I perform close up magic and stand up magic. I also run a children's magic company called Ready Steady Magic. You can find out more about me on YouTube! =P
As a professional magician and Member of the Magic Circle, I work hard to create incredible events.
Feel free to ask me whatever you wish and let me reveal the secrets of what I do (but not those secrets!)
Yes, every magician has, and if they say they haven’t they are lying. Sometimes it’s possible to save the routine and allow it to take a different direction, and often I hear people say afterwards, ‘Oh I thought he had messed that up, but it must have been part of the trick.'
The two cases that spring to mind where I personally have messed up are once where I had four cards, but the audience only knew about three of them. I accidentally revealed the extra card and everyone saw. By this point in my set I had got to know the group I was working for, so I made a joke about it saying, ‘Oh look! What’s that on the ceiling?’ and I reset... Read More +
Haha, they sure do. David Blaine is a great magician. Yes, his performance style can be a bit moody, and abrupt, but that’s his style. If non-magicians like him, then that’s the most important thing. Don’t forget that he is also mega-successful. I respect anyone who can make money in magic. There is a guy in the UK called Dynamo, and he is quite popular now. Some magicians talk down Dynamo and David Blaine, but it just makes them look jealous and bitter that other people have the success they want. As I’ve said, people who bring magic into the world, are OK with me.
What do you mean by a typical party or event? There are a lot of variables including type of magic, distance to the venue, number of guests, am I performing in one block or am I waiting in around? Close up magic is usually three times what I charge for children’s magic. My prices are fair, but are not the cheapest or most expensive. I believe I provide a quality experience and a professional service. My clients are paying for that and for my experience. I believe it's better to pay a little more and get exactly what you want than to pay less but receive poor value, and in this case a poor magician who may not know what they are doing. I do... Read More +
Oooh an interesting discussion point. Magicians secrets aren’t as guarded as you might think. Anyone can learn a magic trick, but you have to put in some effort. Maybe you have to go to the library, find a book and actually learn the trick. You would hope that seeing as you took the effort to learn the trick, you won’t just reveal the secret to all your friends, who are too lazy to find out for themselves.
One of the real secrets of magic though is that it doesn’t work unless it is secret. You wouldn’t watch a comedian if you knew all his punchlines, right? The first thing a magician must learn to do is to fool you. If they can’t do... Read More +
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Most of the time people want to interact with me and interrupt with their own jokes, that’s all fine. However some people just don’t like magic. If I can I just perform for the other people in the group, and that person sits quietly, then it’s fine. Once this guy was shouting out random things, ‘it’s up your sleeve,’ ‘it’s magnets,’ ‘those are trick cards,’ etc.. whatever he could think of. The key thing with a heckler is not to attack them too early. If you attack too early then you look mean, and the whole group join on the side of the heckler. If you wait until the other people in the group are frustrated with the heckler too, then they... Read More +
It’s easy to reel of a list of magicians well known in the magic world. However, the people who inspire me the most are my friends, who are a similar age to me, and are doing the same as me, working on their magic, working on their business, and going out and performing shows. I have a of of good friends in magic, from all over the UK and the world, and despite different cultures, we have similar ideas and similar paths. That inspires me the most, and pushes me to create better magic and do more shows.
There are lots. If you ...I mean your friend, goes to the local library, then there will probably be at least one general magic book with card tricks, and little tricks for parties, just like you asked for. The DDC number is 793.8 - Did I say magicians were all big geeks! They are usually with indoor games but if they can’t find any, ask the librarians and they’ll help.
