James Sanden

As a Chicago magician I find myself performing in a wide variety of venues.  I’ve done birthday party magic shows in living rooms, performed close up magic in restaurants and presented my comedy magic show in hotel banquet rooms for corporate entertainment.  But in all of these myriad shows, I have never performed at a baseball stadium.

Until now.

Starting this Sunday I will be performing my unique brand of close up magic for kids at the Lake County Fielders baseball stadium in Zion, IL (about an hour north of Chicago)!  In addition to performing my tried and true tricks, I’m excited to be performing magic I’ve specially designed for the client (similar to the type of material I create when I’m performing trade show magic to sell a company’s product or service).  The organization has also asked me to perform between innings on the field!  I only have 90 seconds, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to perform any magic, but it’s going to be a great exercise in creativity in any case.

In fact, if you have any ideas for short comic bits I could do in 90 seconds or less that are (ideally) magic related, let me know!

I’ll be at the stadium from 12-3 pm on August 1st, 8th, 22nd and September 5th.  If you’re interested in coming, check out the Fielders website for more information.

Hope to see you at the ball game!

As a full time professional Chicago magician I have to constantly develop new ways to build my business, i.e. get more magic shows.  This is the newest of my ground breaking, high tech marketing techniques:

Pretty innovative, eh?

It’s called a “retractable banner stand.”  Highly portable, light, but very visible.  I tried it out this week when I performed my children’s magic show at the Taste of Lincoln Avenue.  Like many advertising approaches, it won’t necessarily produce immediate results, but I like the ROI because it’s a one time expenditure.  I consider it my own personal magic show billboard.  Althouth it feels more like an informercial than a billboard, really, since the audience gets a demonstration of the product alongside my contact information.  I look forward to the day I ask someone, “How did you hear about me?” and they say, “I got your information from your sign at your magic show.”

That’ll be beautiful.

At the same time, I understand the importance of targeted marketing, and I realize this sign is better suited for the children’s magic show or birthday party show market.  For my close up magic and corporate entertainment services I’ll need to purchase another one.

Ah, the work of a Chicago magician.

It’s never done.

As a full time Chicago magician I’m surprised and a bit annoyed (though I imagine I shouldn’t be) by how frequently I’m asked if I perform magic full time.  It’s a bit more understandable when I’m performing close up magic as a restaurant magician or for a birthday party magic show, but I’m even asked the question when providing corporate entertainment.  I’m always a little taken aback (again, I probably shouldn’t be) by the question, but upon inspection I think it’s quite telling because it says something about how normal folks view magicians and by extension, artists.

The simplest reason I think that people ask this question is that (as I’ve written about before), people have preconceived notions about magic and magicians, and not just Chicago magicians.  Specifically, they usually have only one context for magic and it’s either in the form of a birthday party clown or an illusionist on TV, though some folks do think of street magicians like David Blaine or Criss Angel.  They don’t think (and have no reason to) of the myriad markets magic is perfect for, including (but not limited to) weddings, trade shows, school assemblies, cocktail parties, promotions, etc.  More than that, they don’t consider that there could be an overlap between categories, which is to say if they see me in my fedora and vest doing close up magic at the restaurant or in my Disney vest doing a birthday party magic show, they wouldn’t imagine I could also perform sales magic at a trade show to promote their company’s service or product.

I believe the other reason people ask this question is that, and this is the unfortunate part, there’s a general belief that it’s not possible (or at least extremely difficult) to make a living as a performer/artist.  While it’s true that there are far fewer magicians than there are accountants, it is possible to make a living at magic.  Quite a good one in fact.  I know of a number of very successful magicians that no one has ever heard of who do quite well for themselves and will never be on TV.  In fact, I actually think it’s easier to make a living as a magician artist than as a dancer/actor/painter/musician type artist.  If only because there are so many different markets and venues for, in particular, a Chicago magician.  And while I’m not successful at the level some of these “unknown” magicians are, I’m getting there.

To sum up, I believe people ask me if I have a “day job” because a) they don’t really know what a professional magician does and b) are cynical about the economic feasibility of being a full time performer.  Given that (and after reviewing what I’ve written above), answering the question now seems to me to be an opportunity to educate.  I can spread the good word about how many different markets and ways there are to utilize a magician, and I can let people know that they can include my name in the “making a living as an artist” column.  Thinking back on it, I’ve found that people sometimes get quite excited and inspired to hear that I’m successfully living my dreams.  And we can always use a few more inspired people in the world.  Who knows, my living my dream might help others to take a chance and live theirs.

