The Magic Castle…..now and then.

•October 31, 2011 • Leave a Comment

My alarm over the news of the fire tonight at the Magic Castle is greatly abated by the news that they are scheduled to be open again by friday. It takes me back to another time but the same place in history…….

My second home in Los Angeles during the seventies (as readers of my columns will be well aware) was the Magic Castle. I have no idea how many weeks I worked in the various showrooms but I can honestly say that one night stands above all others in my memory when it comes to the weird and wonderful department.

I was ready to perform in the Palace of Mysteries when I pulled up in my car to the parking attendant. However I was instantly aware that something was in the air. The lobby and entryway to the Castle was filled with people and a buzz of excitement filled the air. The parking valet quickly filled me in on what all the excitement was about. There had been a surprise visit by the Los Angeles Fire Department and they had put down their official foot. The Castle had been deemed unsafe for visitors until various changes had been implemented.

This couldn’t have been a huge surprise to anybody as I am pretty sure the Castle must have been teetering on the very edge of official approval for many years. Even if the Fire Department

hadn’t caught a glimpse of McComb scattering burning embers from his pipe onto the carpet there must have been many causes for alarm.

To most clubs the fact that their members and guest were not allowed in the clubhouse might have curtailed the evening’s events there and then. This was definitely and defiantly not the case for the Castle and quick thinking saved the day and created a unique event.

The entire activities had been relocated from the Castle into their adjacent parking structure! Tables, chairs, lights, bar service, shows and guests were now to be found in a garage. Best of all the Castle guests were milling around formally dressed to the nines in this outrageously informal setting. Not a single guest removed their jacket or ties, in fact with a splendid sense of sartorial elegance Bill Larsen had donned a tuxedo for the occasion as, scotch in hand, while he directed the proceedings.

I performed my show as planned in the new location and had an additional sense of joy at the absurdity of the situation. It was the first and last time I dressed up and pulled money from a lemon in a garage! Fortunately I was not unfamiliar with the parking structure and had in fact spent a little time in it with Channing Pollack the previous evening reflecting on life and what not. I still treasure memories of both events.

This entire scenario was repeated for several more nights until the necessary changes had been completed. It was a glorious demonstration of the quirky and indomitable spirit that made the Castle what it was.

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Berri Lee: the boy wonder from Down Under.

•October 23, 2011 • 1 Comment

 As Ricky Jay walked down the staircase at the Magic Castle a small group of us took aim and scaled cards at him. Ricky’s book ‘Cards as Weapons’ had just been published and we thought it was a friendly thing to do. Due to a total lack of ability in the card-scaling department we didn’t throw single cards but entire decks of Magic Castle playing cards. Ricky spotted what was happening and very sensibly turned on his heels and went back up the staircase. This was a fairly typical Berri Lee style prank. Our little group of card throwers piled into Berri’s Rolls Royce and drove to the Pink’s hot dog stand at the corner of Santa Monica Blvd. and La Brea for a late night snack.

When I arrived on the scene at the Castle in 1974, Berri Lee was already a legend. He had one of those movie ‘rise to fame’ stories that don’t seem to happen much outside of the movies.

Born in Australia, Berri moved to Los Angeles and got a job at the Castle, not as a magician but as one of the parking valets. Needless to say the constant exposure to magicians rubbed off on him and it became inevitable that he would want to try his hand at performing. In those early days there was no ‘Palace of Mysteries” in fact there wasn’t even a downstairs to put the Palace into. That was never the kind of minor detail that would stop those early Castle pioneers so they just went right ahead and created the ‘Hat & Hare’ pub and the original ‘Palace of Mysteries.” Once the Palace was constructed Berri had a place to perform and his Cinderella story began.