Maybe that we’re all just big magic geeks. Oh wait, you said mis-conception! One that I hear often is, do you do children’s shows? A lot of people think magic is just a kids thing. I do perform children’s magic as well as close up magic, and I love both for different reasons, however I know that some close up magicians get a bit annoyed by being seen as ‘just for the children.' My advice, lighten up! Magic is not just for children, it’s only for children - it’s for the child in all of us. The misconception that really annoys me is that magic is easy. My prices reflect a lot of time practicing and perfecting my routines into a performance... Read More +
Absolutely it is. Magic rides on the wave of technology. The idea is to find some new technology that isn’t so mainstream and use that in a routine, before it become common knowledge. I’ve seen routines that use augmented reality, and they look great, but when / if that becomes common place, it won’t seem so magical. Magic evolves with time. Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin, who is commonly known as the father of modern magic, used to release ether into the theatre during his levitation routine. At the time ether was starting to become known about, but the properties were not fully understood. He claimed that he could float his son, by giving him... Read More +
I could write on this topic for a long time, and I may do when I have the time. In short, it’s important to remember that when someone sees a bad magician, it sticks with them, as there are fewer magicians around, so we all get grouped together. Unfortunately some magicians let us all down. Bad magic traits that some magicians have include, concentrating too much on fooling people and forgetting to entertain, challenging audiences, being arrogant, being cocky, embarrassing spectators and being rude, using sexual innuendo, being unoriginal, stealing material from other magicians and passing it off as their own, using corny lines that are... Read More +
Firstly let me say that some of my favourite magicians are female and some of my good friends in magic are female. They have a different slant on the art and it’s refreshing to see new ideas and different styles of performing. I wish there were more female magicians, and I think the magic community could be doing more to encourage girls to take an interest in magic. To start with magic is male dominated which doesn’t help to invite females in, and doesn’t provide many positive female role models. The reason I believe for that being the case is that really magic is about power. It’s a case of ‘I know something you don’t'. Magic tends to draw... Read More +
I try not to. There is this joke between professional magicians, that we don’t perform outside of work, because we get bored of performing the same routines all the same. It’s partly true. It can get quite annoying when everyone says, ‘show us a trick.’ I do have some routines that work well when I’m not at a gig, but it’s a different situation when everyone knows you’re a magician, and they sort of expect it. If pushed I might perform one or two quick things. Usually I try out something new, as my working repertoire only extends so far. Generally though, when I’m with friends, I prefer people to get to know me as a person. When I’m at a... Read More +
Quite a few have fooled me. Often when I watch magic, I try to watch the performance, but if I want to I can work out how it's done, if I think about it later. I don’t know a lot about stage illusions, but I’m hoping to learn about them. They can fool me pretty well. One close up effect that sticks in my mind was pretty simple. A collection of pens are placed carefully on a table so they are standing up. The magician stands about two metres away from the table and says ‘fall’. The pens fall down one by one. He can also make an individual pen fall down, i.e. the one in the middle, or the one furthest away. I remember buying the secret to... Read More +
Great question! One other thing to think about is, not only does the trick fool someone, but how is the trick structured? Too many magicians buy a trick, and perform it as it is sold, without any thought about how they can improve the presentation to make the key moments stand out more, to make them more magical. The thing to remember is that if everyone just buys the tricks, and performs them as sold, then all you have is a group of performers no better than karaoke singers. The better magicians, place some of their personality in to their performances. Not only does this offer them a unique presentation that only they do, it makes the... Read More +
Well, I will presume we are talking about the “got talent” shows as I don’t know any other TV talent shows with magicians on. I know that in America, they have had some great magicians on, and they even had David Copperfield do a guest spot, so that’s great. Magic on TV is always good for business. Charlie Caper won “Sweden’s Got Talent” and I have a friend who performed on “South Africa’s Got Talent”, so it can work, if the magicians are good to start with. However, the problem I think is that there aren’t a lot of magicians, so when one of the bad magicians (and I hope everyone knows what I mean), appears on a show, there is a tendency... Read More +
I haven’t performed any routines with animals. I do perform children’s magic as well as magic for adults, but I wouldn’t want to use a rabbit as a regular part of my show, as rabbits don’t like being transported in the car, so it can be quite stressful for them, especially if you have two or three shows to do in a day. I love animals though and would love to do a routine with rabbits (or some other animals) in the future, but I think it would just be for a promotional event, for example a large show with a lot of people to impress. A TV show would be good, because it’s filmed too, so then it would definitely be worth it. As for the secret... Read More +
Generally, magic words are used by children’s magicians. It’s a great way to show the moment the magic happens and to involve the children in the show. Abracadabra is very well known and has a lot of history attached to it, with it previously being used as an incantation to cure illnesses. Check wikipedia for more information. I’m not sure on the others, but Hocus Pocus was the name of an early magician.
