Thoughts?

[Alfie Whattam]

Recent performance I did for Sky's Britain Does Variety.
Any feedback would be awesome, thanks

[video=youtube;mRT6waglOZI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRT6waglOZI[/video]

 

[TeeDee]

Pretty good overall. You've got a good manner on stage and you're confident in dealing with people, which are hard things to learn, so that's half the journey.

A couple of things that you might want to think about are your patter and your routining. Virtually everything you said was a stock line, and it might help to define your character and mark you out as something special if you thought about a more original script.

What I mean about routining is the "kicker" at the end. To my mind, revealing that you'd predicted which card would be chosen confuses and detracts from the main effect. Your effect is that you will cause a freely selected, random card to stick to the bottom of your shoe, and the twist is that it actually ends up inside your shoe. By revealing that you knew what the card was all along, you're basically admitting that you could have prepared something earlier.

You may agree or disagree with that, but I hope it's useful.

 

[themontemaster]

Good Stuff. Agreed I wouldn't do the prediction thing and I would act more disappointed when it doesn't stick to your shoe. Then you'll really have that "Oh Snap" moment and the audience will actually think you foxed it up. And as afore mentioned I would script your lines so that the whole effect comes across smoother which in turn will amplify your magic. Maybe try adding in a couple gags with the audience member for comical effect

 

[D ICE R]

I agree with what has been said before about the the prediction. Essentially the effect you are doing is a card to impossible location, What I would do is mark the card in some way (usually by tearing the corner) and have the a duplicate with matching corner scrunch up within the paper.

I am more than happy to explain this in detail if you shoot me an email

 

[Simon_Magic]

Also, when it comes to patter, you are not "kind of" a magician, you ARE a magician.

Maybe talk to the audience as the spectator is making her way on to the stage.

Greet the spectator also, you didn't shake her hand or make her feel welcome on your stage.

Don't have the card folded up. None of the others were. If the card had really penetrated your shoe, why would it be folded into quarters?

Other than that, nice trick

Simon_Magic

 

[TeeDee]

Also, when it comes to patter, you are not "kind of" a magician, you ARE a magician.

Maybe talk to the audience as the spectator is making her way on to the stage.

Greet the spectator also, you didn't shake her hand or make her feel welcome on your stage.

Don't have the card folded up. None of the others were. If the card had really penetrated your shoe, why would it be folded into quarters?

Other than that, nice trick

Simon_Magic

Not necessarily all brilliant advice.

Audiences have a preconception about magicians, so by distancing yourself from those prejudices with "kind of", you add some interest and make them feel that they should assess you on your own terms. (See the career of Derren Brown for more details.)

The way you deal with a spectator on stage shouldn't be dictated by any kind of rules, apart from those which flow naturally from your stage persona. If someone tells you that you should always treat your audiences and participants with respect and politeness, then your missing out on a huge swathe of dramatic possibilities. (See the career of Jerry Sadowitz for more details.)

Also, having the card folded up adds an extra moment of drama, by delaying the final reveal, so, while it's certainly something to question, it may be something that you decide is better to leave in. In my opinion, drama is worth discrepancy.

 

[Oliver Addams]

This will just be about the performance and nothing technical.

Everyone interacts with their spectators differently due to their stage persona. Seeing when you came out onstage Alfie I saw that you weren't very warm or caring to your audience from the get go so I assumed you would have a strong character who wouldn't be very warm and thus have a more interesting point of view but as the performance went on I saw that you don't have a point of view at all. It ended up being quite bland and as others said above you use many stock lines. It's hard to think you're a different kind of magician when you sound just like the patter to a ten dollar silk trick.

As well, you seem to be very comfortable onstage which is great, but it is good to have a big of an edge otherwise it is the same performance that you gave to your wall ten minutes before you headed off to the venue. It is still important to care. Even when the spectator is coming onstage you should be doing something like walking to where they are and maybe guide them onstage. I'm sure you can find a better thing to do with your time than just waiting there. It almost seems as if you wouldn't know how to react to the spectator and so you do nothing.

And a big thing for me is to smile a bit more. It doesn't seem as if you are trying to perform as a grumpy guy so why not smile a bit and the show might be a bit warmer because it doesn't seem as if you are really connecting with anybody and it hurts the performance.

In the end I feel you are comfortable onstage and now you can take that to a new level with "performing" a bit more. Try to make the shows a bit more dynamic. Find material that can suit where you want to take your performances and tweak it a bit to make it more unique.

All the best,
–Oliver

 

[JButterfield]

I mean this in the best way; I'm hoping this helps to hone your performance further, and polishes it to a shine.

Oliver Addams has offered a wealth of advice; pay heed.

