Our local clown has no problem doing 5-6 shows a day, and he gets most of his work doing one restaurant work.

Physically I can't imagine the logistics of doing more than 4 shows in a day (my personal maximum). Even with a well organized pre-set its the logistics of moving from sites to site and dealing with the inevatable uncontrolled delays that would be my undoing. I did 4 library shows in one day several weeks ago and, while I got a buzz doing the shows, I was exhausted for 2 days afterwards.

The few times that I have done 5 shows was at a festival on the same stage, and as I said before three shows is my limit. I also will only do four hours of walkaround either magic, or juggling.

Sometimes I don't know how folks could handle this these days purely from a travel perspective.

For me, it's rare to have two shows in the same region. On top of that, I find that the interstate expressways are always jammed with traffic. There always seems to be a car accident ahead of you with traffic backed up for miles on end.

Gerry

3 has been my max, with shows ranging between 60 - 90 minutes. It could be just me, as I drink a lot of water before, during and after each show, but does anyone else ever find that on a busy day finding a bathroom between shows is really difficult?!? Especially in costume. What a life we lead...

I wonder how many performers that book four or more shows in a day have found themselves in the position of missing a gig because of traffic delays? I've been faced with this a couple of times when I've booked three shows in a day. It seems to me that someone booking 4 or 5 shows has very little time to pad their schedule. And what if they are held up getting to their second show out of five? How do these performers handle their clients when inevitable delays happen between gigs? Do they cut their fee or perform for free and cut their show short so they can make their next gig on time? Seems to me that booking five shows in a day could lead to a train wreck with just a little bad luck in ones travel agenda.

5 shows a day I will do if in the same place. Like at a festival, theme parc, market, street event.
But I'd rather make it 30 minutes shows then instead of my usual 45 minutes shows.
Probably one show every hour - 30 minutes show, 30 minutes break and reset time.
Or maybe 45 minutes inbetween.
This give enough time to put all the shows in the busy hours (between 12:00 and 18:00 as well and also enough time in between for the audience to change. Which are most of the times good selling points for these particulair venues.

For differnet booking differnt places I find 3 shows a day doable and even enjoyable once in a while as long as there is enough time in between to have a relaxed goodbye at each place, have enough time to drive from the one to the other, have at least 15 minutes for myself in between to eat and drink something (which I can skipp if something goes wrong or if there is a delay), have enough time to set up at the next place.
And yes I am tired after such a day. But I have to admit I also like it. But 3 is enough for me. And I also can only make it with good advance planning. Like I make a list the day or so before with the 3 places/adresses I need to go + how to get there + how long it will take to get there + a time schedule for the whole day + enough food and drinks + change of clothes + a list of which acts at which shows if these are differnt + if the props I need are different idealy 3 suitcases one for each show ec etc etc.

But really also I think which show makes a lot of difference.
3 bithday parties of an hour would not be a problem at all. I would probably take 4 of these if it would fit with travel time etc. (which never did) I can set my 3 suitcases up at home the day before if I like and need no setup time at the party at all. However the 45 minutes shows for lets say 100 or so kids I will need about an hour set up time and 30 minutes time to pack afterwards. So even though the show is shorter it takes more then double the time form arriving till leaving.

And these busy days I like once in a while. Not every day!!!! Not every weekend neither!
If I get to many busy days for my likings, I will consider bringing up my prices a little.

So to answer the topic question: 10 parties most weekends? 10 parties would be too much in one weekend logistically. And if I would be able too manage logistically I would not enjoy it and if I would have to be running around like that most weekends it would probably get me burned out pretty soon.

Unless I'm doing multiple shows at one location, my maximum is 2 full parties a day for me, that's it. You will earn the same for 2 full parties as 5 "basic" shows, even maybe more. Go for quality, not quantity. If you need to perform more than 250 shows a year, you still have a long way to go.
My opinion

I have done seven parties in the one day once (May, during communion season). It was tough. Each party was an hour of magic. But I have one trip to the car, and a very quick set-up. I was tired the following day, but able to do two parties.
This May I have one day with five parties, but that will be my best. Three parties (two hour-long shows for kids, and an evening hypnosis shows for adults) is not uncommon, but unfortunately not the norm either.
At my peak, when I was married to a magician and Ireland was going through the Celtic Tiger, we regularly (ie, most weekends) did ten gigs. One each on Friday, and two each on Saturday and Sunday.
When you are in one venue, doing shows of twenty minutes or so, it is no difficulty to do ten or more shows in a day.

