What Kind Of Magician Can I Hire?

Are you thinking of hiring a magician?

There are various types of magic and magicians. Most magicians now specialise in a few areas of magic although some perform only one type.

Here is a general guide of what types of magician are available for a predominately adult audience although a good magician will take you back to being a child.

Close-up magic/strolling/mix and mingle/table magic can often be seen at cocktail parties, corporate events, banquets, wedding receptions and generally any party event where the magician mingles amongst the guests performing tricks and inter acting with guests. This is ideal for a reception and then when guests are seated at their tables and enjoying the meal.

Cabaret magic is a great way for a large or small audience to see some bigger or more involved magic tricks. Cabaret magic is suitable for most events but is most popular as an after dinner entertainment. Sometimes the close up magician will double up and also perform the cabaret. If you are looking for larger, flashy magic then it is ideal to hire an illusionist. Cabaret magic acts last between 20 and 40 minutes and normally perform for audiences of 20 to 600 however their are two rules that should be noted. The magician should be able to be seen and heard by everyone. Bear this in mind if booking after dinner entertainment in a hotel conference room. If you have lots of non English speaking guests you may prefer to have a silent magic act either manipulation or illusion however a comedy magician always plays well for an English speaking audience.

Corporations and companies are hiring magicians more and more to perform at Trade Shows and exhibitions. Magic is a great form of interactive entertainment where a message can also be presented in an interesting manner. The magician draws people to the exhibition space where the benefits and features of the product or service can be show cased. The magician can also present and provide suitable magic give aways that are branded for the company exhibiting.

A Bit Of The History Of Magic

One could enjoy watching magicians perform their amazing tricks. Whether they are in a circus, in a school program, a friend's birthday celebration, or in a favorite television show, magicians are among today's top entertainers.

Here are a few of the top magicians in their times:

The history of using magic as a form of entertainment may have begun with magician Chevalier Joseph Pinetti. More than three centuries ago, Chevalier Joseph Pinetti, wowed his audiences worldwide with his bag of magic tricks. And that was in 1782!

Among his tricks was the ability to produce an orange tree blossoming on stage that bore fruit. Pinetti's wife even acted as an assistant, helping the magician to do his mentalist and escape tricks. Known as the "Professor of Natural Magic," he was known for his great magic tricks, tricks that belonged clearly to the modern era of magic.

Come the nineteenth century. The said century welcomed the use of technical-assisted magic, with some of the magicians developing various devices that would aid or help in their illusions. Using optical aids or devices, electromagnets, as well as various stage lighting forms, these magicians were able to amaze audiences from time to time with their very elaborate and dazzling tricks.

One known magician in the nineteenth century was the magician Hermann the Great. Alexander Herrmann was his real name, and this German magician did his tricks with all of the kinds of stage magic he had known, even from super close-up productions to fill-stage events. An American rival, Harry Kellar, took over Herrmann's popularity for some time and became the most prominent magician for more than 10 years.

Other magicians in the nineteenth century included T. Nelson Downs and Howard Thurston. Downs is originally a vaudevillian by trade, but had become great and famous in his magic tricks that he became known as "King of Koins."

Thurston, on the other hand, invested much of his money in building an extravaganza, which is a show on magic. It reigned over the American entertainment magic scene for over twenty-five years.

Probably one of the more known magicians in recent times was Harry Houdini. Known as one of the best American magicians, he was known for his great escape acts, including his own famous creation, the "Chinese Water Torture Cell."

Another famous American magician is David Copperfield, who until recently performed numerous magic acts in shows and TV programs.

Bell, Book, And Candle

A while back, in a One-Man Parade in the Linking Ring magazine, Max Maven offered a wonderful routine involving those tools of exorcism - bell, book, and candle. He called it Toll, Tome, and Tallow (which is stretching alliteration a bit far, even for the Maven!).

I loved the routine, the props, the handling, the works. But it was a bit long for table work and so I came up with the following. It is completely different from the Maven's routine; the only similarity is the props - and they are crucial; the more charismatic the better, because the routine is 99% presentation and 1% working.

Effect: The wizard gives an ancient scroll to a spectator and then puts three items on the table: a tiny bell, a tiny book, and a tiny candle in a candlestick. The spectator has an absolutely free choice of any of the items and yet, after the choice is made, when she unrolls the scroll, it confirms her choice.

Working and Presentation: As I said, the props here are critical so you'll need a miniature bell, book, and candle. I got a tiny brass bell in a curio shop, the book and candlestick at a shop that sells doll-house miniatures. The scroll is about an inch or two wide and three or four inches long, parchment paper, burned on all edges to give the appearance of age. On it is written, in calligraphic-type script, the words: "Ye shall choose the candle."

Giving the scroll to the spectator, you say: "In the 16th century, a wave of witch hysteria swept Europe. In England, seeing a golden opportunity, one Matthew Hopkins set him self up as a self-styled Witchfinder-General. He would go from town to town, village to village, seeking alleged witches and proving them to be just that - or blameless. There were very few who were found to be blameless.

Hopkins used the traditional tools of exorcism in his rituals - a bell, a book - usually the Bible - and a candle. (Put the three items on the table.)

"To our modern minds, such simple things would seem unlikely to have any power. But, to show you the inherent magic in these three items, I would like you to pick up one and give it to me. (If the spectator chooses the candle, ask her to unroll the scroll and read it aloud. The routine is over at this point. If, however, she chooses one of the others, continue:)

"Now I would like you to pick up one of the remaining two items . . . (she does so - if it is the candle, continue as follows) . . . and hold it yourself. I will now eliminate the book. So what has happened here? You chose the bell (if that was the first choice) for me, you chose the candle for yourself, and you eliminated the book. Now please unroll the scroll and read it. (She does and it names her choice.)

(If the spectator chooses, from the two remaining, the piece that is not the candle, continue as follows:)

". . . and give it to me as well. You may now pick up the candlestick, since you have eliminated the other two items. Now, unroll the scroll and read it aloud."

At this point, all the ensemble fall down and worship you, as you so well deserve.

Second Thoughts: This is, of course, just the Magician's Choice dressed up to go out and go dancing. I said earlier that this is 99% presentation; the props should be as authentic as you can make them - calligraphic, aged scroll; brass or gold bell, miniature Bible, brass candlestick with tiny candle. Please do not use a Christmas bell, a paperback book and a birthday candle. You want to take the heat off the method and put it on the innocent props. Also, the wording is important. It must sound to the spectator that she is making all the decisions.

Have fun with this - and scare the knickers off your audience!