Switch from a hobbyist to a professional.

Hello friends,

There are so many hobbyists that buy a few tricks and think they are ready to do shows for a living.

They have been involved in magic for less than a month. Make their friends and family Ohh and Ahh. Print business cards. Take out an ad in the local paper. And are ready for business.

The only problem with this is that they are not ready yet! They think they are but they are not.
It takes a lot of hard work and dedication before you can become a pro.

They don't realize that while their friends & family may have been fooled that they probably have no basis of comparison as to what a real entertainer can do or maybe they were just being nice.

Let's say our magic man wants to do children's birthday parties.

Selecting appropriate effects are important. Nothing over their heads, . Nothing questionable such as use of fire or knives, nothing scary or violent or with sex.

Mastering these effects is vital. You have to know them inside and out backwards and forwards. You have to be able to do these blindfolded and flawlessly. You have to be able to anticipate anything and everything that might go wrong, so you can cover your errors and reverse them before anyone knows anything went wrong. In poker you need OUTS. The same holds true fro magic. Know your outs.

Just knowing an effect is not enough.

You have to learn to manipulate your audience as well as your props. Children are an exceptionally tough audience. How will you deal with them when they come up behind your table and grab a prop? Will you yell at them or will you get them involved in the act? Notice I didn't say your act. You have to be able to turn a bad situation around and in your favor.

You also have to entertain your audience. You have to be able to interact with them. They have like you. They have to like to hear what you are saying to them. Get rid of the props and they still have to like you. If you are able to entertain an audiance without relying on your tools, you are ready.

It really does take years of dedication to turn a hobby into a paying craft.

Those who go out and try it on their own too soon are doing themselves and magic a disservice. In three years, the ones who just started and are still at it they will get it. They will start to see how bad they were and know how good they are now getting and then the will realize how much more work they need to put into it to become a professional.

Start small. Volunteer at hospitals. Gain experience. Figure out what works where and why it works.

Folks, you gotta do hard time. What I am trying to say is, see you in ten to twelve. Give our art the respect that it deserves and it your journey will be endless joy as you strive to get their.

Never stop learning.

I learned something wonderful the other day. A client of ours shared a secret with me and I will share it with you. Do not ever make the audience feel bad or stupid. This is something I've always known but gave no consideration to their feelings when they can't follow your directions for the Confusing Crayons routine and their crayon is upside down. Stop and reverse it on them he said. You are the one who can't seem to get it right . Your child helper does it perfectly, but you are unable to. This is a fantastic idea.

For some of the best information on entertaining children read David Kaye's (AKA Silly Billy) Seriously Silly.

We'll talk again tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.

Pete