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jkwebber New user 76 Posts |
There has been so much great advise given in this thread. Thanks
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Scott O. Inner circle Midwest 1143 Posts |
Lots of different ways to do this. That's good. For birthdays I do one show and may change one or two effects based on age. The same is true with my stage shows. Like others have said, I have a core that I work from and change things around based on who the audience is.
Do not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time you will reap a harvest, if you do not give up. Galatians 6:9
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Al Angello Eternal Order Collegeville, Pa. USA 11045 Posts |
Scott
IMHO Your birthday party formula is the one that seems to work best for most of us.
Al Angello The Comic Juggler/Magician
http://www.juggleral.com http://home.comcast.net/~juggleral/ "Footprints on your ceiling are almost gone" |
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jkwebber New user 76 Posts |
On average, what percentage of your performances are repeat shows? That is what percent of your audience has seen your show before from a previous booking? 33%? 50%?
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TonyB2009 Inner circle 5006 Posts |
I have about two hours of material in my briefcase. In general I stick to the one core act of an hour. But if the kids have seen me recently, or if they are all older than I expected, then I can dig into the spare material.
Often a change of order, or a different story with an effect, is enough to give the illusion of a new show. I tend to avoid kids props and kids routines, preferring to work out my own routines. Once I get a routine perfect and become bored with it, I might remove it from the core show for a year, and work one of the spare tricks into something solid. That keeps it interesting for me.
Check out Tony's new thriller Dead or Alive http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alive-Varrick-Bo......n+carson
http://www.PartyMagic.ie |
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Mr. Pitts Inner circle David Pitts 1058 Posts |
I'd say 10% to 20% are repeats. My primary business at this time is birthday parties, which, although they don't tend to be repeats, do generate business from those who are in attendance. So there are often audience members who've seen my act before. I don't change it up though unless it's to adjust it slightly for a different age group. My true repeat customers are more often the bigger clients, which, as it has worked out, generally book me for strolling entertainment, fairs and festivals, that sort of thing. I'm liking this market and am probably going to work on building this part of my business.
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wizardpa Inner circle The New Orleans area 1011 Posts |
I'll change up some of my show. It is amazing but I have children remember what I did a year ago.
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magicgeorge Inner circle Belfast 4299 Posts |
I've got 1.8 acts!
I've been trying to get a second act together over the last 5 years. It's been a slow process taking out one effect replacing it with another then another 'til I find one that I'm happy with and then polishing it until it's second nature. A new routine is always the weak spot in the show for a while so I can't imagine doing a whole show of new stuff. (at the moment I'm pushing it starting with 2 new routines then going back to the old stuff). Especially for the birthday market were you have to have your wits about you. For bigger shows such as schools or events I find it easier to do new stuff but for the small shows where anything can happen it's hard to reach the standards I have set myself with a new routine. For christmas and halloween shows I change one effect for a themed effect and also have a standard routine that's slightly adapted. Once I work out another finishing routine I should have 2 acts which I'll probably rotate yearly. |
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Julian Franklin Regular user Houston, TX 139 Posts |
The link posted previously to my web site outlines the 12 shows I currently offer to schools and public libraries. Each show is in it's own box, so if you spend ten minutes the night before packing your show you've already spent ten minutes more than me.
I think that twelve does start to become paralyzing to prospective clients as they struggle to decide. I think the ideal number would be 6-9 program offerings (for schools and libraries, that is). However, because so much of my work in this market is repeat business (70-80%) having multiple offerings allows me to keep a very full schedule of work every year and in several schools and libraries I perform 3-4 times each year. For birthday parties, I agree with Donald that there is almost no need for various themes. I do one show and change nothing for repeat customers even if they've seen it four or five times (which many have). By the same token, anything that offers you a competitive advantage is worth exercising, and in the spirit of full disclosure I don't do that many birthday parties anymore (though 100% of those that I do are repeats or referrals as I haven't advertised b-days in eight years). --Julian Franklin |
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Alan Munro Inner circle Kentwood, Michigan, USA 5952 Posts |
The reason that I restrict the number of shows that I do is because my shows require a fair amount of sleights, handling and parts of the routines have to be precise. The shows have to be performed regularly or else the muscle memory can be lost.
I use simple props. I'm not a huge fan of apparatus magic, unless it has a good reason for being. Kids won't respond as well if they think the apparatus does all the work. The effect should just seem to happen, without a magic box that does the trick with the push of a button. |
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TrickyRicky Inner circle TrickyRicky 1652 Posts |
Quote:
On 2010-07-17 16:37, magic4u02 wrote: Kyle is right on. Kyle is a true professional posting here. Although I would take out one after a few years and put a new one in. I do the same tricks and toutines over and over. That is the only way to develop the business with the trick and the audiance. I kow of a ML who is a big example of that and that is the reason he's so good.The guy is the best of the best. I always enjoy Kyle's posting--I've learned a lot from them. Tricky Ricky |
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SeanTaylor New user Australia 54 Posts |
A different perspective
I don't want to totally tip my mit here but even if you only have one show, you need to make it look like a range of shows at a range of prices. This way, you're far more likely to get the booking. You could have 30mins, 45 and 60, you could add animals, puppets, vent balloons or whatever. You have to have options. If there is only one brand of a specific product, supermarkets create another one just to give the shopper a choice. (what's inside may be the same, it just has to look different and have another price.) This is detailed in a new book which I'm writing. Hence the vagueness! Sean Taylor |
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Al Angello Eternal Order Collegeville, Pa. USA 11045 Posts |
I would get mixed up if I had two shows, so if I had 12 different shows I would have to take one shoe off just to count them.
