How to do Magic Tricks

Advice and Support for Magicians

Magic Secrets Revealed – WOW Factor & 3 Rules of Thumb

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The parties to a magic performance

By Stephen Gwillam Hill

The role of any performer is to ENTERTAIN, nothing else. There are three parties to a performance: the artist (with a support team), the individual spectator and the audience; which party matters most?

The audience – without whom there would be no performance. Yet too many ‘artists’ seem to regard themselves as the most important party. It really does matter a jot how good you are at ____________ (insert your art) if your audience doesn’t feel entertained. Far too many performers regard a performance as an ego trip for them and them alone. It’s called ‘vanity’.

The WOW factor

The key to a successful illusion isn't how it looks but the impression it makes AND LEAVES on the minds of the audience. The “Wow!” factor.

Remember, there is no such thing as “magic” or a “trick”, there is ONLY “illusion” and how all those minds perceive and respond to it. Let’s face it, the magical arts are really no more than a subtle form of blatant (but legal, hopefully!) forgery and fraud; please don’t give them a mystique they just don’t have. I’ve seen far too many magicians who are brilliant at the most expert, well-rehearsed, manipulation routine but who have bored me to distraction. There was no “wow”; it was merely a scientific demonstration of a particular skill with no entertainment value. David Copperfield did his famous illusion of vanishing the Statue of Liberty, and yet – conceptually anyway – how it was done is almost embarrassingly simple. What made it a memorable illusion which people talked about for years afterwards was its PRESENTATION. Stephen Frayne succeeds as Dynamo Magician Impossible not just because of the mechanics or visuals of what he does but how, when and where it is PRESENTED, and – ultimately – how it is received.

The elements of preparation

Not only is proper preparation vital for ANY performance but even more vital are the elements of that preparation and the relative importance given to each element. Einstein is credited with saying that scientific inventions were “10% inspiration, 90% perspiration”; I suggest that magic can be looked at similarly – what percentage is skill, what percentage is presentation?

3 magic secrets revealed in the 3 rules of thumb

1) Never look at what YOU are doing. What are your spectators doing?

2) Stuff the magic, think of Einstein!

3) If you are enjoying your performance, that’s great; if you are REALLY enjoying your performance, STOP!

 

A note from Dominic Reyes about this blog post

The title of this blog post starts with the keywords 'Magic Secrets Revealed' I personally hate that term, as it seems to exist simply to attract visitors that are searching for magic secrets and methods to the tricks they have seen on TV. As you know from reading this blog, that's not what you will find here. However, I picked it for a specific reason. Stephen posted the content of this post as a reply to a post about visual magic by Ben Williams, and I really liked the message he was making. I wanted to turn it into a full post, rather than have it buried in the comments section of another post. I also think the message is very important to exactly the people that would be searching online for the term MAGIC SECRETS REVEALED. Hopefully a few of them will take the time to read this short post and pick up a TRUE magic secret they might actually get some use from.

Good luck with your magic

Dominic Reyes

 

Running out of Magic Tricks

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Running out of Magic Tricks

By Dominic Reyes

Running out of magic tricks? What should you do if you burn through your material at a gig?

Okay, this is something that happens to every magician. It doesn't matter how carefully you build your magic act, construct your sets, or time the length of your magic tricks, sometimes you find you are running out of magic tricks and need to come up with something new FAST.

This can happen several reasons:

  • The event only has a few guests.
  • You're feeling very energetic and moved through your material too fast.
  • It's a repeat booking, and the guests have seen you perform before.
  • The layout of the tables means that all the guests are sat together.
  • The room is very small; so you are performing to the whole group.
  • You have been booked for an extended period of time.

When this happens, you need an action plan. Spending a few moments thinking about what you going to do in that situation will save you a lot of headache on the night.

Multi purpose magic tricks

There are many magic props that can be used for several different tricks. Here's 5 magic tricks that have a huge range of uses when you are running out of magic tricks:

Loops

Thumbtips

Coin Unique

Svengali Deck

M5 System

DO THIS:  Go over the props you already use and see if there are alternative tricks you can practice as backup.

If you use these items in your core act, take a moment to research alternative presentations you can do with those props. They may not be your staple material, but if you are running out of magic tricks to perform, you can go back to the items later and recycle them.

False Shuffles and Cuts

A deck of playing cards is a wonderful thing. There are more magic tricks you can do with your playing cards than you could learn in several lifetimes. Go back to the beginning and strip everything down to it's basics. A simple card location trick, a card force, or a colour change can be perfect for those moments when you are running out of magic tricks to perform. Learn how to do false cuts and shuffles. These simple techniques will allow you to demonstrate that you can locate any card in a deck. Quick to learn, and great material you can use as impromptu magic when you need more material.

