A Strange August
I went back to Covent Garden and died on my arse.
I spent a week with legends who are responsible for 80% of my professional repertoire.
I worked on new material.
These things are connected. read more
the blog
This blog is really intended as a place for me to express my own personal views on professional magic, if you are a prospective client then I would suggest that the Portfolio page is of more use to you. Please feel free to comment on any of the posts and be aware that these are my opinions at the time of writing and I can change them whenever I feel like it!
Start with a Blank Piece of Paper
Photo by Mark78_xp on Flickr
I had a conversation with someone recently who wanted to become a professional magician and to be honest I was a little jealous of their freedom to choose where their career in magic would take them. I started off on the street and spent a long time try to shake off the “street” image in order to move into the world of corporate entertainment, ironically my street performing background is now part of my whole marketing strategy. read more
5 Ways to Kill the Competition
- Photo from iStockphoto.com
Most magicians do most things according to their websites, and they’re all competing for all the jobs. The best way to succeed is get rid of the competition and here are 5 ways to do it. read more
Not Dead Yet
Such a long gap between posts could indicate that the blog was dying however that’s not the case I’m pleased to say. I have been away on holiday, (which other than the kids having a great time did turn into a kind of Groundhog Day meets Dante’s Inferno), and on my return my trusty iBook G4 died. The result is that I have been forced to invest in a rather large iMac and have spent too long getting it all together. It was however a labour of love as I am a huge Mac fan and now I am good to go. read more
Trade Show Magic (1)
It’s been quite a while since my last post due to a run of Trade Show work, the third show of which I start today. Admittedly I paid for the middle of the three shows I’ve been involved in this month but that just makes it even more stressful.
The question I get asked more than any other regarding Trade Show work is “how do you get the work?” Well one of the answers to this is in the first paragraph and I’ll get to that one day. But the first point is one I made in a previous post about How and Why. Why do you / magicians want to work at Trade Shows? They seem to be seen as the Holy Grail of corporate magic and everyone wants a piece of the pie. Here are some possible reasons: read more
Charlie did it!
My old street performing buddy Charlie caper has just won Talang – (Sweedens got Talent). If you look at the footage you can see his progression through the competition and I think it’s interesting to see that his magic, (in my opinion), gets weaker and yet the audience love him more each time. read more
I Can’t Ignore Everybody
If you haven’t seen, heard, or read Hugh Macleod then you have the wrong kind of Gaping Void in your life. The cartoons on this site are penned by him and now he has a new book out on creativity, “Ignore Everybody”. I haven’t read it yet but I have it ordered and I suggest you do the same.
Every blogger who touches on creativity, originality etc. has promoted, praised this book and like I said I haven’t read it yet so I’m going to ignore the advice given in the book’s title and do the same.
How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?
“Practice lady, practice.”
Okay so it’s a very old joke but the fact is practice alone won’t get you anywhere as a performer. You need to rehearse. read more
Want it or Need it?
There’s a lot of talk at the moment about change being needed in the world of magic and certainly magic in the UK. Most people agree that the standard is not as high as it should / could be and something needs to be done. A recent lecture at the Magic Circle given by Noel Britten was all about this, and of course no-one disagreed as that would suggest arrogance or ignorance. So here is my little bit:
No matter how much something is needed without a desire to change, change will not happen. read more
Professional Failure
“Everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die”
Okay so the quote isn’t accurate nor can I remember the source, (I think I saw it in a poker book), but the sentiment is there. We all fail at one time or another and it is a vital part of success, however how you handle failure is the crucial part – it can make or break you. There are countless stories of successful people who have lost everything before finally making their breakthrough, we don’t tend to hear about the ones who lost everything and gave up. read more