Thanks for listening.  I’m feeling much better now.

I recently started performing close up magic at Mad Mark’s Mystic Pizza in Schaumburg, just a little bit northwest of Chicago.  My typical “costume” (except when I’m performing my birthday party show) is a suit and tie, however when I met Mad Mark himself he told me I needed to wear something more “fun.”  It took a couple of tries, but I finally came up with a costume that works: slacks and a nice vest, plus a fedora.

What I didn’t expect was that my choice of costume would affect how people reacted to me when I approached their table.  Typically, when I walk up to a table and explain that I am the “house magician” the guests look at me strangely.  I came to expect that and I could usually get a laugh by commenting on their reaction with something like, “I know you weren’t expecting me to say that.”  The line itself isn’t particularly funny, but by acknowledging what they were thinking I was able to break the ice.  However, with the vest and fedora I actually look more like a stereotypical magician.  Which means the guests aren’t surprised when I introduce myself as the “house magician.”  I quickly learned I could still break the ice by pausing and adding, “…if the outfit didn’t already give me away.”

However, with the introduction of the costume change I noticed that it’s a bit more difficult to get a table of adults to be interested in watching my magic.  I think it’s because many people only associate magic with kids birthday parties, so when I actually look like a magician they assume that, if there aren’t kids at the table, I don’t have anything to offer them.  I think the suit lends me a little more credibility, at least in the sense that I might be able to offer a more sophisticated magic show (suitable for corporate entertainment, for example.)

This observation reminded of an article by one of my favorite magicians, Michael Close.  He quotes a musician in one of his famous magic books, Workers 3, Wendy Carlos, who wrote the following:

Carlos’ Three Laws:

1) For every parameter that you can control, you must control.

2) What is full of redundancy or formula is predictably boring.  What is free of all structure or discipline is randomly boring.  In between lies art.

3) If you find that a worthwhile task requires much more work to do really well than you ever dreamed, you’re probably doing it correctly.  If you make it look easy, you’re definitely doing it correctly.

While these laws were originally created in relation to music, they apply equally as well to the art of magic.  While each law could be discussed in depth in relation to being a magician, in the context of this post I’m talking about the first law.  Specifically, costuming is one of the many parameters that affect audience perception.  As a professional Chicago magician I’m very interested in how audiences both perceive and think of me.  I’m no longer just interested in performing a “good show,” though any given show has literally hundreds of potential variables that can possibly be addressed.   Add in a desire to market and promote onself professionally as a Chicago magician and the variables increase dramatically.

Which is to say that, while I have put a lot of effort into developing my show and business, I still have a lot of work to do.

All this from noticing a difference in response to my outfit at my restaurant gig.  Who woulda thunk it?

One of the great honors I have as a Chicago magician is volunteering with Open Heart Magic, a volunteer organization that brings magicians to hospitals to entertain sick and injured children. It’s a fantastic program that combines the sophistication of close up magic with children’s entertainment, all in order to bring joy, laughter and mystery to children who very much need it.

I’m also a teacher of magic, and tonight I’m teaching the other Chicago magicians some new magic to bring to the hospitals. I’m teaching a fun card trick that’s designed to have the patient be the hero (a great strategy I even use in my corporate entertainment performances.) Any time a magician can have the spectator be the “source” of the magic it’s generally a good idea, but this is especially true in the hospital environment.

And of  course, as is always the case with teaching, I’m looking forward to learning how I can improve my magic in the process.

As a Chicago magician I have particular magic tricks in my close up magic act, coporate entertainment magic shows and birthday party shows for special occasions.  In particular, I have fun magic for married couples and folks with birthdays, magic that I perform at the restaurants I perform in, wedding receptions, birthday parties and the like.  For my friend, Dennis Michael (one of the best children’s magicians I know) I actually recorded myself performing my favorite birthday card trick.  I hope you like it.

