Posted by Ian on 2009-06-13
in Trick
I think most magicians would accept that the opening trick is the hardest. With it you have to establish yourself as a performer, hook the audience in to see the rest of the show and demonstrate that you are worth staying around to watch for the next forty five minutes.
I’ve gone through a myriad of opening tricks over my performing career and only recently come to the conclusion that the perfect opening trick is beyond my capability. Instead I now have two.
In my lecture for magicians I explain about what I consider to be the two extremities of an audience – the corporate and the cruise ship. To me they are chalk and cheese.
[As an interesting sideline, one of the books I researched when writing my own book was called The Banquet Magician’s Handbook. This was written by an American magician, clearly aimed at the US market. The author wrote: “Corporate audiences are almost like a cruise ship audience.” Just another example, perhaps, of the cultural difference between the US and the UK.]
The average corporate audience are sitting around tables having had a meal; many will have been drinking quite a bit; most of the audience know each other; they usually aren’t expecting any entertainment and, if they are, they certainly aren’t expecting me.
Cruise ship audience, by comparison, are seated in theatre style; their alcohol consumption will be at a minimum; they only know a small number of other people on the ship; and they are anticipating my appearance because I’ve been advertised in the daily newsletter.
With a corporate crowd, I can afford to go straight into ‘attack’ mode; involving the audience from the start with banter and asking questions. This approach doesn’t work on a cruise ship. They are used to sitting back and watching; they are happy to be involved but not straightway. They need much more time to suss me out as a performer before they decide whether they like me or not.
It’s in these two very different situations that my two different opening tricks come into play. One of them instantly involves audience participation; the other involves none at all. It is, I’m the first to admit, a far from ideal position. I would much rather have one trick that would fit all occasions.
In normal circumstances I know instinctively which opening trick to pack away in my case before departing for a show. Just recently, however, I was caught out. I was booked to do a show at a Royal British Legion Club. Would this audience be more corporate or more cruise ship in inclination? I had no idea. I wasn’t taking any chances – I took both.
By doing this I had broken one of my own rules – advice which came courtesy of another magician, Alan Shaxon: “Always leave your troubles at home”. That is, don’t be in a position of planning your act when you arrive at a venue.
Just shows there are never any fixed rules in this game.
I’ve gone through a myriad of opening tricks over my performing career and only recently come to the conclusion that the perfect opening trick is beyond my capability. Instead I now have two.
In my lecture for magicians I explain about what I consider to be the two extremities of an audience – the corporate and the cruise ship. To me they are chalk and cheese.
[As an interesting sideline, one of the books I researched when writing my own book was called The Banquet Magician’s Handbook. This was written by an American magician, clearly aimed at the US market. The author wrote: “Corporate audiences are almost like a cruise ship audience.” Just another example, perhaps, of the cultural difference between the US and the UK.]
The average corporate audience are sitting around tables having had a meal; many will have been drinking quite a bit; most of the audience know each other; they usually aren’t expecting any entertainment and, if they are, they certainly aren’t expecting me.
Cruise ship audience, by comparison, are seated in theatre style; their alcohol consumption will be at a minimum; they only know a small number of other people on the ship; and they are anticipating my appearance because I’ve been advertised in the daily newsletter.
With a corporate crowd, I can afford to go straight into ‘attack’ mode; involving the audience from the start with banter and asking questions. This approach doesn’t work on a cruise ship. They are used to sitting back and watching; they are happy to be involved but not straightway. They need much more time to suss me out as a performer before they decide whether they like me or not.
It’s in these two very different situations that my two different opening tricks come into play. One of them instantly involves audience participation; the other involves none at all. It is, I’m the first to admit, a far from ideal position. I would much rather have one trick that would fit all occasions.
In normal circumstances I know instinctively which opening trick to pack away in my case before departing for a show. Just recently, however, I was caught out. I was booked to do a show at a Royal British Legion Club. Would this audience be more corporate or more cruise ship in inclination? I had no idea. I wasn’t taking any chances – I took both.
By doing this I had broken one of my own rules – advice which came courtesy of another magician, Alan Shaxon: “Always leave your troubles at home”. That is, don’t be in a position of planning your act when you arrive at a venue.
Just shows there are never any fixed rules in this game.
