In your act the first effect sit the tone ,how and so how you choose the effect

How dose it set the tone

Depends on your act. If your table hopping something with a quick attention grabbing surprise works best. Don't go up to people who've just finished eating and start with an elaborate card routine that needs a lot of attention. It's gotta be something with a couple of really good quick magical revelations in a relatively short time. Then your in and the act can flow from there.

Stage? Don't ask me, I don't get on stage unless I've got a drummer!

Since this is in "The Sidewalk Shuffle" section I am assuming that starting the street act is what is being asked.

Your tone is set well before the first trick is performed. Your personality/performing persona is projected through your interaction with the passerby as you start to gather your audience to start your show.

Some start simply by bending over and tapping a stick/wand on the ground. Some start by engaging a few folks in conservation as they are setting up a table. Some begin by outlining what the spectators will see (the tricks/routines) if they stick around.

And some start with a simple trick that pulls folks in.

Three or four decades ago I watched a guy standing on a milk crate doing nothing but the vanishing red rag (vanishing silk) and he held a crowd for several minutes. His speed in vanishing and reappearing the red rag was phenomenal (his technique is flawless) but it was his continued funny banter that kept us rooted to the spot. That was in NYC and was the first time I saw Chris Chapehart.


I have used Charley Edwards Self-untying Knots to build an edge/audience and to interact with the passerby to get them to stop and engage. Getting people to tie a knot will often root them in place to see what is going to happen. Ask 3 or 4 different people to tie a knot on top of a knot and you've got an audience. However the humor inherent in my interaction sets the tone. The magic of the knots coming untied helps anchor the audience in place. I'll do the same bit several times to different folks and pretty soon I've got an audience. I am tell everyone that stops what they will see beyond the fabulous knot trick if they will just stick around.

I've used a rope trick to the same effect. The trick is pretty irrelevant it is more about projecting my personality

Your mileage might vary and others will offer differing opinions. This is my experience and only my opinion and remember I could be wrong.

Thank you mr murphy ,yes I'm talking about on the street act.

I do the classic stand about catch peoples eye. Talk to people draw them in. I bring people together with a promise of something happing. They know its magic as I have a sign. I now have 4-8 people looking at me. I now use multiply bananas. As I do this I talk to the first 4-8, then I interact with passer buys, As other people stop I engage with them. Now picking someone from my first group I start with sponge ball from a purse frame. With this I pull people in as my edge of know 10-15. As I do the phase of this first routine I build up to 15-25+.

My tone is set before the first trick. And my advice is have a trick that you can repeat the TT silk vanish is a classic. I like the Bananas as people do catch on a bit but it seem to not matter. Then pick a trick that invole a cute kid and has phases that you can pause in between to give you time to build your edge. All my effects run at the simulaur times every time I do them. But the purse frame can last 4min or up to about 12min. Depends on how well I can get that first edge in.

Hope this helps just some real life examples that work for me