About this performance specifically;

0:32 - you kind of walked on the laugh the spectator gave you with the reaction to the 'cheap seats' line. Maybe let it breathe a bit, or call the action? These kind of things are great for revealing character.

1:03 - ask the volunteer to come up first. It may make for less dead time if she's on her way to the stage before the applause.

1:15 - 1:34 - you really need something for this spot. It's half a minute of a guy standing around. Maybe a brief teaser about what you're about to do? Some smart line? Or maybe this is where you ask the volunteer's name and the applause line?

1:36 - 1:41 - you really should take her hand as she's getting on stage, shake her hand and be a little warmer.

1:45 - block it so that you're both kind of facing the audience more, rather than each other; (see Ken Weber's Maximum Entertainment) - you both want to be kind of 45 degrees to the edge of the stage, facing the audience more than each other.

2:20 - you may want to rephrase it to something that is more positive, more of a statement; "That would be amazing, would it not?" - something that says it's amazing, like that. "Would that be a good trick" is somewhat minimizing; at best it's a good trick, not a miracle, not an amazing trick, not something incredible. It's also too easy for a smart alec to say "no".

3:04 - let the applause begin to die down before you reveal the kicker; don't try to stop it at or before its peak. Also, consider making the kicker seem like more of an addition; when you begin with "no, no, no" it seems like something contradictory is about to follow, rather than confirmatory. Maybe let the applause go, and say something along the lines of "but that's not all...this was meant for you" etc and then go into the reveal.

3:20 - May as well let her keep the card - why appear grabby?

3:30 - shake her hand and thank her before the round of applause.

 

[Josh Burch]

Also, when it comes to patter, you are not "kind of" a magician, you ARE a magician.

This is a Derren Brown line. It is said to put the audience at ease so they know they are going to see magic but they are not going to see your regular everyday magician. I probably wouldn't say this exactly as it is EXACTLY what Derren used to say but I think the principle works.

 

[Oliver Addams]

This is a Derren Brown line. It is said to put the audience at ease so they know they are going to see magic but they are not going to see your regular everyday magician. I probably wouldn't say this exactly as it is EXACTLY what Derren used to say but I think the principle works.

I don't watch too much of Derren Brown so I haven't heard this line. However, I agree Alfie shouldn't use the same exact line another - especially well known - magician uses. When you take one thing all of your material is suddenly in question. If all else fails you can just introduce yourself in the manner that the rest of your show will accompany. It's polite to introduce yourself. And Alfie introduced himself after his intro which I found strange considering it was an audience interaction and speaking intro. It wasn't a music piece or a silent piece where your are immediately performing once the curtain opens and therefore introduce yourself after. Maybe he could have stepped forward when the curtain was opened as well but that's just a thought. He sort of just stood there during his first impression to that audience.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

This is a Derren Brown line. It is said to put the audience at ease so they know they are going to see magic but they are not going to see your regular everyday magician. I probably wouldn't say this exactly as it is EXACTLY what Derren used to say but I think the principle works.

That line works for Derren Brown, because Brown is 'kind of a magician'. He admits to using magic, but most of what he does is psychologically based. Using this line to let people know you're not the regular, every day magician only works if you then proceed not to be the regular, every day magician. It doesn't work so well when you use this line, then do regular, every day magic tricks.

Personally, I think this is kind of a jumble of tricks which are being used to attempt to be different. Having the card in the shoe gives a 'magician in trouble' plot, but (as previously noted) there would have been no reason for it to be folded if that were the case. Having the prediction at the end with no build up adds nothing and in fact detracts from the final revelation.

 

[Oliver Addams]

That line works for Derren Brown, because Brown is 'kind of a magician'. He admits to using magic, but most of what he does is psychologically based. Using this line to let people know you're not the regular, every day magician only works if you then proceed not to be the regular, every day magician. It doesn't work so well when you use this line, then do regular, every day magic tricks.

Personally, I think this is kind of a jumble of tricks which are being used to attempt to be different. Having the card in the shoe gives a 'magician in trouble' plot, but (as previously noted) there would have been no reason for it to be folded if that were the case. Having the prediction at the end with no build up adds nothing and in fact detracts from the final revelation.

EXACTLY

I really believe that the first things we say and the first movements we make onstage are when the audience is judging us the most and should be some of the most thought out moments in a show. A lot of the times the thesis of the show is found in the beginning or established soon and should always be kept clear and intact to the end. Not to mention you should achieve what you say you will.

PS: If you're reading these notes Alfie post a comment. Maybe a hello.

PPS: For no reason I just wanna post this. I just found another great Rob Zabrecky song from his Possum Dixon days. I've listened to it 22 times already according to my play count. God I love good music.