The most I have ever performed on 1 day was 4 shows. Followed the next day by 1 show. Granted I'm a younger guy (mid 20's) and in relatively good shape. It took me about a day to fully recover but since then I've limited my shows to around 2-3 a day.

I've been doing 8-10 shows a weekend almost every weekend for the last 18 months.
How do I do it? Easy....I cheat. All the shows are at the same party house location.
In my case, an indoor mini golf place in the west part of the US.
Let me tell you something....it is not easy to make the fifth show as fresh as the first on a Sat where you average 100-200 kids a day.
I have to take umbrage at the remark that these show are not "good". I have been able to have these parties booked partly because of the show they've just seen and want the same for their child. If it was a bad show, we would not get as many "instant" bookings. Not to mention all the private shows I get from doing 10 parties a weekend!

My max has been six shows in a weekend, three each day. But I was totally exhausted.

One of the inhibiting factors is driving time around the Washington,DC metropolitan area. The other is time I need to reset. Finally, I need to change my shirt (and undershirt) between shows because I really work up a sweat in all my performances and I don't want to show up at the next show looking rumpled and sweat-soaked.

I think the message is, to get to the point where you don't need to work that hard! All other considerations aside, driving to multiple venues in one day is exhausting in itself. This will inevitably impact on your performance.
A good venue will pay as much for one 45-minute show as four or five Birthday parties, there is really no need to bust a gut, unless you're saving for a long vacation, or the latest release from Wolf's Magic (only joking, Chance!)
Potty

There’s a lot of wisdom in that statement and I understand the point you are trying to make. But think of it this way: if I have 2 or 3 shows booked already and another one comes in that day and I am able to do it, I ask myself, should I decline the show rest up on the couch and watch some TV, or should I continue to promote my business and make some extra money for my family, retirement, vacation, etc?

In this economy you never know when the calls are going to stop. Also, there have been many threads about advertising. Well, showcasing your act is the best way to advertise, and you actually get paid for it. So, I can take advantage of that, or turn the show over to my competition and let them advertise their act for free.



I, too, must take exception to the many here that claim the quality of the fourth and fifth show of the day will not be good quality. I’ve done five-a-days before and I get tired for sure, but something happens to me when I’m ‘on’ and in front of an audience. In fact, sometimes I think my show may even be better when I’m tired. I’m more relaxed and can even be more creative.

I don’t do 10 shows per weekend but I didn’t say I wouldn’t like to. Work two days a week doing something that I love and make $125,000 per year? Sure, why not?

I think the question of doing that many shows in a weekend and them being good depends on a few things.
length of show and if its inthe same place.
as I menitoned earlier I have done many shows in a weekend both at hte smae place and with a lot of travel inbetween shows. I agreen with Ken that I am the same way I may be tired while setting up but when I step on stage or infront of the audience BAM magic happens.

I put 40,000 miles a year on my truck doing shows and I love it. back in january I put over 3,000 in one month!
I just choose not to do so many in one weekend anymore.

I agree with Ken, if I'm not sick I will take every job that is offered to me, because the phone might not ring next weekend. I also do not think that I can do 5 great shows in a day. I can only do 3 great shows in a day.

200 shows a year is four jobs a week, I feel that 200 well paying jobs a year is plenty of work for me.

BIGmagicIV
I'm almost afraid to ask you how much money do you get for a 10 show weekend? You do not have to answer me I'm just saying "I'm almost afraid to ask"

Al...Be afraid, be very afraid!

I never turn work down, so on the few occasions I get ten shows in a weekend (usually December), I do them all. When the adrenaline kicks in, I can give a 95% perfect show even on that 10th performance, but it does weaken me completely when I get home and it admittedly takes me about 74 hours to recover. I usually need 10 hours sleep and the next day drinking lemon and ginger to fix my throat.

I think fatigue will play a factor, especially with travelling to each booking. But for me, the main problem is losing my voice. My voice starts to go a little 'hoarse' after the 4th show and from then on I have to drink lots of water between each routine.

On average, I work 1 show on Friday, 3 on Saturday, 2 on Sunday and 1 (magic workshop) on Monday. On Tuesday I just sit down and collapse in front of the TV.

Steve

BIGmagiclV
I'm doing one show today, for one pay check, and I am a happy boy.

Good Job Al.
Working on getting my business to a steady 2 shows a week but always tough when you first start out.

Don