Ben want's to know the best time to perform magic tricks at a dinner party:

I was asked to go and perform my magic to guests at an Xmas party in a hotel I work for. It was table to table; each table had about 10 people. But I wasn't sure when would be the best time to perform? I think it should be Between the courses of the meal. There was a DJ booked for after the meal, so the lights were going to go down and everyone would get up to dance. So, I was not 100% sure when would have been a good time to go round. When would you recommend close up magicians should perform?

That’s a great question Ben. Timing at an event is something that many magicians come up against.

To begin with, you are there to enhance people's evenings. The guests are not there specifically for a magic show, so you have to make sure that you fit in with everything, but do not disrupt the flow of their evening.

Don’t compete with the food.

It’s not a good idea to perform during the main course; the guests should be able to enjoy their food. Polite people will watch you and let their food go cold, and everyone else will eat their food, but you will not have their full attention, either way it is a lose – lose situation.

Perform to a table or two as soon as the guest sit down. Speak with the waiting staff and find out which tables are being served first, then start with the tables that are being served last. This way you will get some applause from these tables so everyone else will know something is going on, and it will set the night off well.

Ration your tables.

Count your tables, and look at how much time you have to perform for them. You can then calculate the average amount of time you can spend at each table. Do not forget to factor in the main course and reset time. For example, if you have guests sitting down at 7:30 and the DJ begins at 9, you have 1 1/2 hours maximum. If you discount 15 minutes, (to be safe) for the main course, then that is now 75 minutes. If there are 10 tables, then that is 7 1/2 minutes per table which should be reduced down to 6 minutes so as to account for any reset time or disturbances.

Pacing the magic tricks.

In this situation, perform something quick to begin with, and then follow with a couple of magic tricks that are short and fun, and have an impossible climax. Magic tricks like a Drawing Duplication, Bill in Orange or Ring Flight work well to end a set like this.

A general rule of thumb is to not perform during the main course. Perform during the starter, desserts, and coffees if it is necessary for timings. You can work a room so that you begin with the tables that are last to be served; this means that the first tables will be almost finishing their starter when you are finishing with the later tables.

Get some friends on in your team.

If you speak with the waiting staff, show them a trick or two and befriend them then they will help you out rather than nudge you out of the way if they have to serve something to the table whilst you are in mid trick!

Find out the agenda.

Be sure to check if there are any speeches or any other disturbances that may interrupt the meal, as you will have to factor this in as well. This is question worth asking at the time of the booking so that the client knows that there may be an extra fee if they wish you to stay on longer.

The early bird.

It can be tricky making sure you see everyone and make sure everyone has a great time but if you arrive at your venue with enough time and ask the right questions when booking your gig then you will be able to easily work out timings, make sure you get to see everyone, and receive rapturous applause from the whole room!

How to Stop Feeling Guilt When Doing Magic Tricks and Sleight of Hand

by Dominic Reyes Leave a Comment

Ben Williams suggests ways to reduce feelings of guilt when performing close-up magic tricks and sleight of hand.

Guilt is something every person has to deal with at some point when studying sleight of hand and magic tricks. Simply because you have to lie to your spectators faces about what you are doing sometimes. Simple statements like, ‘we’ll lose your card in the deck’ or, ‘if I place the coin in my hand’ sound easy to say. However, these statements can be tougher to say convincingly whilst performing your sleight of hand.

Telegraphing.

Another common issue with guilt can be the guilt of performing sleight of hand in general. Some moves (especially ones that you worry about performing) may become apparent to a spectator simply because you are telegraphing the fact that you are performing a sleight. You must learn to feel at ease with all the sleights you perform. If you feel guilty when performing a move like a shuttle pass or false transfer it will only give the spectators more chance to catch you out. The more you worry about the move, the more you transmit through non verbal communication that you are doing something fishy.

When you have to perform a move you are worried about, the body tenses up and you may stutter or hesitate. You may even become slightly more withdrawn, and look at the cards, or your hands instead of the spectator. All these subconscious clues tell the spectator that something dodgy is about to happen. Relax and believe you are doing what they think you are doing, and it will all become easier and more enjoyable!

The solution to magicians guilt.

If you have guilt about doing something secretly in your pocket, like load a box, or switch an item, and you really don’t want to draw attention to it, then there really is only one answer for this: practice! Practice the load or switch over and over again, and also make sure you practice in the clothing you will be performing in. If you practice in baggy clothing, and are wearing tighter clothing when you perform it can really make a difference with the handling. Use pocket managment. Try to look at where things are in your pockets, or if there is another pocket you have that it would work equally well with but be less fiddly. If you are fidgeting and people pay attention to it, simply joke and say, 'sorry I am not being rude, I just have so many things in my pockets, like fairy dust, and whatchamacallits. I cannot find my little box!' A simple comment like that, and they will be thinking you have all manner of things in your pockets, so the fidgeting is now justified. People don't really know what a magician has in their pockets! You can help to draw attention away from your pockets by asking the spectators to do something at the same time. Ask the spectator a question, or hand them something like the deck of playing cards to shuffle. Any action will buy you a few more critical seconds.

Once you are practiced, and up to speed with all of your sleight of hand and routines then all you need to do is perform, the guilt will disappear. You can always justify it by telling yourself that you cannot give someone the wonderful experience of magic without a little white lie here and there!

