I’ve never written a blog before, but decided it was time to start. Especially since I’m building up to doing all of this on camera eventually! for now thought, I wanted to create better habits in myself and to start getting thoughts out of my head.
If you’re curious about the inner workings of a magician’s mind, or you want some tips that I think might be helpful for magicians and performers alike, then I may have something for you. If I don’t, please get in touch and let me know!
Blogs are hard.
Well, okay, they aren’t. I mean, how hard is it to type a bunch of words into a page that could be essentially drivel. Creating a good blog post is hard. I’ll let you know if I ever figure it out!
In the meantime, here are some updates from your least known London[...]
Why All Magicians Should Visit Vegas Once in Their Life
Las Vegas is known as The City of Lights, a bustling metropolis in the desert that never sleeps.
At all hours of[...]
So you want to put on your own show.
That’s awesome. So proud of you.
The thing is, and this isn’t a statement against you, but you’re going to need to update and improve your set up.
Unless you love computer games and have some insane top of the line gaming computer, you’ll[...]
When it comes to working in the creative field, there is always a pressure to create in whatever form that takes. This is hardly surprising given that we work in a creative field.
But if we worked in an office, or as a supermarket checkout girl or an accountant, we would be more focused on[...]
I know that seems like an immense promise. One secret that could make anyone, yes, anyone, the best magician in the world? But it is true. There is one secret to being the best, and every magician you can think of has put it to use.
A Parable to Understand the[...]
No, I’m not talking about performing magic for the hard of hearing, or someone who can’t see because of cataracts. But instead, I am talking about the kind of magic that someone of an older generation could perform.
Teaching Magic
I’ve been teaching magic for most of[...]
A new year, a new me (a new magician?)
I know, I just used that awful expression that causes the most aggressive eye rolls in all of us. Myself included! So why on earth would I use this horrendous expression? Well, for the only reason I could, that I've kickstarted a[...]
What is a Cabaret Magician, or cabaret magic for that matter?
Cabaret (noun)
A form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. It is mainly distinguished by the performance venue, which might be a pub, a casino, a hotel,[...]How can you learn magic without being there in person?
With social distancing a regular part of our lives now, learning magic in person is not an option these days. In fact, most events are online these days, most of my performances are now [...]
The world today
Social distancing is a part of our world nowadays, and it is has put a bit of a halt on all our plans. Office parties seem like a distant memory, large gatherings are now illegal, and we all miss a bit of human contact. We can't take part in the events we[...]
If you’ve ever booked a magician, particularly in London, you may well have heard a term thrown around, “The Magic Circle”. So today I thought I would let you in on some not so secret information (you can go and learn it firsthand from their website which you can find [...]
If you’ve never heard of the card game 52 Pickup, then I am thrilled you heard about it here first.
For one, it isn’t a card game. It is a very dull practical joke. At least, I’ve always found it annoying as I am usually on the receiving end, and having respect for a deck of cards that[...]
I can hear what is probably going through your head right now, something along the lines of, “what does riding a horse have to do with performing magic?”
And you have a very valid point, but unfortunately, as you may have worked out by now, I enjoy sayings a little too much!
This one[...]
Whichever deck you prefer.
But that is an incredibly dull and unhelpful answer, isn’t it?
So let’s have a look at a few different types that I know of and enjoy using. Fair warning, if you recall yesterday, I mentioned the whole “Amazon Affiliates” thing? Yeah, today is the first[...]
Today's post may not be of much interest to many of you, but for my own sanity (and also certain legal reasons) I wanted to explain one of the new things that I'll be working on in the background. (In case you were curious, I'm really improving with my "card firing" technique, see yesterday's[...]
Was that a clickbaity enough title to grab your attention? It may not have been because you can still see this text in the preview box before you click through, but it was worth a shot.
However, as much as I would love to, I can't just teach you magic. At least not in this format, by which[...]
If there is one thing I have learnt as I teach my students magic, it’s that I don’t know nearly enough. Now I probably shouldn’t be bashing my own intelligence and abilities, but the one thing I’m learning about teaching is how hard it is to teach the subtleties of magic right out of the gate.[...]
Bare with me for a second, as hopefully, I can show you how this is a good thing. I do realise that this is quite the existential conundrum, given that if life is pointless, well what is the point of doing anything, ever?
Who is ready for a tonne of analogies as I try and turn out another[...]
If you’re joining along in this quest to be a part of the magic world, learning some tricks of the trade, how to be a magician and whatnot, then you have to remember not to be too harsh on yourself. In fact, this applies no matter what you do.
I’ve collected a few sayings and the like that[...]
I’ve talked before about some questions I think we as performers should ask ourselves if we haven’t already. So today I wanted to bring up the fact that there are some questions we should be asking ourselves regularly.
I mentioned then, and I’ll re-mention it now, but I think questions are[...]
Ooh, the mystery. What could a magician possibly be spending his hard-earned money on!? Is it exciting new magic effects? A new prop? A new outfit? What could it be!?
Well, sorry to disappoint you dreadfully, but I haven’t purchased some interesting new grimoire or long lost book of[...]
I realise that I a statement like this may not seem to have much to do with magic, but I obviously do, or I wouldn’t be writing it right now. There are so many benefits to exercise that it seems almost pointless to mention them here. But as magicians, it is our job to look after ourselves so[...]