In my children’s magic show, I use the words Ready Steady Magic, as my show is the Ready Steady Magic Show. This way the children get to remember who am I and what show they’ve seen. You can see more about my children’s magic at ... Read More +
Well that is a great question too. Stealing other magicians’ tricks and routines is a big problem in magic. The main problem is that when I create something, I’ve put part of my personality into the routine. I believe that art is a way that we connect with people, a way to reach out to others and say, ‘This is me, I was here!’ Just ripping someone off is lazy, but more than that it shows in their performances. It doesn’t seem believable. Magic has to be unbelievable, but you have to be able to believe that it’s unbelievable. Confusing, right? Of course some magicians release their routines to other magicians. That’s fine, but when I use... Read More +
That’s a difficult question to answer because I know a lot of the methods now, that even if I don’t know exactly how it works, I could figure out how it may work, or even how I would do it. Also, some magic fools me in the moment, but then I can go back and work it out later, so I guess that doesn’t fit your criteria either. If I think back to when I first started magic and the first time I saw a professional close up magician. That had me up all night thinking about how it was done and that felt like real magic. I think that to create a moment of real magic, the effect has to have meaning to it. There is a trick David Blaine did where... Read More +
Where to start? There are a lot of magicians that I could name and shame for various reasons, ripping off members of the public, exposing secrets, ripping people off with shoddy magic products, stealing ideas, accusing respected magicians of stealing, unethical marketing techniques, using banned techniques to boost their search engine rankings, etc... I won’t name any here, except to say that there is a website called weekly magic failure that has a lot of them on. The main one people usually name though is the Masked Magician. Most people pretty much agree he’s a jerk. Personally, I agree with Sumner’s Law (I made it up) which states that 90% of magic is crap (maybe more).
An interesting question, often asked by beginner magicians. There are some companies that will employ you for short periods of time from a few weeks to a few months, but usually these still require you to be self-employed, i.e. you have a regular contract with them but you invoice them for your time. Mostly they are bars or holiday resorts and they are pretty poorly paid. I work for a bar once or twice a year for a few weeks as it’s money that I can rely on and it’s good fun. I try to go on a quiet week as I can earn more from my private bookings. The second part to this answer is about children’s magicians. There are some franchise companies... Read More +
I'm not sure what you mean about popular again!? It's quite popular already. In the UK we recently had three television shows on prime-time TV and the first live magic show on TV for twenty years. Right now we have two major magic programmes on a satellite channel (one close up magic, and one escapes), so I think it's doing alright.
I hope that also answers your question - when there is quality magic in the media, on TV, on the internet, in magazines, when it's being discussed by people, that encourages people to think about a magician for their event and it ultimately increases the business for all magicians.
The time that... Read More +
Unfortunately I don't know that trick, sorry! Your best bet if you're looking for help online is to ask on a magic forum. There will probably be someone with some experience of it.
I don’t work with an assistant, so it’s not something I know a great deal about. I did hear a great piece of advice about assistants and that was ‘never marry your assistant.’ If you want to create a magic act using assistants, then the first thing you might think is to use your partner or your friends, however you need to consider if you would go into business with these people if it wasn’t magic? I make money from magic, so I wouldn’t want to jeopardise that by creating an act with someone who I had a personal relationship with. If that relationship falls apart then so does the income. I know that that has happened to magicians before. My... Read More +
In short, not really. I started when I was about 15 and I remember amazing people with little bits of magic, but I always knew that I was only a little step up from there knowledge of magic. Most people can show you one or two tricks.
When I was 18 I started doing a few gigs for friends and family for free, and I did a big show at my school for my entire year and the year below. The show went really well and lots of people told me they were impressed and more so than with my close up magic. I guess around that sort of time was when I thought I could do something in magic professionally. It was still a few years until I really started... Read More +
Probably. I'm not old enough to be at that stage yet, but I'm sure that you get less dexterous with your hands as you get older.