One evening Cary Grant caught Lee’s show and really enjoyed it, he told Berri that he would see if he could help him out a little by talking to some of his friends. Being Cary Grant he had some heavy-duty friends and Howard Hughes was one of them; Las Vegas was suddenly an open book for the lucky Mr. Lee. Within a very short time Berri was one of the busiest men in Vegas and performing several times a night at a string of casinos. Before you could make a balloon animal (even a non-suggestive one!) Berri was a not only a busy comedy magician but a very wealthy one. When I first met him he had two Rolls Royce’s, private plane and a boat docked in Marina Del Rey. It never seemed to change him much though and he remained the shy extrovert that he always was. He performed on the ‘Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and a host of other television shows and created a special place for himself in the magic world.  Berri remains one of the sweetest people in showbiz, always generous and ready to offer his help to anyone who needs it.

Las Vegas has changed and since that change there wasn’t the same kind of work anymore and this year Berri left Las Vegas and moved to Florida. To many of us it seems impossible to imagine Vegas without him there.  (However, as I reprint this column—once again I realize how times are changing. Berri is now living in Florida!) However who knows, with a bit of luck we will meet up with him again in the Sunshine state and I know we will pick up our friendship exactly where we left off. Sadly there is only one Pink’s hot dog stand and that’s in Los Angeles but I’m sure we will find a way to get into trouble even if we don’t have Ricky Jay for target practice.

 

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A chance to learn the ultimate routine of one of magic’s greatest tricks.

•October 16, 2011 • 4 Comments

I have been asked many times if I was ever going to release my version of the Linking Finger Rings. It is a trick that I have featured in my act for 35 years and has been a major source of income as well as a reputation maker for me. I never wanted to do so because my handling is unique and unlike anything else seen in the magic world. Frankly, it has been to darn important to making my living. 

In fact I have stopped performing this routine if I know magicians are around, except for VERY special occasions. I have not featured my actual handling on any video tapes or DVDs and have shared my secrets with practically no-one. This is in spite of on many occasions being offered big bucks to teach the routine to individuals.

My routine has many advantages over other published routines and has been though out carefully and refined for over three decades. It has opened many doors for me and I hold it in a very special place in my heart.

One of my proudest moments was when Dai Vernon told me that if he wanted to perform a magic act professionally the first thing he would do is come to me and offer me what ever I wanted to part up with the routine! I still have the videotape of Dai sitting in the front row of the Parlor in the Castle when he made this statement watching me perform the routine.

Jeff McBride said, ” I’ve seen Nick Lewin perform on stage in Las Vegas and can say this…his routine is the most entertaining Linking Finger Ring Routine I have ever had the pleasure to witness.” 

Mac King said, “Nick Lewin’s solution for the Himber Ring routine is far and away the best one for any real working magician. If you really want to sell your routine put me first on the list.”

Billy McComb said, “Nick’s routine is far and away the best in the business and is one of the reasons he makes the big bucks!”

Well, these are quotes from some of the people I most respect in the business. I got these quotes when I was first dabbling with the idea of sharing the routine. I am now half-way through a truly comprehensive treatise on the trick with a totally detailed description of my handling of my routine. The detail in which I am covering the various key elements is scaring even me! I am holding nothing back in the Book/DVD combination that I am going to market. 

A large part of the routine is linguistic in its approach, an equally large part is psychological and I am probably revealing more information about ‘selling’ small magic to large crowds than has ever been assembled in one single source before. I regularly perform this routine for LARGE crowds–up to 2500 people in Performing Arts Centers and I have also adapted it so that it can be performed for as few as 40 people. Put the ring in your pocket and you are ready to go.

Not only is the sequence of magic unbelievably strong but the routine is Kick-Ass funny! I am holding back nothing, not a joke, not a move, not one wrinkle and I invite you to use any or all of these in your performance. many a magician has released a pet routine and then bitterly complained when other performers use it! I am not going to do that–if you buy (I don’t mean steal, photocopy or dub!) this routine you will get a signed  certificate of ownership. I will also grant a very limited number of certificates that offer full television rights to the routine.

As I start my semi-retirement I am not reluctantly but gladly sharing the various routines that have earned me a good living for 40 years. I don’t, however, want to give them away ‘willy nilly’ or to people who are not suitable to perform the routines involved. I am only interested in sharing with performers who will do justice to the items involved. This is only fair to my other clients. 

