For those of you who perform the tilt move, I stumbled across a great tip when performing two nights ago. I was in the middle of my ambitious card routine when I started to perform the tilt move and I made a mistake in my patter by saying “I am going to bury your card about 3 cards down into the deck!” (normally I would say 30 cards down). In this instance, one of the spectators immediately pointed out that the card was buried more like 30 cards down. This was a great moment for me. The spectators had actually convinced themselves that the card was buried under 30 cards and the reaction was even stronger than I normally get. It really is the small things in life!
Tips and Tricks
7
Nov 09
Proximity to the Audience & Seating
I did a corporate show tonight for about 300 people. There was an entire dance floor between the stage and the audience. The show went well, but it could have gone better. I’m not quite sure why the distance between the audience and the stage is so crucial but it definitely is. It seems that the closer I am to the audience, the better the show is.
Here is my theory:
I think after a certain amount of space there is a disconnect between the entertainer and the audience. The audience no longer feels like part of the show. Unlike a more intimate situation, the audience now feels free to break out into conversation at their tables. In hindsight, I also think that when the audience is seated at tables as opposed to theater style seating, you have to make sure that they are all situated to face you before you begin. Having backs to you with a large distance between yourself and the audience is a show killer and should be avoided as much as possible.
Here is my solution:
First and foremost, try and get everybody situated so that they are turned in your direction. However, the key secret that I discovered tonight is…TURN YOUR MIKE UP. One minute I was struggling to get everybody’s attention, the next I was blessed with a sound manager from the heavens who turned up my mike and allowed me to take full control. I know this may seem like common sense but the further away you get from the audience, the harder it is for them to hear you…so turn it up and make it hard for them to ignore you. Worked great for me and the show went off without a hitch.
22
Jul 09
Why didn’t I think of this?
I was having dinner the other night with the very talented magician and hypnotist Chuck King. While we were going over the subtleties and intricacies of “the pass”, Chuck gave me a beautiful tip for practicing card moves:
Add an additional 25 cards to your deck of cards when practicing. Anything you can do successfully with 77 cards, you can do with 52 cards without thinking.
Now why didn’t I think of that?