On the upside, the more magic that you do the better a performer you are. So in that sense a more experienced magician might actually be quicker with jokes, lines and entertainment and might be able to react better to mistakes.
Having said that though, it seems that there needs to be a balance. People do enjoy a youthfulness to their entertainment even if the performer isn't themselves young, and I think people can relate better to an entertainer who is close to them in age.
With all that in... Read More +
Nerves are just something that you have to get over. There's no alternative way except to perform. The best thing I can say is start small and easy (i.e. just a few people at an event that doesn't matter) and build up to larger more important audiences. Also, no-one should know the secrets if you have practiced enough.
As for street magic. If it's busking style, gathering a crowd and getting people to pay at the end, then that's really difficult (I think), but worthwhile and can be fun if you get into it.
If it's David Blaine style, run up to people in the street, show them a card trick, then run off. Don't bother unless your... Read More +
In short, yes. In long, when I'm at an event, I will try to scout out who looks like they are having fun, or will be fun and that will be the second group that I go to. I pick the second most fun group to warm up on, and then go to the really fun group. The idea is that everyone sees those two groups having lots of fun and is more likely to be receptive when I get to them.
Fun groups are usually a group of friends, sometimes a group of girls, maybe they are celebrating something, smiling and laughing before I even get there.
If it's a big event and I'm not required to cover every group, then I will avoid the groups that look... Read More +
It's not possible. That's why it's magic! All the best magicians can do this.
Yep, I wash them and I make sure that my nails are kept short and tidy. Furthermore, I'm very careful with knives (good advice for everyone, not just magicians).
Occasionally I use some hand lotion after I've washed them and when I'm doing balloon modelling (which isn't really magic, but is great fun) I have to use a lotion after about an hour because the powder inside the balloon can really dry out your hands.
I guess some magicians might have insurance on their hands, but I can't name anyone who does.
They squash up really easily!
Just joking, there may be some historical significance that I'm not aware of but as far as I know the reason is simply that they sit quietly during transporting and during the show.
Some magicians use other animals and goldfish are also popular (although they obviously need water when travelling too).
As for whether animals should be used in performance at all. Personally I think that animals should be used less often in magic. Not never, but I wouldn't want to use an animal every week as the travelling can be quite stressful on the animal. I would use an animal, maybe a rabbit, for a one... Read More +
In short, no. There are some magicians who play to the audience that it is actually 100% real magic i.e. Uri Gellar, but whether he actually believed it himself, I doubt it. It's an interesting idea though, that I've played around with. I certainly like to think that what I do is magic and not 'just being clever' but there is a line somewhere on how much an audience will believe before it starts to sound too implausible. In magic, even the unbelievable has to be um... believable.
That's a different kind of magic. I don't know much about it, but from the half of one film that I've seen - I think you have to fly around on a broomstick, say expelliarmus, and hang around with some nerds.
In theory there are no bad tricks. Even the most simple of tricks, the ones that everyone knows could be changed and wrapped up in an interesting and engaging presentation. That's what matters right?
There are some tricks that might be more difficult to adapt to an interesting presentation and if they are very simple it might be difficult to hide the known method in order to make them magical too.
By way of an example I occasionally perform the very very old pulling your thumb off trick. I do it quickly and I doubt anybody is genuinly fooled by it, but for a moment it creates a quick illusion, a double take and it gets a laugh.... Read More +
Interesting question. Possibly one that might be asked by another magician? When I started out I did a lot of shows for family friends and friends of friends and other people who I was connected with for just a nominal fee, maybe £20 or £30. Maybe just even my travel.
Now I charge those sorts of people my full fee, which I think is only fair, seeing as I have the experience to provide the full service, and magic is my only income.
For direct family, it's not always appropriate to perform magic and of course having magic at every family event would get tiring, however if I'm asked to do magic for family then I will perform for... Read More +
Sorry, I don't reveal secrets. If you seriously want to learn magic, then I suggest you buy a book and learn it the same way everyone else did. As with anything, it takes time and effort to master it.
