Now a Ghost Town
It is no secret that one of the hardest hit industries in this challenging age of the Pandemic , is that of entertainment, and especially live performance that requires in-person audience members. I experienced firsthand evidence of the loss of live theater when recently having to go to a doctor’s appointment near Times Square NYC. It was eerie walking past empty Broadway theaters that once were a part of a flourishing draw for New Yorkers and tourists from all over the world. Now these buildings had their once brightly shining banners and signage turned off. It was like walking through a ghost town with no one in sight.
Magicians of All kinds Face Hard Times
One of the hardest hit aspects of entertainment types is that of magicians. There is a large variety of kinds of conjurers all with their own unique challenges now that having a live and in person audience is virtually nonexistent these days. A sector of the workforce are magician entertainers ranging in subcategories such as sleight of hand artists, illusionists, mentalists and more.
The Loss of In-Person Venues
This is a profoundly serious problem. People’s livelihoods are at stake. The problem consists of the fact that due to the limitation of having to rely on technology to interact with an audience (brought about because of COVID-19 and its variants) performers have a lot to sort out. Conjurers are trying to uncover a means of making magic something that will still get bookings from those who make spending decisions. Even magicians who are not household names used to be able to make a living performing in theaters, ships, homes (birthday party magic for kids), large gatherings (restaurants, weddings etc.) and many other “in person” venues.
In-Person Audiences Lost, So What Now?
Unfortunately, the Pandemic made all the performance opportunities mentioned (and many more) present facing the frightening reality that all the ways that magicians used to make money doing had now vanished (pardon the magic pun). How were magicians going to be able to survive in an art form that required live audiences?
Learning from Houdini’s Mistakes
The question surfaces of whether or not communicating with audiences through apps like Zoom and Google Meet can be a viable source of income for magicians? It reminds one of how Harry Houdini, in the early 1900′ tried to do daring escapes in films, which at the time was a new medium. By all accounts he failed in the movies some think, because spectators watching him on the silver screen doing daring escapes did not have the same impact as when they saw him live. The general consensus among historians is that the reason watching Houdini do stunts on the big screen was not successful is that audiences probably thought that escapes done in films could have utilized camera trick.
If Houdini Could Not Do it How Will I?
If the world’s most famous magician of all time could not succeed doing his escape magic via the then remote medium of cinema, then how now today were average magicians going to be able to get paid through delivering performances via the present remote medium of digital streaming and video chat? How now can magic performers overcome the obstacle in the minds of viewers that technology makes possible the use of special effects?
A Message to Magicians
Regardless of whether you are a sleight of hand artist, an illusionist, a mentalist or more, you are obstructed by the exceptionally large blockade which is needing to find out how to have credibility given that the perception is that performers can fake what they do in ways that are not possible when performances are live and in-person. This hurdle needs to be jumped over if magicians can ever hope to these days get hired by decision makers.
A Profoundly Serious Problem
So, you now have a profoundly serious problem. What is the solution to being able to delight and astonish those watching you on a digital screen in a manner that takes away the possibility of the perception of relying on camera tricks? We believe that we possibly have come up with a cure to the video performance blues. The strategy we are thinking of involves integrating a special strategy that can help you rethink your act in a manner that provides you with more credibility and a better chance of getting hired if you market it well.
What is the Secret?
What is this secret to eliminating the possible perception of the viewer that you are not employing camera tricks? How can you convert your act into something that is sought after by bookers because it includes exciting interaction? Is there a one size fits all way to make more money with your craft even today whether you are a sleight of hand artist, illusionist, mentalist or more?
Pulling Away the Curtain
To succeed as a magician today involving the use of on camera interaction makes it imperative that you instill the confidence and belief in your audience that they are watching something that could have been faked digitally. This can be achieved by making the viewers the most important part of what you do. You need to encourage their input by making them the primary decision makers during your act. There is a single phrase that we believe sums up how you can achieve this. That phrase is “Give your audience the power of choice throughout your performance.”
It Can Make a Big Difference
This giving of the power of choice can work as a strategy for sleight of hand artists, illusionists, mentalists and more. In other words, those who are remotely watching your show appear to be in charge of steering the boat that is your act. For example, a sleight of hand artist can do things like riffling through a deck of cards until a viewer says to stop. This is perceived by those watching that one card has been chosen at random from the deck. Or an illusionist can do things like giving the spectators the choice of which large box the vanished assistant should magically be made to pop out of. And mentalism is ready made to be done online because a mentalist can do things like ask the audience to pick something, followed by revealing that a prediction made in advance matches their choice.
Putting in the Work Now, Can Make it Easier to Get Hired
Putting in the hard work to reinvent your magic show as one that involves free choices made by the viewers, can enhance the thrill of the experience that they have when watching you. Giving your digital audience the power of being the decision makers is more likely to result in them feeling that they are observing true magic which in turn increases the likelihood that you will get more paying gigs to be delivered through the web.