May 26, 2016

Performing Tips for the Working Magician, From Restaurants to Big Illusions with Chris Westfall

46 minutes

In this episode we got to speak with a local Toronto magician and friend about his story through magic. He has a very unique tale of growth, possibly not intended. He moved from the restaurant world to the birthday party world, followed by comedy magic and now an illusion show.

In this episode he chats quite a bit about the beginnings of those 4 performing environments with a ton of tips for people just jumping in.

If you are starting out Chris recommends putting in hours to give yourself time to be a crappy magician, and then a good magician next, after you’ve put in your hours. Work at a restaurant charging a lower rate, so that you can put in the hours, and get your foot in the door. Many magicians want to charge quite a bit right out the door, but we should think more like comedians and actors who perform for free every night.

In terms of being on stage we got sone some great tips for making comedy easy. If it’s a kids show, he often brings the wildest, or most difficult kid on stage. A loud kid is much easier to work with on stage, than is a shy or timid one.

He also gives us some comedic tips. Some comedians recommend getting the first laugh in the first eight words, Chris tries to get it in the first zero words. It also pays off to have a few clever jokes that go over the kids head so the adults laugh, but if that seems difficult, and you’re starting out making the kids laugh is always the way to go.

If the kids are happy, then the parents are happy. The opposite isn’t necessarily true, so the secret is always keep the kids happy

In the episode Chris talks about one of his favourite magicians Rob Zabrecky. We don’t know much about rob, but since Chris mentioned it we have checked him out. Not only is he a magician, but also an actor and magician.

Browsers Den – This is the magic store in Toronto. Chris is a critical member of the Toronto magic community, and is often a familiar face. If you are ever in Toronto come by the magic store, and Chris might be there (if he isn’t performing)

Sorcerers Safari – One of the places where we know Chris best from is magic camp. If you liked this episode or anything that us or Chris said, come jam with us at Sorcerers Safari 2016.

Share your thoughts in the comments about other comedic tips, or worker tips. Is there something that you do to open your walk around or stage set that is particularly interesting?