I have a show with all illusions. I live in Texas but will be traveling to Atlanta this summer. I don’t have anywhere to perform. I will need some special lights and curtains. I’m only 13 so I can’t mess with the business part. I need a place that will seat at least 150 people. I don’t want some big theater (Fox. Civic) or things like that. I didn’t really want to use a church either. Please let me know if you have any advice! Please Help! THANK YOU

I do not mean to sound mean but I will say this.. You want too much without being willing to simply go out there and make it happen for you.

If you want anything in your magic the first thing you have to do is simply ask for it and tell yourself that YOU need to make it happen.

Anyone has the power and ability to be as successful as they want to be. The problem is too many want it handed to them or do not want to put forth the effort needed to make their dreams come true.

If you want to get a place to perform, go out there and find one. Start looking in the area and do reserach on the web. Contact theaters and places in the area and have them send you info. Ask them about their rental fees etc.

Kyle

Hi Kyle,

I don't mean to sound mean either, but when I was 13 I could hardly figure out how to do much more than get to school and back as well as play sports and have fun. Heck I hadn't even bought my myself a plane ticket on my own until I left Australia when I was 31 years old. Now we have Ray on his own trying to stage a magic show in a theather. That's leaps ahead of where I was at when I was 13. Not sure if you caught that part of his post or not. (that he's 13) You may have thrown him into the deep end without his life jacket on with your post. If someone told me :"Anyone has the power and ability to be as successful as they want to be. The problem is too many want it handed to them or do not want to put forth the effort needed to make their dreams come true." when I was 13, I know that I did't have the faintest idea on how to do that. Anyways!



To Ray: I'd suggest you get your parents to see what they can do to help you out. Maybe joining one of the local magic clubs may get you some good help with this sort of thing. You're certainly trying to chew on to a huge thing from what I can gather. Even many pros need to help to pull of what you're talking about.

All the best,

JoJo

JoJo:

I totally agree with you 100%, but I also am under the understanding and assumption that he would be responsible enough to have talked with his parents first and gotten that taken care of.

With that said, my statement stands true, that anyone can be successful as they want to be if they are willing enough to work hard at it.

in my own personal opinion., I think he may be biting off way more then he can chew and he may need to slow down. BUT, then again, I do not know this kid well enough to say one way or the other.

Kyle

Okay, so here's a thought.

Back when I was around 13 and wanted to take the world by storm, I discovered the good old phone book. One year I wanted to market to churches for their Christmas parties, so I pulled out the phone book and started calling them one by one right down the page. I asked to talk with the pastor and then gave him a sales pitch. I didn't have a clue what I was doing (this was before we all got sick of telemarketers), but I did get some bookings and learned a heck of a lot from listening to their responses. And I was using what was available to me at the time.

Times a re different now. You have a Web site. Contact the Chamber of Commerce in Atlanta and introduce yourself. Tell them about your site and see what they can offer. Contact local magicians and see if they can suggest anything; they may not all look at you as competition. Get copies of Atlanta papers, magazines, and guide books. See what's there. Case the joint.

Good luck.

I hate to be mean and I am not. But you can't just ask for everything to be handed to you. It takes time and energy from that indivudal to do most of the work. Look at Copperfild. This guy works his butt off...but also look where he is today.

Now my understanding is that technology is such a useful tool. You where able to find this Café and I am sure you will be able to find places in Atlanta. Do your research. Trust me as you get older you will start to learn nothing comes easy. Start training yourself to do your research.

Now once you do your research and you find a place. The next thing you want to take a look at is renting it and paying for your stuff to get to that place. Then you have to PR for your show. This all cost money and when are away from your home town it cost more....These are some things you have to think about. Don't if you already started but just want to make sure you think about it.

PR is very important. IF you don't do that for the show then you don't have an audience.

Well good luck....Hopefully you got some good advice from here.

Cheers. Let us know how things go.

Michael

Marketing is everything. You could have the greatest and best show on earth.. but if people do not know about it or you, then what is the piurpose of having this great show. Learn to market yourself and you will go far.

Kyle

Here's an interesting hint: If you are willing to do your research -- your answer is right here on the Café. And it's a better option than many other cities would be able to provide. Which makes me wonder why you hadn't discovered it before posting...

Oh so true!

Many good performers who are 53 let alone 13 have a great act but nobody knows of this!

Try doing some research before answering:

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......forum=52

Ray came here asking a legitimate question. He has more credentials than you think at 13. SYM member, TAOS junior competitor and he has done shows in various venues. He even has a pretty decent website for a 13 year old.

I think that possibly some members from Atlanta might be more qualified to be responding on this thread as they would be more likely to have actual feedback on the question asked.



Kyle shame on you. I thought posting on this forum was asking. I do believe he has started his research by putting his question here and if he got responses from Atlanta he would be getting results from that research.

Ray's a good kid and you shouldn't be hassling him, I'm sure non of you were marketing or business geniuses at that age.

