All of these advice are from Ellusionist.com. Hope you will find it useful.

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Pick your moments to shine, and then shine brightly.
The Shaman

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A basic rule of street magic is that it helps to be obnoxious. The louder and more gregarious you are, putting your energy OUT THERE, people stop and LOOK. You'll see it with the loudest TV commercials too.... people just stop and look.

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Saying negative things about other performers accomplishes two things. The first is that it degrades the art in general and the second is that it makes you look like you have little or no class. Try to remember that you will rarely hear a "big name" performer speak about others in the community in a negative light.
The Shaman

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Respect your audience at all times. That is the best way to get them to respect you.
The Shaman

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You will have no choice but to believe.
The Shaman

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Always perform at least one effect that discusses a topic outside of magic that you are passionate about.
The Shaman

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It's better to know 3 tricks REALLY well than to know a whole bunch halfheartedly.

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How much to charge for restaurant work? Some performers charge nothing, just the tips they collect at the tables. Some charge a small nightly fee like $50... plus all the tips they can collect. Some make it part of the contract for the restaurant to pay for a little stand up card to go onto each table that has the performer's name and what he does. The card will also contain an indirect suggestion of the table tipping the performer if they enjoyed it.

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Respect is a virtue that all magicians should have. Respect other magicians (even if you do not care for them), respect your audiences, and respect the art.
The Shaman

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With a deck of cards, I will amaze you. With some coins, I will astound you. With one conversation, I will change you.
The Shaman

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You practice your magic for yourself, but you perform it for your spectators.
The Shaman

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Take your time when learning new magic. Don't overwhelm yourself with new material.

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There's a gentleness to the way oldtimers handled the cards... strive for that because this is your ART

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Getting a job doing magic in a restaurant is not too difficult to do and you can make a decent living this way. Find a place that gets crowded and needs someone to entertain the customers while they wait. Or a family place that would benefit by having a magician entertain in the establishment... talk to the manager and ask if you can show him a few things - stress what he will get out of it for how little he pays.

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It takes a lot of balls to perform restaurant or street magic, there's no doubt. If you don't naturally have it, you CAN fake it. It takes getting over the original hump of fear but once you are over that it's easier. You have to literally PRETEND that you are this fictional person and that you have zero fear because all this stuff is just nothing to you - you eat it for breakfast. Just DO it, just walk up and start doing it.

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When you figure out your presentation, something must be different or be individual to YOU about the material and it's delivery. If not, you fail to deliver your individual identity to your audience.

Thk Bill

That is awesome ..
i always wish someone will copy it down ..

awesome

respect :)

who the heck is 'the shaman"?

eryanic .. not exactly sure abt that.. but he answer question in the ellu monthly newsletter. My thought, he's some one like the "big bro" in The Star, who answer qeustion like... "I cant focus on study.. help.." "Brother always dont let me watch Cartoon Network.. advise please.." "I want to learn the misdirection skill from Semi Value..but HOW?"

Well done.

great thread to start. useful and helpful. well done, dude. ;)

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the useful quotes. ^_^ - I am sure the quotes can help us in our magic.

Andrew

I will chip in here: :P


What you want is simple magic, because simple...HITS HARD

- Brad Christian, ellusionist Crash Course 1



You will see some people who appear not to be reacting.
You've got to give people the space to have whatever kind of reaction there're gonna have.
Some people keep their reaction inside because that's really the kind of people they are.
Some people are a little bit cerebral, rather than, u know, rambunctious.
...So all I am saying is you've got to respect whatever kind of people you are doing magic for, and let them have their own reaction...'coz it is always always always going to be different

- Brad Christian, ellusionist Crash Course 2

Awesome bill and zhuanan!

Wow! These are great! :)

Kinda strange, when you read them, it reads just like common sense, but it's the kind of stuff you don't really notice or even think about until you see it here. Or, as some companies prefer, hire a consultant for 300 bucks an hour to tell you stuff you already know. ^_^

Anywayz, cheers to Bill for putting them up!! :lol:

Regards,
Shan

Hi Zhuanan,

Wow! Thanks for another awesome quotes. ^_^

Andrew

Thanks u thank u... ^_^

Will put in some more when I find some good ones.... :P

Hi folks,

Below quote is extracted from my Card Classic of Larry Jennings book. ^_^

Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it.
By: Bacon.

