Denver Athletic Club

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.