How to Be a Great Magician in 10 Minutes
Posted: Monday, June 23, 2008
by Conroy Chiu
Magic Express
Are you good at some magic tricks? Do you want to be a good magician? After reading this tutorial, you will know how to be a successful magic performer. Steps
1. Have some tricks of your own. No one wants to see an unoriginal magic act being performed over and over. Of course, you should have some (or many) old, famous magic tricks in your act (such as pulling the bunny out of a hat). The public never gets tired of old classics. Here's how to think of your own original tricks: Think of an idea that has never been done before. For example, make strings disappear from a guitar. Then, think of a way to make the trick convincing. Make some equipment, if necessary. You might even need duplicate object with which you're working on. Once you've got all the parts planned out, start practicing the trick.
3. Get organized. Before performing a show , be sure to rehearse it many times. You also might need to know how the room you perform in is designed. If you're performing at a party at your friend's house, that's not really necessary. Just make sure there's no one behind you. Your equipment should be made properly. Be sure to check, if everything works. Also, try to merge several tricks together by moving on from one trick to another without taking a break. For example, after you turn a ball into a tissue, make a penny appear out of the tissue; then, make a penny go through your hand... You can use your "magic" wand to merge two totally different tricks together.
4. Make your own equipment. If you can't produce your own equipment, ask some of your friends to do it for you. Be sure to explain all the techniques used in the trick. Also, you might consider making people to help you your assistants during your tricks (You already gave away secret of many tricks to them, so why not make them part of the show?).
5. Get a good costume. A perfect costume for magician is a back jacket, a white formal vest that goes under it, and a pair of black pants that go with the jacket. Jacked should have many little pockets on its inside for storage of secret coins, cards, balls, etc. The vest should have big pockets on the inside so you can make big objects, such as plates, disappear/appear. And pants should have two pockets, one on each side. The pocket should be long and made under the folded part of the pants.
6. Improve the flexibility of your arms. Start with coin manipulation. It's easiest to master, but is still hard. You'll find links to helpful websites in external links section of the tutorial. Anyway, back to coin manipulation. Learn how to palm the coin on your hand. Find a spot in your palm were coin will stick the most even if you open/close your hand, or turn it upside down. Then, learn creating illusions (like pretending to put an object in your other hand when really its still located in the first hand). After mastering coin manipulation, you can move on to ball manipulation and, finally, card manipulation.
7. Develop some artistic talent and sense of humor. Try not to narrate your tricks (unless narrating is part of it). Be very humorous and funny. If your magic act is boring, no one would want to watch it. You might also want music playing during your act, just to make it more exciting. Sound effects would be cool too.
Tips
- Never warn the public about what you're going to do in your act (unless it's part of the plan to fool the public), or *Never show the same magic trick right after doing it the first time, no matter how much the audience begs you. Only exception would be if you know another way to do the trick.
- Never explain the secret of the trick (unless you're not going to use it in your program) to anyone just to show off your "mad magic skills", cause it can spread pretty quickly. If you plan on writing a book "100 Best Magic Tricks Explained", make sure you produce very few copies (5 or so), so that whoever get it are the only ones in their community who have it.
- Never perform the trick if you haven't practiced it enough. You have to be an expert in your tricks and they should be very easy for you. If the tricks are hard to perform, don't rely on your luck.
- Don't be embarrassed if you mess up in front of your public. If you can't fix it without anyone noticing, just play along with your public. Laugh with the crowd as if the trick was planned to be unsuccessful, then move on to the next trick without making any comments on last one.
- Never argue with the audience. If someone makes a negative comment (for example, "I think I saw an extra penny behind your back!"), don't be distracted. Just ignore the comment and continue the trick. Be humorous and only answer public's questions/comments (if necessary) after you're done with your trick.
- Practice a lot. The more you practice, the better your tricks will be. Don't just practice once, rather every day for a week, month, or however long it takes for you to COMPLETELY master the trick. You can even practice in front of a mirror to see what it will look like in front of the audience.
- Speak clearly. Try talking with a pencil in your teeth to help pronounciate your words more. You might also consider using a mic so people can hear you better. Lapell mics are great and they free up both hands.
Warnings
- Never perform a trick if you haven't rehearsed it properly. You have to have a trick mastered when you're performing it.
- Do NOT whatsoever, and I really mean this,do NOT teach anybody your tricks. Then everyone will think that you're just a liar and a fake.
Things You'll Need
- Equipment for every trick
- A costume (Jacket, Vest, and Pants)
- Community to perform in (doesn't matter how big)
- Some tricks
- Unique Style
- A sexy assistant to lure in the crowd
- Artistic Talent/Sense of Humor
- A Lot of Practice
- Confidence
- Smile
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