STAND-UP A Professional Guide to Comedy Magic
Ian Keable
Stand-Up A Professional Guide to Comedy Magic By Ian Keable
ISBN 978-0-9557353-0-1 Printed and bound in the United Kingdom First Edition, 2008
Published by Ian Keable, London www.iankeable.co.uk
[email protected]
2008 Copyright © Ian Keable. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise – without the prior written permission of Ian Keable.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the following magicians for their assistance in the writing of this book. From the UK: Paul Daniels, Wayne Dobson, Geoffrey Durham, Graham Jolley, John Lenahan, Paul Zenon, Noel Britten, Derren Brown, Neal Austin, John Archer, Mel Mellers, Andy Nyman, Terry Herbert, Alan Shaxon and Mandy Muden. From the US: Mac King, Jeff Hobson, Mike Caveney, Michael Finney, John Carney, Levent, The Amazing Johnathan, Max Maven, David Williamson and Mark Kornhauser. All of these gave freely of their advice, dealing with my torrent of questions with restraint and tolerance. In some cases they allowed me to freely quote from their own writings, whether they were from magazine interviews, articles or books. I should stress, though, that what is written about any other performer is solely my own interpretation and may not necessarily reflect what they themselves think. I would particularly like to thank the late, and great, Billy McComb. When I sent him by email the many quotes from his own writings liberally sprinkled throughout this book, he promptly rang me from the US to chat about them. Billy epitomised for me what great stand-up is all about. It was Billy, along with Paul Daniels, who undoubtedly influenced me the most in my formative years as a stand-up. I have quoted favourably from, and occasionally taken issue with, a number of books. Of the more contemporary ones I would especially like to acknowledge Maximum Entertainment by Ken Weber, The Magic of Showbiz Updated for the 90’s by Simon Lovell, Strong Magic by Darwin Ortiz and The Banquet Magician’s Handbook by David Charvet. All are essential reading for those wanting to perform stand-up. Quality DVDs of stand-up comedy magic are presently few and far between. Of the ones I have watched, Mel Mellers’ Tickling The Mind, Michael Finney’s Live at Lake Tahoe! and The World-Renowned Magic of Paul Potassy are particularly notable. I have also liberally taken extracts from Rich Marotta’s underrated Stand-Up Comedy & Magic. David Britland and Walt Lees deserve my thanks for looking at some of the early drafts of the book and making suggestions that have substantially improved what you are now reading. Lesley Fitton went beyond the call of duty in extensively proof reading, making numerous grammatical and other corrections. My gratitude to Cathy Keable-Elliott who I also roped in. I owe a huge debt to Geoffrey Durham for his assistance, encouragement and spotting many errors. Nevertheless it’s only right that I should make the usual caveat that any mistakes or omissions are entirely my own. Chris (‘I only draw the pictures!’) Power provided the artwork for the cover of the book. As usual I am lost in admiration at his talent and his generosity. A special thank you to Noel Britten for not only writing the foreword to the book but also making a number of corrections to make sure I didn’t put my foot in it too often. Finally I would like to thank myself because without me this book wouldn’t have been written.
Dedicated to George & Carly, hoping one day they will know what their Daddy does when he goes to work
A WARNING “I sincerely hope it will not be slavishly copied, as if that is all a reader can do having read this book, then so far as he is concerned my labour has been in vain.” Edward Maurice The successful completion of this book has been wholly dependent on the goodwill of a number of magicians who have given me permission to quote both from their own writings and also, occasionally, from their act. I would stress that in no way does the inclusion of any lines or bits of business from the performers mentioned constitute permission for any of their material to be used by anybody else apart from the originator. Saying you read about it in this book will not be accepted as a legitimate excuse, reason or justification for stealing the fruits of their creativity.