We are so lucky to live in the world we do today, the information age. There is so much information out there, and it is truly staggering. It can quickly become incredibly overwhelming. However, magic is a strange one when it comes to this sort of thing since as we know, Magician’s never reveal[...]
I don’t remember when I first heard this expression, but it is one of my all-time favourites when it comes to all things magic. And I do mean all things magic. It has a way of applying itself to all kinds of areas; here are my three favourite places to do just[...]
As simple as this request of mine and it is a request, it is anything but easy. I think most of us go through life and are generally kind to the people around us, but I always found there to be more than just a grain of truth in the saying, “Everyone is an asshole in someone else’s[...]
Yesterday I talked about the four stages of learning, how failure is an integral part of education and its inevitability. I think this is such an important topic; I’m going to talk about it again today. Though, hopefully with a more positive spin on it this time.
Fail your way[...]
Failure is a part of life. A scary part, but is something we can't hide from or ignore. One way or another, we all learn that we must avoid failure and instead succeed at every avenue of our lives. We live in a world where our brain is flooded with information about how everyone we know is[...]
Since I am about to sing the praises for two idioms that contradict each other, it makes sense for me to talk about them separately first. So let’s do that.
Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well.
This was written by Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl[...]
Putting on big events often involves juggling a lot of moving pieces; timing everything, coordinating guests and staff, ensuring food arrives promptly, and of course, the evening's entertainment.
When it comes to considering the kind of entertainment you want at your event, there are all[...]
I am a huge fan of questions. I was always the kid who would endlessly ask “why?” until someone snapped. This curiosity of mine continued into university where I studied Philosophy and Psychology, two of my favourite subjects to read about to this day. For whatever reason, I have always loved[...]
Since this website is about furthering the world of magic, I have had to prevent myself from getting carried away and talking about all of the varied benefits of travelling. There are many advantages, but we're going to focus instead on those that relate to my favourite art form.
I cannot[...]
For anyone who reads everything I write every day, you may have noticed I didn’t write anything for yesterday. This, of course, flies in the face of my commitment to writing one post a day. (So even though this post may say it was posted on 12/7/2020, it is an out and out internet lie.[...]
So you're interested in hiring a magician for your wedding? Well, I am of course very biased in favour of this decision for a whole host of reasons I'm sure I don't have to specify! What does matter is whether or not having a magician at your wedding is a good fit for you on your special[...]
Whoever you are, and whatever you do, learning a skill of any kind is one of the best ways to improve yourself as a human being. Taking the time to break something down to its component parts and learn how to do it well, can be arduous, complicated and frustrating. On the other side of all that[...]
I know I briefly touched on what the hell I am doing with my life to have thought that posting regular articles about my thoughts and tips as a magician was not only warranted but somehow actually provide value. So I thought I would go into a bit more depth as to what it is I'm trying to achieve[...]
Oh yeah, we’re on a real “self-cleaning” spurt at the moment. Yesterday was all about grooming those overgrown visibly hairy areas of yours, and today we are going to look at the areas that you need to be cleaning and looking after. Some of these are boring but very necessary, so be sure to find[...]
We all know hygiene is essential. It’s part of our everyday life. It’s also an area that I did not give enough attention for far too long, always doing the bare minimum. After gaining a bit of experience working with people in our industry, though, I’ve managed to pick up a couple of tips around[...]
Hopefully, my ramblings over the last few days will have helped you with your heckling woes. I thought I would finish off with some more thoughts on managing hecklers in regards to another recent topic I touched on, characterisation.
The character or persona that you have chosen as your[...]
So, picking right up where I left off yesterday and on with some possible ways of handling our least favourite audience members.
1) Attack them
I would only recommend even considering this if you are up to scratch with your improvisation skills. I am not suggesting[...]
When it comes to hecklers, there are two main kinds, active and passive hecklers. Active hecklers are the ones who first come to mind, the loud abusive and often belligerent drunk who feels the need to interject his pearls of wisdom into your performance. The second type is the less invasive,[...]
I cannot stand hecklers. They are usually drunken idiots who interrupt the performance, always at a crucial moment, or ruin the flow of the effect I’m performing, resulting in a joke or magical moment not landing the way it should. If I could get prevent hecklers entirely, I[...]
Every magician, or at least every great magician, has a persona, or a character that they adopt when they walk out in front of their audience. This is, in fact, true of all performers, bar those who never take the time to create a persona and those who make their on, and off stage, persona’s one[...]
I may still be ending my posts a little abruptly, so apologies for that. I certainly didn’t leave the impression that I would be doing another post on this topic so soon, to be honest, when I finished the post yesterday, I hadn’t[...]
Picking right up where I left off yesterday, I was now playing the role of the Gambler at the cabaret. There was already a costume, and with the assistance and guidance from both the Director and Choreographer doing the script, I was able to become “The[...]
This was terrifying for me. Aside from the fact that I am close up magician by trade! My mentors pushed me into it though, saying it would be a parlour or grand cabaret show rather than stage magic per se; it would make for proper[...]
Talk to yourself, listen to yourself and see what you have to say. After all, sometimes you need an expert’s opinion, and no-one knows you better than you do.
Plenty[...]
Repetition, more repetition and even more repetition.
I realise you may well see the similarity to what I wrote yesterday. That is mildly intentional,[...]