The 7 Habits of Highly Successful Close Up Magicians

by Dominic Reyes 3 Comments

By Dominic Reyes

Over the years, I've had the pleasure of working with some of the most talented close up magicians in the world. By viewing these successful working magicians in action, it's possible to spot several factors that they all have in common. We can copy these 'habits' and add them to our own practice and performance of magic. Lets look at the 7 performance habits most often found in the behavour of successfull magicians:

1) Keeping control of the audience

It's important to learn how to control and direct your audience. Successful magicians take time to learn how to capture attention, foster interest, and control a group of spectators. Reading books on direct sales and showmanship just as much as you read magic books can help you learn ways to gain control of your audience and keep their attention throughout your performance. Discuss audience management with other performers. Take note what works well in a live situation. Successful magicians will often spend just as much time relating to their spectators as they do performing the mechanical aspects of their magic tricks. Time is taken to perfect posture, eye contact, and pacing, to control how a spectator reacts. Learning how to control an audience will ensure that you don't hesitate if a spectator suddenly asks you a question in the middle of you trick. You learn to keep your cool by anticipating this behaviour in advance, whilst not appearing to ignore the interruption that may have taken place.

2) Punctuality.

Successful magicians make a habit of arriving in plenty of time for their shows. Being on time is vital if you want to build a great reputation. In fact, being on time is not good enough. Arriving early to a gig gives you time to check out the venue, chat with the client and the event staff, and address any unexpected problems that may have occurred. If you are booked to start at 8pm, make sure you arrive by 7pm. An extra hour may seem excessive, but it pays off over the long term. Being relaxed, ready and prepared is far more important than an extra hour before you set off for a gig. That hour is usually spent in 'preparation limbo' anyway, so spend it at the venue instead. Being early means that you stay calm and relaxed.

3) Pocket Management and Resets.

Do you remember your first magic gig? I do remember my first time performing as if it were yesterday. I took way too much stuff with me, and loaded my pockets with as many magic tricks as I could carry. I remember laughing after the gig that I really only needed 20% of the items I carried with me that night. In fact, the gig was harder because of all the equipment getting in the way. Successful magicians know exactly what they will need for each gig and streamline their pocket management, so every item has its place. The magic tricks that successful magicians perform tend to be built into working sets. Each set is designed to have the right resets and the magic props have locations on the magician which allow him or her to move through the set without fumbling for pens, cards or any of the props needed for the set. Good pocket management will make your magic seem effortless and spontaneous.

4) Knowing when to arrive and leave.

The best close up magicians know just when to join a new group and when to leave. They don't just plough into a new group as they stumble through the room working. They look for 'in' moments, when there is a break in the conversation, and they can engage the group without interrupting a guests anecdote or joke. Successful magicians know how to leave a group wanting more. Their magic are constructed to:

Introduce
Engage
Create energy
Build to an applause.

Knowing when to stop performing is just as important as the choice of magic tricks that you perform. Successful magicians perform just enough to entertain the group, but not so much that they are taking over the whole event. The secret is to leave them wanting more. Perform a few tricks, and promise that you can return later if they request it.

5) Effective use of space.

Close up magicians don’t use a stage for their shows. The magic happens right in the thick of the action. That means there is little or no control over the performing environment. Successful magicians will have already scouted out the venue before they start performing. They know the blind spots in the room, the walkways, serving points and access channels around each table. When they perform, skilled magicians move around through the show, making sure that everyone is engaged and gets to see the magic tricks up close. Motion is life, and motion created energy. Standing in one spot though your whole set of tricks, doesn’t help build energy. It’s one of the reasons modern comedians tend to pace up and down the stage as they deliver their stand up comedy. Movement keeps peoples attention.

6) Simplification.

There are commercial magic tricks, and tricks designed for entertaining magicians. One of the most common differences between the two forms of magic is simplicity. Successful magicians understand that the magic tricks they perform need to be simple to understand. A general rule of thumb is: A magic trick should be easy to explain in a single sentence. When it comes to casual walk-around magic, effort= boring to the spectators. That doesn’t mean that the magician can’t perform magic that touches on complex concepts, but the presentation needs to be clever enough to reduce the complexity to it’s simplest form, so most of the thinking has already been done for the spectators. A great example of this in action is the work of Derren Brown. Many of these presentations involve quite heavy theories or concepts. However, his entertaining presentation simplifies this for the audience, so they don’t feel like they are having a mental workout.

7) Timing.

Probably the most important skill of successful magicians, yet one that is so often overlooked, is timing. Knowing just when to pause, when to speed up, and when to pass a cheeky smile to the spectator. Timing is everything, once the mechanical aspects of a magic trick have been mastered. Despite this, it’s often not discussed in the instructions for most magic tricks. Timing comes from rehearsal of the whole trick, including the patter and physical actions. It’s then developed through live performance and remains in a constant state of development though out the magicians whole experience performing the act. There are many courses and books for actors on timing, and it’s effort well spend, building up as much knowledge as possible on this key skill to becoming a successful magician.

Where the 7 habits of sucessful magicians come from.

What do all 7 habits of successful magicians have in common? None of them are found in the instructional DVD that comes with most magic tricks. They develop through performance. Not necessarily live to the public, as performance can be simulated in rehearsal, but they only develop through applying each magic trick into the environment that it will be presented within. To develop the 7 habits of successful magicians, I recommend getting as much experience as possible, performing your magic to strangers in a social setting. This doesn’t need to be paid gigs, you can do charity events, fund raisers or community social gatherings. The key is to get out and find out how magic is presented in the real world, with all the distractions and interactions that provides. The rewards you will gain, in the development of your magic performance will be limitless.