CONTENTS FOREWORD ............................................................................................17 FIRST THINGS FIRST..................................................................................19 What Is Stand-Up? ................................................................................19 The Magic Effect................................................................................19 Dead Time ........................................................................................20 The Author............................................................................................20 Some Definitions ..................................................................................21 The Way Forward ................................................................................22 PART 1: THE BIG TWO..................................................................24 CHAPTER 1: COMEDY ..............................................................................25 Introduction ..........................................................................................25 The Strength Of Comedy........................................................................25 Other Advantages Of Comedy ..............................................................26 Improving your Act ..........................................................................26 Character Development ......................................................................26 Misdirection ......................................................................................27 Lightweight Magic ............................................................................27 Reasons For Not Using Comedy ............................................................27 I’m a Magician, not a Comedian ........................................................27 I’m not a Funny Person ......................................................................29 I’m a Mind Reader and Mind Readers are not Funny ............................29 Dangers Of Comedy ............................................................................30 Bit of Comedy, Bit of Magic................................................................30 Laughing At, not With ........................................................................31 Laughter of Embarrassment ................................................................32 Jokes Versus Lines..................................................................................33 Jokes ................................................................................................33 Disadvantage of Jokes........................................................................34 Lines ................................................................................................35 Example Of A Comedy Routine ..............................................................36 Workings..........................................................................................36 The Climax ......................................................................................38 Conclusion ..........................................................................................39
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CHAPTER 2: CHARACTER ........................................................................40 Introduction ..........................................................................................40 Aspects Of Character Magicians ............................................................40 Easy to Define ..................................................................................40 Style ..............................................................................................40 Situation of Conflict ..........................................................................41 Trick Selection ..................................................................................42 Finding My Character............................................................................43 First Attempts ....................................................................................43 Change of Direction ..........................................................................45 Coming Together ..............................................................................45 Finding Other Magicians’ Characters ......................................................46 Jeff Hobson ......................................................................................46 John Archer ......................................................................................47 The Great Soprendo ..........................................................................47 Mr Mysto..........................................................................................48 Graham Jolley ..................................................................................48 Mel Mellers ......................................................................................48 Noel Britten ......................................................................................49 Paul Daniels ......................................................................................50 Mac King ........................................................................................50 Neal Austin ......................................................................................50 Michael Finney..................................................................................51 Mark Kornhauser ..............................................................................52 Finding Your Character ..........................................................................52 Being Yourself ..................................................................................52 Clothes ............................................................................................53 Getting There ....................................................................................53 Conclusion ..........................................................................................54 PART 2: WHAT TO SAY ................................................................55 CHAPTER 3: LINES....................................................................................56 Introduction ..........................................................................................56 Situation Lines ......................................................................................56 Card in Cigarette ..............................................................................57 Character Lines ....................................................................................59 Character-Situation Lines ....................................................................59 Why They Work ................................................................................61 Making Them Unique ........................................................................62 Remembering Lines ................................................................................63
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Ad-Libs ................................................................................................64 Rehearsed Ad-Libs ............................................................................65 Examples ..........................................................................................65 Progressing The Plot ..............................................................................67 Moving Forward................................................................................67 Plot Template ....................................................................................67 Serious Lines ........................................................................................70 Conclusion ..........................................................................................71 CHAPTER 4: FINDING AND BREAKING IN LINES ......................................72 Introduction ..........................................................................................72 Writing ................................................................................................72 Finding Lines ........................................................................................72 Standard ........................................................................................73 Book ..............................................................................................74 Performing ......................................................................................74 Own ..............................................................................................75 Writers ............................................................................................77 Other Magicians ..............................................................................77 Breaking In Lines ..................................................................................78 Delivery............................................................................................79 Character ........................................................................................80 Audience ..........................................................................................81 Funny ..............................................................................................81 Constructing A Routine ..........................................................................81 Adding ............................................................................................82 Cutting ............................................................................................83 Substitution ......................................................................................84 Completely New................................................................................84 Putting It Together ..................................................................................85 Lines For Sucker Silk ............................................................................86 Conclusion ..........................................................................................88 CHAPTER 5: OTHER PATTER MATTERS ........................................................89 Introduction ..........................................................................................89 Call Backs ............................................................................................89 Running Gags ......................................................................................90 Catch Phrases ......................................................................................91 Topping The Gag ..................................................................................92 Converting Laugh To Magic....................................................................93 Innuendo ..............................................................................................94
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Self-Deprecation ....................................................................................95 Audience Abuse....................................................................................96 Topical Material ....................................................................................97 Puns ....................................................................................................98 Stepping Out Of Character ..................................................................100 Over Familiar ....................................................................................101 Offensive Material ..............................................................................102 Watching Other Magicians ..................................................................104 Conclusion ........................................................................................105 PART 3: AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION ............................................106 CHAPTER 6: INVOLVING ASSISTANTS ....................................................107 Introduction ........................................................................................107 Why Audience Participation? ..............................................................107 Potential Embarrassment ......................................................................108 Potential versus Actual......................................................................108 Silly Things ....................................................................................110 Destruction Of Property ........................................................................111 Deliberate Error ..................................................................................113 Magician Error................................................................................113 Assistant Error ................................................................................115 Insult Humour......................................................................................115 Definition ........................................................................................115 Who Uses It? ..................................................................................116 Tips on Using ................................................................................117 Perils Of Audience Participation............................................................119 A Cautionary Tale............................................................................119 Case Against ..................................................................................121 Conclusion ........................................................................................122 CHAPTER 7: QUESTIONING ASSISTANTS ................................................123 Introduction ........................................................................................123 Instructions..........................................................................................123 General Questions ..............................................................................124 Individual Questions ............................................................................125 What’s Your Name? ............................................................................126 Remembering and Using Names ......................................................126 Extracting Humour ..........................................................................127 Where Are You From? ........................................................................129 What Do You Do For A Living? ............................................................131 Humorous Occupations ....................................................................131
