Tag Archives: Performing in Japan

Working on my Magic Bar Close-up Show

Posted on by
Reply

Performing at Momentos 20th Anniversary May 25, 2009

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.

Doing Magic in Japan

Posted on by
Reply


Aaron On Japanese TV

Aaron On Japanese TV

After living in Japan for six years now, I thought I would write a little what it is like to perform in Japan and in Japanese. The past six years have been great and I look forward to many more.

The first difficult thing about performing in Japan was of course performing in Japanese. Before I moved to Japan in 2003 I had traveled to Japan several times and started working on my show in Japanese and started to try it out. My university studies of Japanese sure helped me. After being able to perform my stage show and close-up show in Japanese the next step was how to get my comedy component into it. This was perhaps the hardest thing to do.  Why is this? This is because humour is so culturally based. To get myself set to try comedy in Japanese I watched many Japanese magicians as well as Japanese comedians on TV which I have a great love for. This helped a lot for the kind of jokes that will work and tried to study the cultural background so that I would be in the mind set for good for comedy. Still today my Japanese comedy is hit and miss. This is OK though because I just keep the hits and get rid of the misses. This is where keeping track of stuff in a organized fashion as I mentioned in a former blog post comes into play.

Two big differences I noticed, that was a bit different than back home in Canada, was that one when I was hired for many private shows or shows for companies in Japan they always wanted a meeting a few weeks before the show. As well a lot of clients want me to arrive to the show venue hours before the event.  In Canada I usually talked about all arrangements over the phone and sent and e-mail or fax for any special staging I needed. Here in Japan I had to get used to going to one or two pre-show meetings before the show. This was for most of my privately hired shows in Japan. They also wanted me to arrive to the show way early to set up. Back in Canada If possible I would arrive to the venue about 30 minutes before depending on the kind of show. I soon learned that here in Japan that they wanted me to come hours early to set the show. Now after I set the show I then leave and look around the area eat dinner etc. then come back get changed and do the show. The first several times I would just wait at the venue but this can be vary boring. So now I’m always prepared to go out after showing up and setting the show and coming back just before.

These are just a few things I had to get used to about performing for private events. Sometime in the future I will blog about performing at a magic bar.
If you have any questions or comments please post them!
Aaron