I was curious if anyone has any good performance videos or resources for closeup magicians who perform card magic on stage (lets say for about 200 people) and are able to make it work. Im trying out some new ideas for a banquet hall show I am putting together and seeing what will work best as a card effect to perform for a larger crowd. I already know you guys will say things like “you shouldnt do xyz because they cannot see it” so no need to lol. I just want some ideas to see if my set is even practical.

Rear projection is something I am considering for these events. The majority of the act will be prop based or at the least parlour sized magic. I wanted to add my pokemon card routibe to this set however and see how practical it woukd be. Any advice or suggestions are appreciated.

I’ve done one time some mentalism in those conditions with cards for 180 people. There was some interactive phases, each spectator was provided a deck before dinner. I think I encountered the same problems as you. There is no hundreds possibilities. I had a giant screen (cinema size), a camcorder man who was following me, and all the material needed to connect the two. It’s technically challenging if you don’t hire a pro team for the job. It was for a charity evening, I was giving this show fo free, so they provided everything I needed, and the team did a great job. Everything was perfect. I was even using some painting projected on the big screen, alternating with the live image of the close up table. Awesome.

Yeah that sounds amazing! It may be one if those things you just don't do unless you are going full on with the crew and everything. The issue is, events want to book me for banquet halls doing a show for hundreds of people and I don't have the room for large prop magic. I can only do so much mentalism before it becomes a mentalism show which I don't want. I am currently doing the classics like rope magic, ring magic etc.

Don’t forget to project your voice and use your gaze to control the entire room.

As the matter of choice of material, it’s an artistical one in which your are the only person who knows.

Yes of course! I also have a headset and PA system to help. As for projecting and commanding the audience I thibk I do a decent job of that.

Michael, I'm not sure your Pokeman routine will work in that large a setting, unless you have a video camera focused on the cards and a projection or large monitors. I could barely follow it in the close-up gallery in the Magic Castle. But that's because I'm not familiar with Pokemon, and I couldn't figure out what the cards were from 10 feet away. If they have to ID the card from distance -- and especially a Pokemon card -- that makes it much more challenging. Personally, I'd think you can't do it in a banquet hall without video camera and monitors.

OTOH, I've used Phoenix large index cards in a banquet hall for about 250 people, but I didn't do regular card tricks. I did tricks that were super easy to see and didn't rely on IDing a particular card. Like a six-card repeat, and a four-card trick with torn corners, so they didn't have to ID the cards from the back of the hall, just be able to see that the torn corners appeared to match, along with the spectators' verbal acknowledgement. I also do my "card to tampon" Code Red impossible location trick in larger halls, because just the production of the easy-to-ID card (I use large index cards and force a low number card to make it easy to see) along with the volunteer's reaction allows it to work, even if they can't quite make it out from the back. I've also done tricks where the audience only has to be able to see the color of the cards, like Out of This World (a terrible trick that I don't do anymore).

Just simple things that don't rely on following a particular card. Pokeman cards would be pretty difficult to pull off in that venue.

I recently saw a card magician perform for about 150 people (Oakland Magic Circle). He did a MacDonalds Aces routine with wine glasses, so that the audience could see clearly. It really seemed to work, since the prominent cards disappearing and reappearing were the aces; and the spot cards did not seem to matter. Also, I think some card routines could work if the magician stepped away from the stage and down into the audience. I seem to recall a Harry Lorayne story about doing a card to ceiling, while surrounded by people... the card got stuck in the rafters and then gently floated down into their hands. Good luck Obrien... always enjoy your posts, and realize the ongoing difficulty of making close up work for bigger stage. Lynn

One of the trick I did on the occasion I was speaking of early in this thread, was Out of this world. Good point Dana, audience has just to see the color and they can from a great distance.

You are all great! Thanks so much!

Dana. Does your card to tampon trick play well? I have a theory that even if the audience cannot see the card themselves, the person will react and say “omg thays my card” allowing the rrst of the audience to also understand where the effect is going. Think this may apply? Obviously there are better effects to perform in these venues. Trying my best to stick to my staple material, but I may need to cut it if it doesn't work.

Royal Road, Part iii, Platform Tricks

At one time I read that Howard Thurston would do a vanishing nickel for a full theatre audience. The person on stage was the witness and their reactions sold it to the rest of the audience.
O’Brien, you are not Thurston, yet you have a charisma and personality that you can do more than others. As far as being able to pull off your Pokémon trick on stage, you never know unless you try.