Andrew

My favourite quotes below: ^_^

If you want someone to look at something, look at it yourself". "If you want someone to look at you, look at them".
By: John Ramsay.


Magic is designed to fool the brain, not the eyes.
By: John Mulholland.


If you were half as good as you think you are, you'd be twice as good as you really are.
By: Dai Vernon.


People don't remember what you did, they remember how you made them feel.
By: Doc Eason.


Andrew

I utterly agree with what Brad Christian says "What you want is simple magic, because simple...HITS HARD". (That's why Blaine did it) I'm glad you guys appreciate and enjoy reading it. Thanks. Let me know if you want more.


Here is one of the most common queries that posted by a member of “Ellusionist”.


Lunatic writes…

“I was wondering if you had any tips to get over nerves regarding performing for people. I shake sometimes and sometimes I sweat a lot and it makes my cards hard to manipulate. What I hope to accomplish is to get over them!! Well I just want to know is if this normal?”


I first have to say that this is a very hard thing to bring up and accept for many magicians and I applaud your bravery. Nerves can literally make or break a performance. So what’s really the issue here? It’s a lack of confidence in yourself and your performance skills. This subject is not really attempted by many people, so I will do my best and I’m sure that other people will have some excellent insights into how to get over nerves.

The first thing you have to do is force yourself to perform for people. If you are just starting out, then performing for relatives is always a great start. Just make sure that you are showing different relatives your magic and not just one person. This variety in a comfortable environment will help boost your performing skills and your confidence. If you make a mistake here, do not worry about it. Just like you make mistakes when you are first learning new effects and sleights, you will make mistakes when first performing new effects. Don’t beat yourself up over them, just learn from them and move on.

Now, let’s look at getting you actually out there and performing for people. Before you’re going to go out there, just select 3 effects that are relatively easy, fun for you to perform, and most importantly, three effects that you know inside and out (methods, patter, handling, everything). Group those effects from weakest to strongest and now you have your opening routine (please note that I only advise this for someone who is trying to build performance skills and gain performance experience). Work on this routine in your practice sessions – practice all three of the effects in your order and you should have the mini-routine down in a day or so (depending on how well you know the effects). Having this mini-routine down will give you something that you can easily perform for anyone and it will boost your confidence to have all three effects go smoothly. Practice here is very important!

The next step is to put yourself into a situation where you are able to perform for people. Since you might not be comfortable approaching people, have a “partner in crime” help you out. A friend, girlfriend, wife, sibling, or fan can put the spotlight on you and force you to perform. Next time you are out with that person, just ask them if they can mention that you perform magic to others at the function and that those people should watch you perform. This works wonders because then all you have to do is accept the inquiry from people who want to see and then go into your mini-routine. When I started out, this is exactly what I did. I was fortunate enough to have my brother and roommate tell virtually everyone that I performed magic. Naturally, this put me into a lot of performances.

Since I had the mini-routine established and completely memorized, I felt comfortable performing those effects. This removed all the stress I had put on myself about approaching and then wondering what I was going to do. Soon after that, I found new confidence and began to branch out, perform different effects, and eventually approach people on my own. This is definitely something you don’t just jump into. You have to work your way into this type of performing and after some time and experience, it will be much easier. Every now and then, I still get the shakes with some of my older material.

Your sweating hands are definitely something that will go away, once you have more confidence in your performance skills and yourself. In the meantime, you can keep a couple Kleenexes in each pocket and when you feel your hands are too wet, just reach in, grab the Kleenexes, and you’re dry! Yes, I’ve used this technique myself, too. In fact, if I know that my venue will be humid and hot, I will still employ this idea.

The Shaman

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I originally posted this in the old forums, and Ellusionist utilized it in the E-Zine archive. I figured it would do people some good if I shared my insights on nerves as well.

I remember the first time I attempted to steal someone's watch during my ambitious card routine. I was shaking like crazy throughout the introductory phases, and I knew everyone was noticing.

