I’ve just won, (11th May 2009), the Magic Circle Close-up Magician of the Year – Hooray for me!!

So now the dust has settled and the phone has stopped ringing, (debt collectors), I thought I’d say a few things about the competition and competitions in general.  I’ve entered 2 and won both so there.

The main reason I entered the competition was as a marketing ploy. A touch cynical maybe but regardless of how the competition is viewed inside of the magic profession in the eyes of the general public it is a BIG THING!  The opportunity to boost my profile in what are “difficult times”, seemed like a sensible move.  I employed a PR company to send out press releases on my behalf and I will contact clients and agents to let them know I won a prestigious award – it can only help.  I’ve started a blog for God’s sake!

So why would you enter the damn thing and put yourself up in-front of your peers if you didn’t intend to win it?  Why wasn’t every professional magician in the UK knocking the door down to enter? I was told that I was a clear winner – that’s not necessarily a good thing for the standard of magic in the Magic Circle.  I would have been happy to loose to a performer who had nailed it with a great performance, instead I won it with a good delivery of some good material.

Don’t get me wrong I’m bloody good and I deserved to win but I could have been a lot better and so could the competition.

When I get the footage of the competition I’ll post it here and pick it to pieces,  I also want to talk about the decisions I made in doing the material I did.

I can hear the feedback now: “It’s the only trick he knows….”