Guys, I thought I'd write a note today discussing a cruise ship magician I had the privilege of witnessing. I say privilege because I learned more about what NOT to do as a magician than I ever had before! What follows are some tips I derived from doing exactly the opposite of what this poor man was attempting. He claimed 30+ years experience, and it just goes to show that practice does not make perfect when you practice incorrectly.
1. He was performing a parlor show where people took full advantage of the seats in the middle to back of the room. Unfortunately he was only doing close-up magic which meant no one could see anything that was going on. This caused some to leave because they weren't drawn in. I have two comments about this setting.
A. Knowing beforehand the room in which he was to perform, he should have designed his routine to play to the back row. If the ones in the back knew what was going on, so would the ones in the front.
B. Knowing there was a small crowd, he could have easily invited everyone to join him at the front for a close-up exhibition. This would have catered to his close-up style as well as drawn in his entire audience. Do not get stuck in the same rut and ignore the changes in audience, setting, and even simple things like time of day, etc. (For instance, mental magic is going to be totally lost around 2 AM when most people are bleary-eyed or drunk.)
2. He had a very weak voice. He should have worked on voice training to project to the back row. To compensate he chose to use a microphone on a stand. The result? We heard the first part of every trick and watched a "mime" do the finale of every trick as he moved away from the mic stand. A lapel or headset microphone would have fixed the entire problem. However, again our magician was unobservant to the fact people could not follow.
3. He was extremely confusing with his routines. They were very poorly scripted, if at all. You always need a script. PLAN on what you want to say. This ensures you will not say the wrong thing, but it also ensures you say the RIGHT thing! Take notes and see what works and what doesn't. Have a point to your magic!
4. At the finale of every effect he announced, "And that's magic!" Seriously? Something should have tipped this guy off that he was a terrible performer, but instead of analyzing WHY his routines fell flat, he decided to compensate by announcing the time we should be obligated to clap. I found this offensive as a professional performer.
5. He criticized almost every volunteer. This may have been a cultural thing (he was not American), but it was extremely degrading to his already-small audience. No one found it amusing. I think a much better tact would have been overwhelming adoration for the 10 people who wasted their afternoon watching his performance. Remember, no one likes to be made fun of even if they "laugh with you" on stage. They already feel somewhat stupid because you know how the effect is done and they don't. Don't make it worse. Make them feel like they are part of the magic...because they ARE.
6. I wouldn't have expected it from this caliber of a performer, but he didn't choreograph his steps during his routines. This meant he turned his back to the audience on occasion. Guess what? People left. Even a terrible performer can keep a crowd with eye contact. They feel obligated to stay because you'll notice if they leave. However, it's also a nice check to see how the magic is going if you turn your back and people high-tail it out of there! Moral of the story: don't turn your back on your audience.
I hope that some of you found these tips helpful as I did. I have gone through my own routines after video taping them to watch for some of these signs of a bad performance. Be tough on yourself and your audience won't have to! Good luck!
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