Hi all,

So I'm working in Beijing and trying to be better at magic.

Problem is, my Mandarin, while good enough to get by, is bad enough that I probably sound like an idiot to most audiences. And I don't like sounding like an idiot.

Should I:

1. Tolerate the embarrassment and try to patter in painfully awkward Chinese?

2. Speak in English and lose a big fraction of the audience?(this varies a lot depending on the crowd; lots of people here speak English but not everybody)

Or 3. Be mute and focus on body language?

Anyone else trying to do magic in a foreign lingo?

I know what you mean and am too struggling with a similar problem. I'm a native English speaker but I live in Sweden. I can speak Swedish fluently and have no problem working, acting and performing in Swedish. But I am working on a new type of show now and for some reason my patter is coming out stilted and I am making mistakes.

Normally, if I'm working to a script, then I need to know it inside and out so that I can deviate from it and "talk around" it should I need to. I sometimes forget a word and have to approach the story from a different angle. This is frustrating because I know how easy it would be if I could only just do it in my native language. For this show, I have a script and I know it inside out. I'm just having trouble articulating it and finding the nuances of the language.

I know that in my wn language I could talk rings around my audience and tangle them up in my web of stories, sweep them along on a river of narrative etc but using a foreign language limits my creativity and flexibility. The other problem is that the Swedish language is very plain and simple and does not allow for much play on words. A cat is a cat no matter how you try to dress it up.

I would suggest that you try a mixture of 1 & 2. Use simple language (advancing as you learn) to frame the piece and then perform to music and concentrate on body language. Good luck!

Jump in and go for it, find a friend to help translate for you but also use actions to describe what you want people to do, ambitious card in a foreign country is hilarious.
I have performed (drunk) in a Madeiran nightclub to a group of young non-english speaking partygoers with the music so loud it mattered not we did not speak, an also to a group of Spaniards after an afternoon of Paella with one person roughly translating, eventually I just went with body language and expressions.
Makes you really think afterwards about what you say and why and the importance of connecting with people on more than just a vocal level.
I think I had more fun doing those sessions than anything in an english bar or party!

Work with a native speaker of the language to translate the nuances correctly. Watch other magicians who perform in that language. I live in Mexico and speak Spanish as a second language. It took quite a while before I was able to use the language well enough to manipulate and control the audiences' thought processes.