Teaching people magic tricks

Every magician has been asked if they can teach a simple magic trick. Most magicians prefer not to do this, but it can work well if you choose something that is entertaining whilst not exposing the secrets of magic. Magicians never reveal their secrets and I don't suggest you should teach them professional magic tricks. There are lots of public domain simple puzzles that are fine to teach. Simple proposition tricks and bets work well. Choose tricks that naturally teach the method to the spectator as part of the presentation. A trick with matchsticks, where the matches are placed in a square and need to be moved to a new position with just a few moves is a typical example. It's more of a puzzle than a magic trick, but your presentation can make it appear to be something special. Never expose REAL magic secrets. Present a puzzle as a magic trick and you should be fine. The spectators don't need to know that you arn't really teaching them a magic secret, they just want something cool to show their friends and family.

Bar Bets

Many simple bar bets can be dressed up as magicial effects. You probably already know 5 or 6 bar bets you have picked up over the years. Take a moment to create a list of them and work out a way to give them a touch of magic.

DO THIS:               Make a cheat sheet of 5 bar bets and keep it in your close up case or wallet.

If you get a mental block when you find you are running out of magic tricks to perform, you can take a quick look at the cheat sheet and all will be well with the world.

Give a short talk about magic

How many times have you been asked this question, 'How did you become a magician?' It's on the tip of every spectators tongue. Create a short, entertaining story about the history of magic in your country, and how you discovered your magical powers. Talk about good magic on TV for spectators what would like to see more. Pepper the story with a couple of short magic effects. You can present this to the whole group if you are performing to a small crowd, or you can revisit responsive groups that would be interested. Clients love after dinner speakers, so offering to present a short talk on magic, goes down very well at the right type of event. It can kill quite a few minutes and really sets you apart from ofther close up magicians.

Build in more magic

Even a simple bar bet or puzzle can become magic. The perception of the trick is in the presentation that you fame the trick within. It's likely that one or two of your core effects have techniques within them that could be performed in isolation as their own trick. If you perform The Ambitious Card, could you take a single phase and present it as a stand alone effect with alternative props? Maybe your business cards could be used instead of playing cards? Perhaps the playing card levitation you showed everyone, could be repeated with an object from the spectators table?

How to Approach People to Show Them Magic Tricks – Video

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How to approach people to show them magic tricks

Magicians worry about how to approach people to show them magic tricks, but it's much easier than they think.

Practice, practice, practice they tell you in the magic books, but there's never much information about how to start your magic tricks off. How do you approach a group of people and start performing your magic?

Dominic Reyes recorded this short video about how he approaches people to show them magic in a close up magic setting.

Magicians that haven't performed to the public often tend to worry about how they are going to start off their performance. They may be confident in the magic tricks they perform, but approaching people isn't a magic trick, it's about confidence as a performer and overcoming fear of being rejected.

As a magician, you are there with an official role to play. Your job is to approach guests and show them something amazing. It's just as valid as any other person at the event and you should take comfort in that. You have a purpose for being at the event and you are no more an interruption of the guests time than the waiters that offers them drinks or canapés. Relax into the role of the magician you are playing.

The three keys to approach people to show them magic tricks.

Approach a group with a relaxed smile and a confident stride. Do these 3 things:

1) Tell them who you are.

2) Let them know what you do.

3) Engage them in a conversation or activity.

'Hi, I'm Joe Blogs the magician. I've been asked to show you some magic'

The line above covers the first 2 keys to an introduction, but it doesn't invite engagement. Adding in a question or an activity will make the introduction more effective:

'Hi, I'm Joe Blogs the magician. I've been asked to show you some magic tonight. Do you believe in magic?'

'Good Evening, I'm Joe Blogs the magician. I've been asked to show you some magic tonight. Do know why I carry these strange coins'

It's really as easy as that. Just like any introduction, it's about the APPEARANCE of confidence and purpose. It doesn't matter if you are feeling nervous about the approach, as long as you don't show it. If you edge slowly up to a group and fail to make eye contact or smile, you are giving signals that you don't want attention, that's exactly what the group will offer you. Approach with purpose. You have something very interesting for them and they are the lucky people to get to see you next.

Approaching strangers to show them your magic tricks is one of the most common areas of fear for magicians, but it's as simple as any introduction. Taking time to practice introducing yourself will be time well spent. As you gain experience, you will discover that it's not as hard as you imagine.