this is since i've come to the conclusion that most people have never heard of a restaurant magician before. After introducing myself to a table as a magician, I am often met with laughter from certain people (usually women) or jokes from the guys. "Oh can you make my check disappear?" is a fairly common one. I am not in any way offended by these responses and naturally attribute them to psychological feelings of nervousness or surprise (like I said, it is something new to most people). I typically laugh along with them and respond by going into an amazing effect. However, I really wish i knew some funny one liners to use in this situation that will both relax the group and get them laughing along with me. If anyone has some good responses let me know. thanks.

What you do is crawl on your hands and knees over to the table without them seeing you. You then throw a smoke grenade at your feet and when the smoke clears... Ta DA! There is the magician.

Haha no just kidding...

Go over to the table and introduce yourself as a person then a magician. Don't say I'm a magician and would like to show you a few tricks. Say Hi, my name is jackpot and I have been hired by the restaurant to show you a few magic tricks.

I already do that sir.

of course you can.

http://www.penguinmagic.com/specialorde ... hp?ID=6075

Don't say you are a magician.

Say something along the lines of, " Hi my name is _____, I will be your entertainment while you wait for your food, if that is ok with you." Then just go into your routine, they will be more surprised if you have a flashy first effect.

I'm with Magik. Say something along the lines of "I'm here to entertain you" or " I would like to show you something cool". Don't take the position of Magician and spectator, take the approach of friend and friend. Make part of the routine not just an observer.

WOOT 200th Post

Dood your post count is rising quick. Anyway, I'd say you have some unique entertainment to show them and ask if they want to see it then do what you do best.

Thank you all for the advice. I will consider altering my introduction a bit. However, does anyone have a good response to the people who still make comments like that and laugh? Also, sebishungry, I own the DVD which you are referring to. Even though it mentions something in the description about making the check disappear, that is rather misleading as there is nothing on the DVD about that effect.

First of all: I am not a restaurant magician so anything I say is based on "I imagine it should be a little like this".

As the others point out, you are there for their entertainment. This means they will remember you by how good you make them feel.
Your aim is, to do that with magic. Your tools are the effect and the patter.
Good times include laughter so you can put humor in your patter.

Now, as you notice, the moment you introduce yourself as a magician, they'll link it to disappearing stuff, hence their joke about the check.
If you introduce yourself as an entertainer, they will wait for the way you're gonna do that. So you'll have finished a routine before they get a chance to joke about the check and probably won't at all.
That is your first out: preventing them from making the link.

If they do make the joke: Let it work. Let them have their laugh (this will add to their perception of a funny experience and you don't even have to do anything yet! ). When the laughter starts to die down again, you can rekindle it with your witty comment, doubling their laughing experience!

So far my theory. Now for the comment, I was thinking:

Guest: "Can you make the check disappear??"
HAHAHA
You: "Haha, well sir, I stopped doing that because after a couple of checks, the owner/my employer threatened to make my contract disappear "
HAHAHA
You: "But I can show you the following...."

And you've never done a restaurant gig? You'd be absolutely perfect! Very nice, thats something paddy or dbaker would say.

Score!

haha, was that your idea? if so may I have permission to use it if I ever get to work in a restaurant?

I'd like permission too, thats very clever.

Nice One Jason!!!! I would say something like " No I can't make it disappear but I can double it! Oh wait the last time time I did that they wouldn't tip me and I almost had to disappear!" That would be a subtle way to introduce the fact that you accept tips.

maybe but another good way is say that if I've made your evening please make mine by making a donation

this one is okay but I haven't used it yet

That is a good one liner, Can I get permission to use it?

It depends on your situation really on good intros, normally I just walk up to the table and go "hi, my name is ... I've been hired by the staff here as an entertainer and I'd like to show you a few things"

Normally from this point on its determined by your charisma and charm, people get nervous when they aren't expecting this kind of thing and it would always be a good idea to react differently to different people.

To the check tihng i used to say "nope but I can make your money dissapear". Thats a nice way to introduce a money trick, or its just a light heated joke.

Be careful though not to push it too far, remember some people dont want to see magic, or might get offended by it, in that case just move on.