Last month at the Shikoku Magic Friends Magic Club we decided to give everyone “homework” from the book The Encyclopedia of Card Magic which is different from the magic book of the same name in English. One of the members choose randomly pages from the book and assigned each of us an effect . Then last night we all performed then taught the effects we studied from the book. It was a great success and really showed how many great effects are contained in books that many of us overlook. So we decided to do it again for next month. The effect that I leaned and performed is something that I will keep doing and will add to my close-up show. It is a great effect half magic half mentalism. Next month as well we will have our annual public magic show. I am looking forward to next month!
During December many of us magicians are very busy with seasonal parties. For some of us it’s our busiest time of the year. It’s a great time for performing, however you must be careful not to double book yourself. Don’t take a better gig over one you have already booked just because the new offer is more cash. This will give you a bad reputation. Of course there are certain cases where this can happen but you should try to always follow through on your original booking or you will get a bad reputation. I have seen this too many times. You also need to be wise about the length of time between shows and to take into account delays in shows, travel time, set up, and take down. You need to give yourself breathing time, you don’t want to be late for shows. When you book your shows be honest with the clients about the times so the show and set up times can be set so you do have enough time to get from a to b and set up on time. Also be careful not to burn yourself out! I did this one year and got extremely sick. I didn’t cancel any shows but I was so dead tired and sick until my last show of the year I perhaps made myself more sick. This season can be exciting and fun because of the many shows you will book but be careful and look after your clients and look after yourself and most of all have fun!
Performing at Momentos 20th Anniversary May 25, 2009
I am now working to fix up my 45 minute magic bar show. Back in Canada when I worked close-up shows I was used to performing short sets from 5 to 10 minutes at different events for close-up magic . I would work at restaurants, bars and private dinners where I would go from table to table showing each table some close-up magic over a few hours. So just a small amount of time at each table. After I moved to Japan I started to work at Momentos Magic bar where I had to perform about a 45 minute close-up set. At first it was a bit difficult as I was used to performing such small sets. But over the 2 years I worked there I was able to create a 45 minute close-up show. I am now reviving it and redoing the same show over and adding some new content and organizing it better. It is a show I hope to use to perform at different magic bars around Japan as well as in a small private events where I can do a more intimate show.