 Many people have spent fortunes (in my opinion) buying fancy Himber Rings–Gold, Silver, duplicates etc. etc. and 9 times out of 10 times they never use them. It’s not the ring that matters–it is the ROUTINE! If I just wanted to make money I would sell you a fancy ring with this package. This is not the case, I will tell you how to buy the right ring at the cheapest price and do any customizing yourself– if you want to. Personally I use the 40 dollar ring that is the cheapest on the market! If the audience is thinking about the ring then you are doing the trick wrong.

I am inviting anyone who is interested in learning this definitive routine, of one of magic’s strongest tricks to contact me directly. I want to know who is buying it! I want to be able to personally assist you in making sure you understand and can perform the routine that is taught on the book and DVD. I am only interested in selling it to somebody who wants to do it right. Maybe I’m crazy but that is the only way I want to do business!

For pre-purchase information email me at nicklewin1@mac.com    


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The new ‘Magic Castle’ in Hollywood……maybe, not likely, but good luck!

•October 11, 2011 • Leave a Comment

http://la.eater.com/archives/2011/10/06/hollywood_magic_bar_mixing_magic_                                                                         and_martinis.php

It has been interesting to read the various opinions in the Magic Castle group page on Facebook about the ‘Hollywood Magic Bar’ that is opening, both figuratively and literally in the shadow of the Magic Castle. I think the main reason for complaint was that it implied a ‘Move over Magic Castle we are the brightest, newest kid on the block–ready to give you a run for your money!’ Well that is the kind of thing/notion that publicists are paid to say, it is their job to say it. It isn’t easy going into competition with a Legend—you need all the bluster you can summon up.

The bar might do quite well, my recent visits to the Castle has convinced me that a younger demographic (early or first daters?) has flourished at the Castle. More power to that! The Castle doesn’t really do much to overtly cater to this crowd and that might be quietly beneficial to it’s success in this area. The thought of aerialist and DJs make the HMB sound a little suspect to me, however a really good martini–maybe served on an Ice Bar. Ah, that’s a different story!

I have been playing around with a Magic Martini theme for a couple of years (Shameless plug– I still have some limited edition prints left in my online store) and I rather like it. Maybe the Castle could think about a really cool Martini Bar on their premises? A pleasant touch of elegance in a pretty expensive nightspot–with pretty expensive drinks. Probably the HMB will be closed in a few months and they can buy the hardware at bargain prices. I may be rambling (or of course, totally wrong) but I believe that Milt once acted as a semi advisor to a fledgling club and approved the name ‘It’s Magic’ ‘cos he knew it would be great merchandise for a future ‘It’s Magic’ show. I certainly hope the story is true, it is such a good one. Rather like the ‘Johnny Thompson forgot to load the doves’ which is of course a deliciously true story.

I long for the day when every major city has a ‘At least once a month, or week) magic show. There really is a market out there and it is something I am looking into very seriously in the upcoming year. ‘Monday Night Magic’ in New York, ‘The Mystery Lounge’ in Boston, Jeff McBride’s ‘Wonderground’ in Las Vegas are just the first to hit the tip of my brain–and that’s just ‘cos I’ve played them all and had a blast doing so!

I refuse to get overexcited about a new kid on the block trying to steal a little thunder from the Castle. With all its years running as an institution (sometimes figuratively, sometimes literally!) in LA, my bet is that the Castle won’t be affected one iota. It might not do any harm for some ‘observant onlookers of a quasi-secret nature’ to keep a close eye on the ‘Hollywood Magic Bar’ is doing. They might get some fresh and innovative ideas–who knows? If they serve a decent ‘Ginger Cosmo’ I might volunteer for the mission myself.                                                                                                       email me what you think at nicklewin1@me.com

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Patter. How and Why to avoid it…….

•October 10, 2011 • 2 Comments

It is very easy to fool your mind into believing you have ‘An Act’ and it is always the best way to perform and will always achieve the best reaction. Actually, once you have ‘the act’ down perfectly then that’s the time to have fun and keep it fresh. I don’t mean discard, everything you do well, just to mix it around a bit. Bare in mind I’m not recommending this for someone who hasn’t managed to form a solid act as a guideline.

