Continue reading »]]> 5 TIPS ON PLANNING A SUCCESSFUL GRAD NIGHT

(FROM SOMEONE WHO WAS THERE 5 YEARS AGO)

In 2007 I graduated high school. By 2008 I was performing magic and comedy at grad nights throughout California. I have the unique perspective of being a professional with a big hand in making grad night special, while still having recent and vivid memories of what it was like to attend a grad night myself.

Coming from that background, here are my 5 Tips on Planning a Successful Grad Night (From Someone Who Was There 5 Years Ago).

1) Give Them Choices!

A typical grad night lasts all night and well into the morning. It is the ultimate sober party- however without a wealth of enticing things to do it may feel more like a prison for your new grads. The key to keeping this from happening is to provide guests with many activities and entertainment options to take part in throughout the night. There should be a featured event (usually some sort of stage performance with a strong comedic element) for the guests to look forward to, but there need to be plenty of other things to do. Remember, the grads are there all night and cannot leave! Here are few tried and tested ideas to get you started:

• Casino Tables
• Henna Tattoos
• Close-up Walk-around magician
• Yearbook signing table
• Memory wall
• Dancing
• Caricature Artist
• Face-painting
• Photo-boothes
• Inflatables (sumo wrestling, boxing rings, obstacle courses, slides, even bounce houses)
• Mechanical bull
• Arcade
• Games (Apples to Apples and Catch Phrase are very popular)
• Pie-A-Teacher (Or other faculty member)
• Bowling
• Laser Tag

2) Plan Ahead!

Professionals who specialize in grad nights (venues, entertainers, equipment rental) are often booked upwards of 9 months prior to the event! To be sure that your grads don’t miss out, be sure to start planning and booking the necessary professionals early! Contact they with any questions and get your grad night on their calendar!

3) Promote Early and Often

My grad night was a lot of fun, but to be honest- I wasn’t at all looking forward to it. In fact, I only decided to go at the last moment due to the persuasive urging of my friend who pointed out, “Well, there’s nothing else to do.” My school did a terrible job of promoting this event to the seniors as an essential and unforgettable end to the school year- a party to look forward to. Which it was! I wish I had known earlier! The lesson to be learned is that you really need to make a priority of getting the word out early about how fun and exciting this event will be for your grads. This goes along with booking your entertainment early so that you can let the student body know exactly what to look forward to. Use the channels already in place at your school to get the word out, such as morning bulletins (especially if it is a video broadcast), posters in the halls, rallies, etc.

4) Have Plenty of Food

This is a problem I’ve run into at some of the grad nights which I have performed at. That is, there isn’t enough food or, even worse, the food is taken away too early. I tell my clients all the time, you cannot hope to entertain anybody until they have been fed and are comfortable. Have plenty of food, snacks and drinks available throughout the night and early morning for your grads. Many grad nights serve a full breakfast!

5) Provide a Community

Here’s a tip which you don’t read very often: keep the sense of community and togetherness going throughout the night. In fact, make it a focus. Begin strong, and end the night together. This is the last time all of the grads will be together in the same place at the same time, so make sure they enjoy that fellowship. Yearbooks, memory walls and other nostalgic activities help with this. At the end, don’t just wish everyone a safe trip home, plan a speech or a final activity. A senior sunrise is perfect for this, where everyone gathers to watch the sun rise up- a great symbol for the new chapter each of the grads is just beginning.

For more information on my services for grad nights throughout California, please visit here or give me a call at 916-524-1692.

Continue reading »]]> IDENTIFYING THE COMMON HECKLER

Ah yes, the heckler.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary a heckler is defined as:

Heckler: (n) An immoral, humorless and boisterous beast masquerading as a human being. Some surviving magicians report it to be an elusive, solitary monster- a rare encounter better left unprovoked. To others, the vermin are rampant, swiftly infesting the show of any magician who’s close-up mat’s scent has attracted such vultures. The best defense against such horrific onslaughts are increasingly rapid and desperate one-liners intended to lower the creature’s self esteem below that of the magician’s.

Hyperbole aside, I think many magicians are far too presumptuous and discriminatory of the heckler- a prejudice which leads, as it often does, to an unwarranted and excessive fear.

To many, any person who interrupts the performance at any time (except when called up, of course- but even then it must go exactly as the magician intended) for any reason is a “heckler.”