Al Angello The Comic Juggler/Magician
http://www.juggleral.com http://home.comcast.net/~juggleral/ "Footprints on your ceiling are almost gone" |
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Ed_Millis Inner circle Yuma, AZ 2292 Posts |
I can see needing a variety of shows.
I currently have enough material to do an hour-long show aimed at 1st-5th grades for either a birthday party or a library. I can also trade a few effects in and out just to mix things up a bit for age or to avoid repetition. But I can't see a whole lot of this going over well for 6th-8th grades. Not at my current skill level, at least. For that, I really want a "teach magic" class. For a whole-family event, I'd like to pull in some adult-level routines (using a more involved plot). Sean: I'm not sure if I understand you correctly (and I know you may not want to delve too deep). Your approach sounds like a buffet-style: "here's the show elements I offer - how much of which ones would you like?" I can see the three-level approach, with different times, benefits, and prices - but not a smorgasbord. If you have a seemingly endless variety of options, the customer can now begin to bargain with your show elements and your price against the competition. "Dumbo the Clown over here does balloons, juggling, and a bit of magic for quite a bit less." Then again, that may be the point you depart the conversation and let them have Dumbo. Just some thoughts from a novice. Ed |
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TrickyRicky Inner circle TrickyRicky 1652 Posts |
Remember, it is not the tricks that the children want to see--it's you they really want because of the way you take the tricks and have fun with them.
The tricks are the tools of the trade. It is the magician who is the star of the show and not the props. As you all know, you can use the same trick and have different presentations. Tricky Ricky |
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Al Angello Eternal Order Collegeville, Pa. USA 11045 Posts |
Ricky
Not all of us are lucky enough to call ML a friend, and a teacher.
Al Angello The Comic Juggler/Magician
http://www.juggleral.com http://home.comcast.net/~juggleral/ "Footprints on your ceiling are almost gone" |
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MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
It is a good thing you capitalized the masters initials....
One show with variables for age... ask a comic how many shows he had, you'll find a lot of them and a lot of magicians have done the same basic show for decades. It is hard to put together a solid show and why use it for a short while? |
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Kid guy too New user 4 Posts |
After avoiding kid's shows for a long time I decided 6 months ago (with a little help from the economy) to once again perform for children. I have one kid's show that is basically a work in progress. I keep looking for the weakest effect and then I replace it with something stronger.
Therefore the show has evolved over the last 6 months and anyone that saw me perform 6 months ago would not really recognize the show. I have also worked hard on creating a warm up that sets the tone for the show. My expectation is that I will settle on this show and then work to create a second show using the same method of replacing the weakest effect with a stronger one. So far this seems to be working pretty well for me and the kid's seem to be having lots of fun and enjoying the show. John |
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SeanTaylor New user Australia 54 Posts |
Quote:
On 2010-08-18 19:34, Ed_Millis wrote: Definately not a smorgasboard and definately not 12 shows. I have just worked with a friend as a consultant on his web presence. He had exactly this problem - way too much choice and an explosion of stuff to the point it made no sense. In a nutshel, the reason people shop around is to have a variety of options. If you have a variety of options and you can close the sale they have no need to call elsewhere. The core of your show can be the same, it just needs to appear different. Different times, added extras. Two pieces of gold on this.... 1. If they start trying to tell you what the other guy offers, it means they want you and you just need to reiterate what you do and how much it is. If they wanted the other guy, they'd go there. 2. Never negotiate. Have fixed prices for 3 separate offerings and DO NOT discount. Start saving for the book... Sean |
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Russell Scoggin Loyal user Lubbock, Texas 257 Posts |
I have 4 different hour long kid's shows but if asked by a parent who saw a show if I could do a show for her kids party, then I always make a note on which number of show that I did at the show that she was at. (I have the shows numbered 1-4). I do this because she wants what she originally saw since she is definitely interested in booking me. I've changed the show I've done whenever someone has asked me about that in the past, but most people remember the effects you previously did and when you are through with the shows, they will ask if you can do this or that particular trick that you did in your other show. I haven't brought the ones they are asking about with me if I'm doing a different show. And even if the parents don't ask, many times the birthday child will or even if there are kids at the party that were also at the other party, they will ask. Parent's and kids alike don't mind at all if you do the same show, in fact most of the time they expect it and really like seeing it again. So just to make things a little easier, I always do the same show. Now if someone calls me and said they saw me at a party before, and I'm not sure which one they saw, then #1 I can ask what kind of rabbit effect I did at the show and that will tell me which show # I did. Or I can ask would you like a different show than the one you've already seen. That puts the pressure on them if they or their kid wants to see one or more of the same effects. I can then say "Well she/you wanted a different show this time, so I didn't bring the other effects with me.
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