I love to switch blocks of comedy around from place to place. I also add/change some of the magic, sometimes significantly i.e. switch my opening and closing routine etc. So far I haven’t done the same show exactly in sequence more than once. It is fun because it keeps your techy on the jump too!

We can get very uptight about ‘The Act’ as though it is a sacred form that can’t be changed or tampered with, thinking that it is always at it’s very best—exactly the way it is NOW! It is you they are watching, you just happen to be doing a show. Loosen up and have some fun and be prepared to make some mistakes in order to get something new right.

Be an artist, not an act.

What is amazing is that new jokes, and bits just seem to fly in from everywhere like flies at a picnic. Just keeping note of the changes is tough enough, however you eventually don’t bother much trying and you just learn to rely on the inner performer and that he will come to your rescue! This is the moment you start to become an entertainer and not an act; a comedian instead of a magician who does ‘Patter.’

Patter to my mind is the deadliest word in magic! Look up the description in the dictionary and you will find; “The term was originally a colloquial shortening of “Pater Noster” and referred to the practice of mouthing or mumbling prayers quickly and mechanically, without any expression of meaning or sincerity.

From this, it became a slang word for the secret and equally incomprehensible mutterings of a cant language used by beggars, thieves, Roma People, etc., and then the fluent plausible talk that a cheap-jack employs to pass off his goods. “Hmmmmmm, not what I want to foist on an audience.

Be polite actually talk to the audience and not at them, they really do notice the difference.

Drop me a email at nicklewin26@gmail.com                                                                                                                                                                               Oh, and do me a favor, if you enjoy the blog click the RSS button on it!

 

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Being entertained and fooled by the late Burton Sperber.

•October 3, 2011 • 1 Comment

This is a reprint of a column I wrote about the late Burton Sperber. I was very saddened to hear of his passing and thought it worth while to republish this column in my blog. The magic world has lost a true gentleman with Burt.

One of the side benefits (?) of performing on a cruise ship on a fairly regular basis is the fact that you get to meet quite a few magicians. It is very seldom the close-knit group of peers I might wish to spend an hour or two swapping stories and gags with – they are all busy working a gig somewhere else!

Often on a ship I will meet up with a socially inept amateur who insists on showing me the three rows of seven cards and then deals them into a pile and after getting the card wrong restarting the entire process complete with reassurances; “Oh no, you haven’t seen this one.” No when I see it the magician often gets the card right.

These can be the moments when you either lock yourself away in your cabin for the rest of the cruise or try and construct a make shiftescape raft out of your bed in order to escape from the ship! There are also times when you can get a delightful surprise and this is about one of those times. I was sailing on the Crystal ‘Galaxy’ and a note arrived for me that someone would like to meet me. The note was from Burt Sperber.I didn’t know Burt but very gladly met up with him and his charming wife. We had a delightful chat and arranged to have dinner in the Italian steakhouse the next night.

Somewhere along the line I discovered that Burt was a magic collector. Now when I say Magic Collector I had better use capitol letters because he obviously has a world class collection that could even cause David Copperfield’s eyes to turn green! I am in no way a collector of magic (accumulator yes!) but Burt was describing items that were even making me foam at the mouth!

After we had eaten Burt dropped the bomb. “Oh, I also perform a little magic too, maybe you want to come back to our suite and see a couple of tricks?” Well to be honest when someone defines himself or herself primarily as a collector it doesn’t exactly scream out to me that they are going to be snappy close up performers! However short of pretending to have some kind of seizure I couldn’t think of any way out of it. I have never been happier about saying yes to an offer of watching a magic show.

I sat in Burt’s suite for over an hour and gasped as he fooled me with card trick after trick! These were some of the snappiest and most commercial pieces of card magic I had ever seen mostly, if not all, were originals. His presentation was deceptively casual and initially gave no idea of how carefully he had prepared and planned his demonstration.

After he finished performing I congratulated him on doing something that very seldom happens to me- being both entertained and fooled by great magic. I then performed my very best original card trick (the one I keep for just that kind of occasion) and quickly put the cards back in their case and onto the table. When you’re socks have been knocked of it is best just to admit it!