I mentioned in a recent post that in addition to being a Chicago magician, I also review magic products.  I recently had the good fortune to be able to review a fantastic magic DVD covering close up magic called “Card Magic: A Practical Approach.”  (Here’s the entire magic review.)  The DVD not only teaches some fantastic magic, but the information and ideas it contains, even if you were never to perform any of the magic tricks it covers, if applied will make the viewer a better magician.  The teacher, a fantastic magician named Bob White, shares wisdom and knowledge that he has gleaned from some of the best magicians of the 20th Century, including such luminaries as Charlie Miller and Dai Vernon.  What’s great about the lessons he teaches is that the principles he covers are applicable to not just card magic, but also stage magic shows, birthday party shows and all other areas of magic.  I wish more teachers of magic took the time and effort Mr. White does to elevate the art of magic to the next level.  He’s a truly great example of a performer who accepts nothing less than the extraordinary, and expects the same of his students.  Magic is the better for it.

In addition to being a Chicago magician, I’m also a magic reviewer, which means I review products designed for magicians for My Lovely Assistant, one of the largest magic product review sites on the internet.  It’s a great gig for a couple of reasons.  First, I simply enjoy writing.  As a professional magician, besides scripts for my magic shows, there’s little need for writing outside of advertising copy (and this blog, which is my other writing outlet.)  Second, being a reviewer requires that I think critically about magic products, identifying pro’s and con’s, determing the value to the average magician, etc.  I look at products from a more practical perspective.  Given that my natural inclination is to just acquire information without processing it (we magicians tend to love our secrets), bringing thought to the learning process is a good thing.  I also love the variety of products I get to review.  Sometimes I review items suitable for close up magic, other times for a stage magic show, but I also get to review kids show products as well.  Similar to writing, this allows me to exercise different parts of my magical brain.

My latest review is a DVD of close up magic called “Sick” by Ponta the Smith.  (You can see the trailer below.)  It’s a beautiful example of coin magic that isn’t taught with much detail.  (Here’s the entire magic review.)  Despite the lack of instruction, I still loved the DVD.  I might even include some effects from it in future magic shows.

I had the honor of performing close up magic as well as my comedy magic act at Magic Chicago, Chicago’s premier showcase for magic last night.  It’s a great venue that welcomes both Chicago magicians, as well as those from elsewhere, making for an excellent monthly show.

There are two things I love about performing at public magic shows.  First, while I love performing my birthday party show or magic at a trade show, those aren’t my favorite types of magic to perform.  At a public magic show I can perform the material I’m most proud of and the effects that most express the magic I love best.  Second, while I love performing close up magic as a restaurant magician, the customers are there for dinner, not just to see me.  Sometimes they come in specifically to see the magician, but even then I’m an addition to the experience, not the experience itself.  Even when I perform close up magic as corporate entertainment, I’m usually an addition to a cocktail party or hospitality suite, and not the main attraction.

But at a public magic show the audience is there to see magic.

They even paid money to do so.

So while I’m grateful for the many and varied ways I earn a living with magic (variety truly is the spice of my work life), I treasure the chance to do what I love for an audience who came just to see magic.  It’s a purer form of performance and I always look forward to the opportunity to do so.

So thanks Robert and Ben!  You’re doing a service for us all!

I performed close up magic for a trade show today at the annual Inside Counsel Superconference.  My client, Victoria Court Reporting Service, Inc., had asked me to promote her business with my magic.  As a bonus at the end of the day I provided corporate entertainment for the attendees at the cocktail reception. 

Trade show magic is a unique form of performance, very different from the stereotypical birthday party show.  It’s a hybrid combination of close up magic and sales and marketing.  The magician (that’s me) researches the company, determines the features and benefits of their products or services, chooses magical effects that will effectively communicate those benefits, then writes and rehearses a show to sell those benefits to the attendees.  Sometimes companies will even hire a performer to integrate their benefits into a formal stage magic show for a sales meeting or the like.

 While not all Chicago magicians offer this type of performance, I really enjoy including it in my repertoire.  Preparing for the show engages a part of my brain I typically don’t use except when marketing my own business.  And the writing is really a challenge.  Making the performance educational, magical and captivating given the subject matter is quite an endeavor.

 But it’s worth it.  And I’m talking about for the client.

 According to research conducted by Exhibit Surveys, Inc. of Red Bank, New Jersey, live demonstrations and entertainment are the most effective methods for attracting booth visitors in an exhibition hall.  And magicians receive the highest ratings, after product demonstrations, for product identification and recognition.

 So if you want an effective way to make an impact at a trade show, give me a call!