Entries from December 2008 ↓

Worked a holiday party for a law firm at the Denver Athletic Club on Saturday. About 40 people (law firm partners and their spouses) at a well organized event. My job was to entertain from 6:00 to 7:00 as the guests mingled over hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. Dinner was served promptly at 7:00 at which point I packed my bags and headed home.

The lawyers were a fun group to work for and as new people would join a group, I would get called back to do some magic for the newcomers. Times like these, it’s good to have a deep well from which to draw, so that those who were there for the first round will see something fresh — and can’t inadvertently tip the ending to the newbies (”Oh, you’ll like this! I have no idea how the card ends up in his wallet!”), thus spoiling any surprise.

One very important tip for events of this type. Make sure you have a special piece of magic to show the boss. It needs to be strong and it needs to be quick. Naturally, since he or she is your benefactor you would be remiss if you didn’t show them a good piece of magic. But more importantly, it must be quick — like 2-minutes quick. You need to be able to get in and out without monopolizing their time.

At a company function, everyone is going to be jockeying for position to have an audience with the boss. So you won’t have long with the boss before his or her attention is drawn elsewhere. True, if you win them over, they might ask to see more magic (and you should be prepared to oblige), but don’t assume that you’ll be able to complete your 15-minute, 3-phase routine, with the show-stopper ending.

Get in there. Hit ‘em hard. Hit ‘em fast. And be prepared to bow out and let someone else visit with the VIP.

Performed mix & mingle magic for a Bar Mitzvah reception on Saturday.

I’ve been told umpteen times (by other performers) that this is a tough age group to work for, but I’ve never found it so. To be clear, I would NEVER perform “children’s magic” for 13-year-olds. The young people get the same high-caliber magic that I would perform for my grown-up audiences. At this age, they’re more likely to have seen David Blaine or Criss Angel (or Cyril Takayama via YouTube) than their parents, so if you have to be able to deliver the goods.

What makes these gigs fun is that the young people give free rein to their emotions. If you fool them, they will laugh, they will scream, they will run out of the room (and come back with bunch of their friends in tow).

I do suspect that some of my success with young people stems from my age. I’m not a teenage magician (who wouldn’t be worthy of their respect), but I’m also usually younger than their parents (and therefore still able to wear the mantle of hipness). If you’re too close to their age they’ll take you down. Ditto if you’re too old. I happen to be at the right age where I can claim the role of Alpha dog and assert order on what could become a wild pack.

One thing you need to be prepared for is to think on your feet. Unlike the more polite adult audience, young people (giving free reign to their emotions) will call on you to “do it again!” or “roll up your sleeves!” or “let me shuffle the cards!”

So only bring your strongest rock-solid material to these gigs. If you’re working on a new bit and you’re the slightest bit uncertain, they’ll smell your fear and (unlike their parents) they won’t hesitate to call you out.

Hmm. I started off this post by saying that this is not a tough age group to work for, but after reading my own advise, perhaps I should amend that.

Yes, Mitzvah-aged kid are tough to work for. But if you come prepared, if you earn their respect, if you have the confidence to take charge, it’s a fun and rewarding age group to work for.