To me, none of the typical interruptions a spectator might say/do would warrant being classified as a heckle. They are just that, interruptions. By definition, they are often undesirable, but to instantly assume that the interrupter is a “heckler,” and thereby intent on destroying your show is absurd. Simply assess why they are saying what they are saying, and address it accordingly. Remain in control, but in a smart way.

SO WHAT IS A TRUE HECKLER?

The real Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a heckle as: “to harass and try to disconcert with questions, challenges or gibes.” I think this definition is a little too broad for our use in magic (remember, the term heckler is most often utilized in relation to politicians). However, it is definitely more on par than what many magician’s would use as a definition.

For myself, I would say that a heckler is someone who acts with the direct and unprovoked intent of harming your performance and/or your character. Note the words “direct and unprovoked,” for they make all the difference. If I offend someone in the audience, and they (or anybody else) feels the need to lash out at me- they are not a heckler. If somebody is not convinced that the card I give them is indeed the card it is supposed to be and so decides to turns it over- they are not a heckler. Neither is the kid who doesn’t understand my instructions, or the frat guy who blurts out “that’s what she said” after my poorly considered word choice.

These are all indirect ways of intentionally harming my show. Some won’t realize their interruptions were detrimental to the performance; many spectators who upstage the magician by making jokes often feel as if they are helping the show! Other actions are entirely provoked. If you have offended your audience, then your audience is merely reacting to you harming them first!

As for spectators who turn over cards too soon, say it went up the sleeve, ask to examine props, etc.- this is not heckling my friend, this is feedback! It is direct and important feedback that your technique and/or presentation require mending. Maybe they require replacement. Our craft is a two way street. We must match and overcome our audiences’ natural skepticism and intelligence with convincing technique and performance in order to create magic. They must be convinced of the situation at the start before they will be convinced of the impossible. So if they speak up, don’t be upset that they messed up the trick- be upset you didn’t know about this weak point until now! Think of all the people you’ve showed this trick to before who didn’t speak up and probably weren’t convinced of your little miracle!

SO IS THERE A TRUE HECKLER

Of course, but they are incredibly rare and rather easy to avoid. Overly insecure audience members may lash out, as will drunken spectators. In close-up situations just leave em alone. I find you will rarely encounter such people at more formal shows- and even if you do, you have the microphone!

I hope I have impacted your view of hecklers. I feel that magicians need to be less quick to classify audience initiated interaction as heckling. Most magic performances break the 4th wall immediately, and there is absolutely no 4th wall in close-up. To expect the audience to instinctively understand when the 4th wall is okay to cross and when it is not is pretentious and delusional in such circumstances.

Lead, listen, and react- but don’t be prejudice.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN MORE?

For further thinking on how to understand and deal with unwanted interruptions, please read my other post “We Want to Be Fooled.”

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THE THINKING BEHIND THE ACT

I am very honored to have taken first prize in the 2012 San Francisco State Magic Competition. All of my other competitors were fantastic to watch, and joys to spend the afternoon/evening with.

What follows is some of my thinking behind the act- why I made the decisions I did concerning material, scripting and character. Hopefully these words will be helpful to those out there preparing for a competition themselves!

Here we go!

Do What’s Comfortable

Historically, a manipulation act set to music is the proven formula for winning magic competitions. This is great… if you are silent manipulation act! When planning for the San Francisco competition, I greatly considered putting together a silent act which fit this proven mold. It seemed like the natural thing to do.

In the end I chose to go with what I knew best- a talking comedy act. I wanted something which I would feel confident with onstage. I feel that this choice was a major part of my success in the competition. Some of the other magicians had put together brand new acts which stepped away from their usual personas. They spent the hours before the competition nervous not only about debuting new magic, but also a new character!

I admire these performers greatly for their courage. Experimentation is great and needed in our field. However, creativity and daring often come at the cost of confidence. In a competition you want to be as confident in your act as possible. Therefore, my advice would be to stick to what you know works best for you!

Stand out

In the 2012 competition, four magicians presented extensive card production sequences. The year before that was billiard balls. Before that, it was snowstorms. You must agree that any magician performing the same trick after another (even if they are separated by multiple other acts) pays a price for going second. Furthermore, if 4 magicians present linking rings, I would argue that every performer of the rings is paying a price. The effect becomes less magical for the audience, less original to the judges, and less memorable for the individual performer.

