|
|
Go to page [Previous] 1~2~3~4 [Next] | ||||||||||
mixman Loyal user Northern Colorado 294 Posts |
Beautiful! Like I always say, a good trick will bring lots of applause. A good story will bring them to tears.
|
|||||||||
Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-02-27 09:22, TheMag1cian wrote: interestingly enough I just do my show. I don't tailor anything. I mean using different fruit is not really different.
Danny Doyle
<BR>Semper Occultus <BR>In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act....George Orwell |
|||||||||
TheMag1cian Inner circle Ottawa, Ontario 1274 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-03-03 13:13, Dannydoyle wrote: True. Except for the fact that it was one of the hosts requests of me to have a "Caribbean Theme" for a few effects. |
|||||||||
iwillfoolu Special user Upstate NY, USA 746 Posts |
You have to work very hard to get a spectator to willingly, but unconsciously, suspend their disbelief. They won't do it on their own.
Story tricks (Sam the Bellhop, Twins, etc) all have a plot which the spec is much more likely to listen to, than to realize that they are being tricked. Also perhaps your approach needs some tweaking. Finally, were these tables within earshot of one another? Contempt breeds contempt. Joey D PS there are some people that just don't know what we expect their behavior to be without being told. Try working a mitzvah. |
|||||||||
Dea7h New user 53 Posts |
Some people are just plain jerks and there's nothing you can do about it.
It's a problem we see in our every day's life, not only in magic. Yesterday while parking my car, the guy behind me kept honking and calling me. He said "you blocked my car I can't drive out !!!" After I showed him that he had plenty of space to back his car and get out he went like "don't raise your hands at me!!!" like if he wanted to fight or something. So I kept walking. What would you do with this kind of persons? Nothing but ignore them. When you try talking to them it's like throwing oil on the fire. |
|||||||||
Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
Was that you?
Danny Doyle
<BR>Semper Occultus <BR>In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act....George Orwell |
|||||||||
Siraldi Regular user Johnson City, Tennessee 102 Posts |
I ran across this problem when I first started working restaurants. Eventually you learn how to judge your tables before you get there and know what to perform. I still have a lot of people (guys mostly... they want to be the alpha of the situation) do this to me. I've finally got around it a while back. If I ever get busted with what they think happens I always say "CLOSE!... what actually happened was..." and make a crazy story of how I have a magic rabbit in my pants and a device in my jacket that shoots the cards or coins through my sleeve; down my pants to the rabbit and he does what he does and it shoots back. And then I do something similar and say "DID YOU SEE IT!?" But I've learned finally to judge the tables and do tricks that don't give them that chance. With ambitious card I do a few full proof ways and get them into it and when they touch the cards I move fast and try to get the girl of the group to help.
|
|||||||||
Daz Buckley Elite user Australia 469 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-02-26 21:57, Christopher Lyle wrote: Is an echo ok if its good advice ? |
|||||||||
Daz Buckley Elite user Australia 469 Posts |
[quote]On 2013-02-27 13:50, Dick Oslund wrote:
[quote]On 2013-02-26 18:18, Daz Buckley wrote: You know, when I review how my magic has changed over time, I realise now that I used to perform 5-7 minutes of magic to a group and move on. Now, after honing my performances and becoming comfortable with my material, I find that I still spend 5-7 minutes with a crowd but I may only do 3-5 minutes of magic. The other time is spent just talking with people. I work regular gigs for a casino night event company and I now find myself making sure all the people are having a good time. I hand out gambling tickets, get involved at the tables, and chat and do magic. When I approach a group to perform I usually have had some interaction as a person, not a performer. This makes a huge difference. People have a harder time being rude to a person they have just met. Talk to people and realise that the magic is secondary. RIGHT DAZ~ ~~ "TO" AND "WITH" ARE BOTH PREPOSITIONS. Think about it. Would you rather be talked 'to' or would you rather be talked 'with'? Your "hindsight" is 20/20! Perhaps you mis-understand me and are reading WAY TOO MUCH into my CHOICE OF WORDS. Another way of expressing what you " think " I mean, but have not understood, is talking " at " people. That is not what I intended at all. Oh, and hindsight is sometimes also called reviewing your performance and learning from the work that we do. I won't put the rest of your quote on here, as everyone will get bored, and it is obvious that you don't get my intention. My thinking is that some newer magicians forget to be a person to ( or should that be with ! ) their audience, and try to let the magic be the vehicle. That can be a mistake. That is all. Just offering advice from my experience working regularly for lots of different audiences. I thought that's what this forum was for. Apparently it's for people to take superior attitudes towards others, and make baseless assumptions about their age, experience, and performing abilities without any idea of who they are. I have been performing paid magic since the age of 12, and that was in 1975 I think. Along the way I've learnt a little, including how hard it is to work as a full time pro and I try to share a little of that with others. GRAMMAR NAZIS UNITE !!!!! |
|||||||||
b0sl0q7 New user 61 Posts |
You guys ahve a bunch of good info. I hear magician after magician lecture that if they like you they will be rooting for you to succeed, not fail. Use your personality and remember that the magic is secondary!
|
|||||||||
TheMag1cian Inner circle Ottawa, Ontario 1274 Posts |
So say you went through the night using all the advice mentioned above and theres still a person who looks at his card during a transpo or something just to mess you up. What kind of action/social script do you take? I usually get creative and do/say something witty like "aha .. I knew you'd look, that's why I .. (insert witty line here)". This has happened a few times and I feel we always need to have a plan B regardless of how great your personality, becoming personable and stellar your conversational skills may be.
Thus, I think listing "PLAN B's" would be in fact a phenomenal idea. We've covered the importance of social aspects of performance. Although we've already heard a few great ideas regarding hecklers such as the "sucker tricks", what other strategies have people found useful throughout their careers for when an effect goes awry with a person? (i.e - peeking at cards, perhaps having had too much to drink and not really caring about the magicians requests or patter despite how good and perfect it is. |
|||||||||
MagicJuggler Inner circle Anchorage, AK 1161 Posts |
I would just throw my cards across the restaraunt and shout,"That's it, I've had it!" Then storm out of the room. It's guaranteed they'll remember your performance.
Matthew Olsen
I heard from a friend that anecdotal evidence is actually quite reliable. |
|||||||||
TheMag1cian Inner circle Ottawa, Ontario 1274 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-03-07 06:56, MagicJuggler wrote: I felt like doing something like that. Instead, I said "Thank you for looking at it .. I was hoping and praying you would. I just used basic reverse psychology to get you to look. Theres a reason I wanted you to peek at it. This is a very special card.. could you sign it"? Then I basically utilize my trusty UCCU that's always ready to rock, vanish his card and say "this particular card is like my pet. It gets anxious and jumps around from time to time. Here, search the deck. (He sees it's vanished). I go down to the end of the banquet table to another fella whos been trying to watch and listen and say "excuse me fine sir .. you havent seen my pesky king of Dianmonds have you? Its been acting up again. Would you mind if I check you wallet?" Low and behold I pull the signed card from the deep bowels of his wallet. The the ohhh's and awww's come! Thus, what shouldve been nightmarish actually turned in to the effect of the night. The key is to be able to adapt to any situation I suppose and to always have a plan B. Anyone else with stories like these (where they shouldv been exposed or ridiculed but did a 360 to make the situation in your favor? Jeff |
|||||||||
Nick Singh Regular user Singapore 133 Posts |
Hmmm interesting question. I've met plenty of annoying audience members and I think the key is to come up with something specific to diffuse each situation. I've had a drunk Russian approach me and start shuffling the deck while I was in the middle of an Ambitious card routine. When he did that I immediately turned my back towards him to show that I couldn't see how he was shuffling the deck (this builds up to a huge out for me after). He handed me the deck back when he was done and I told him to have a seat so the rest could see. This is very important as you re-establish your space.
I turned the deck over and said "you didn't take it out while I turned my back right? Some people do it" and I proceed to run through the deck card and c**l it to the top. It completely flies by the audience and they'll be smirking at each other at that point since I look 'stuck'. You then proceed with your act. I do take note of certain parts of my routine which are 'problem areas'. After performing the same thing many times you'll be able to spot various sections of your routines which cause the most trouble for audience management. You then have to create outs for yourself and prepare little detours just in case. Surprisingly the most common one I get is "Ah, I know this trick" the minute I pull out a deck of cards even while its still in the box. If another spectator at the table shoots the heckler a glance I just stop and raise my eyebrows slightly and the other spectator will proceed to say 'oh keep quiet' or something along those lines. If not I'll say something like "looks like I'm not the only magician around here". In conclusion I would say that sometimes its better to take a hit and learn from the experience. You can't prepare for every single scenario so its bound to happen every now and then. Most importantly, NEVER EVER EVER chide your audience. This is the absolute nut low. I don't use self depreciating humour either because it doesn't fit my character but it works for others. Do whatever fits you.
Magician and Emcee in Singapore - www.nick.com.sg
Youtube channel of travel videos and podcasts - www.youtube.com/user/blackchilliwing/videos |
|||||||||
TheMag1cian Inner circle Ottawa, Ontario 1274 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-03-12 17:36, Nick Singh wrote: I totally agree that we learn from our mistakes, consequently tweaking our performance style. I live by a certain quote "You cant taste the sweet without the sour". Your conclusion is true. This is inevitable. I've recently had to come up with different outs for when a spectator says, (and I know a majority of us has come across this), "Hey .. can you give me those cards for a second?" postulating that I'm using a gimmick which indeed I do often. It's a very situational/contextual phenomenon when this occurs and you must be quick on your feet. Body language also plays huge as you mentioned. Most of the spectators will indeed react to you raising your eyebrows at the culprit by forming a type of alliance against him/her. Thank you for your post. Jeff |
|||||||||
Rainboguy Inner circle 1915 Posts |
Ladies and gentlemen:
Once again....we are blessed with Dick Oslund's SAGE advice!!! Experience is the best teacher............. I consider it a PRIVILEDGE to be able to perform and more importantly, ENGAGE and ENTERTAIN spectators.....I AUTOMATICALLY like them.....and know that most, but not all, will like me!~ Having said that, to all new magicians out there....I would bet ya my last buck that there are more SPECTATORS OUT THERE WHO FIND MAGICIANS TO BE ANNOYING THAN VICE-VERSA. If you're getting "BAD-SPECTATOR ANNOYANCE SYNDROME" a lot......you may want to either re-think your performance persona, or, at the very least, get a seasoned and experienced PAID performer to give you an honest critique of your work. At some point in your performance career (this implies working for MONEY)....you have to be totally honest with yourself regarding your performance style, ability, and persona. In other words, quite bluntly, if you're getting the feeling that a LOT of spectators annoy you.....maybe it's time to take the sponge balls out of your pockets and pack it up.......for good!!! |
|||||||||
TheMag1cian Inner circle Ottawa, Ontario 1274 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-03-15 17:28, Rainboguy wrote: I'll definitely take this constructively. Rethinking your performance persona is not a one-time deal. In Darwinian terms, we need to adapt to every audience. Thus, performance persona may change nightly depending who's watching. I also consider it a privilege to engage and entertain with the audience. Your blunt suggestion to just give up may be the only portion of your post that I politely disagree with. If you're ALWAYS getting annoying spectators then you definitely have your work cut out for you to figure out what it is you're doing as the antecedent to this kind of behavior. However, I would never encourage anybody to give up because, well it's not in my vocabulary. Also, my post does give the impression that it happens more regularly than it does. It was truly just that one gig that this has ever happened. Although Ive tweaked my performance style for these types of situations I still feel confident that it was an isolated incident. Thanks for your input. Jeff |
|||||||||
Nick Singh Regular user Singapore 133 Posts |
I heard a quote from Chris Rock during his interview on 'Inside The Actors Studio'. When talking about stand-up comedy he said this, which I found very relevant to our work as close-up magicians.
" Its never the audiences' fault. Never, ever, ever. If the movie is not good, it's my fault. If the TV show's not good, its my fault. Anytime I'm in front of the audience, I don't care if someone got shot in the middle of the show. If I can't get the crowd back, its my fault. Its my responsibility to rock the house every single time, no matter what." Brilliant!
Magician and Emcee in Singapore - www.nick.com.sg
Youtube channel of travel videos and podcasts - www.youtube.com/user/blackchilliwing/videos |
|||||||||
OliveroG Regular user 167 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-03-17 08:59, Nick Singh wrote: Great words to keep in mind, thanks for posting!.
I hope you understand, my dear friend, that everything you are seeing is a lie, but everything you are feeling holds true.
|
|||||||||
bishthemagish Inner circle 6013 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-03-17 08:59, Nick Singh wrote: I agree with this up to a point. Over the years I have had to do shows under different situations. Such as wheather can change show locations. And even interupt the performance. I have seen a zig zag blown off the stage during an outside performance. During the grad night season I have had do do shows for schools that were hit by a tornado that hit the town - and the location was a barn in the middle of nowhere. My attitude has always been to do my best to give them my best. Even if I have to perform in a phone booth it is going to be the best show in a phone booth (or barn or whatever location) that I can give them. The result is the best show in a phone booth that they will ever see. Cheers!
Glenn Bishop Cardician
Producer of the DVD Punch Deal Pro Publisher of Glenn Bishop's Ace Cutting And Block Transfer Triumphs |
|||||||||
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Table hoppers & party strollers » » Annoying Spectators (0 Likes) | ||||||||||
Go to page [Previous] 1~2~3~4 [Next] |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.07 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |