performing for the public Archives

How to Find and Use a Magic Agency

‘No man is an island, Entire of itself.’ – John Donne

There are many benefits to working with one or more entertainment agents. However, attracting the attention of a good agent can be a challenge for magicians starting to perform magic to the public. If you intend to turn your magic hobby into a part-time or full-time job, it’s important to know how to find and work with a magic agent or agency.

The Benefits

An agent will probably have a great deal more experience than you in the entertainment industry. After all, that part of the process is their specific field. A good agent can also advise you on how to promote yourself more effectively and can point out the pitfalls of the business, so you don’t make mistakes, when you are starting out.

Agents grow a large list of clients over time that they build a relationship with. They understand the market in your local area and already have many regular events that they need magicians to work at. By using an agent, you benefit from their reputation as well as your own.

A good agent makes an investment in you. After all, you represent them when you work for them. They will help you develop as a performer, give you valuable experience of clients that you may not be able to attract on your own, and will guide you to be as successful as possible.

The costs.

Their service is being provided at a cost. The agent will either take a commission from each booking they give you (Usually around 10% – 15%). Some agents prefer to look for the best and most reliable entertainers, they can find, who will work for a fee that allows them to add their own fee on top without pricing themselves out of the booking. They will ask you and several other magicians to quote for a booking, and then they will go back to their client and quote with their fee on top.

Usually, an agent will not allow you to market your services at the event. They often insist that you hand out their business cards rather than your own. This is fair, as it is their client, but it can limit your ability to create your own contact list from referrals.

Some agents will contract you, and include an exclusivity clause, which prevents you from working with another agent, whilst your contract with them is in place.

How to choose an agent.

Most agents are awesome and will work really hard for you. Often a long term relationship will form, as they use you over the years with their clients. There are, however, some that have bad reputations and need to be avoided. Never work for an agent that charges you an up front fee to go on their books (This is illegal) The Agents Association has a code of conduct for its members and includes a very useful directory on its website. The union Equity also has a code of conduct for agents and produces a list to warn members about agents that performers have had problems with.

How to contact an agent.

A quick search on Google will bring up the details of several agents in your area. The usual process involves you sending an agent some information to introduce yourself. This should include:

A recent photograph of yourself, dressed as you do when you perform magic.
A short biography, with details of your act and previous experience.
Your membership of any magic societies.
Details of your availability.
A show-reel video of you performing.

Some agents will add you to their books right away. Others will want to meet you first and ideally watch you perform. They may try you out on a ‘safe gig’, perhaps with other magicians attending. It’s usual for the agent to attend themselves at those events, and a great time to meet you and see you in action.

An important note about magicians show-reels : The show-reel you send an agent needs to be your very best material, at your best gigs, getting the best reactions. Remember that an agent is not a magician. They don’t care how technically perfect your pass is. They care that the client enjoyed the magic you performed, and that the guests loved you being there too. Your personality, appearance, and professionalism are your products.

The show-reel video needs to be professionally edited to show the reactions your magic really receives. Don’t include footage of magic tricks filmed in your bedroom, living room or hallway, the footage needs to be at real events. If you do feature some tricks that are not live, make sure the background is plain and professional. An agent WILL make up his or her mind about you within a few seconds of the footage. No show-reel is much better than a poorly made one, as you only get one chance to impress an agent. If they don’t like what they see, it will be a challenge to get work from that agent, and possibly the agents they network with. Your show-reel needs to be professionally produced, and present you at the ‘top of your game’. It doesn’t matter how impressive your bio or list of clients appears to be, if your show-reel is not impressive, all that effort will be for nothing.

Sometimes agents will contact you instead.

Agents talk to the magicians that work for them, and sometimes, if an agent can’t find any magicians available for a gig, they will ask for a recommendation. If you have a good reputation in your area amongst the working pros, you may find you get a call from an agent, needing to fill a gig.

Six quick tips:

1) Send your details to an agent and follow up with them a week later. Don’t contact the agent repeatedly, chasing them to deal with you. That could turn them off you, when they were in fact, just very busy and were waiting for the right event to try you out.

2) Make sure the details you send them are professional and brief. If you send them a huge essay on your life story and why you like magic, this may work against you. It simply may not even be read.

3) If your agent asks that you don’t market to their clients, make sure you NEVER do. Don’t be tempted to hand out a few of your business cards. If that got back to the client, and the agent found out, you will not be used again, and a bad reputation spreads quickly through their professional network.

4) Create a copy of your own promotional website, without any contact details or links, that the agent can send clients to. An agent may use a few of your promotional images and a short description about you, on their own site, but will welcome an ‘agent friendly’ site about you, that will help sell your magic to a client.

5) If you host a show-reel, you need to create a second copy which does not have your contact details featured in it.

6) When doing a gig for an agent, remind the client that you are working for the agent, and ask that they let the agent know how well you did.

Leaving a Magic Gig – Essential Things You Should Do

by Merchant of Magic 4 Comments

Being a magician is about learning and performing magic, but being a working magician means you need to look after the business side of entertainment too. What you do as you leave a gig can be just as important to your success, as the marketing you did before you landed the job. If you simply pack up your bag and head home, you could be missing out on some very important opportunities to bring in more work. So let’s look at some of the tips and tricks you can do, after the card tricks have been done, to make sure you get the most out of each and every booking you do.