Martin

Ray,
Have you tried to do a search on Yahoo Yellow Pages? You should give it a shot and see what you come up with. Make a few phone calls and have your parents finalize any arrangements that need to be made. Summer time can be hit or miss in Atlanta with all of the events that take place but you may be able to piggy back on an existing show that is in town this will give you additional exposure when attempting to draw a crowd.

I think that it is great that at such a young age that you are so dedicated, let us know if you get a venue I would love to come up and see the act.

Good Luck.
Kris

Ray -
First of all, I want to applaud your energy, confidence and direction. You've got a lot of focus for a younger person.

I think the some of the negative comments are expressing people's frustration with the way the world often appears. Many of us feel we are also good performers, with shows ready to go and all WE are looking for for is a place and a person to handle the business stuff. If any of us had someone like that, we would be keeping them plenty busy booking us.

What you are looking for is a producer and ultimately that's pretty tough to find.

Keep in mind that venues, lights and staff for a show all cost money and anyone who signs up to do a project like that is gambling on an audience actually coming to see you.

So here's my suggestion - I'm sure you would like to make money, but if your desire to perform is stronger than making money (which is possibly the case, since you don't have any life expenses), why don't you think about contacting a dozen charities and seeing if any of them are willing to organize a performance, with the proceeds going to them?

You might want to consider music or theater departments within High Schools, since they would already have a reasonable sized venue to use (the school auditorium).

This kind of project usually takes a lot of time to set up, but from your post it looks like you have the right amount of lead time.

Visit your local library and talk to the reference librarian to help you find info on who to contact. This is a great project especially if you are consider a career in entertainment. The library is an incredibly valuable resource for the self-employed.

Best of luck.

Peter Gross
http://www.funnymagic.com

Ray Brother,

YOU CAN DO IT! - - I Know... I did it too when others said it couldn't be done!

Besides the shows I was booking here there and everywhere, I started working in theme parks when I was 12, and so can you.

It's PERFECT!

You get to "do your show"!
You Get PAID for it!
You get to stay in the same space!
You get to stay "set-up"!
The crowds come to YOU!
The Marketing is all done for you!
You get LOTS of 'on-stage' experience!
There are TONS of parks across the country!
(DON'T "JUST" think in terms of the mega-parks!)

...it's a true win-win-win situation!

There a bagillion parks and attractions all across the country that you can work, NOT including the 'big-name' parks, there are so many mom & pop type parks and attraction all over the place. My first park was a local park, play-land and Zoo. I ended up doing just about all the majors (Marriott’s, Disney, Six Flags, Paramount and loads of others!) and then on to the mega Casino Showrooms… not bad for a 12 year old eh’?

OR…

=> How about your local science and family museum?

They LOVE to have attractions and exhibits! Imagine this possible headline: “!3 Year-Old Kid Makes magic at the Kid’s Science Museum!” (What-ever… you get the idea!)


=> How about a “Camp” where the attendees change every week or two but YOU STAY put?


=> How about some mall with an empty store that can be turned into a theater JUST for YOU!!

Imagine what mom wouldn't LOVE that? The MALL Wins, The Shoppers Win, You Win! How cool is that!?!


Those are just a few off the top of my head. There are literally UNLIMITED possibilities my little brother!

Rock-on with your bad self, grab the bull by the horns and make it happen!

I am at your service and In His Service,
Deano
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Martin:

I think you may have gotten me all wrong. I was simply saying that 1) a kid at 13 still should get approval from his or her folks first before jumping at a venture of this sort. I also stated that it was my assumption that he has already done this. 2) I also said that I do not know this person so I can not judge his level of talent or skill.

As a teacher and an SYM leader of over 35+ kids, I do understand that some 13 year olds are far better prepared to make this step then most grownups and I applaud his iniative to go for it.

As stated, I said anyone can be successful no matter what they do as long as they are willing enough to go for it.

Hope this clears things up a bit. Martin.. your a great friend and I would hate to see us have a disagreement that would hurt this friendhsip. =)

Kyle

Dean..you are the man! Great advice.

My only advice to Ray would be to try to partner with some organization in Atlanta, such as a non-profit. You probably don't know anybody in the Atlanta area, but they do. The partner organization will be a great help in doing the advance promotional work, handling ticket sales and front of house responsibilities on the night(s) of the show.

Ideally, pick an organization that has a stage space and offer to do the show on a "spit the gate" basis. Don't automaticly eliminate churches as they sometimes have good stages AND, more importantly, they have many members who will buy tickets (that's the idea isn't it).

or how about partnering with a high school SADD chapter(Students Against Destuctive Decisions/Drinking & Driving). They could get a school stage and help out on show night.

Another group would be a dance or theater company that has a theater space, although you might run into logistic problems sharing the space with the resident company. Call the Altlanta area arts councils to find out who has space. Also check with the Convention and Visitors Bureau regarding who has theater space.

Good luck.

Now the thread is going the direction it should go. Fundraising shows are a great idea and put money in the bank and provide what is needed for the performer.

Kyle:

No hard feelings, I just knew enough about Ray that the answers being given weren't where they needed to be headed and was hoping the thread would turn just like it has.

Dean and Jim:

You are both the bomb. Great Café assets that we can always depend on for great answers to our questions.

Martin