lol, someone snatched my deck of bicycles a few weeks ago because they thought that the dimple finish was some sort of gimmick!!!


Still, I won't be changing to waddingtons in the near future!

mmmmmmnnnnnnn The problems of working in Norwich HeHe,Still it only happened the once and thanx all for the good posts to my dilemma.
Trevor

Tell me about it Trevor! Norwich crowds are so tough!

The only thing that bothers me about the incident is that you ended on a down note. It's important to end every set on as high a note as possible. On those occasions when something didn't go right (and it's unavoidable from time to time) I always tried to follow up with something I was sure of, that had good control, was very strong, and was fairly short. If a trick is blown and you just walk away, that's all they'll remember. If you pass it off as something not worth your consideration and really take them down the lane with something else...THAT'S what they'll remember.

Cheers,


TCR

This is the sort of philosophy that makes the Color Monte work so well! Another bonus is that the cards stay in your hands. Perhaps, keep things in your hands and off the table until you have a better read on your audience, and what they will go along with.. I try to keep things off their table for simple reason that I don't like getting my cards wet.

Once, I was performing the floating dollar for the people at Le Grand David when something broke and the dollar fell after 2 seconds in the air. I grabbed it and set it aside. Then, I took out my sponge balls and performed them instead. It was fine and I survived.

Afterwards everybody forgot or did not even notice I had made a mistake because of the way I handeled the situation.

So my advice is to ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES!

Good Luck

The important thing is how you react. Even if a spectator looks you in the face and tells you how you did your last trick, he should not be thought of as hostile, disrespectful, or bad mannered. He's just pleased he was able to figure something out and wants everyone to know. After all, what we do really is just tricks and the idea is to have fun. If you don't get upset, neither will anyone else.

As far as preventing it: The advice to take the confrontation element out of these gambling demonstrations is very sound. That's my opinion, but more importantly, that's Dai Vernon's opinion as well. His patter for the three card monte never asks anyone to point or choose, or otherwise indicate where they thing the Queen might be. Direct quote from Further Inner Secrets of Card Magic: "It appeared to go here, but actually it's here."

I'm sure this quote is not mine, but I have been using it for nearly 17 years when faced with the occassional, "Hey I know/saw how you did that" reply from a spectator. I look at them and with a wink I say, "Don't tell the others now, sell it to them later". I've never had anyone go on to expound on his/her theories of how the trick works and gets a chuckle from everyone at the table.
Just my 2 Drakma Worth,
Doug

Doug,

It's a great line, and it appeared in one of Eugene Burger's earlier books. That's his typical genius, isn't it?



TCR

p.s. No bad deed ever goes unpublished.

Trevor, obviously this situation has had an impact on you, and all of the advice above is excellent, but I would like to add, Do not let it get you down, we have all been in this situation and have handled it in different ways. It is a fact of life that some spectators do not know how to act, no matter where they are. The mark of a real pro is the guy who uses this situation to review his material and prepare so that it does not happen again. I'm sure that many know the story of Alex keal, a wonderful gentleman from Maryland who had a similar thing happen, It had such an effect on him that he stopped doing walk around magic. It is really a loss to the magic community as here was an outstanding close up magician, who could not believe that someone would do such a thing to him. So use this as a tool to prepare, and hang in there and try to look at it in a positive way. It only helps make you a better performer.
Marty

Just because someone is a patron where you work does not give them the right to disrespect you. Just last week I was having one of my best nights at a new restaurant for me. I do a version of Gary Oulett's "3 Second Wonder", except that I produce 3 aces and an indifferent card. I do the routine in the context of playing cards one night with my buddies. the "moral" of my presentation is never give a magician a second chance, because I take the indifferent card, rub it on the table, and reveal the 4th ace. Anyway, I was performing for 4 couples who had started partying early that night, and after the revelation of the 3 aces, one woman says, "Ha! Only 3, you suck!" I didn't say a word. I simply stared at her looked down at the table, picked up the indifferent card and changed it for her. One guy at the table said,"See, he wasn't done yet!" to which she repied,"yeah, but he only got 3 in the first place, he still sucks." She then left the table to go up to the buffet. I proceeded to go right into Kundalini Rising and the rest of the table went nuts. When she came back, I promptly excused myself, and went over to a table that had been waiting 20 minutes for me to come over. I peformed my most killer routines for them and they responded very enthusiasitcally. When I noticed that the table with the rude woman was preparing to leave, I finished at the new table with LeClair's Floating bill, just as they were walking by. One the the guys with them said, "See? He doesn't suck, way to go!" My point is, if I get an unusally rude person, I immediately go to a table that I know will react big, and do my best stuff. I try to get the biggest reaction possible, hopefully getting the others at the rude person's table to give them a hard time for being rude. It doesn't always work, but I always feel better after being treated that way. Don't forget that are jerks in the world who are just that way for the sake of it. Don't take is personally and just remind yourself of the other 99% of the audience who enjoyed your show.