From the start I did know one thing; whatever my act as going to be, it needed to stand out. I avoided any tricks which I suspected other competitors might be doing. Luckily, since I am a talking act there aren’t too many crossover effects. Even still, Cups and Balls, Professors Nightmare, Bill in Lemon (all audience tested pieces in my repertoire) were out simply because I didn’t want to risk being blurred together with another magician doing the same effect. This would keep me from avoiding the judges’ subconscious penalty for performing the same trick as another competitor.

In the end, every act that placed stood out for some reason. It is hard to pinpoint this as the exact cause for their success, but it is important to note. Big Al Catraz was the only escape act, Alex Wu as the only CD manipulator, and my act was the only nest of boxes. Do material which will make you stand out and not be blurred away as another card act, or ring act!

Shelf the Stock

I was terrified of the judges. Lay audiences don’t have the background knowledge to piece apart your act. They don’t recognize that McBride sequence or that Sankey line. Gazzo’s Cups and Balls sequence would surely get a rousing response from the audience, but the judges would be unimpressed. They’d recognize the source material. I felt that a good way to impress the judges was to perform an act in which they couldn’t piece apart. An act which the would be forced to call “original.”

I performed three “tricks” as a part of my competition act. The bottle production sequence and script at the start is mine. The ending nest of boxes concept and script is also mine (with some invaluable direction from Big Al Catraz). The method is an extension of an old concept- however it’s use here is original to my knowledge. Between those are Daniel Garcia’s “Pressure” (though performed as an “aside” and with a unique script) and an obscure trick in an obscure book by an obscure magician- Rune Klan’s “Say it Right” (a trick which I modified heavily as well).

Because so much of this act was unique to me, I felt confident (there’s that word again!) that the judges would be impressed by the originality of it.

The final thing I did was purge any and all “stock” lines from the performance. Again, this was a great tip from my friend Big Al Catraz.

Try to be as original as you can! We don’t create in a vacuum, so don’t try to deny your influences- but do attempt to bring something new to the table to impress the jaded judges.

Continue reading »]]> Best Magician in San Francisco!

This past week, Ryan Horsfall competed in the 2012 San Francisco Magic Competition, hosted by Joe Pon of Misdirections Magic Shop. 10 incredibly talented magicians from San Francisco and the greater Bay Area competed for the 1st prize trophy, and the title “Best Magician in San Francisco.”

The results were:

• 1st Prize – Ryan Horsfall
• 2nd Prize – Alex Wu
• 3rd Prize – Big Al Catraz

And we shouldn’t overlook the other great competitors, all of whom performed great magic:

• Ray Andrews
• Captain Red Aye
• Doug Hofkins (The Surfing Magician)
• Heather Rogers
• George Winters
• Xander
• Perry Yan

Congratulations to the other winners, and everybody who competed! It was a fantastic show, and a great opportunity!

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The Best Magician in San Francisco

If you own an iPhone 4S, (or for my readers from the future- any iPhone with Siri), here is a little bit of shameless self promotion you can try out.

Ask Siri “Who is the best magician in San Francisco?”

Told you…shameless self promotion!

For the record, no I do not know anybody at Apple and I didn’t do anything specific to make this work. However, I think I know the secret as to why it works, but in keeping with my profession, the method will remain a mystery for all (including my competitors!).

But for the record, Magician Ryan Horsfall is Siri recommend! I thought that was worth sharing!

Continue reading »]]> Yesterday I received a phone call from a young magician out in New Mexico inquiring about ways to get into performing magic professionally- specifically how to be taken more seriously by clients and audiences. The following is more or less a breakdown of some of my advice:

3 TIPS FOR YOUNGER MAGICIANS LOOKING TO GO PRO

Tip #1: DRESS THE PART

Like it or not, your appearance will be one of the most influential factors in how people judge and treat you. Unfortunately, since you look like a baby to everyone, you are already at a disadvantage. That is why it is so important that you dress to impress and show these old timers that you can hang with the big boys.

If you are a younger magician (14-26ish) trying to work professional close-up venues, you will be amazed at what a difference wearing a blazer or suit will make in how you are respected. Now you shouldn’t ever overdress (a tuxedo or full suit at a casual house party isn’t necessary) but if you appear “young” I would never work a venue without at least a blazer and a colored shirt. This dress is acceptable in most all performance situations and shows value. You are being paid a lot of money to do what you do, the least you could do is show it in your dress!

