OK... I will just lay it on the line. I have had world performing magicians tell me my card handling is spectacular and I could easily do this as a job...however here lies the rub, I have one of the most advanced forms of anxiety disorder in the state(universities wanted to study me). When I get up to perform even for one person I look like I have Parkinson's...actually a lady did ask me if I have the "Michel J Fox disease". I studder, sweat like a mob accountant at an IRS audit,cards slip out of my hand and so on. Its so painful because I love magic and the few times I could do it(thanks to tranqs) I loved the reaction. People ask so much for me to do magic but I'm to afraid.

Is there any hope?

Write a script for each of your tricks and memorize them. Make sure you are practicing your script while you practice your card handling. We strive to make our card handling seem natural. Do the same thing with your patter.

In theory, the more you perform, the more comfortable you will get performing because you will gain confidence. Start off performing for people who you are already comfortable being around.

Only you know for sure if there is any hope. You are the one who will have to face your fears if you want to perform. Aaron Fisher said something in his Penguin Lecture that hit home for me. I'm paraphrasing but essentially he said Magic is a very personal gift that you are giving to someone. Give that gift lovingly, and your spectator will receive it lovingly.

I'd make YouTube videos if I were you. Make them really well with a killer camera, explore new ideas--develop something legit out of it, then when people ask to see a trick, tell them to check out your channel. That'll boost your confidence no doubt, and you'll still be performing-just in a different type of "venue".

I really bummed ut today. I did 6 tricks for people and royaly botched 4. I have done these hundreds of times and never fail. I'm so down . What tricks do you guys recommend to do?
I will add that the 2 I did pull of got comments like we have another David *-&&* Blain here. But I have OCD and to fail is prohibited.

Six is too many. Do only one. Then say something like, "that's enough for now. I'll do another later".

Stick with the two or three tricks you can do in your sleep. After a while you will overcome your anxiety. No different than speaking in public.

Hudson

I don't think it's a matter of which tricks you do. All performers, even the most experienced professional actors and singers, have anxiety when performing. When you're starting out a lot of that anxiety has to do with performing adequately and the same is true, ironically, when you have a lot of experience. You just seem to have an extreme case of anxiety. You need to learn how to harness that anxiety. Maybe for you 100 run throughs of a routine is not enough to deal with that part. Go for 200, 500, 1000 run throughs before you try something out. Learn some relaxation exercises. Live actors use relaxation as part o their warm up before a performance and a magician is a live actor. You might also seek assistance from hypnotherapy. Lots of performers swear by hypnosis. Self hypnosis might be the answer and is certainly less expensive.

Practice does help. Lots of good advice already.

For the most part, some nervousness is good; it keeps you from getting sloppy. The thing we (all of us) have to keep in mind is that fear is a reality of life. Pushing past the fear is what makes for greatness; that's not just a platitude.

On stage it can be a problem, though. You just need to keep at it (with friendly audiences) until you learn exactly how the adrenalin is going to affect your body. For example, the first time I sang a special in church, my voice actually went UP about a quarter of an octave; I could NOT bring it down. I learned to transpose into a different key to compensate. When I first started doing magic, my mouth got very dry; I put a “water trick” into the lineup early, so I could display the glass and take a sip, to “prove” it was real. (wink)

And yes, I still get nervous before I go on. It passes.

Best of Luck to You!

Gbhunter77, welcome to the Café!

I feel for ya buddy. Anxiety disorder is nothing to laugh about. Ya can't just "get over it". It isn't something you "learn" to overcome. The YouTube idea is great!

Doug

The worst thing is I have done this sleigh hundreds of times and not once got it wrong. A felow magicion pointed out it is possible I was not clear in my instructions causing the audiance member to pic the wrong card. The funny thing is the tricks that did work had two guys move away from me in awe and one guy ran away lol. So I guess it does not seem they remembered the failure... at least I hope so.

Have any of you botched a trick infront of an audiance?

OH, yeah. I've never in half a century had a trick work correctly for my mother. (Issues, I'm sure!)

One time I even burned the cr@p out of my hand with a finger-tip flash pot. Seriously?!? It's a tube that fires out one end only!!! HOW do you screw that up?!?

I've known Marc Berkowitz since 1965. His professional name is Marc Summers. He is a national spokesman for OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER. He even wrote a book on his problem.

He did good job performing as a teenager in the '60s and started as a professional in Hollywood CA, doing audience warmups before various live TV shows. He worked the Magic Castle! Lately, he has been on one of the "food" channels as MC.

I don't know you, but, it appears to me that you are trying to do "technical stuff". I would suggest that you back off a bit and start with material that is almost "self working" until you gain confidence. Then, "ease" into the "heavy sleights".

I started performing in the '40s. I had a speech impediment. Under "pressure", I would "lock up". It was purely psychological. There were no speech therapists in small Catholic schools! My 8th grade teacher had me do a "show and tell" magic performance for the class. PEER GROUP RECOGNITION!!!

THAT was the "catalyst"! Now, "they" can't shut me up!!! If Marc can do it, and, if I can do it, so can YOU.

Next upgrade, Gene should put in a "LIKE" button!

I saw a few times in the forums that people write "self working" magics. What exactly that means? Things like OOTW? Mathematical magics?

Self-Working would be something where the handling requires no sleights. The “Twenty One” trick would be a common example. Most routines with a Svengali Deck would also qualify. Basically something that is automatic (and thus “fool-proof”), it allows the performer to focus on presentation rather than trying to concentrate on complicated manipulation.

I am not sure that the technical level of the trick matters too much if the OP can do the effect in their sleep. No idea if this will work but.... focus ALL of your attention on the spectator, let your hands do their thing on their own.

You'll get there,

Danny