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Lawrens Godon Inner circle France 1108 Posts |
Hello all and happy new year !!
I'm currently working on a stage act. It will involve contact juggling manipulations and magic. What would be the perfect duration for such an act, to be able to sell it to theaters, cabarets, etc... Also, I plan to present it in magic competitions, so does the duration have to be different ? Thank you, |
Lawrens Godon Inner circle France 1108 Posts |
I can't believe there aren't any pro to give me advices ??
Please ! ^^ |
Stanyon Inner circle Landrum, S.C. by way of Chicago 3433 Posts |
Lawrens -
Will you be the main attraction in the particular venue or will you be on a multiple bill? Competitions will set their own individual time limits.
Stanyon
aka Steve Taylor "Every move a move!" "If you've enjoyed my performance half as much as I've enjoyed performing for you, then you've enjoyed it twice as much as me!" |
Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
Magic Compitations at conventions here in the USA was 8 minutes. I don't know if that is still in the rules or not currently.
Professional performers usually have a basic rule of 20 minutes act. Then if the business ask for a longer run, you should have enough material for up to an hour. Most of this material will be stuck in the middle of your 20 minute act. |
markis Veteran user 379 Posts |
Hi Lawrens, A friend of mine that competes in magic competitions says the rules are different for each completion. For some it seems the rules don't apply. In one competition a rule was absolutely no fire but the guy that won had all sorts of fire effects. People would also go over the time limit yet place.
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Sam Sandler Inner circle 2487 Posts |
Lets answer your questions one at a time
for a show where you are the only act that you want to sell to theatres needs to be at least 60minutes long 75 is better if you are goingto have another act with you then make it 90 minutes long however with that said you need to be able to sustain entertaining the audience what ever length of time you go. if you are doing a compitition you will need to find out what the rules are for t hat particular convention and compitition. the golal shoudl be to have a 7 minute routine but able to go longer if needed. the same routine should be able to break down into a 4 minute routine as well. need to be prepared for anthing. good luck my friend amgically yours sam
sam sandler- America's only full-time DEAF Illusionist
http://www.samsandler.com http://www.deafinitelymagic.com |
Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
Lawrens, lives in France were they have night spots that put on variety shows. It is much different then in America and Canada.
Remember Norm Nielsen did his short act for many years in France and all over Europe for over 20 years. He had his Musical Coin Ladder and 2 Violins to tote with his cloths. |
Anatole Inner circle 1912 Posts |
Channing Pollock used to comment about magicians who worked hard to develop a 30-minute or 60-minute act and remark that it took him years to develop his seven minute act.
A manipulation act by its nature should be relatively short. Think of all the great manipulation acts you've seen--Lance Burton, Joseph, Pollock, etc--and most of them were under 10 minutes. When Red Skelton had a weekly TV show, he would present traditional spoken comedy skits during his show, but reserve a few minutes in each week's show for what he called "The Silent Spot." Similarly, when I saw Andre Kole perform, he reserved a few minutes in what was predominately a talk act for a silent spot of exhibition card fans. Howard Thurston, too, reserved some time during his illusion show for the card act that got him started. My point is that if the ONLY thing you do is manipulation and magic, then a short act is preferable. I think in _Cardini: The Suave Deceiver_ John Fisher mentions that Cardini added some standard non-manipulation effects when he performed on cruise ships, which makes sense because cruise ship magicians often have to have two acts--one when the ship is leaving port and one when it returns. ----- Amado "Sonny" Narvaez
----- Sonny Narvaez
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
Your are correct, what comes to mind is the Mr. Eletric DVD available from Stevens Magic. He mentions if he needs to lengthen his custom acts, he has several other related effects, keeping with his theme, to perform in the middle of his standard act.
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Lawrens Godon Inner circle France 1108 Posts |
Thank you all for your help !
I'm not working on an hour act, rather 20 mn one. I understand that I probably will have to adjust the lenght, depending of the venues. My goal is to sell it to cabaret where there are others acts in the same show. As for competitions, I understand that each has its own rules, so I must adapt to each. So what I'm gonna do : define 3 formulas for my act : a 15/20 mn long a 8 mn long a 4 mn long (this one is for eventual tv ) It's hard to figure out, because changes must be done in one case or the other... Thanks, |
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