Friday, November 21, 2008
Do You Have To Have An Assistant To Be A Successful Magician?
If you've seen a few examples of street magic, or watched a TV show by a celebrity magician recently, you can probably answer that question for yourself. Of course, the answer is no.
Some magicians just naturally prefer to work alone and it is perfectly possible to structure a magic act for a solo performer.
The fact is that the format of your act will have to take into account whether you have an assistant or whether you work alone.
It is certainly true though that certain distraction techniques work better if you have one or more assistants. It's often easier to get away with the 'illusion' if your audience is paying at least some attention to what your assistants are doing at any given time.
And, let's just be practical for a minute. If you have an assistant that's an extra pair of hands for packing and unpacking the magical equipment needed for the show - and company on the journey to and from the magic performance.
A good assistant can also take a full part in your magic business. They can take a part of the burden off you when it comes to booking shows and general publicity etc.
Maybe you're a great magician but not exactly a dab hand at the business side of things. If this is the case, employing an assistant who's also on the ball when it comes to finances etc. may be just what the doctor ordered.
A good magician's assistant can also be a sort of aide-memoire to the magician during a performance by presenting the props needed for each magic trick at the appropriate point. There's then less chance that the magician will forget what the next trick is supposed to be.
If your magic show depends on volunteers from the audience for certain tricks then having an assistant on stage with you can be a real boon. Not only can they help with the selection of the volunteer but they can also direct that volunteer as to where they should stand and what they should do and when. That's one less thing for you the magician to worry about - you can just concentrate on getting the trick right.
It's entirely up to you whether you feel as a magician that having an assistant fits in with the way you want to perform your magic, but if you do decide to get one, I'll leave you with one final piece of advice - always commend them on a job well done at the end of every show. This will help enormously to build the right level of rapport and support to ensure that you have a faithful assistant you can rely on throughout your career in magic.
Alan Allport