Audiences: Remembering and Forgetting

I have come to the conclusion that there are two types of audiences: audiences that come to a show to remember, and audiences that attend a show to forget. It is amazing how different these audiences can be, and how their attention spans differ. An experienced performer can tell the difference between these two audiences and can change their performance style, script and even magic effect...

Privileges of a Street Performer

Over there! It’s happening here! — Just about to start! Magic show, it’s good, I know I’ve seen it before! These are just a couple of lines I have used to gain the attention of the passing public when I start a street show. Street theatre is an art form I simply love — more so — Magical Street Theatre, changing people’s lives who simply had no plans at all to watch a show. Then, they find...

The ABC’s of an Act

Get a short, silent, parlor/standup act that doesn’t use a lot of props or specifically require the knowledge of one language. Learn it. Know it. Repeat it in front of live audiences. Not just paying shows where everyone expects a magician there. Do it out of your pockets, in bars, at festivals, anywhere people gather. Talk with the owner of a bar or club, and ask them if you can come in and...

Midwifing Magic: Birthing Miracles in the Age of Reason

I knew what I was in for when I first met Jeff. He made no attempt to hide the fact that he has been madly in love with lady magic since he was seven years old. Since I only met him when he was 28, I knew she had twenty years on me, and that there was no sense in competing with her for his love. Instead, I began to woo her myself, and found that as I learned to speak Jeff’s primary...

The Value of a Mentor – Through the Eyes of an Apprentice

In our digital age of learning magic by watching YouTube I cannot help but wonder how far one can go by mimicking what they see someone else do in a video. Aside from performing for friends at school, how do you really take your interest in magic to the next level? It is not uncommon for young, aspiring artists to seek out a mentor among the group of successful contemporaries in their desired...