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How Hobbyists Should Bring Up Magic

When all is said and done, what’s the biggest difference between professional and amateur magicians? One difference is that amateurs like me have it much easier than professionals.

For example, most working pros need their tricks to be repeatable without having to reset a gimmick or stack. If you’re doing walkaround magic at a private party or restaurant, your job is basically to approach a group of people and do a routine for them. If you have to walk to the bathroom or stand in a corner fiddling with your props after every group, it’s going to impact the number of people you can perform for.

As an amateur, my performing environment is my living room, a friend’s house, or my classroom (I’m a teacher). I don’t care if a trick ends reset. I’m either doing it just once, or I have an entire 6-minute passing period before the next class comes in. I can use all sorts of wonderfully impractical methods.

But there is one aspect of magic that is much harder for amateur magicians, and that is what I’m here to help you with. I’m talking about introducing your performance. I don’t mean introducing a trick—having a good first line for a trick is important for both amateurs and professionals. That’s a separate article.

I’m talking about bringing up the idea of you performing a magic trick for your friends in the first place. What’s the best way to introduce that subject—that you would like to perform a trick in a social setting? What exact words do you say?

This is a scripting challenge most magicians never even consider.

Step One: This is Not Normal

Suppose you are hanging out with a few friends, and one of them, who is not a professional singer, asks if they can sing a song for the group. That would be weird, right? It's not bad necessarily, but it's definitely weird. I’m 63, and I don’t think that has ever happened to me.

An amateur magician asking to do a trick for their friends is exactly that weird.

So, step one is to understand and appreciate that it is not normal for you to take over an informal situation and perform your art. That doesn’t mean it’s bad; magic is inherently not normal. Still, acknowledging this is a great way to normalize this part of the strangeness—that you are taking over the situation—so your friends can focus on the other-worldliness of your miracles.

For a professional, this is almost never an issue. For one thing, any venue with a magician is not an informal situation, so it’s normal for there to be an entertainer. If you’re doing walkaround magic at a party, you can walk up to a group, wait for a break in the conversation, and say, "Hey, I’m here to entertain you with magic." At a restaurant gig, you might even have tabletop tent cards placed on all the tables, alerting diners to your magical presence. (If not, get some.)

But if you’re an amateur, how do you bring this subject up in conversation? This is possibly the most important moment in your entire performance. An awkward introduction like, "Wanna see a card trick?" can easily dig you into a hole that you will spend the entire trick trying to climb out of.

Three Extremely Valuable Things

A good introduction to your performance can do three extremely valuable things.

  1. A good introduction can get the spectator genuinely interested in seeing the trick rather than just politely watching. If you sometimes get polite applause for your tricks, a good introduction can definitely help.

  2. It gets the spectator on your side, so they’re not working against you. They are much more likely to follow instructions correctly and things like that.

  3. It can get them in the right mindset to enjoy a magic trick. This is the best thing any introduction can ever do, I think.

A good performance introduction is a priceless asset for any amateur—or professional, for that matter.

Once I started working on ways to introduce my performance separately from introducing the trick itself, I quickly got better and better at it. Here are four examples I’ve used, listed in increasing order or effectiveness.

"Do you want to see something weird?"

This was my first try. It avoided the common sense that I was kind of forcing my trick on them, which was good. But eventually, it was obvious I wasn’t really showing them something weird in the way they thought. Once they realized it was just a device to segue into me performing a magic trick for them, the benefits evaporated. Ultimately, this does not work because it isn’t really honest.

^ NOT RECOMMENDED

"Can I show you an amazing illusion?"

Similar to the last example, but notice the use of the word illusion. Many people react to a magic trick by trying to bust it. But nobody tries to bust an optical illusion. Just the opposite—they actively want to be “fooled” by it. Wouldn’t it be great if your spectators were actively trying to “see” the illusions you are presenting?

Some tricks won’t quite work for this. If you pick a card and I find it, how is that an illusion? But tricks like Card Warp or Spellbound are right for this kind of interpretation. There is something useful in trying to get the audience to treat your trick the way they treat optical illusions.

^ USABLE (FOR THE RIGHT TRICK)

"Can we try something? I saw it on YouTube, and it worked, and I don’t know why."

This is great for a self-working card trick where the spectator does everything. I use it for “Persistimis Possessiamo” from my book Scripting Magic 2 and ”Gemini Twins” from Karl Fulves' More Self-Working Card Tricks. I find the idea that I don’t know why it works immediately intriguing.

Maybe the best feature of this introduction is that it motivates you to expand your presentation. If you follow it up with a straight performance of Gemini Twins, that won’t align as well with the idea you saw on YouTube. You want to add an additional “source” of the magic.

