How to Find an Audience for Your Magic Tricks

Richard writes: 'I've been practicing magic for a few years, but only performing to my family. How do I find an audience for my magic tricks?'

Nice work Richard! You've been practicing your magic over the long term, and that shows a real commitment to develop as a magician. Like many people, you have reached the point where you have run out of new people to see your tricks. After all, magic needs fresh eyes because a magic trick is never as strong when it's repeated to the same person. Lets look at some ways you can start performing to a wider audience.

Dominic Reyes recorded a short video in which he talks about finding an audience for your magic tricks:

In a nutshell, it's all about reaching out to the community. You already have an audience that would love to see your magic. It doesn't have to be a commercial transaction as the real value for you initially is experience. Start looking for an audience for your magic tricks amongst the charity and support sector. Study the 'what's on' guide to look for events that might like to 'bolt on' some close up magic. Advertised events may be at a stage where they have already arranged the entertainment, but that should not stop you. The goal is to make contact with the organisers and introduce yourself. When the best season of events start to be planned, you can recontact and be at the front of their minds, when they are doing serious planning.

The secret is to MAKE CONTACT. The world will not come to you, all by itself.

Introduce yourself and become known in those circles. If you make an effort to put yourself out there as a possible entertainment choice, you will land some gigs sooner or later.

Remember to be active in the magic community. Join a local magic club and be INVOLVED. You will have fun, learn, and develop an understanding of your local areas market for magicians.

Why Magicians Want To Teach Performance and Practice Skills

by Dominic Reyes Leave a Comment

Why does a magic shop publish a blog just about performing, practicing and developing as a magician?

Why does the blog recommend that you slow down your spending on new magic tricks, and focus on the material you already have?

Why not just post news and reviews about the magic trick products that the magic shop sells?

The answer is so simple that we don’t even need to explain it. You can see why we love running the blog just from comments like this one from a customer to the magic shop:

‘Thanks for the help and advise I’ve received from the team so far.

In September 2012, I performed my first gig at a small wine bar in my local town, and now a year on and some great times performing magic at events, I’m enjoying learning, practicing and performing as a magician!

I couldn’t have done any of it without help from Ben Williams, Dominic Reyes , and the team at the Merchant of magic!! I recommend them for their experience as professional magicians. Their tips and stories help anyone prepare for the scary first gig, or even an unusual performance in difficult circumstances! Thank You!’ – Joel Spaven

It’s not about the magic shop.

Thanks Joel, but the hard work came from YOU. Like many of our customers, and especially the magicians that have personal tuition from us, we only point them in the right direction, suggest magic tricks that are the best for them, and show them where to find out more. Your success moving into performing for the public comes from you taking ACTION! Making a conscious decision to move your magic forward, rather than staying ‘safe’ and not getting out there to perform.

For us, it’s not really about selling in the end. If it was, we wouldn’t choose magic as a product! All the team are working magicians, madly and deeply in love with magic. The shop supports us, feeds our families and allows us to focus on magic full time, but it’s purpose is to push magic forwards, allow beginners to discover magic, push past the casual hobby stage and build a lifelong passion for studying magic and most importantly PERFORMING.

People lose interest in magic.

Over the years, we found out some interesting stats about magic, and peoples interest in it. The average period of interest a beginner has is around 6 months. 63% of beginners drop out of practice after 6 months dabbling in developing the skills of a magician. After that, a second ‘drop out’ period occurs at 2 years. One of the biggest factors for continuing learning magic past the 2 year period is PERFORMING. If a beginner starts performing during that initial 2 year period, they are highly likely to continue their interest in learning magic for many years to come.

The mission.

It’s these statistics that motivate the team. We want to find a way to push people past those ‘drop out’ danger zones. Give them motivation to practice, and gently encourage them to start showing people the magic tricks they have spend so long practicing. That’s what a real magic dealer should contribute to the magic community, and it’s the mission statement of the merchant of magic team.

How Magicians Perform Magic Tricks to a Large Table

by Merchant of Magic 1 Comment

By Dominic Reyes

Carl writes:  ’What’s the best way for magicians to perform magic tricks at a large table?’

That’s a great question. It’s easy to perform at small table of 4 – 6 people, but what happens when you have a large table of more than 10? What should you do, if the host has arranged the tables all together in a long row? We thought we would give you some tips.

Where to stand.

When you walk up to a table, look for a gap between two people that are not in conversation. If you suddenly appear between two people talking, there is a chance you will be ignored. Not being noticed by the guests next to you is a strong signal to the whole table. Not the impression you want to communicate. Find a space which isn’t hidden by large objects on the table, so everyone can see you. A visible space, between two people who are not already ‘engaged’ will mean that they both stop and look at you. Everyone else can see that you have arrived, and that people are paying attention.

Capturing attention.

A large table, by its nature, has a lot of people around it. That means that it will have plenty of stuff happening just as you approach it. It’s easy to go unnoticed, unless you make sure you can capture the attention of the group.

When you walk over to a table, some people will notice you and stop their conversations to pay attention to the new arrival. Some may think you are a waiter, and have come to bring something to the table, whilst others will simply ignore you because they are deep in conversation. It’s vital that you are confident at this point. If you sneak up to the table and stand there waiting for everyone to stop what they are doing, you may be in for a long wait.

Introduction.

It’s time to say something. Address the people on the opposite side of the table. Introduce yourself, and say briefly what you are about to do. Make eye contact with several people as you do this. Your introduction is about starting a conversation with the whole table.

If conversations continue.

Resist the temptation to ask people to stop what they are doing. Instead, use an indirect way to gather everyone into the show that is starting. One way to do this, is to pick a volunteer and ask the whole table to give them a round of applause for helping you, this will politely end most conversations that are happening because something very interesting is going on with the rest of the group. It’s also very enjoyable for the table and a great signal to give to the rest of the room.

Involving everyone.

Use magic that gets people involved. Ask questions and get people interacting with other people around the table.

•   If you need a card signed tell a few people to sign their name on it or draw a silly picture on it.
•   Ask a question for a show of hands: ‘So, who here, has ever been a magician’s assistant?’
•   Get people voting : ‘Please put your hands up if you believe in magic?

Move around.

Don’t stay in one spot through your whole act. Circling the table as you address people between tricks will make people track you. As you move, ask a question or tell the table something, so they follow you. Moving around keeps the energy going and captures the attention.

The secret.

It’s all about giving people something to do. They clap, put their hands up, volunteer someone else, answer a question, follow you as you move to another spot, or get involved by holding an object. If you engage people ALL AROUND the table, you can easily hold the whole group’s attention.

The long table.

The worst table a magician can ever worked on is the long table. This is a popular room set up in very large events, and can be a particular challenge for new magicians. Often, one side of the table is close to a wall, so it’s not possible to travel all around the group. In these situations, it’s best to break the table into distinct groups and work your way down the table. Apply exactly the same techniques described above, but treat each section of 8 people as their own group. Perform different tricks to each section.

Performing your magic tricks at a large table is not as hard as it looks. It’s all about audience control, and that is 99% about giving people fun things to do, a reason to participate, and the social signals that a ‘show’ has started for them.