Great point! I tried it for a room of 300 and they applauded and reacted to it. So I mean it does wirk technically. It is a matter of whether or not it works well. I suppose testing several times and making adjustments as I go along. Also making it a character peice and not just a signed card trick makes it fun and entertaining!

Hi Michael, I’ve performed a version of Paul Vigils Sympathy for the Devil (Sympathetic Cards) with jumbo cards plus projection onto a screen for a crowd of 200+. Also cards across works for a big crowd (for the same reasons Dana mentioned above) see Chris Hannibal here:

https://youtu.be/POmqBXCimYc

G

PS your ring routine projected onto a screen would kill, as always!!

I REALLY hope the Pokemon trick works. It's a fantastic routine for you.

The largest audience I've done Code Red for is about 150, and it plays very well to that size audience. I'm not sure those in the back can truly I.D. the card from distance. But I agree with your theory that the volunteer's reaction allows those in the back to experience the magic even if they can't quite I.D. the card. Of course, when I do Code Red for larger audiences I force a low number card that can be easily seen (my preference is a red 2 or 3). And I go through 10 other increasingly silly "Is this your card?" moments (including a card in feather bouquet, and a giant silk King of Diamonds that can be seen from the next zip code) where the volunteers says it is not her card, so that when the big reveal comes and she exclaims that her card has appeared, it's a truly big moment even if the back row can't quite see it.

Your Pokemon routine is FANTASTIC, and I hope you can make it work for a larger audience. My only concern is that because the cards may not be familiar to most people the way a standard deck is, it might make them feel like they are missing something if they can't make out what the cards are. I know that I couldn't make them out in the Close-Up Gallery at the Magic Castle and I felt a bit frustrated.

BUT!

That did not keep me from thoroughly enjoying the routine and your wonderfully engaging performance of it. One of the things that really made it work for me was that, when I saw your show at the Magic Castle, you had a volunteer who was super into Pokemon, and that selection made the trick play great, even though I couldn't see it as clearly as I wanted to. The volunteer's high enthusiasm and amazement were all I needed to feel the magic that I couldn't quite see, and his wild enthusiasm for all things Pokemon made it truly joyful. So, maybe in a larger venue the choice of volunteer can pull it off for you? Not sure, just brainstorming here. I really, really hope it works in a larger venue. It's a wonderful routine, and you perform it with such an infectious joy that it's one you should definitely try to make work. A signature piece, really, and along with your rings really sets you apart from other magicians in people's eyes.

Maybe you should try it with and without rear projection, and see how it plays both ways. If it plays just as well without the rear projection, then hooray!

Hm. Maybe I should be saying all this in text or chat, but since it started here I'll leave it here.

And anyone who hasn't seen Michael's show should make it a point to. Wonderful stuff, excellent performer.

Dana, you are much too kind! Yes I will give it a go’ it is my favorite peice to perform so I really wanna make it work! We shall see! Hope to see you at the castle soon and actually sit down to chat. Would be great!

You really should check out the stuff by Mick Ayres. He routinely does magic for crowds that big and most of it is cards. He performs at Disney among other places. These are fully structured, fully scripted acts. http://www.mickayreswares.com/the_act_series

Just curious if you have had a chance to give it some stage time? If yes, how did it go?

In October 2017 I saw Greg Gleason do a 45 min close up show using nothing but cards and coins on a cruise ship stage for about 1000 people. His show was very well received. All he had on stage was a cloth covered table and two chairs, one for him and one for a volunteer from the audience. He did a variety of mostly classic tricks like 4-card monte, Sam the bellhop, matrix, triumph, cannibal cards, etc.. The show was live videoed and projected onto two large screens. We were seated near the back and had no problem seeing everything clearly.

Check out Mac King. He did a Penguin Magic lecture and if you study his show (if you're in Vegas, you must), you realize that he is doing a lot of close up stuff adapted to the stage. He does a cards across where he puts on a poncho and it supposedly makes him invisible. It was a 10 minute routine. It's possible to do card magic in this setting but you have to think differently. I started off doing close up but now much prefer parlour/stage magic now. Although I prefer mentalism now, I do incorporate magic in my current show.