What if the video said the procedure has to be done by candlelight? Now, there’s a hook that justifies it being on YouTube. The process of turning off the lights and lighting a candle builds interest, and the darkness creates an atmosphere of mystery that really makes the magic stand out.

If candles aren’t available, maybe turn the lights off and have everyone light you up with their phone flashlights. Or what if there’s a full moon, and you can see well enough to do the trick lit only by moonlight?

Either of those would create a vivid and memorable experience.

^ HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

"Can you do me a favor? I’m working on a new magic trick. Can I do it for you? And tell me what you think."

This is my go-to introduction for any informal performing situation. Since I started doing it, I’ve consistently gotten better reactions from the exact same tricks. And I enjoy performing more as well. I think I know why it works.

First, it asks the potential audience to do you a favor. This is basic psychology: when someone agrees to do you a favor, they feel more positive about you.

Second, it completely changes the relationship between you and the spectators. Now, instead of being adversaries in a challenge, you and the spectator are on the same team. They are going to want the trick to work. You can feel the difference.

Finally, there is a humbleness to this approach that helps the spectator enjoy the experience. A lot of magic tricks put the audience at a lower status because they’re the ones who don’t know how it’s done. This is so common. Jerry Seinfeld has a bit about magicians that goes: Here’s a quarter, it’s gone, you’re an idiot.

This “test audience” intro elevates the spectator’s status: they are the ones judging the trick. Just don’t follow it with a trick that makes fun of the audience.

If you perform in casual situations and aren’t getting the response you want, try an introduction like this. If nothing else, it may be the most honest possible way for an amateur to introduce a trick.

^ HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION

A Fourth Extremely Valuable Thing

This approach delivers a fourth extremely valuable thing: You will get much more honest feedback from your friends. This can be a bit jarring, actually, especially if you are used to your friends’ responses being more polite than useful.

Dealing with negative feedback is a skill that takes time to develop, just like the spread cull, so be patient with yourself. And don’t forget to thank them. After all, they are helping you become a better magician.

Variations

The basic test audience approach is pretty flexible. In Strong Magic, Darwin Ortiz talks about having dinner with a few fellow magicians at a convention. The waiter found out they were magicians and asked to see a trick. One of them said sure and did a very clean penetration of a ball through a glass. But the response was weak.

Ortiz argues that the trick's problem was its introduction: A throwaway introduction leads to a throwaway reaction. His idea: There’s a competition among magicians at the convention for the best trick, and I’ll show you my entry, which no one has seen yet. Do you want to see that?

With that intro, the waiter would have watched the trick in a completely different way. Mostly, she would want that trick to be fantastic. Because if it is, she has a great story to tell. That one line of introduction makes the entire performance a memorable experience.

The test audience approach can be customized to fit any specific trick you’d like to do or audience. You are auditioning for a secret group of magicians. You are preparing for the upcoming “International Olympics of Magic.” You know a guy who works for Penn and Teller or David Copperfield or David Blaine or Dynamo or Derren Brown, and you’re working on a trick for their next special.

To give you a wider view of this subject, I researched what other magicians have written about it, and there’s not a lot. I found Andy's The Jerx blog, which is infamous among magicians and focuses on performing in social situations.

Andy independently arrived at the same basic test-audience idea, with one big addition, which he generously allowed me to share in Scripting Magic 2.

I don’t say, “Want to see a trick?” I say, “Can I get your opinion on something I’m working on?” Or, “I’ve got something new I’m trying to work the kinks out of. Can I show you? I think you’d be perfect for this,” or any similar words that express: 1) This is a work in progress; 2) I specifically want to perform this for you.

This second part—that the trick is uniquely suited for the person you are performing for—can be super powerful. It’s better if you can provide a good reason why this trick is just right for them, but it still works if you don’t.

All the Tricks You Do

Magic writers love ideas that you can “apply to many tricks you do.” Well, you can use the ideas in this article to introduce literally any trick you do. You will increase the audience’s interest in the trick, engage them more strongly, and increase the chance that they will like your performance.

But if you are like me, the biggest benefit you get might be that you will feel less nervous and awkward when bringing up and performing your magic in friendly circumstances. That can only help your performance. For a hobby that attracts a disproportionate number of shy people, this can be real magic.

When All is Said and Done

I have been doing magic for 50 years, spending countless hours with both amateurs and professionals alike. Based on my experience, the biggest difference between amateur and professional magicians is this: When the magic is over, the professional leaves the audience. The amateur stays.

The social aspects of your performance are important in a social setting. How you introduce the idea of taking over the group is important, and it’s just as important how you relinquish that control when you are done.

The final benefit of the test audience hook is that it lets you finish your performance, get feedback (don’t forget this part), thank everyone for their feedback, and transition from your temporary role as the performer back to your more permanent role as one of the group.

This scripting technique helps me before, during, and after my performances. Give it a try, and you’ll see what it can do for you.

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