Posted by James Sanden on Jul 14, 2015 in Amazing Magician, Corporate Entertainment, Funny short videos
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...
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Posted by James Sanden on Jun 29, 2015 in Best Magician Ever, Corporate Entertainment
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...
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Posted by James Sanden on Aug 14, 2014 in Best Magician Ever, Corporate Entertainment, Corporate Event Ideas
When hiring corporate entertainment for an after dinner show, cocktail party, employee appreciation event or the like it’s important to remember that the show is more than what happens onstage.  The flow of the event, expectation of the audience and concerns of management all weigh heavily on the event planner.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard stories about comedians offending the audience, performers arriving late or not at all or the “star” not being able to adjust to the ever changing needs of the event. As a corporate entertainer based in Chicago, I work hard to make sure my show is entertaining and mystifying for any audience, but I also know that the event isn’t about me, so if I need to cut my show short, stretch it out, or include a last minute addition, I come prepared to do so.  This means arriving early, being willing to stay late and always remaining flexible.  That’s my job. I know I’m only one component of an evening’s schedule, and my job is to help make the whole event a success, not just my part of it.  If you’d like to talk to me about how I can help make your upcoming event a success, either with my comedy stage magic show or with interactive strolling magic, don’t hesitate to contact...
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Posted by James Sanden on Apr 1, 2014 in Corporate Entertainment, Magic Tradeshow
People tend to think of magicians for a birthday party show or to provide sleight of hand magic as corporate entertainment. What they seldom think of is using the power of magic as a metaphor to communicate a message. In particular, I’m talking about sales meetings and trade shows. Anyone who has been to a sales meeting or attended a trade show knows how dry and boring they can be. Some companies hire celebrities or comedians to draw a crowd, but while their clients are entertained, they generally don’t walk away educated about the benefits of their product or service. Enter magic… Magical entertainment at it’s best is simple, striking and visual. Imagine your trade show booth surrounded by potential customers drawn in by an amazing and funny magic show. But more importantly, see all these leads being educated about the benefits of your product… Be astonished as I perform a classic magic effect, the linking rings, but listen as I educate your customers: “Just as one metal ring impossibly penetrates another, XYZ Company will help you penetrate a seemingly impenetrable marketplace!†Laugh out loud as a trade show attendee is shocked by the multiplication of balls in their hand, but listen as I sell your company’s benefits: “You may be amazed to find the balls have multiplied, but imagine your profits multiplying with XYZ companies new ABC Service!†Watch appreciatively as I use my grand finale to draw the growing crowd of convention attendees into the booth: “You may not believe it’s possible that his signed dollar bill is inside this lemon, but I promise you won’t believe how much your profits will increase with XYZ’s new, more effective, more efficient products!†And the same principles apply with sales meetings and other corporate events that need a message communicated powerfully, effectively, but also with entertainment. So in addition to considering this Chicago magician for your corporate entertainment, think of my magic show as a way to bring more profits to your company though the incorporation of your company’s message. You’ll be surprised by how effective it can...
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Posted by James Sanden on Mar 23, 2014 in Corporate Entertainment
Corporate entertainer, James Sanden, here, welcoming you to my new website! Look out for fun, interesting and, hopefully, entertaining entries coming soon!
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