Sorry, I don't reveal secrets. If you seriously want to learn magic, then I suggest you buy a book and learn it the same way everyone else did. As with anything, it takes time and effort to master it.
Good question. I don't have an exact answer. I guess that it's a bigger deal if the magician is famous within the magic community. One trick that does often get publicity, even when it's just set to be performed, is the bullet catch (where the magician tries to catch a fired bullet in their mouth). There are ways to perform the trick, of course, but working around guns and live ammunition is dangerous.
Legend says that at least 12 magicians have died performing it. One magician had a 'safe' method but died simply because a stage hand used the 'wrong' gun. Another, Chung Ling Soo, is one of the most famous bullet catch deaths.... Read More +
Sorry, but I can't answer questions about specific tricks.
Sorry, I don't reveal secrets (not even 'simple' ones). If you seriously want to learn magic, then I suggest you buy a book and learn it the same way everyone else did. As with anything, it takes time and effort to master it.
That isn't a question, but thank you for your kind words.
Maybe you should start with a book from the library.
I didn't know what to expect! It's good fun though, I like meeting people and I like performing. Sometimes it feels like showing off, which is fine. I got into magic because I was interested in lots of showing off things, acting, comedy, circus, but magic was the one that stuck the most.
I guess the things I didn't realise is that it would involve so much driving. The performing time is just a small part of everything I do. I actually enjoy the running the business side, but I could do with less driving around. Wouldn't it be great if all my shows were within 15 miles.
As it's your creative output and I don't know anything about the rest of the story, I don't know if I should give an answer but if it's a dream then surely it can be actually impossible. I would go for, magician flips coin on the ground, when the coin lands it turns into a hippopotamus.
I'll take 10% of all royalties forwarded to me once a quarter. Thank you! =P
That's great, because I don't have an answer.
I don't personally work with an assistant but although I think non-disclosure agreements are used, I don't know if they are enforceable. As I'm sure you're aware, unless it's actually tested by case law, it's difficult to say if it would be effective. I imagine that damages would have to be calculated based on loss of earnings, but again... how do you start to calculate that?
As much of magic's secrets have a long history and many people are adapting them for their own use, a better place to start would be with what is original to the show - trademarks, copyrighted performances and scripts, performance rights, can all be protected.... Read More +
I think that you should enjoy the performance. As I have said in multiple other answers - I do not reveal secrets. If you seriously want to learn magic, then I suggest you buy a book and learn it the same way everyone else did. As with anything, it takes time and effort to master it.
*Shakes magic 8 ball...
"The outlook is probable"
Firstly Joseph - you have the right attitude! Knowing the secrets to hundreds of tricks, does not make you a magician! Instead it's best to learn a small repertoire of routines that you can do really well. For a beginner, I usually say six to eight routines is a good start. I regularly perform about 15 different routines, with about another 15 as my back up material that I perform occasionally.
There are many books that I can suggest to learn routines from, but that really does depend on what type of magic you are interested in.
For the magic theory, I suggest Strong Magic by Darwin Ortiz. The principles in there can be applied... Read More +
A magician is someone who creates the experience of magic in another person. Magic is a feeling of fully knowing that what you have witnessed cannot happen, and yet you just did - the only possible explanation for it is magic! You don't have to believe it's sorcery, but you can't step off the fence easily either way.
The important points about my definition of magic are 'no other possible explanation' and 'fully knowing.' Some magicians are happy to tempt their audience by telling them that they are using distraction, fast hands or sleight of hand. This is all wrong if you ask me. If an audience feels as if they have been distracted... Read More +
Sorry but I don't reveal any secrets here. Especially ones that aren't mine to give away. You'll have to ask Dynamo.
Yes, I have worked in other countries, and for different cultures within the UK. Those of Afro-Caribbean descent are often very expressive. Those from Asian descent are usually a bit more reserved. And in the Indian culture they like you to stop after the show to eat with them. That's nice unless you've got another show to get to, and then you have to politely explain.
The differences are minimal really though. The show doesn't change! And certainly no variation in what is impressive. If it's magic, it's magic! Within Europe the hardest thing to overcome is the language barrier.
