Routining your show, or organizing a number of tricks so that the act flows smoothly and gets the proper reactions, is a skill that is not difficult to learn, if you know how to learn it.

The first step in routining your show is to choose a number of effects that you perform very well, that you are comfortable performing and that fit your performance personality.

Make a list of the effects. Next to each effect, note the time it takes to perform the effect. If you are not sure how long it takes, perform it on a family member and have a stopwatch going.

One of the most important parts of a successful act is pacing. In order to hold an audience's interest, your act should be textured. That means that there should be some variety in the effects you perform. This does not mean that you have to perform all different kinds of magic! You should mix quick effects with longer ones, nice little effects with mindblowers, audience participation ones with self-performed ones. If you are a comedy magician, mix small jokes with big ones. If you do birthday parties, mix "watch me" type tricks with audience participation.

Another thing is to use your most spectacular effects to open and close your show. You want to grab the audience's attention right away, so choose your opening effect with that in mind. You want them to think "Wow! This is going to be great!". Also, you want to end your show with a bang, leaving the audience feeling like they really saw something great. Many performers save their best for last, and it is quite effective.

Another thing to do is to select your effects so that they build on each other. A good idea is to use a twist effect (one where the audience thinks they know how it's done, but there is a surprise ending) and get an audience member to shout out how they think it's done. When the spectator joins you on stage, you automatically have a volunteer for your next effect.

A final tip for routining your show, and a often overlooked one is to select your effects to fit into a specific time frame. That's why it is important to know exactly how long it really takes you to perform each effect. Magic acts are often too much of a good thing. The audience really doesn't appreciate sitting through a 10 minute performance that takes 30 minutes to perform. More is not better! Choose effects that fit into 10, 20, and 30 minute time frames so that you have a show for a number of different occasions. Then stick to the schedule. You will appear more professional.

Proper routining is often skipped by magicians because it is not exciting. Yet a solid routine is one of the most important parts of your act. The successful magicians spend as much time, if not more, perfecting their routining than practicing their magic skills. It's well worth the effort.

Mitchell

This is one approach to setting up a show. However, it's not the only way. Sometimes, it is better to start with an idea for a theme of a show, then write a script that takes you through the things you want the show to achieve. After that, you select the items you need to construct the show.

Then you begin learning each item. After much rehearsal, videotape the performance and see where the weak spots are. This will also give you a chance to check the timing. Add time for audience response. Watch for weak transitions, but also make sure that you allow the audience to respond.

Then practice the weak sections. Check your time. If the set is too long, then throw out the weakest material.

Thanks for the tips. After you have done this or during the process do you show it to a pro magician before performing it in public or do "you" decide that now is the time to perform it in public.

Where do you perform? How frequently?

Very good question Bill.

I perform street magic at malls, downtown, and a little village down my street every day. Why do you ask?

Mitchell

Judging from your posts, you haven't really been doing this very long. Magic is what I have done for a living for more than 30 years. I'm semi-retired now, in the publishing business, but I was a full-time pro for quite a while.

I look at the routining process from a completely different perspective. There are many things that need to be taken into consideration.

One is the type of show you are doing. If you are performing as a busker, you don't actually start with a flash opening. You will be wasting your "flash." You start with something that will help you gather a crowd, because the crowd is where your money comes from.

OTOH, if you are performing a set piece in a stage situation, you start with a flash opening, and go through a series of items that build upon each other, until they reach a definite ending.

You've gotten a lot of information together about how to assemble an act from a group of tricks, but that isn't necessarily routining a show.

A lot of this has been covered in the various sections of the forum that are relevant to each specific type of magic. For example, if you want to know how to routine a set for street magic, check out the street magic forum. If you want to know things about busking, go to The Sidewalk Shuffle. You need to see what others have posted. You will find some really great advice and information in each of the relevant forums.

Also, the search function is of great help. It won't always show you every place that a particular idea is mentioned, but it will show you a lot of them.

I'm not saying that you are posting off-base, but I think you would do well to see what pearls await you if you look long enough.

I also see a lot of material in your posts that seems to come from sources such as the Mark Wilson book. Most of us have that one.

Hey Mitchell, You are well ahead of the game and keep working on your craft and someday I am sure I will see your name in lights...but in the meantime I must agree with Bill Palmer that there are more ways to skin a cat. For example I am always editing myself meanning if there is a move or a word that I do not need to fuel the magic or reason I take it out. So keep up the good work and fight the good fight.
Cheers Chris

Mitchell if you are going to quote a source please tell us you are quoting a source.

It is not proper to put forth ideas and concepts as if they are your own, when indeed they come from a beginners book in magic.

I do not say if they are right or wrong, but you put these things forth almost verbatem, and seem to have little understanding of what it is you are writing.

If you want ideas from others about the subjects you raise that is fine. Just tell us your quoting Mark Wilson, and people wil be quite respectfull of you and give opinions for you to disect.