After the third "card" rise, I paused the effect. I literally stopped it, calmed down to take deep breath, and carried on a little conversation.

Magic isn't all about tricks. It's also about connecting with people, and feeling comfortable with whom you're with. So when you're shaky, especially around the strangers you walk up to on the streets or in a bar during ****tail hour, just shake their hand, and carry on a little conversation. Take everyone else's advice and try to make the audience laugh. You'll be a
huge success (whether or not you're a nervous performer) as long as people are on your side. You'll like the security, and naturally stop shaking because you won't be concerned about messing up; instead you'd be enjoying yourself as part of the crowd. This is solution number one: relate to everyone.

Before your performance, get familiar with the area you're in. If I'm hired for a gig at a country club, I try to show up an hour earlier before anyone else appears. I analyze where everything is and how I can move about. If you work the streets like a blainesque performer, try putting a boundary around where you plan on performing. I would limit my act to the people walking
through Main Street. I'd walk back and forth along Main Street for a half hour before actually bringing out my cards, and putting on a demonstration.

You may ask yourself, "Okay... but what'll that do?" For me, it gives me another sense of security, because I feel like my audience is in my territory. For example, think back to when you visited your friend's house in elementary school. You were probably shy around his/her parents, confused as to where everything was, and how everything worked. However, when your friend decided to come over your house, you'd welcome him/her in, and you'd feel much more comfortable because you already knew what life was like within your own home. Apply this psychology to the streets. Familiarize yourself with your area, and invite people to come in. This comfort will also aid you in not being so nervous around big crowds.

Last, but definitely nowhere near least, practice your material until you've made it a second nature. (editor's note: this means so that you don't have to think about it anymore - at ALL). Most of the effects I currently perform happen by instinct. I don't even think about what I'm doing or saying, because I've spent
sooo much time in front of my mirror, looking at myself dead in the eye while handling the cards within my hands. I even talked to pillows on my bed, had discussions with my sister's stuffed animals, heck I did a card trick on my dog. I would try my best to practice as hard as I could. When you have that confidence in yourself, and you know everything's going to work out, it's hard to be nervous when you perform for people. Bother your parents and friends; just try to get in as much practice time as you can. It
won't hurt you. Solutions number three: practice hard.

When you find yourself in a jam, nonetheless, take a deep breath, calm down, and curl your toes in your shoes as tightly as you can. This was a small tip my public speaking instructor gave me. build up all that stress in your feet, and just go about your presentation. You'll reduce your shaking, and nobody will be the wiser. After several performances, you won't be as
nervous. The more experience you have, the more confidence you'll find in yourself. Just stay cool, and direct any stress to other places so you're thinking about entertaining, not messing up.

So anyway, about the first time I tried stealing a watch. After pausing and carrying on a humorous discussion with the people around me, I continued along with the ambitious card effect the final rise was to make the card appear in my pocket-- and the finale was to reveal the spectator's watch inside my pocket as well. I proceeded to steal the watch, and my last line
of the routine was actually, "I hope you've enjoyed yourselves, but that's the end. I'm not sure if you noticed or not, but you might have wondered why I was shaking a little bit throughout this whole thing... well... I think you'd be shaking too if you had to do this to say good-bye. I then proceeded to reveal the watch. Again, a huge burst of laughter came over me, and I said my good-byes and walked away. In his book entitled Strong Magic, Darwin Ortiz said, "Never end on a screw up." So I openly admitted that I was nervous, and it worked out for me, because I made sure the people understood why.

That normally would be my two cents, but this was a long one... so that's 4 cents for ya. Keep the change.

RT Showmann

Wow :P - yum yum!!! it's delicious man. Thanks!

Andrew

yeah.. delicious... yum yum.... nyap nyap nyap nyap.... and then burp!

hehe.... im so hungry i can even it alll the kings up... and then dok can cut me open and find the lost ones in between the kings in my tummy.

hey.. im going nuts.. !

hehe andrew and dok, remember we tried to challenge who can do that cannibal routine the fastest? hehe it was really funny man.. lol

i miss jamming man!!!
Brendan

Yeah- that was really funny. ;)

Andrew