MagicRecipe Blog

1.  Underestimate or misjudge the audience. 
2. Fail to establish rapport with the audience. 
3. Talk too little or too much. 
4. Perform too slowly or too fast. 
5. Don’t practice enough. 
6. Clumsy in handling the props. 
7. Don’t dress well. 
8. Don’t do the right make up. 
9. Perform in the wrong lightings. Stand in front of strong light and perform. Many a times they show their backs to the audience. 
10. For every trick some magicians leave the stage and come down to audience for giving the props for examinations.

Here are some simple ways of preventing stage fear. Please let me know if you find the suggestions useful.
1. Perform only tricks which you have practised so often that you can perform them in your sleep. Perform to your strengths in your own natural style. If you try to mimic another magician’s style, you won’t feel natural, and this can lead to anxiety.
2. Before the show, mix with members of the audience, chat with them, break the ice, establish rapport, get to like them, and get them to like you. Find out the names of those with whom you have established rapport. Find out where they are sitting. Look out for these familiar faces during your show. Make eye contact with them, perform especially for them.
3. The magician must be in command; he cannot hope to deceive his audience with his illusions if he thinks that they are better than him in status, in knowledge, in intelligence, or in any other way. One way of getting in command is to think that no matter how imposing the spectators are, none of them will be able to knot a rope or catch a ball in the way you can. That is, they may be masters in their field, but in the field of magic, you are the boss. Another way is, in your imagination, to focus your performance on those with whom you have made friends and over whom you feel you can confidently weave your spell of deception.
4. If there is anybody in the audience who makes you uneasy because of his appearance, attitude, or talk, feel sorry for him that he lack the gift of good nature. Feel sorry that he has ulcers. Feel sorry that he suffers from constipation. Feel sorry that nobody likes him. You cannot be cowed down by somebody for whom you feel sorry.
5. Finally, have a backup routine and patter in case a trick goes wrong. What is the worst that can happen? The audience can’t eat you up or put you in jail.
6. For magicians who develop fine tremors of their hands, rapid heart beat, sweating, dry mouth, etc., medicines are also available.

Remember that a little anxiety before the show can actually sharpen thought and reflexes. It’s only when the anxiety crosses a point that it interferes with the performance.

Any other ideas?
Best wishes,
CA

Why magicians have more stage fear than any other artistes? 

This is a continuation of my previous blog titled “Smile on the face, steady hands! What goes on inside?”  to explore the fear and what motivates magicians. 

Magic is mainly stealing. A thief stealing, plans it out at his own leisure, picks out a house or person to steal from, takes it slow, no performance pressures, and when nobody is watching or when its dark, he does what he has to do. Not in a room filled with people all watching him and with lights only on him! In magic you have to steal in front of an intelligent audience who try to catch you. That is the main reason magicians develop stage fear. That is of course apart from the STAGE itself! You should have the expertise of a thief who picks pockets. 

Our friend magician Uday says he has given more than 8000 stage shows in spite of that he could not come over the stage fear. The stage fear is both a boon and curse to the magicians he says. Because of the stage fear, magicians practice hard offstage, they do not want to concentrate on the trick on stage. On stage they want their performance to be like car driving, automatic but alert and they want the  focus on what they are saying or their acting skills – the non core skills to the magicians. And however tiring, magicians relentlessly practice a lot before they go up on stage. The Curse is that the very fear of doing mistakes can lead to mistakes. Magicians need nerves of steel to steal and steady hands of a surgeon. They cannot shake or let their voice break. But it all becomes worthwhile just after one thing – The applause! Applause makes one feel like one is on top of the world. 

I myself am more comfortable with close ups than stage shows. I do not like to face people whose expressions I cannot see. I would like to charm the few, round a table. And their look of amazement is my applause of a hundred people. That is my thrill. What’s yours?