When James found his magic secrets exposed by another magician in the group, he wasn’t sure how to act.
By Dominic Reyes
James writes: I’ve just got back from a wedding where I was performing at… I was there for the drinks reception and during the wedding breakfast. All was going well until I met a guy who said he was a magician and kept calling me out. (He knew absolutely everything) Has that happened to you before and how did you deal with it???? It really put me off and thankfully that was the last table but it burst my bubble lol
I’m sorry to hear that happened to you. That guy was a jerk… Having your magic secrets exposed by another magician is no fun at all. There’s no excuse for that sort of thing, and he should have known better. It’s amazing that this sort of thing happens. I’d always assumed that someone that takes the time to learn magic, would respect the performance of another magician.
I’d have called him up on it right away, by saying any of the following with a smile so as not to come across as aggressive:
‘You sound like a magician.. You should know better than to spoil the magic for everyone.. These guys would enjoy it more without the spoilers..‘
‘You know a bit about magic.. You know you are spoiling the magic for your friends, right?’
‘Your friends would enjoy this much more without you taking the mystery away from them..‘
The ‘spoiler’ will either reply as an apology and back off, or will try make light of it and continue.. If any of those lines don’t stop him right away, simply move to another group the moment he continued ruining the performance. You really are under no obligation to perform for spectators that are being disrespectful.
I’d say something like:
‘I see you already have a magician, so I’ll leave you with him.. Have a lovely evening, I’ll be around later, if you want to see more.‘
If he followed you to the next group, don’t confront him directly. You do not want an argument, as that reflects badly on you. I’d approach the client and explain that some guy is following me around and trying to stop me performing, could they have a ‘quiet word’. Your client paid for you, and will want it to go well, so they WILL understand and fix it.
Don’t let this get you down though. You are dealing with the general public. Some of them will be jerks, you just need to forget about them and perform for people.. That guy was jealous, he probably practices but never performs, he wanted the glory of being associated with the magic. He probably thought that magic secrets exposed like that, was a good way of getting attention, but no respect comes that way..
Hope this helps you
Have you had an experience of having your magic secrets exposed like this? What did you do? Let me know in the comments section at the bottom of this page.
Hello Dominic: I liked your reply to this fellows problem. Once when I had a disrespectful spectator, I did a trick that left him hero of the outcome. He liked that and became cooperative. On another occasion, I arranged for the wise guy to be a hero and he deliberately ignored the opportunity. I repeated it another of times. He failed to be the hero and name the correct chosen card! I stopped the routine and explained to the audience that this guy refused my information. They laughed at him and the trick was over. Be well, Lawrence Lessner
Thanks Lawrence. I like that approach. Sometimes it can just be that the spectator wants to be the ‘Alpha’, and making him or her part of the magic is all that’s required.
It’s much more understandable for a lay person to act like this, but for another magician to do it.. well.. that’s inexcusable.
Hope the magic is going well for you!
Dominic
Hi Dominic
Thank you for sharing your blog about magicians or layman spoiling it for the rest of the crowd, and the performer.
To add to that, I compare magic as to telling or sharing a joke. If the audience want me to repeat a trick or they want to spoil it, I explain nicely about how you share a joke because of the funny punch line they have never heard before.
If you tell a joke twice, it takes the fun out of it!
They will respect you for that, and the rest of your performances will be a joy to remember for the rest of your life.
Kind regards
Rob Bennett