If the only suit or blazer that you own is one that your parents bought you for your cousin’s wedding two years ago, (and you haven’t worn it since), then you may need to take some time and money to invest in your appearance. Look at fashion magazines, read online blogs and figure out a suit style which is fashionable and one which you feel comfortable with. “Timelessness” is more desirable than “trendiness” here. If a suit you already own meets this criteria, you may just need to get it refitted. Nothing screams amateur like a young looking kid in a suit which is blatantly too big or too tight. In other cases, your parent’s fashion choice may have not kept up with the times (no matter what Mom and Dad say, pleats are out and they aren’t coming back!) and you may need to get a new suit. Check for sales and be sure to get it fitted!

One last note: always where dress shoes! Even if you are dressing business casual (dress shirt and jeans with a belt), dress shoes are what makes the difference between a young professional dressing down, and a naive kid trying to dress up.

TIP #2: DEVELOP SOCIAL SKILLS

When I first started out, doing my close-up magic and being “ON” was easy. As long as the topic was my magic and my tricks, I had an easy time fitting in. But sometimes you need skills beyond that. What happens when you are asked to host a table? What if you have a really chatty client who really wants to connect with you? If you are working a restaurant, how do you move beyond just being a “magic guy” with your regulars?

Close-up magic is a mixture of theatre and social interaction. To focus on merely the magic side of things is to severely cripple the impact, connection, and fun of your magic- both for audience and yourself!

Some people are social creatures by nature; they make friends easily, can keep a conversation going, or at the very least are contributing members of a social scene. The rest of us (myself included) have to work at this! And trust me, it takes effort!

Look for opportunities to expand your social skills every day. When I first left for college I made an effort to sit with total strangers in the cafeteria every day for the first few weeks. I didn’t know anybody and this forced me to interact, connect, and keep things from being awkward. It’s amazing how quickly this “sink or swim” approach to conversation can work! Or, if you live in a city and take a bus to work or school every day, try unplugging yourself from your iPod each day and starting up conversations with random strangers. Or just smile at everyone you see today. You have nothing to lose!

In return you will feel more comfortable with social situations, particularly approaching and making new friends (often considered one of the biggest obstacles of close-up magic). Your magic will improve more from this than mastering that push off double lift.

TIP #3: THE 15 MINUTE TEST

Could you, at any given moment, using only what was around you, perform 15 minutes of magic entertainment? No cards, no gaffed coins, no rubber bands- only the change your spectators have on them, those cocktail napkins over there, and empty beer bottle, a wedding ring, your two hands, etc. Could you do it, and would it be entertaining?

If the answer is yes, I feel confident in two things: that are worthy of calling yourself a magician, and that you probably ready repertoire wise for professional close-up work.

If the answer is no, start expanding your repertoire and your skill set. Sleight of hand is a must for close-up magic because challenges, problems and opportunities arise all the time in close-up which solid sleight of hand can quickly turn into impressive magic.

I’m not saying that performing without gimmicks, preparations, or props is superior to using such items! Quite the opposite, I feel variety is desirable in close-up magic: but if none of these were available to you, could you still leave your audience saying “Wow, that was a GREAT magician!?”

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Close-up Restaurant Magic

The excitement never ends at Sho Ka Wah Casino in Hopland, where Magician Ryan Horsfall entertains diners who take a break from the slots and the cards to enjoy a savory steak dinner. Incredible magic, a delicious meal at an affordable price. We hope to see you there!

Sho-Ka-Wah Casino
13101 Nokomis Road
Hopland, CA 95449
Thursdays
5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
No cover, all ages.

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I knew that would grab your attention. Let me preface this: the success of magic shouldn’t be measured by how many standing O’s one receives, and not every audience is going to provide a standing ovation for every performance. You must be good and have a good show first.

What follows is a rather simple gambit which myself and David Copperfield (and I’m sure many more) have independently developed to garner a follow up standing ovation. Copperfield’s use of the gambit is more artistic, fulfilling, and I’m sure more interesting to readers, than mind, so I shall begin with it. I will then briefly follow up with two ways I have utilized the gambit in formal theatre shows and commercial performances.

THE SECRET

The trick to getting an extra standing ovation is to structure the performance with a planned encore. This is not just a follow up trick, it is the best trick, the finale, where one would normally end the show.

