How to do Magic Tricks

Advice and Support for Magicians

Magic Secrets Exposed By Magicians Whilst You Perform

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magic secrets exposed by another magician

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

Dominic Reyes

 

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.

How Magicians Deal with Hecklers – People Spoiling Your Magic Tricks

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Magicians Deal with HecklersTrolling doesn’t just happen on the internet. If you perform magic to the public, sooner or later, you will come face to face with a magic troll.

How do you cope with people spoiling your magic tricks?

What do you say when someone tells you that they want to show YOU a trick?

What do you do when a spectator starts naming the techniques you are using, right in the middle of a trick?

On the internet, it’s easy to handle trolls, you simply don’t feed them with a reaction. But what about in real life? When you join a group to perfrom your magic and discover a magic troll, right there in the group. There’s no delete button in these situations. But there are easy and effective ways to deal with this situation.

Dominic Reyes talks about how he handles hecklers and trolls:

Key points from the video:

You are there for the groups entertainment. The service you are supplying is entertainment and fun. Putting your own ego as a performer above this is not a good idea.

If a spectator asks to show you a trick. Let them. Allow them to be in the spotlight for a moment and make sure you signal that you are enjoying their trick, even if it sucks.

Should a spectator start to explain the ending of the trick, ask them not to spoil the surprise for everyone else and that you would love to talk to them about magic later. Acknolodge that they are also a magician.

If a spectator shows you a card trick, make sure that the trick you do afterwards is not of a similar type. Don’t ‘one up’ the spectator. Do a coin trick or some mentalism, so you don’t appear to be putting them down with a better trick.

If a spectator seems to be set on ruining your tricks, end at the next natural stopping point and thank the group. Explain that you will be doing more magic later in the evening, and then move on to another group. You are not obliged to perform under these conditions. You can return to the group later in the evening, once the ‘heckler’ has moved on.

If a group clearly are not interested in watching you do magic tricks, DON’T. The spectators own you nothing, and you are there to entertain. A restaurant would not force a customer to eat a meal they did not like, and you shouldn’t force pople to watch magic if they don’t want to. Remember it’s all about THEM not YOU.

We all have different techniques and styles of handling tricky spectators. Share a tip about it in the comments section below: