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Dear davor:
Had a question come in recently: How DO you do great magic at a moments notice? It's a
good question and what's really cool....there is an easy to implement answer!
Being able to do some 'good' magic at a moments notice is really more of a mind set than
anything else. Just asking the question is the best place to start, because it makes you aware
of what is basically a lack of preparation for most folks.
One of the nice things about being able to do sleight-of-hand with coins, small balls, sponge,
thimbles and billiard balls is that the skill sets you acquire can be moved laterally to items that
you are more likely to find anywhere and anytime.
For instance it's not that difficult to find either a small 1 3/4"-2" solid ball of some kind that
you can manipulate ala Billiard Balls, you just can't do the multiplying part. Think of all the
things that you could use to do the one, two in the hand, one in the pocket, look all three are
back in the hand!
Here...right off the top of my head: Three bottle caps. For a finale you produce the large cap
from a jar of some kind, etc.
I highly suggest getting any or all of the Tom Mullica DVDs on Impromptu magic. Here's a
link to my site for volume 1:
http://www.nexternal.com/bburt/Product370
but everyone carries or can get them. The sheer amount of usable NON-CARD material is
stunning! Mullica does a superb job of performing and then explaining the routines.
And...unlike some 'impromptu' material out there it REALLY IS impromptu.
Really, even now, sit down and think about what you know that you could do with borrowed
items? What would you have to carry with you to do a nice little SOLID ten minute set if
asked?
Although I am pretty much prepared whether I have something with me or not, if I want to
make it easier on my self I carry thefollowing which takes up almost no extra room on my
person: Two pennies with which I can do Two Pennies on the Knee and Tenkai Pennies from
Bobo's. A TT and small silk. The two bill tricks I sell, Wonderland Dollar and Two Ones to a
Two which fit nicely in my wallet and take up almost no extra room. Possible adds: Color
Changing Knife, half dollar and english penny, but not usually.
Sometimes a Color Monte.
Pretty much everything else I can borrow: Shoelace or piece of thin rope, finger ring, deck of
cards, coins of all kinds, etc.
Work towards setting yourself up with a 'mini act'. Script it out, rehearse it, etc. It will make
you look like a pro and relieve a lot of the anxiety that comes with getting asked to do
something in a casual setting when 'you' don't feel prepared. Best,
Brad Burt
A full slate of shows. More than you would normally, because of the aggressive marketing you are
doing.
Have you read Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Levinson? You should. Cheap book filled with
KILLER information for the small businessman.
I think I have said this before, but it really bears repeating this time of the year: LOOK for a
relationship with a Party Planner!!!
Find someone who puts together the place, food, etc., but not necessarily the entertainment. Offer
them a nice inducement to give you an in with the folks that are putting on the party.
You get $600 for the show give the planner $200. Let me tell you.....a hot planner with the right
performer is a match made in heaven money wise.
REALLY! A planner that clients love and trust can get you a ton of gigs that pay what you want
them to! If you up your price give the planner more. Don't be stingy!!! BUT....BUT...
BUT....you had better have a show that delivers the goods. You better have a show that reflects
like gold off the face of the sun on the planner. IF you do you can be making a very good part time
or full time living! A good enough contact could give you all the work you need.
But, you can also look for multiple contacts. Watch out for a need to be someones 'exclusive'
performer. It very seldom works to the advantage of the performer. Well, that's it for now!
Take care,
Brad Burt, owner
Brad Burt's Magic Shop
instructional source you will find that you can learn a lot of technique in a fairly short time
Go forth and fool 'em! Take care,
Brad Burt, owner
Brad Burt's Magic Shop Online
http://www.magicshop.com
bburt@magicshop.com
Consider that initial learning phase. That time that you use to read
and reread the move out of a book in order to just get to the place at
which practice can begin. It can be a very long time indeed.
Books in many ways are better ONCE you KNOW the basics.
That's why a good solid video that is designed to TEACH the basics
is not only an investment in learning the material correctly from the
start, but
it is an investment that can save you literally thousands of dollars in
TIME!
On my first card video (#4 in the numbering system) The Basics of
Expert Card Technique there is material that took me about 2 years
to get down via books. I have had clients learn and perfect
that same material in a matter of months and without the travail that
comes of learning it from books!
Now, once you have your basics, books then become one of the most
extraordinary deals in magic. They give much more generally than
they cost. And, they can be easily carried about and don't need
batteries!
Anyway....comments, questions? Let me know!
Brad Burt, owner
Brad Burt's Magic Shop Online
http://www.magicshop.com
bburt@magicshop.com
This emergency kit contains those supplies that might mean the
difference between doing a solid or great show or offering up a
bomb. It contains little things that you may need on the spur of the
moment and wish that you had. Let's take a look at what I put
in my Magic First Aid Kit and why. Note first that I use a small
fishing tackle box.
In the box I have: 1 each Sharpie markers in red, green, black and
blue; 1 bottle of liquid paper; several sizes of Band Aids; small
bottle rubber cement; rubber bands, various sizes; small tin of
asprin; 2 packets of Alkaseltzer Plus Cold tabs; tape of various
kinds; thread of various kinds; small sewing kit with thimble, thread
and needles; some small velcro self stick tabs; X-Acto knife. A
protein energy bar or two.
If you examine the above basic kit you will see that it offers
the widest possible range of emergency supplies. (Note:
YOUR kit will have other items that are particular to the routines,
etc. that you do.) The Sharpies are wonderful for masking scrapes,
etc. on props and tables, having cards signed, making signs, etc.
The Liquid paper is really nifty for masking things that need white
for the cover. The rubber cement has more uses than you can shake
a stick at from making up your Torn and Restored Newspaper to a
quick repair of a prop to attaching something to the bottom of a table
and on and on.
The Alkasletzer Plus saved my performing life twice when I was
so sick that I could barely see. Wonderful stuff for drying up a
runny nose and giving one the illusion that he will survive the next
hour and a half. A small sewing kit can literally save your life if you
need an emergency removal of some non vital organ. The x-acto
knife subs in as a scalpel of course. Well....think a torn tux, bird
jacket needs a mend, almost any prop made with cloth that needs a
stitch or two. Tape is always handy.
Another must for me was always to have some bottled water. If
you have four or five shows back to back it is REALLY nice to
have a protein bar and some water on the way to your next two
hours standing and doing close-up!!!
Put some thought into this and you will quickly see how much
more professional it is to have your own emergecy supplies than
it is to have to go to your host and ask for some help. The time
lag alone can really throw off a schedule. Think ahead and attempt
to 'see' each and every possible contingency. With any luck at all,
you will never, ever have to use your kit....but, I can tell you
from personal experience that when you need one of the items and it
is there at your finger tips...well, it is, well, really cool. Take care,
Chicago, Illinois.
For books that are of recent publication the Card College books
volumes 1-4 by Roberto Giobbi are incredible. They are systematic
and well illustrated. If you are looking for a book as opposed to a
video to get you into card technique these are without peer.
Books on general magic such as the Mark Wilson Course in Magic
are still a must if you can find a used copy. Look for it! I also like
the Magic for Dummies book that at it's low price is a real deal. You
will find information in this book that I have not seen elsewhere!
O.k., that's it for now. Anyone out there have any questions that I
can help with please let me know.
Brad Burt, owner
Brad Burt's Magic Shop
http://www.magicshop.com
bburt@magicshop.com
#2- Mostly the above type is not the norm. Mostly folks will really
be caught up in the moment of magic and casually want to see
the prop you used. The ultimate method of handling this and it's the
one I took (and thus my 17 DVD's on Sleight-of-Hand! Found
here: http://www.nexternal.com/bburt/Category18). That is I went
for pure sleight-of-hand and only used things that could be
examined!
#3- But, what if you want to use an Invisible Deck or my pocket
favorite the Two Ones To A Two? Neither one can be looked at!
Well, you can get very good at switching things. A useful thing to
know how to do, but it takes thought and planning. Some folks use
this method and it's great.
Myself, I try to plan my routines such that I always end with a
routine that is essentially clean. Most folks will only ask to see
the very latest thing that is before them. Thus, if as you finish a trick
you put it away out of sight you are 'generally' clear on
those props. If you end with a normal deck of cards or ungimmicked
coins you can leave them out to distract the audience after you are
done!
On some occasions you DO need a line that will disarm the person
who wants to see something. I stay away from the old lines like,
"Can you keep a secret? So can I!" I guess they are o.k., but they are
not that satisfying really. Some years ago I stumbled upon an almost
perfect line to use when it is needed. I tossed it out once and the
reaction was perfect causing the spectator who was asking to see
something to instantly shut up! I analyzed what I had said and
figured out why it worked so well and have used it since.
Here it is, "I can't let you see that. It's a trick." Yeah, I know. I tried
honesty and boy does it work! You see conversations between us
magic types and the spectator usually go like this:
"Can I see that box?" They say.
"No." We retort.
"Oh, then it a trick!", they surmise and assert.
Blah, blah, blah and on and on and on, both looking like kids in the
third grade.
Of course it IS a trick you moron! If I could do real magic would I
be here talking to you? I'd be on the beach in Brazil with a cold
drink and binoculars! You see when you come right out and fess up
they simply have no place to go. You short circuit the
process. If they continue after that you just continue also. "It's a
trick", says it all! It says, look, I am NOT going to show
you my TRICK. Yes, you are correct, I am not a real magician.
Oooooo, there's a revelation.
Most of the last paragraph is sub text. When I use my magic line I
say it in the LEAST OFFENSIVE MANNER POSSIBLE. I say it
lightly and without cheek. I DON'T WANT to start a war. I want to
avoid one. In one sense you can't win. So you have to learn to avoid
as much as possible being in the position to get hassled and if that
doesn't work learn to duck.
Thought and practice has made all of the above automatic for me. If
you want to enjoy your magic maximally, you have to make it
automatic for you also. AWARENESS is your first line of defense.
Read this article at least once or more a month for a year. Watch
carefully where you get in trouble and then work out how you could
have avoided it or made it better, etc. Awareness. Awareness.
Awareness. Once you are aware you have nine tenths the battle won.
Trust me. Once you work on this a little if you have had problems in
this area they will be reduced to almost nothing. Very cool.
Go out and ENJOY your magic! Take care,
Anyway....take care and have a great day!
Sincerely,
Brad Burt, owner
Brad Burt's Magic Shop Online
http://www.magicshop.com
as my brain was left behind at some point only to arrive a little too
fast and slip on the
effect generated by the magicians skill and
subtlety. Ooooooooooo, but that's fun.
I know that some folks are offended and/or
threatened by a good magic trick. That's sad. There is no reason to
be threatened, bummed out, etc. The easiest people to fool as a rule
are in fact the most intelligent. I won't go into why, but trust me on
this.
But, I'm not really writing this about 'them'
out there, but about 'you' and your experience of magic. Here's the
bottom line: Magic is just plain fun. It may have historical roots in
the disreputable. In the con games of hucksters and other even
more dark trade, but modern magic has
come out of the dark corners and offers
something that is important to the world: A visual manifestation of
what wonder is in a small child. What happens when the hair on the
back of your neck stands on end and a glimpse of something from
the corner of your eye turns out to have vanished before you could
focus on it. Magic is the fun that reveals what it is like to be new
again.
Have fun. Enjoy life. Do magic. Sincerely,
Brad Burt, owner
Brad Burt's Magic Shop Online
http://www.magicshop.com
bburt@magicshop.com
at that for a moment. Let's say you are doing the classic coin routine Coins from
Hand to Hand. You show four half dollars and one at a time they seem to
magically jump from one hand to the other.
You show them apparently all in the L.H. and zap one is instantly over in the R.H.
and so forth. Now, as you present this effect you could do it so casually and with
so little emphasis that your audience won't really care what you are doing. But,
let's say that's not the problem. Let's say
that you are really attempting to do the best job technically you can. You pause for
emphasis at the correct times. You build suspense. You perform the moves
perfectly. That's GREAT....BUT! What
if while you are doing all this what is going
through your mind is something like this: I place all four coins on the palm up
L.H. As I close the hand I palm one coin and actually only toss three coins into
the R.H. This is exactly the opposite of what you would be doing to be using the
Magic State of Mind!!!
Do you see why? Here is what the internal dialog should be like instead of the
above: The magic IS about to happen! As I place the four coins on my L.H. hand
I can feel the power surge forth! As I toss the four coins into my R.H. the energy
is amazing. As I knead the coins in my R.H. I can feel
one coin dissolve away and almost see it travel from my Right to L.H.....and on
and on.
The more YOU believe what you want your Audience to believe, the more they
will! If you never learn anything else from these lessons or essays I can
guaran*t*e*e that this secret alone will make you a much better magician if you
use it. Take care,
Brad Burt
http://www.magicshop.com
start. Yes,
audience proximity has to be taken into account when working, but more than
that....YOU, must be in charge. Stan has a terrific suggestion: Start by moving
your
audience around. This is subtle. You walk out to do a stand up set. "Hello," you
say "Could I get you folks in the back to move up." No question here. You are
really saying, MOVE UP. You may move a couple of people around for another
logical, but again CONTROL reason. You can do this in a close-up situation also.
I worked
mostly standing at my table at parties before 2-12 spectators at a time. Ask that
the guy or gal in the back move over to the side. Shuffle a couple of folks in the
front so the ones in back can see better.
Now, understand that you don't always have to do this. There will be times in
which you know that you have the control that you need and go from there.
Just remember: In the world of entertainment YOU the performer are the one in
control. You organize the entertainment and present it before the crowd in such
way that they are entertained. That's what you are hired for. And, it all comes with
experience. So the other rule is:
Never, never, never, NEVER give up. Take care,
Brad Burt
Brad Burt's Magic Shop Online
www.magicshop.com
That's about it. I can't think of anything else that could get me in trouble or
disadvantage the magic craft in any way. Questions on starting a magic business,
getting shows,
practice, etc. are welcome. Take care and let me know personally if there is
anything that I can help you with.
Best regards,
Brad Burt, owner
Brad Burt's Magic Shop
bburt@magicshop.com
http://www.magicshop.com
the coin. The R.H. covers the coin for a moment and closes over it. (Actually, the
coin falls into the L.H. and is palmed away as the R.H. FAKES taking the coin
and closing.) The L.H. secretly palming the coin falls to your side as the R.H.
supposedly holding the coin clenched in it's closed
fist moves up and to the right.
Question: Where IS the coin????
Answer: In the R.H.!!!!
Remember the Magic State of Mind? Well, here is an application! READ THIS
CAREFULLY: If the coin is NOT in
the R.H. then there will be NO magic possible. Come on, did you get that???
Think about it. IF...your audience knows
that the coin is REALLY in the L.H. then when the R.H. opens there will be no
surprise.
What does this have to do with the PNP? Everything! The Positive point of
interest is the point WHERE THE COIN IS
SUPPOSED TO BE! The rule is: The positive point ALWAYS attracts the
attention of the performer and thus by example
the attention of his or her audience. You see in the example above the L.H. has
nothing in it, thus you need pay it NO attention! It falls to your side forgotten. I
mean that literally: Forgotten. All your 'magic mind' attention
is commanded by the R.H. which bears its precious cargo up and to the side. The
R.H. opens slowly and with focus. The hand is found empty leaving the only
conclusion: The coin has vanished! Magic has taken place. YOU are very, very
cool to be able to do such things!
Use PNP as a tool to help you become a better magician and then let it fall away.
My sincerest regards,
Brad Burt
Brad Burt's Magic Shop
http://www.magicshop.com
Brad Burt
Brad Burt's Magic Shop Online
www.magicshop.com