When you are a busy magician, there are certain patterns that emerge. You go through the same routine to get ready for the gig, when you arrive at the gig and after the gig; you’ll meet similar types of spectators and similar situations, and people will say the same things to you over and over again. Here are five things that magicians hear at EVERY gig.
1.Can You Make My Wife Disappear?
A lot of the comments that magicians hear repeatedly are meant to be funny and the, “Can you make my wife / husband / kids disappear?” line probably is funny if you’ve not heard it a million times! I’ve put this at number one as it is definitely the thing I hear most, at least five times per close-up gig, usually thrown in by the wit of the group who is really pleased with themselves for thinking of a joke that no one else has thought of ever. However, it does help provide the right light-hearted, relaxed atmosphere that makes entertaining easier.
2.Can You Predict The Lottery?
I probably hear this one more than most as one of my opening close-up routines uses lottery tickets but after speaking to other magicians it seems they all hear it quite a lot too. Thanks a lot Derren!! It’s just part of the banter though and having funny responses to these types of comments helps everyone have a good time.
3.You Should Go On Britain’s Got Talent!
This one is very flattering and it’s really nice when people say it. However, every magician, in fact every entertainer, has thought of going on BGT or similar programmes so telling them that they should go on is hardly likely to be giving them a new idea. If they haven’t been on there’s probably a reason, or maybe they tried to go on and didn’t make the grade. I’ve received calls from ITV asking me to go on a few times but there’s a couple of reasons I’ve always said no (such as I haven’t got a sad or patriotic background story and that seems to be the most important part for this type of programme) but who knows, if I ever thought of a suitable act I might give it a go.
4.How Did You Do That?
Again, this one is quite flattering and most magicians probably hear it after most tricks. It’s good to know that you’ve fooled someone, that’s part of our job after all, but I’ve been trying to make sure that I’m asked this question less and less. I want my tricks to be entertaining and magical, not just a riddle or a puzzle, so thankfully these days I’m leaving people feeling amazed rather than just frustrated that they don’t know how it’s done.
Certain tricks are more like puzzles than others though and certain spectators are more analytical than others so it’s still a question I occasionally get so I’ll tell you why a professional magician will never tell you how it’s done (or how Dynamo or David Blaine do their magic). Magicians have often spent years perfecting skills and developing methods as well as spending thousands of pounds on books, conventions and props just to make the impossible seem possible, even if just for a moment. If they tell you how it’s done all of that has been for nothing. Plus, nine times out of ten the method is incredibly boring! I’ve got plenty of jokes lined up for when this question is asked but if anyone is particularly insistent I’ll recommend magic resources so they can become a magician and learn as much as they want.
5.Do you do kids’ parties?
This is a question that I think a lot of magicians feel offended by but that is a bit insulting to kids’ entertainers. Performing for kids is an incredibly difficult, brave and important thing to do; very few people can do it really well. But most of the magic in kids’ shows is silly, the show is more about funny situations rather than amazing magic, and I don’t think magicians want their magic to be thought of as silly. Personally, I think it’s kind of flattering that I’ve made someone feel so amazed that they want to share it with the people they love most in the whole world: their kids. Also, our job as magicians is to take people back to a child-like state, where anything is possible. So, if they are in that state it’s only natural that they’d think of their kids.
What do you think of my list? Have you said any of these to a magician? If you are a magician can you think of any more that I should add to the list? Please let me know in the comments and feel free to like and share this blog. If you would like to book a magician who is in demand enough to hear these comments several times a week please get in touch on the contact details below. Thanks for reading.
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