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:: Becoming the Best Entertainer You Can Be.. :: By David Breth / contributing editor Question: "I have been doing magic tricks for a few years now and it seems that I have never been given the same opportunity to perform as my other peers have. What am I doing wrong, what can I do to change?" ~ Novice magician Answer: Do you live in a place where there is a magic studio or shop where fellow magi gather on a regular basis? If so join them as often as you can, ask questions, lots and lots of questions!!! We have two ears and one mouth, who cares about your latest routine, do you want to be a busy entertainer or a by name only "magic" guy (..."Oh, look the magic guy...show us that one neat trick"...)? Your best advice is not how to make money in the field you are delving into from those who have only read the "how to book", "watched the masters of walk around magic video collection twice" or ..."knew a friend that had a cousin, who was married to a guy named Billy Bob, that did a pick a card trick once at a truck stop and received a FREEcup of noodle soup and a coffee!!! If I want to be a great football player do I ask my grandmother for pointers (though I love her dearly)? GOD FORBID-NO!!!. I want to listen to Deion Sanders, Ray Lewis, Johnny Unitas, etc. If you desire to become a millionaire will you listen to a broke person. NO!!! Of course not. The field of entertainment is like any serious endeavor, you must: 1. Be willing to do what others will not, to have what others do not.. 2. Be teachable (no matter how well I do my comedy magic routine, when a senior magi is present who has had success doing what I am now attempting, and he approaches me and gives me advice the one liners may be dated, but baby those principles will always be the same!). 3. Continue to be HUMBLE!!! People do not want to be 'fooled', they desire to be entertained - period! Realize when you are entertaining for people in a restaurant, you are not at a FISM, IBM or SAM convention...no awards, nothing to prove. The audience is looking to you as a way to take their moments and turn them into exquisite and fun filled memories. 4. When a fellow or senior magic attend your walk around sessions or a show, do not become fear filled. "Oh, what did I bring that he/she might not know" or "Wow, this is embarrassing, I am performing the professors nightmare. I will not approach his table with magic." Entertain him and his party, you may be surprised to find out that he will be your biggest fan at that moment and bring serious attention to you. I type this from experience. While performing at one of my restaurant shows, a master magician came in to dine with his wife. Upon approaching their table, I began my patter (Which I had learned from him), and the illusion (I knew he knew, no doubt), after the first effect he and his wife began to clap and cheer. All the guests in the restaurant began to wonder what all the hype at the next table was about...my friend's, this started a buck wild evening, that has only intensified! Hope this helps, ~ David Breth A fellow entertainer ©2004 David Breth, All Rights Reserved Click below to learn more from David Breth! http://www.davidbreth.com ======================================== :: Special Bonus for Subscribers OK.. I've got a free ebook for you that I have sold on the web since January. And when I say sold, I'm talking past tense... I sold so many of these ebooks that the three largest sellers on the net, aside from the publisher, were Penguin Magic, Hocus Pocus, and myself.. There are over 120 different card tricks in this ebook...Just go to: http://www.ebooked.co.uk Look in the left hand column for the 'Free Downloads' link, click it, then scroll about half-way down the page to get this free ebook ( and about 140 more, if you're interested...) ======================================== :: My Temptation For some reason - I can't resist magic video clips. You've seen them... Sites offer these small gif snippets that show you just enough of a trick to make you lay awake at night and think..... A few I can actually figure out by watching the clips. Others are far beyond my understanding. The good thing is, even though I don't understand, for a few bucks I can purchase the 'complete' clip with full instructions and solutions that allow me to view them over and over until I 'get 'em down'. One of my favorite sites is Pubtricks.com . With one click you can view over fifty complete tricks, with more being added every day... Visit them at : http://www.pubtricks.com/index.php?id=266 ================================== :: Magic Video Depot Another of my favorite sites is Magic Video Depot.com . These folks have over one thousand video clips for you to sort through. They differ from Pubtricks in that they do not offer the solutions... just the performance clips. Remember what I said above... I can figure out a few by watching the videos. I'm sure you can too... Visit them at: http://magicvideodepot.com =================================== :: How to Make Big Bucks... Not many things in the magic industry are FREE. And even less of the FREE things are actually worth your time.... Nicholas George's FREE 18 part email course titled.... "How To Make BIG BUCKS, With BIG BOOKINGS, In The Magicians Entertainment Industry!" is one of the few exceptions. I have read all eighteen free lessons, and I can assure you that they are the real deal - virtually NO advertising, and a wealth of information. http://www.BigBucksInMagic.com (PS.. I am NOT an affiliate of this course. I am presenting it because I like the information... ) ===================================== :: Special FREE Trick All of you have seen pens stuck through bills and playing cards. But, I'll bet you have NEVER seen a magician pass his assistant through a playing card.... and I'm talking about a regular-sized playing card... Check it out ! http://StreetMagic.info/FreeTricks2.html ==================================== The Toothless Wonder's Solid