Hi to all
First a bit about me
I have been studying magic for about 10 years.it went from an interest to a passion to almost obsessive drive. I am an amateur magician/ mentalist. I have done a few mental shows (I live in a small town in South Africa) and am probably the only magician in the area- Cape Town is 4ooklm away.
The shows I have done have been for corporate events and private parties. The spectator response has been good , great and really great I have studied Tarbell (not all as some of it is not applicable but the theory was important) Henry Hoy (amateur magicians hand book) Nic Einhorn, Corinda, Annemann, Bannecheck and numerous others. Penguin Live has been very helpful. I have read, watched and practiced various magic and mental effects and developed some of my own ideas and produced them to good result. I have had my audience amazed, I have had a preacher wanting to cast demons out of me after a show because he believed the only way I could have these powers is from demon possession (that was a boost to think an educated person believed I was the real deal) and many people after a show asked me to explain how I can make predictions or the read their mind etc. So I must be ok at what I do
I have now been asked to put on a charity event from cradle to grave. And although I wont get paid the audience is going to be paying.
This is where I am stuck and need help
Even with the good response from my audience, if I watch my show afterwards (after the high of performing) it seems flat. I want the charity show to be at the level of Derren Brown.
So first how many of your stage assistants can you trust with your effects if any. Do you do full dress rehearsals with all the stage and lighting people. How do I input music into the show What is the "magic" ingredient that turns a good show into a mind blowing event (I have really good effects thanks to Bob Cassidy, Doc Hilford Richard Ostelind and a few others and I practice them and the lines and movements) but I want the show to be such that when I watch the recording or anyone else does the must think F88k this guy is brilliant
Any advice will be helpful

You might get a better response posting down in Penny for Your Thoughts.

Ed

It you really want a "Deren Brown" show you will need the help of many people. Mainly production people like lighting, sound, back stage etc. Tricks are easy. Getting a venue and a crew, not so easy. Especially for free.

You might score the venue for free. philraso is right about the crew. Talented individuals in the areas of lighting, sound and stage are not easy to find.

Ray

Start at your local high school. Contact the theater department. They usually have eager students wanting to lend a hand and be part of a magic show. But remember, if you want a high quality show, then you have to pay the right people to come on board. Food for thought.

It you really want a "Deren Brown" show you will need the help of many people. Mainly production people like lighting, sound, back stage etc. Tricks are easy. Getting a venue and a crew, not so easy. Especially for free.

You would also have to train in many things like hypnosis, NLP, psychology, magic etc.

Many years ago (28, I think), I was told that recorded music was bad for live music because the recordings set a standard that was too high for amateur live musicians to ever aspire to. That isn't actually true, but there's some truth to it.

When we watch Derren Brown, we only see what the show's producers want us to see. When we watch a live and local up-and-comer, we may not realize we are watching the next Derren Brown. Because we don't have the optimal performance and the optimal environment and the optimal team of professional behind-the-scenes folk making the show come out the way they believe will make the greatest impact.

Now, I like Derren very much. He's a terrific performer. But I also realize that I'm not watching Derren Brown when I watch a show with him in it. I'm watching the show.

Many of us want to be great performers. In addition to mystery arts, I am a musician. Not a pro. Never likely to be a pro. I mean, I know what the difference is between my playing and a pro's. But I have fun, I share the music, and I make people happier when they hear me. When I perform magic or mentalism, I know my intention isn't to be a professional. My intention is to share something fun.

And if my intention were to go pro, the first thing I would do is differentiate myself from the big names in a way that puts focus on what makes me different. I certainly wouldn't want to be Derren Brown. Nor Michael Weber, Bob Cassidy, Richard Osterlind, or any other big name. The thing they all have in common is that they are individual and unique. I've said before that what I would really love to see in a mentalism lecture is just 3 tricks. By 5 different people. Each doing the same tricks in ways that put their own unique presentational spins on the tricks. I don't even care about methods, really. I want to see the result of individual thinking.

-Patrick

I wouldn’t worry about the “level” of the show. What story do you want to tell to the audience? Who is your audience? How can they relate to your show emotionally? Why should they care? People who go to see Derren Brown are going because they know what he’s all about and want to see it. What can you give this audience that you want to tell them and that they would want to see?

As far as preparation, more is always better. Account for all discrepancies and be ready for anything.

I think the best way is to join an association or a theatr team they have trained assistant to take car of things like light sound for you
and you will get better training on making scripts and controlling the audience and also more gigs

that what I did am still with the theatr team and that helped me out a lot

When I was getting my MBA we learned charity's must earn a profit to stay in business. Just because it is for charity does not mean you have to do it for free. Unless this specific charity is dear and true to your heart, I would expect a payment. The goal is to raise money for the charity. They sell tickets with your performance. You should be compensated. Now, if they pay you and you donate it, that's cool too.

Now if you are doing it to boost future advertisement and this is to get your name out there, it might be a different story.

There might be people in the charity willing to be a team member. I'd reach out to them and train them what to do.

TomB has a really good point and this subject has been discussed several times in several places in the past.

A couple of suggestions I'd like to pass on because I thought they were really good:

Tony Chris (I'm pretty sure it was him - early issue of Vanish) talked about doing charity shows that are advertised. He makes it clear to them what his professional fees are for a similar gig, then says if he is going to provide his services for free, he needs something out of it. What he wants in those cases is guaranteed advertising. That means he provides his logo and it shows up on all the promotional material, posters, advertising, etc for the event. And if there is a TV crew, they are requested to include some of his performance in the story.

Regardless, you can make it clear to the booker that you are willing to help, but need to get enough out of it to make it worth your time. This isn't going to cost them much if they are willing to see things from your perspective and be certain of including your name and image in the advertising. If you are not enough of a draw to be worth deliberately advertising as part of the event, why are they even asking for your services, right?

I don't personally do gigs for money, only for fun, at this time. However, if I were asked to do one for free that I didn't already want to do, I'd probably adopt the Lewis approach, with a request that my performing and palm reading services be advertised as part of the event promotion. And I would certainly accept money for the palmistry.

-Patrick