Burt then asked me if there was anything I particularly liked and said he would be happy to teach it to me. I said; “YES.” There were two items that I had seen performed that I considered as commercial as anything I’d ever witnessed. The next two hours flew by as he took the time and trouble to really teach me these tricks. I don’t mean show me how they were done; I mean teach me the tricks.

I haven’t yet had a chance to take up Burt on his offer to view his Magic Collection but let me tell you it has a tough act to follow with his close-up show!

 

 

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Street Magic in Amsterdam

•September 27, 2011 • 1 Comment

I was very impressed to see how organized the street performers in ‘Dam square in Amsterdam were. They arrive early (for performers) at the Kadinsky pub, and meet to divide up the day into performing hunks of time. Everyone seemed to do about a 45 minute chunk. There is a quiet and friendly (OK, maybe just to an outsider, I’m sure the politics is just as heavy weight as any other working venue) manner in which they do it.

The major part of the set seems to be lining up the crowd and quite literally drawing them into a tight audience. This takes quite a time and a bunch of skill in my book. The performers define the rectangle of performing area with a long rope. As they draw the crowd in they tighten the performance are by adjusting the rope and making the rectangle smaller.

I spent some time with Mark Cmor (markcmor.com) who performed a couple of small pieces of magic including a 10 Euro to 20 Euro with the $100 bill switch. He also did a cute gag –the vanishing cigarette, where he just rested the cigarette on the ‘stage/stand’ and said; “Hey, it takes time!’ and then eventually did vanish the cigarette in his thumb tip. Tiny magic that worked really well with the large/distracted crowd. Why did it work well? He has a great personality and more one-liners than you had any right to expect. He closed his show with a straitjacket escape.

The true art of performing Street Theatre is the final pitch for the cash. It didn’t seem like there was a huge amount of cash being delivered to Mark at the end of the show but enough obviously! Mark hails from Toronto and has made his home/living in Amsterdam for quite a few years.

 His performance was enhanced by a wireless microphone and a small amplifier/speaker system that made all his one liners possible and effective. The crowd just loved the one liners he hurled at passing tourists and local  pedestrians. He really did a great job and was kind enough to let me record about an your of his thoughts and advice on street performing.

If you are a performer visiting Amsterdam, check out the action in Dam Square. I was very pleased I did and learned quite a lot about this deceptively casual looking form of entertainment 

Posted in Entertainment News, Magic, Magic and Magicians
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Finishing the Show with some Style……..

•September 25, 2011 • Leave a Comment

OK, if you have been reading my series of blogs about performing then you realize I am currently talking about the structure of a show and choice of material.  Let’s talk about that all important closing to the show. This is where you collect up all the threads you have thrown out during the show and bind them together into a braided cord in order to have a big finish. Here are a few basic thoughts about the final segment of your show.

 1 Never, ever finish a show with a spectator onstage. It splits the attention of the audience and slows down/clutters the closing of the act. Like the opening of the show, this moment is about YOU, YOU, YOU!

 2 Conventional wisdom (and I tend to agree with it) says that it is a mistake to finish with a trick that causes the audience to have to think too much or leaves them so amazed that they forget to applaud.

 3 It really doesn’t hurt to have a highly visual item at the end of the show. Much of the same rules that I applied to the opening of the show apply to the closing, except now the audience know who you are and what you do–it is nice to wrap it all up in a pretty package to finish your act.

 4 False calls are a bit of a clique these days in a variety act. There is nothing more ‘icky’ than watching a performer begging like a dog and asking the audience, “One more?”  However there is much to be said for packing two tricks together to create a very strong closing to the show. In my formal/full show I almost always close on a combination of the Multiplying Bottles and the Elmsley Newspaper Tear. The bottles is a great closer and supplies lots of fast flash and visual impact and then when it looks like I am all done I go into the Elmsley Tear which really brings the action back into my hands, get’s them looking at my face and displays obvious physical skill. Then as the applause is starting to peak I actually close with the Jumping Stool which kicks up the applause another notch just when you need it.

