Hey all. I am writing this essay as a sort of 'celebration' of my 2,000th post. the topic of this essay is the concept of getting out there and getting some real experience.
Now I am not talking about making your magic a full-time job or anything, but I mean rather than staying cooped up at home and practicing for hours on end, you should get out there! Practice is a good thing, but in a way, performing for strangers is pracice too, because you get better from it. You don't only get better at performance, but on a social level too.
I happen to know of a few magicians that are very good at what they do, but they are too scared to perform in fron of people they don't know. for those of you that do perform for strangers, then you know how quickly the fear goes away after that first 'David Blaine' type reaction that you get. I can understand their fear, because the world is very brutal, and most people will tell it to you like it is. I like to consider the magic spectators as a bunch a 'Simon Cowells." People for some reason seem to look down upon magicians, and therefore they look for any way that they can possibly make you look like a fool in front of everybody. Don't let this discourage you, make it a point that you want to go and show those types of people a thing or two.
Another thing that I hear even veteran magicians having a problem with, is the shakiness of the hands during perfomance. I must admit that I am one of those magicians that gets the shakes every now and then. (depending on who I am performing for) But I find this to be a perfectly normal thing. It is somewhat of an adrenaline rush that you get when you are performing and effect and all you can think about is how great your reactin is going to be when you get to BANG part of the trick. I honestly don't see any way of dealing with this problem. But it really isn't that big of a deal, because it all goes away once your spectators start running around screaming as if they were little kids again. But if you happen to get the shakes during the middle of a performance, the best advice I can give to you is to keep on going and go with the flow, for all roads lead to rome.
Another thing that I found people are afraid of is rejection. It is true that there is virtually nothing more embarassing than being rejected by a spectator after approaching them. This is a topic that I can give some advice in. The HUGE mistake that I see alot of magicians making, is when they approach their spectator, they say something along the lines of "would you like to see a trick?" uh uh......that is a BIG no no. It is even a worse thing for young magicians like myself to say something like that. For some odd reason, lay people don't seem to take kids seriously when they are doing magic (I think that when you do an explosive trick, it just adds to the effect if they think you're just some un talented little kid) Anyways, rahter than approaching them with a line like that, I find it best to say something along the lines of "Would you like to see something" (while pulling out a deck) But sometimes, you may get lucky enough, if you are just walking around doing fancy flourishes or something, and your spectator approaches you asking if you know any magic tricks. Better yet, if someone sees you with your cards and says "I know a magic trick....you wanna see it?" usually it is something beyond the level of stupid. Then all you do is say "wow, that was pretty good......I can do one thats not that good, but it is pretty good" Then knock em off their feet with something like Here then There or Biddle Trick.
The last point that I would like to make is the impact of the tricks you choose to perform. Once you get enough courage to approach a spectator, don't you dare got up to them and perform a little self working trick that is in every library known to man. Even before you approach the spectator, it is good to realize what your very best effect is, and hit them with that. If you start off with a corny trick such as that 21 card trick thing, they will most likely think you are a waste of time and not want to see anymore. On the other hand, if you start off with a BIG trick such as Here then There or 2 Card Monte or something like that. It is going to be difficult to make them go away, because they are just going to want to see more and more.
Thus ends another one of my essays, and like I have said before......all feedback is appreciated whether it be positive or nagative.
but before I end it......I would like to thank MOSTLY everybody here on the forums for keeping at the magic and not letting penguin go completely to waste.
3 people who have been working hard recently are Fcchief, RoatC, and Bravesaint......you 3 have been putting up with these people that want to advertise their own site or start flame wars or even expose. And for putting a stop to it quickly and harmlessly, I appluad you.
and to all the non-moserators who have worked hard on keeping these boards alive (people such as magicmandan, BeMan, ImmortalDusk, Scorpio, Adammcd, and the departed smar99 just to name a few)
Thank you to all dedicated forum members for being on your toes and jumping at any opprotunity to help a fellow magician out.
Magic4ever
-Scott
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