However, by presenting this final trick as an “encore” the magician gains a few advantages.

• Added Value: Obviously the audience will perceive that they are getting something extra and will feel special.
• Two “FInal” Applause Cues: This is what has the potential to provoke two standing ovations.
• Smooth Transition: If your finale is drastically different in tone, theme, style, etc. from the rest of your show, this can provide a smoother transition.
• Multiple Ending Themes: With this approach you can end with both a “touching” story trick and a “knock em dead” mystery instead of choosing between the two.

Let me expand upon that final point here, since I feel that it is the most important.

COPPERFIELD’S ENCORE

For the uninitiated, Copperfield currently ends his performance with a brilliant vanish of 13 randomly selected spectators called “13.” It is an incredibly deceptive mystery but a quick one with so much procedure it becomes difficult to inject any significant meaning into the trick alone. This is why “13″ is presented as an encore.

An encore to what? To “Portal,” or The-Trick-Where-He-Sends-A-Spectator-To-Hawaii-Each-Night. Okay it isn’t Hawaii every time, but you get the sheer impossibility of it. If any trick were going to fail to the too-perfect theory, it would be this one.

However, what “Portal” has going for it is its story and emotion. The entire show is themed around the idea of closing one’s eyes and being transported to that “perfect place.” This is a universal fantasy each member of his audience has had. To make it more dramatic, the lucky audience member who is selected for the journey has a touching background involving a desire to reconnect with a long lost person (mother, father, lover, brother, etc.) who lives in some far off land. This setup allows Copperfield to step in and play the hero to make dreams come true. It is incredibly moving and the proofs used in the illusion are difficult to explain away.

It is a great piece of theatre and magic.

Yet the illusion does fail to the too-perfect theory since the idea of being able to teleport across such vast distances is just too impossible that even while the “proofs” cannot be explained, the average audience member recognizes that there is definitely a great deal of trickery at foot. They might not buy the trick, but they do buy the premise: teleporting away to paradise is a nifty thing.

At the end of “Portal,” Copperfield reappears in the audience with sand from the beach and makes his way onstage for the “final” bow. Cue standing ovation #1. All of his energy is devoted to taking this bow as if this were the end of his show.

After leaving the stage, though, he takes it again shortly to share one final thing. He performs “13.” throughout which he recalls imagery, words, and themes from “Portal” to make “13″ not only a baffling mystery of the highest caliber, but also one which is emotional and moving. After teleporting one spectator to Hawaii, he now teleports 13 spectators to the back of the theatre- subliminally suggesting that this theatre is their “perfect place.”

In other words: Copperfield uses “Portal” to build up and commit his show to an “artsy” conclusion. He invests his and the audience’s emotion and fantasies into a great illusion which is moving, although not entirely “believable.” He ends the show on that note, and then surpasses and astonishes them with the great mystery of “13,” made all the stronger and more meaningful by the audiences’ previous investment of “Portal.”

At the end of “13,” Copperfield receives an even greater standing ovation, standing ovation #2.

HORSFALL’S ENCORE

For years I closed my performances with Cups and Balls. This was fine up until I realized that my version of Bill to Lemon was receiving stronger and stronger reactions as the method got better and better. Obviously this belonged at the end of the show. The problem was this: transitioning from the Cups and Balls, a trick using the most props and thereby the “largest” trick in my show, to the Bill in Lemon, which is a much “smaller” trick. Anybody who has been in magic for any length of time knows that you must end with your “biggest” trick.

The transition I settled on was to end the show with the Cups and Balls, and then turn to my client (if he/she” were nearby as is often the case with private or smaller corporate shows) and ask if we had time for “one more thing.” The audience’s cries of “yes” would inevitably drown out whatever my client had to say, and I was off into my Bill to Lemon.

Of course this presentation often has the side effect of generating two standing ovations at the end of every show!

YOUR ENCORE

This is a useful technique, as I explained in the bullet points above. Hopefully you will find a use in your performance, especially if you have encountered a problem such as mine that needs fixing. Let me know if you have!

But wait Ryan, what about the third standing ovation? Oh yes. For that you will have to perform Bill Malone’s “Standing Ovation Invisible Deck” or adapt the premise to another effect. I do it in the middle of my act. It also has the great side effect of informing your audience that standing ovations are appropriate and welcome at your show.