See the Toastmaster.

If the event has a toastmaster or master of ceremonies, make sure you tell him or her that you are leaving. They love to announce it to the room (Toastmasters crave announcing anything they are can, whenever they can), and you will get a round of applause from all the guests. This is a boost for your confidence, but most importantly it shows everyone that the group really enjoyed having a magician attend. The client confirms that they made a wise investment, and all the people clutching your business card, see how well the magic went down with everyone. The final thing you want the whole room to associate you with is a huge round of applause.

Say goodbye to the client.

The room is in full swing and the client is buzzing from table to table talking to their guests. Make sure you go up to them and say that you now need to leave, and thank them for booking you. NEVER just pack up and go, when your time is up.

Hold a magic trick back just for the client.

When you say goodbye, you don’t want to appear too eager to leave. Yes, I know, that McDonalds you noticed on the drive in, is calling you, but resist it. Stop and chat. They will often ask for ‘one more trick’ so hit them with a great closer effect, so you leave them amazed.

Give the client your deck of playing cards.

Let’s face it, almost every magician performs card tricks that require the spectators to sign a card. Keep those playing cards with signatures on, in the deck rather than giving them to the spectators and you have a great gift for the client at the end of the evening. They get a deck of cards with all their friends and families names on them. It’s a nice keepsake, especially at a wedding, and also shows the client, how you got around everyone and worked hard. Pop your business card in the card case too.

Would you like to learn more tips and advice for when you leave a magic gig? The Merchant of Magic has written a free ebook on the subject. It’s free and suitable for complete beginners getting ready for their first magic performance, right through to professionals wanting to get more gigs and improve their feedback.

How To Do Magic Tricks Where People Are Eating

by Merchant of Magic 1 Comment

By Dominic Reyes

Some of the most popular venues for close up magic are restaurants. People go there to relax, enjoy great food, socialize and be entertained. Because of this, restaurants are very busy places, and it’s important to know a few things about the structure of the evening and how to approach performing magic tricks where people are eating.

The Plan.

There are a few factors that you need to identify as soon as possible when you arrive:

Will you be the only magician?

Luckily, being a magician is not like time travel, and the universe will not end if two inhabit the same space. Mostly you will be the only magician, but sometimes if there are several hundred guests, the clients may have booked a few magicians to make sure everyone gets to see the magic. The ideal ratio tends to be one magician for every 150 guests. If it’s a large event, you may be working with a few more magicians, so find out where the setup area is and go meet them. Now is the time to make sure you are not going to be doing the same tricks, and to decide how the tables will be split up.

How many tables?

You need to ensure that every table gets to see some magic during the evening.

When does the meal end?

Find out what will be happening when the coffee’s are served. Will there be speeches? Perhaps dancing or a cabaret show will start. Do they have an after dinner speaker or awards? Knowing this is vital as you can then split up your time at each table to make sure you don’t get struck at the end with tables still to do.

Is there something happening between courses?

Sometimes awards may be planed between courses, or a speech will be given. Find this out in advance, so you don’t get any nasty surprises, right in the middle of performing at a table.

What type of meal will be served?

Will it be a set series of courses or a buffet? If it’s a set meal, find out how many courses will be served.

If at all possible don’t perform while your guests are eating.

You are going head to head with food, which is satisfying one of your guests primary drives, so don’t try to compete with that!

Dominic Reyes writes: I was performing at the Dorchester and was booked for a private room in the Chinese restaurant. All good, but it poses a challenge for magicians. The room is tiny. Just big enough for one large round table, with no side rooms and only one exit. The entrance is a solid windowless wooden door leading to a very busy corridor used by the waiters to serve all the areas. Basically, I had nowhere to wait other than in the room with the guests thought the meal, which consisted of 9 courses. As soon as a course ended, it was whisked away and another arrived. This can be a problem for magicians, as there are no defined start and end points for the magic to be presented. I ended up entertaining while the guests ate. They did not seem to mind at all, but it’s very hard to keep the group’s attention while they rolled aromatic crispy duck into pancakes.

The buffet.
If it’s a buffet, you will face several problems doing magic tricks where people are eating:

People continually getting up to leave the table.
Some guests will have finished while others still have full plates
Guests from other tables can visit the table right in the middle of a trick.
Courses tend to go on for much longer

In those types of meals, it’s often better to let the first course, go by, and wait for the guests to become more relaxed. After they have all visited the buffet at least once, they will be more relaxed and happy to focus on other things.

Knowing the format right from the start, lets you decide how much time you can allocate to each table. Find this out right from the start, so you don’t have to rush the last few tables. Not fun at all.

DO THIS: When you arrive, go and look around the room before your guests arrive. Count the tables and look at the layout. Chances are there will be staff putting out the finishing touches to the tables. One of these people will be the event planner. That person can very quickly answer your questions so you are all set for the event.

Do you have any further tips for doing magic tricks where people are eating? Leave a comment below