I perform close up magic at weddings, anniversaries, family celebrations, corporate celebrations and hospitality events. I also perform my magic as a way to market other's businesses. This is often at trade shows and exhibitions or during an on street marketing campaign. Finally, I provide magic workshops for staff training days.
I perform magic for children at birthday parties, christenings, weddings and family fun days. I am also sometimes asked to provide shows for schools during the end of term.
If you want to see a little of my magic, you may want to look at my YouTube channel by searching for Ed Sumner Magic.
I'm always playing around or learning something new, as that keeps my skills sharp, and widens my experience and knowledge of magic. Those routines usually don't make it into my working material though.
My working material is quite well rounded but if I want to try out some new ideas then I will work to create my own routine that fits the specific requirement.
Once I've learnt enough to not give the secret away, I'll start performing it. Not at paid shows straight away, but for friends, family, other magicians and on the rare occassions I have a charity show where I'm helping out for free or for a reduced price, then I will... Read More +
I had an idea for a trick like that, but I haven't fully developed it yet. Even though I create much of my own magic to suit my use, there are often similar items available commercially. Why not try going to a real bricks and mortar magic shop and explaining what you want? I'm sure someone there will be able to help you out further.
My friend gave me some great advice the other day. The best way to be perceived as an expert in something is to first become an expert in that thing.
So in short, read a lot, practice a lot and perform a lot.
Well any trick no matter how 'hack' it might can be turned around and made presentable. It just needs a new idea. For example, there's a trick called Six Card Repeat - every magician does it at the start of their show! Most magicians just do it the same way, "I have one, two, three, four, five, six cards and I threw one, two, three away and I still had one, two, three, four, five, six, so I said, NO WAY! How can I have one, two, three, four, five, six cards, throw one, two, three away and still have one, two, three, four, five, six." etc... It's boring!! But others have created something new from it - Tim Ellis has a great rap version, Joshua... Read More +
That's very unspecific, but why not have a look at Don Alan's Magic Ranch? That's the right sort of era and was a show where Don performed close up magic to a group of celebrity guests.
Both! I think of it a little bit like cooking. Once you know the basics eg. how to saute, whisk, and fold etc... and how different flavours combine, then you can put down the recipe books and start making up your own meals.It's similar with magic. I can still learn from a book, but because I know how to control, misdirect, ditch and ring in, etc... I can make up my own routines, which is all the better as they are uniquely mine, and a display of my personality. That's important as I think people are more interested in other people than they are magic tricks!
Sorry, I don't reveal secrets. If you seriously want to learn magic, then I suggest you buy a book and learn it the same way everyone else did. As with anything, it takes time and effort to master it.
I answered a question similar to this previously. In short, we use those animals because they will sit quietly whilst waiting to appear. I don't use animals in my shows because I travel a lot and I don't think that stress would be fair on the animal. If I had a static show in a venue, or I could use an animal for a one off performance for a large group or for TV then I would consider it.
As for breeds, I can't say for sure as I don't use them, but I imagine so. Flemish Giant Rabbits would need a much bigger hat!
I would say that copying other magicians should be something that should be a big NO-NO, in the same way that stand up comedians are protective about their material, because it's so personal to them.
Unfortunately, it's not like that though and there are hack magicians who just copy off others, and use lines that weren't funny the first times round. That's upsetting.
One thing that people in the magic community do get annoyed about is people copying without crediting others. It seems almost like it's all right to copy as long as you don't pass it off as your own to other magicians. So you might say, "This trick isn't mine, I... Read More +
Well card flourishes are not magic, but they can be magical. They tend to work better on video than live, but I do know of magicians that have a lot of flourishes within their close up magic routines.
The best route for you is to work on anything that you enjoy and can be passionate about. If you enjoy it, you can find someone else who enjoys it too. Start with your personality and your character not the tricks.
For example, I have a lot of self-deprecating humour in my show (I mean it's only magic tricks, right). Occasionally I come up against people who hate what I do (with a passion) but I'm OK with that because last... Read More +
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