CAPÍTULO V. REACTOR HÍBRIDO TEÓRICO
5.2 C ONSIDERACIONES PARA LA CONSTRUCCIÓN DEL REACTOR
Invest in a laminator to laminate the certificate so that it can be kept as a lasting memento of the magic show long after their special day is gone. People will keep something that is laminated versus a simple paper cer-tificate.
g
et silly. No really, I mean it. Kids, espe-cially younger ones, love silly, and once you master the art of silly you can drive an audience of youngsters like a Mercedes. Little ones beginning at three years of age will bust a gut if the magi-cian drops something. You’ve got to try it. Remember, in their eyes adults don’t often make mistakes, so when things go awry it makes them giggle. For the 3 to 5-year-olds I used to do a bit where I brought a sand pail out and told them that I had a baby rabbit, but that he was sleeping so they must be quiet. Of course, when I pulled a rubber fish out of the pail they protested vehemently that it was a FISH. I insisted it was a RABBIT stating that I was an adult and knew lots of things.Finally, after much byplay, I suggested that I ask the
“rabbit” to confirm whether he was a fish or a rabbit.
Well, complete mayhem broke out when the rabbit shot a spray of water directly into my eye. To the 3 to 5-year-old set, it doesn’t get any funnier. Find a way to get sprayed in the face. You’ll bring the house down. Or, just drop something.
H
ave fun. This point would seem like an obvious one, but is often forgotten as performers get too busy performing and not entertaining. Having fun is conta-gious. A simple rule of thumb to remem-ber, “If YOU have fun, so will your audi-ence.” I believe that in order to be effective with kids you have to do two things simultaneously. You have to own the performance space (they can have the living room back after the show) AND simultaneously create the impression that you are a FIRM but FUN disciplinar-ian. As long as you set the rules of the game early and remind kids of the rules along the way, you can be free to concentrate on having fun. Rules such as “I only pick kids sitting on their bottoms” or “I seem to select the quieter kids” will remind them of the reward for their good behavior.You’re doing what you love and hopefully getting paid for it, so have FUN. When you have fun it reads from the stage and in turn becomes infectious.
I
nclude packages in your offerings. This has been one of the primary foundations of my birthday party business. Offering packages will do more to push you to the next level of earning income as a professional magician than almost anything else you can do. It’s simple to design three levels of packages with the top packaged geared to high net-worth individuals.For example, at the suggestion of a friend, I offered a $500 package on my website thinking that it was an absurd proposition. Yet, within 2 weeks, someone ordered it. Clearly, there are clients out there that will purchase your “Super Mega Whole Enchilada Package”
without enduring any financial hardship. Listen. Magic Boy. Do yourself a favor. Offer a high-end package to the affluent. Otherwise, you’re leaving money on the table. This goes for all magicians regardless of target market. Offer a high-end package to the affluent. Don’t make me say it again.
J
ust ask the question. It’s amazing how many people don’t ask the question. What question?The simple question that many sales people are afraid to ask, “Do you want to purchase my product or service?” In sales, the acronym ABC stands for “Always Be Closing.” That means that all of your techniques, scripts (you do use a telephone script, don’t you?), strategies, telephone demeanor and general state-of-mind when in front of a potential cus-tomer is based on the notion of closing the sale, get-ting the order or leading the customer to the end result of a purchase. Always assume the sale. Why would anyone go with another magician after hearing how enthusiastic you are about the possibility of becom-ing their magician of choice? And besides, your show sounds great after you described it in such great detail.
So it’s should be a no-brainer for them. Right?
K
eep the show moving? Boy is this ever essential in keeping the kids (or anyone for that matter) involved, engaged and literally riveted to your shenanigans. Many novices to the business, due to their thorough lack of experience, experience gaps in flow of their show. This is easily solved by keeping a printout of your roster of tricks handy where you can see it as you begin performing a new show. This will reduce the pos-sibility of gaps and undue pauses and get you back on track if you become distracted. Tape it to the tabletop.The audience won’t see it and even if they do, it’s a hall-mark of the professional.
Please don’t misinterpret my insistence on keeping the show moving for rushing. In fact, rushing is the actor’s biggest problem. I have also found that newer perform-ers often rush due to nerves or they want to reach the
TIM MANNIX - FULL TIME PERFORMER
payoff (the TAH-DAH moment at the trick’s conclusion) for potential gratification. Resist this tendency and focus on communicating exactly what is occurring and the payoff will play itself out exactly as it should.
Speak clearly. Magic is a form of communication. If the audience doesn’t understand the action or set-up, the payoff will undoubtedly suffer and the audience will communicate back to you. They do this by delivering that awkward moment of silence generated from a
“What just happened?” response. Their communication is a lack or complete absence of applause. Yes a sec-ond-rate performance can get a secsec-ond-rate response.
Ouch, that had to hurt.
Better go now. More bits of the Alphabet next time in
“Part Three”.
“A monumental achievement that will be cheered by all who are interested in magic’s rich history.”
MICHAEL CAVENEY
Author, Historian, Publisher.
Proprietor of :- Magic Words - USA
“Mr Reid’s well-written book is essential reading for anyone interested in magic history, but it will also appeal to anyone interested in the story of nineteenth century New Zealand.”
RICHARD WEBSTER Author, Mentalist, Publisher.
New Zealand.
“The first of its kind, this exhaustive, profusely illustrated tome contains information and images never before published and is sure to enlighten everyone from casual readers to the most discriminating historians. Conjurors, Cardsharps and Conmen will be a welcome addition to the libraries of magicians, researchers and history enthu-siasts worldwide.”
TOM INTERVAL
Magician, Historian, Author Proprietor of Interval Magic
• A comprehensive history of one of the most popular theatrical entertainments of nineteenth-century New Zealanders.
• 572 pages
• 177 illustrations - most previously unpublished.
• DELUXE FIRST EDITION. HARDBACK. LIMITED TO 200 SIgNED NUMBERED COPIES.
• U.S.$100 plus shipping & handling.
www.nzmagichistory.com
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P E R -FORMInG
cHIlD’s Play - cOMPETITInG In cOMPETITIOns