thru Solid ... One of my favorite coin tricks.. All you need is a bit of two-sided tape, available at most department stores like Wal-mart. ( Two-sided tape is an essential item in your collection of material necessary to carry out a variety of magic tricks... If you don't have a roll, get one ! ) Put a coin in your hand and keep it out of sight from 'Bob' . Ask Bob to hold his hand out.. palm side down. With the coin in the palm of your hand, and with a swift move, put your hand palm down on top of Bob's, trapping the coin between your palm and the back of Bob's hand. If you do this in a nice, smooth, quick move... Bob won't feel the coin you placed on the back of his hand..... I promise. Take a coin out of your pocket and lay it on top of the back side of your hand ( the hand on top of Bob's hand ). Announce that you are going to force the coin through the back of your hand and onto Bob's hand with one swift smack. What Bob doesn't know is that you secretly put a one inch strip of two-sided tape into the palm of your free hand, the one NOT on top of Bob's, before the magic began. With a 'smack', slap your hand onto the top of the coin resting on your other hand. Leave your hands in this position for a moment of two as you ask Bob if he felt the magic happen. S-l-o-w-l-y lift your top hand, with the coin now unknowingly stuck, out of site, to the tape in your palm. Leave you fingers open, but keep your hand palm down to keep the coin out-of-site. Move your free hand, along with the coin, to the side as you direct your focus to your other hand. Again... slowly lift your other hand from atop Bob's hand to expose the coin laying on top of HIS hand. Turn your hand over to show your palm. Now.. point toward the coin and make a comment about "look, solid thru solid " as you continue to direct the hand with the coin toward your back or pants pocket... ( Note... Extreme Version... IF 'Bob' is a REAL friend, and considering that Halloween is around the corner, you can put a small drop of ketchup on the underside of the coin ( between the coin and your palm ) before you place it on Bob's hand ... After you expose the coin, tell Bob that you're trying to figure a way to perform the magic without the mess. I would NEVER perform this on a stranger, unless you are prepared to start performing as 'The Toothless Wonder'... ) ===================================== Boost Your Confidence and Your Income with Magic! Click Here Now for Details! ===================================== :: Perfect Practice In response to a recent discussion about ' what's the best way to go about learning tricks from books and videos'... I had the following reply: -------------- I discovered years ago that my mind was a funny creature. I wanted to be a world class pool (billiards) player and, made good progress in that direction. I watched as other top players spent hour upon hour setting up shots and practicing these shots over and over. Too boring for me... I wanted to play for hour upon hour, and convinced myself that by performing a variety of shots I would 'develop' faster than these guys who were spending inordinate time on one shot that they may not even see during the course of a typical game... For a while I could 'clean their clocks'. I had to offer these guys some sort of 'spot' (advantage) to even get them to the table. I could beat em'... they knew it... I knew it... game over. Then, suddenly, I reached the top of my game. I shot for endless hours every day, struggling to top the plateau I was stuck on.. And while I struggled... one of my partners won the world nine-ball bar table championships in Las Vegas, and the other picked up ten thousand dollars plus for beating one of the greatest players in history in the finals of a major tournament... I was stuck, and couldn't get over that last 'hump' UNTIL I broke my game down, went BACK to basics, and practiced the simple drills I detested until I ,literally, couldn't see straight... Do you know what I'm saying? DON'T rush to be a player. Be a STUDENT first, then blow 'em away with your play (magic)... Bottom line... a basic foundation is EVERYTHING ! By being able to perform the simple moves without so much as a second thought, you free your subconscious mind to perform the real moves and patter that's necessary to make a trick work. Figure out several moves that are critical to the type of magic you are performing. By mastering the moves (sleights) first, you can open most coin, or card, books and begin to perform the magic almost from the first reading. A good example would be Daryl's Card Revelation videos one and two. If you take the time to master the pinkie break of a chosen card, cut it to the bottom, then bring it to the top with two of three simple methods... then you can perform virtually every trick on these videos without a second thought. This makes watching the video, or reading the book, much more enjoyable... to me anyway..
One of my favorite sayings is... "Practice doesn't make perfect.. Perfect Practice Makes Perfect." Now, go back and read the last sentence again.... I would work on small groups of two or three sleights at a time, as I said above, working with each one until you get sloppy. This concentration of effort will instill a sense of confidence that will let you perform the trick itself with the speed necessary to make itlook really casual and informal. "Smart practice will cut years off your goal of being the best magician you can possibly be. The difference between the 'greats' and the 'near greats' is the way they practice.." R.Carruth ================================== That's it.... for now! Thank you for your interest in Magic Roadshow, and don't forget to visit... http://streetmagic.info Rick Carruth ( editor/publisher ) Magic Roadshow - Journal of Magic (C) 2004/2005/2006 ...All rights reserved worldwide. =========================================== Back to page ===> ONE <=== ===================================================== |
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