What Tricks Do I Perform at an Event?

Occasionally someone who is interested in booking me for their event will ask me what tricks I perform. There’s a few ways I can interpret this question.

What Magic Tricks Do I Perform?

If we are looking at the actual trick then I could do a list of trick titles (yes, tricks have names!), but in reality that wouldn’t really help you unless you are a magician.

Even then, what tricks I actually perform varies with different tables and groups.

It is natural to ask “what tricks?” – and I’ve even been asked that by amateur magicians who want to turn professional. However, for me it isn’t just about the trick, but how it is presented.

What Type of Magic Do I Perform?

This question starts to look into the style of performing a little deeper, and goes beyond just a set-list of tricks. When performing close-up magic I generally cover the following styles:

• Card Magic
• Sleight of Hand
• Mind Reading
• Psychological ‘stuff’

To explain the process a little more, when I start at an event my first tricks when I mingle around will tend to card tricks. The reason is because everyone understands the universal language of “pick a card” and knows that means I’m a magician who has been booked to entertain the guests. During this guests will see that I demonstrate skill and that they can trust me to entertain.

That means that if I ask to borrow an item (such as an item of jewellery) to perform some sleight-of-hand magic, and the guests are going to be more trusting; knowing they have rapport with me and that what they will experience will be worth getting involved in.

Once I have amply demonstrated my skills as a magician it’s nice to start moving into the area of mindreading. Although not essential (I could go up to a group and start doing mindreading straight away) I personally find it makes more impact once I’ve got to know the guests – and they’ve got to know me. Also, because it isn’t as visual as some other forms of magic it doesn’t always grab attention straight away.

The ‘psychological stuff’ doesn’t happen with everyone at every event, but are those little bits thrown in here and there with really elevate the whole wedding or party. These are the things that legends are made from – or at least talked about for years to come.

How Do You Adapt Your Magic?

I can also perform the same trick a few times at an event, but present it different ways.

For example, if I approach a group at a wedding (which is a family event) there could be a spread of ages. This can range from young children, through to more elderly relatives – but I could present what is technically the same trick but adapt it.

So, let’s assume that I choose to perform the same card trick, but around three different tables. The first is table has a few children, the second are all ‘working age’ adults, and the third are more elderly relatives.

Let’s start with the second table first. They will see my standard presentation (though even the ‘standard’ presentation adapts) that i would perform at a corporate Christmas party. This will involve plenty of interaction with guests getting involved in shuffling cards.

Now let’s look at the first table with the children. If i ask them to pick a card are they going to know what something like the Three of Clubs is? To make it more relatable I’ll make sure the person who picked a card writes their name on it, this way even if they don’t know what the symbols on the card mean; they still know it is unique. I also won’t ask younger hands to shuffle, but will ensure they understand how the cards mixed – but in a fun and comic way.

Turning to the third table we have some older guests. Here I know that the guests are going to be familiar with cards; so will be at home with their values, and with handling the cards with dealing and shuffling. Not only that, they are going to be more familiar with card games. I can use this to my advantage to make a link with the guests, and make the magic directly relatable.

Hopefully this gives you an idea of why what tricks i perform aren’t really important, but how I perform it is – and that I’m fully aware of this and make sure I change and adapt constantly as I’m performing.