5 Make sure you know how to take a bow. One of the most important lessons I was ever taught was how to take a really professional bow at the end of the show. There are dozens of great tips you can learn watching quality pros taking their curtain call; even if some of them have become a little to obvious (even to lay audience) such as turning up the house lights to help achieve a standing ovation.

6 Please never say anything that includes the words standing ovation to ‘coax‘ the audience into standing. There are some great ways to do this, but…… they have all been done to death over the years. Let’s not be tacky. As an added thought here, PLEASE don’t do the snowstorm trick and tell the audience you did it for a dying boy who had never seen snow. There are about four magicians doing this on the cruise ship circuit and it does more to lower professional bookers/entertainers opinion of magicians than anything else I know.

So in the last couple of postss I have given you my thoughts on shaping your material into a strong show. Here are a few caveats to my observations that should be too obvious to mention, but…….

In all my columns I speak entirely for myself—which is something I am uniquely qualified to do! There are exceptions to everything I have said and there are many roads to Rome. However, before you start breaking ‘rules’ it pays to know what the ‘rules’ are so you’re not just doing it out of ignorance.

Oh, and make it look like you are having fun onstage. Audiences love that, even if it isn’t true!

Drop me an email at nicklewin26@gmail.com

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Time to talk about Magic Material

•September 24, 2011 • Leave a Comment

In my last blog I wrote a few thoughts about material for the performing magician. This week I want to continue with my musings on the same topic. There really is nothing else that can make a bigger difference to the quality of a show. A bad magician can make himself look better  by consideration of this subject and a good magician can make himself look great.

You can’t look at each trick as a separate entity, you need to think holistically when choosing the pieces that make up the jigsaw puzzle that make up your act. I choose that word with care, not just to sound smart, because just as when you shatter an actual hologram, each tiny particle it breaks into, contains within it a fully fledged picture of the entire image it represented before being de-constructed.

When assembling a show, you can’t go far wrong using the old fashioned theatrical master plan as your performing model. A start, a middle and an ending. This may sound like very basic advice but as you will realize when you watch a bunch of magic (and comedy) acts that it is more often missing in its execution than you would believe possible.

What makes a good opening to a magic act? Well here are some thoughts to chew on, the trick should;

1 Be fast and interesting and capture your audience’s attention as quickly as possible. The estimate is that you have about 30 seconds to win over an audience at the beginning of the show. If you don’t win ‘em over fast it probably won’t get done at all.

2 The real purpose of that first trick is to introduce the audience to you as a performer/person. More than any other part of your show it is just a vehicle to present yourself in the best light. That is one reason that I strongly believe that you must choose a trick that allows you to make eye contact as much as possible with your audience. You should never need to look at the props you are using unless it is to emphasis something important.

3 It shouldn’t be your strongest piece of material–leave that until the audience knows you a little better, otherwise it is wasted. The opening of the show is all about YOU, YOU, YOU! Save the strongest piece of material for later on in the show and choose something easily accesable that compliments your strengths.

4 It shouldn’t be a trick you have to worry about in the slightest. Choose a trick you are really comfortable with where you don’t need to think about the mechanics involved. When you have a good opening effect (or two) STICK WITH IT/THEM. This is such a key part of the show don’t mess with it!

Now the middle part of the act is when you have more leeway in your choice of material. This is when you can do things that are lightly to slow down or introduce variables into the proceedings. It is the time to bring an audience member onto the stage, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how I feel about doing that in your opening to the show–if you have any doubts then read the last three points again.

The middle of the show is the time to present longer and more complex pieces of material, the time to leave the stage, borrow items from the audience etc. etc. This is the meat of the show and should really be thought of quite literally as a shorter show within a show.

The middle of the show is the time to experiment with newer material and different handling of familiar effects or familiar handling of different effects. Read that last sentence again–there is a lot of hidden wisdom in it that is very relevant to the topic at hand.

One important part of the middle section of the show, is that it is vital to insure you add the variety, texture and pacing that will hold your audience’s interest in what you are doing. You must be very careful to add some subtle changes of tempo and mood in order to fully flesh out your show if you want to achieve the theatrical model that we are aiming for.

