2nd of the 2 greatest compliments I received for my magic
As a Chicago magician and corporate entertainer I perform for companies and individuals, onstage and up close, at a dizzying variety of events, including cocktail parties, employee appreciation events, trade shows, client dinners, etc. However, I consider myself lucky that I get paid to do card tricks, as I love performing magic, whether I’m paid to do so or not, and I perform for friends and family whenever I can. Recently, I found myself performing for a long time friend and her boyfriend, whom I had never met. We were having dinner and after the meal I offered to share a little magic. I did a short close up set with what I had on me, performing what I typically do at corporate events. When I finished, my friend’s boyfriend paused and said… “I see why people pay you to do that.” Like the compliment I blogged about a few weeks ago, it was an unexpected phrase, but like the other, I understood exactly what he meant, and I loved it. I do love that I get paid to do card tricks. But, really, I just love to do card tricks. That I get paid just means I don’t have to waste my time doing anything...
Read More »Corporate entertainment sizzler reel update!
As a corporate entertainer and Chicago magician, the bulk of my leads are split between repeat customers and people who find me on through a web search. Whether someone is looking for a stage show for a corporate event, employee appreciation dinner or holiday party, or close up magic for a cocktail party, hospitality suite or trade show, they always want to see video of my performances. My previous show reel worked wonderfully for a long time, but it became time to update, so I present to you… My new promotional...
Read More »First of the 2 greatest compliments I ever received for my magic
As a Chicago magician and corporate entertainer, I perform onstage and close up in a variety of venues: employee appreciation events, cocktail parties, trade shows, hospitality suites, etc. People are always very appreciative of my magic, but I always take their compliments with a grain of salt, not because they’re lying, but because most people have little with which to compare me. Which is to say, most audiences have never seen a magician live and in person before, or at most they have seen one or two, so most viewers don’t have a broad range of experience. Given that, I don’t know if their compliments mean, “Wow, YOUR magic is astounding and entertaining?” or simply that, “Wow, you sure fooled me the way I expect a magician would!” Which, frankly, doesn’t bother me a bit. All I care about is that I get to make people happy and give them a moment of astonishment. And that I get paid to do card tricks for money continues to delight me on a daily basis. However, occasionally I get a very insightful comment. One of my favorites occurred after I did my corporate magic show at a company holiday party. After the show, a couple approached me and said: “Thank god you weren’t another crappy magician!” That one simple sentence said so much. At first glance it might seem off putting, but I knew exactly what they meant. As in all art forms, magicians possess a range of skill levels and abilities. But most audiences aren’t aware of that. They think that fooling them is your job, so if you accomplish that, you must be a good magician. And sadly, there are some magicians who share that point of view and perform nothing more than old, standard tricks the same way everyone else does, knowing they don’t have to concern themselves with developing a unique, entertaining and baffling show. Performing magic in an entertaining and compelling manner goes far beyond fooling the audience, but why bother when the average audience won’t know the difference? This means that sometimes run-of-the-mill magicians end up in front of paying audiences. And given the fact that people rarely see live magic, it takes just one or two sub-par performances to leave the impression that magic in general is a fairly low level of entertainment. This couple clearly had that experience. More than once. So when they said “Thank god you weren’t another crappy magician!” what I heard was, “You were actually baffling and entertaining in the way a good magic show should be!” Now THAT’S a...
Read More »#itsnotmagicbut
I’m a Chicago magician and corporate entertainer now, but I’ve not always been a professional magician. For the first half of my life it was my hobby, not my job. It still is in a way. Even if I didn’t make my living performing magic close up and onstage for private and corporate event entertainment, I’d still be just as obsessed with magic as I am now. One of my current obsessions is inquiring into how a performance can create an experience of magic. Traditionally “magic as art” creates a “magical experience” by showing the audience something that is seemingly impossible. What I’ve noticed, though, is that demonstrating the impossible is not the same as creating a magical experience. There are performers and performances that are clearly, obviously and intentionally not “magic,” yet they create a magical experience. In the above video, the viewer knows the performer is controlling the balloon and pretending it can’t move, but his execution of the illusion is so extraordinary that it really seems like the impossible is occurring. It’s not magic, but it feels like magic… Hence the hashtag: “itsnotmagicbut I think magicians can lean too heavily on their methods and secrets, expecting them to do all the work, when in fact it is our job as performers to carry the load. What’s missing is the effort, the thought, the exploration, the practice and the rehearsal. If you start with putting in a lot of work as your foundation, then add in a secret method, you won’t just perform the impossible. You’ll create...
Read More »