It sounds obvious but……even with a great opening and a dynamite closing, if you loose/bore them in the middle you go back to Start and do not receive your two hundred dollars. Don’t fall into an easy comfortable rut here. Make a point of applying some dynamics in order to really add punch to your show. Here is my computer’s  Thesaurus description of dynamics;

energetic, spirited, active, lively, zestful, vital, vigorous, forceful, powerful, positive; high-powered, aggressive, bold, enterprising; magnetic, passionate, fiery, high-octane; go-getting, peppy, full of get-up-and-go, full of vim and vigor, gutsy, spunky, feisty, go-ahead.

As for the third part of our mini-theatrical production……..Next blog my dear readers, it is far to important an element to rush!Why not RSS this blog and make sure you don’t miss it?

Drop me an email at nicklewin26@gmail.com

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Never mind the Style, feel the Quality…….

•September 21, 2011 • Leave a Comment

 I recently wrote a blog that gave my thoughts on finding the right style to maximize your impact as a magician. It didn’t touch on a parallel aspect of your performance and it’s potential success.  If you have got all the style in the world it doesn’t mean much if you don’t wrap it around some quality material, otherwise it falls into the ‘all style but no substance’ category. You might be a stylish performer but like the 80’s TV commercial—”Where’s the Beef?”

Beef is a great source of protein and protein is what keeps your body really ticking along. If you are a magician it is job #1 to perform good magic. If you are a comedy magician it is your job to amuse your audience while performing good magic. It is necessary to perform strong magic while entertaining your audience. I am all to familiar with the oft quoted, “First and foremost you need to be an entertainer.” Duh, isn’t that a given fact? I guess not when I think about a few of the magicians I have seen perform!

Are there times when a visual gag or magical ‘trifle‘ can be inserted into your show to adjust the pacing and change the tone of your act.?Of course, they are like the sorbet they serve between the courses in a fancy meal at a fine restaurant. They don’t replace the protein–they just enhance it by refreshing the palate. You wouldn’t sit down in a ritzy restaurant and order 6 different kinds of sherbet or sorbet as your entire meal. I have seen many comedy magicians who seem to think that this is acceptable. Just because you are performing a comedy magic act it doesn’t mean that you should present the magical equivalent of a sorbet buffet.

In order to really create a strong comedy magic show you need two things.

1 Strong comedy.

2 Strong magic.

If you don’t balance these two items you are shortchanging your audience. Worse still you are beginning to fall into one of the only entertainer categories held in lower respect in the industry than a magician–a prop comic. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! I will let you take a moment or two to register the enormity of this scary prospect. The next thing to happen is the airline looses your case and ZAP–you are a mime.

I will change the tone of this column before anyone falls into a deep depression.

There is very little emotion involved in a lay audiences reaction to  magicians. David Copperfield is one of the few magicians who created some real emotion with his material and the way he presented it. Yes, I do realize that I put that in the past tense. In his TV specials David created emotions using visuals, music, movement, strong magic and then he tied them up in a tasty package using the skills of talented technicians who were able to film the tricks and make mini-movies out of them.

When you compare notes with musical acts about DVD sales after performances (which is the real nitty gritty of what performers really like to discuss) it is a humbling experience to discover how much more product they shift! The reason usually has nothing to do with the quality of the performers, it has to do with the emotion they invoke. Believe me you will never, ever hear a potential customer say, “Oh, we must buy that DVD–you remember we saw the Torn & Restored Newspaper on our honeymoon.” It does, however, work that way with a music CD that includes a song that the couple heard on that same honeymoon.

This is why the heart of my comedy magic show is an unabashedly nostalgic and emotion filled version of the Gypsy Thread. It is the emotional sorbet in my show that makes the funny stuff seem even funnier. It just makes for a much better entertainment package to deliver to the most important element of your show, the invisible folks who are sitting out front in the dark.

What are the other elements that create strong magical material for you to ‘beef up’ your show? What are the easiest pitfalls to avoid? Well, I have some thoughts on that too, but that is going to be the subject of my next blog. Oh, what a tease I am!

As always feel free to drop me an email at nicklewin26@gmail.com

Posted in Magic, Magic and Magicians
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