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Generalising ..................................................................................132 Probing ..............................................................................................134 Standard Responses ............................................................................135 Closed Questions ................................................................................136 Unexpected Answers ..........................................................................137 Dealing With ..................................................................................138 Bailing Out ....................................................................................139 Bringing It Together: Smashed Watch ....................................................139 The Routine ....................................................................................140 Summary ........................................................................................144 Conclusion ........................................................................................145 CHAPTER 8: SELECTING ASSISTANTS ......................................................146 Introduction ........................................................................................146 Going Out To Assistants ......................................................................146 Assistants In Audience ........................................................................147 Means Of Getting Assistants From The Audience ....................................149 You Choose ....................................................................................149 Just Tell Them ..................................................................................150 Going out into the Audience ............................................................150 Grab and Run ................................................................................150 Making a Joke ..............................................................................150 Gradual Steps ................................................................................151 Using a Prop to Hook Them ..............................................................151 The Name ......................................................................................151 Pick and Mix ..................................................................................152 Outs ..............................................................................................153 Which Assistants To Choose ................................................................155 General Categories ........................................................................155 Narrowing Down ............................................................................155 Help with Selection ..........................................................................157 How Many Assistants ..........................................................................159 Just the One ....................................................................................159 Perfect Twosome ..............................................................................160 Three’s a Crowd..............................................................................161 Conclusion ........................................................................................161 CHAPTER 9: TYPES OF ASSISTANT ..........................................................162 Introduction ........................................................................................162 Assistant As Prop ................................................................................162 Fear No More ................................................................................162
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Downsides ......................................................................................164 Assistant As Foil ..................................................................................164 Show to Date ..................................................................................166 No Previous Humiliation ..................................................................166 Give them Time to Find their Space ..................................................167 Smile a Lot......................................................................................168 Results ............................................................................................168 Assistant As Plant ................................................................................169 When to Use Plants ........................................................................169 Unsuspecting Plant ..........................................................................170 Humorous Plants ..............................................................................171 Assistant As Instant Stooge ..................................................................171 Verbal Cuing ..................................................................................172 Written Cuing ................................................................................173 Assistant As Magical Victim..................................................................175 Thanking Assistants..............................................................................176 Finish Of Smashed Watch ....................................................................176 Conclusion ........................................................................................179 PART 4: THE ACT........................................................................180 CHAPTER 10: MORE THAN THE SUM OF THE PARTS ................................181 Introduction ........................................................................................181 Opening ............................................................................................181 The Walk On ..................................................................................182 Opening Line ..................................................................................183 Subsequent Lines ............................................................................185 First Trick ............................................................................................185 My Own Experience ........................................................................186 Shock Openings ..............................................................................187 Structure Of The Act ............................................................................188 Traditional ......................................................................................188 Alternative ......................................................................................189 Other Options ................................................................................191 The Pièce De Résistance ......................................................................192 Between Tricks ....................................................................................193 Applause............................................................................................194 Closing ..............................................................................................195 Encores ..............................................................................................197 My Own Act ......................................................................................197 Conclusion ........................................................................................199
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CHAPTER 11: DEALING WITH THE UNEXPECTED......................................200 Introduction ........................................................................................200 Nerves ..............................................................................................200 Dying ................................................................................................201 Top Five Deaths ..............................................................................201 Apportioning Blame ........................................................................204 Taking Action ..................................................................................205 Complaints Against You ......................................................................206 Types ............................................................................................206 Generalised ....................................................................................207 Heckling ............................................................................................208 Aggressive Heckle when the Act is Going Badly ................................208 Aggressive Heckle when the Act is Going Well ..................................210 Mild Heckle when the Act is Going Badly ..........................................211 Mild Heckle when the Act is Going Well ............................................211 Anecdotes ......................................................................................214 Tricks Going Wrong ............................................................................214 Difficult Assistants ................................................................................215 Other Unexpected Happenings ............................................................217 Walking Out ..................................................................................217 Medical Problems ............................................................................217 Feeling Sick ....................................................................................217 Non-English-speaking Audiences ......................................................217 Failure to Borrow Objects ................................................................218 Major Interruptions to the Act............................................................218 Assistants with Disabilities ................................................................219 Conclusion ........................................................................................219 CHAPTER 12: KEEPING FRESH ................................................................220 Introduction ......................................................................................220 Working On The Act: Existing Tricks ......................................................221 Topicality ........................................................................................221 Other Changes................................................................................222 Interference ....................................................................................224 Over-Improvement............................................................................225 Working On The Act: New Tricks..........................................................226 Barriers To Change..............................................................................229 No Time ........................................................................................230 Big Bucks........................................................................................231 Lack of Incentive ..............................................................................232 Fear ..............................................................................................233 Conclusion ........................................................................................236 CONTENTS 13
PART 5: PREPARATION ..............................................................237 CHAPTER 13: BEFORE GOING ON STAGE ..............................................238 Introduction ........................................................................................238 Booking Information ............................................................................238 Time Of Arrival ..................................................................................240 Sound ................................................................................................240 Testing the Equipment ......................................................................241 Type of Microphone ........................................................................242 Mike Stand ....................................................................................243 Music ............................................................................................244 Lighting ..............................................................................................245 Staging ..............................................................................................246 Smoke Alarms ....................................................................................248 Being Introduced ................................................................................249 Introducer ......................................................................................249 Introduction Wording ......................................................................251 The ‘M’ or the ‘C’ Word? ................................................................253 Taking You Off ................................................................................254 Time Of Performing ............................................................................254 Length Of Performance ........................................................................256 Dress ................................................................................................257 Eating And Drinking ............................................................................258 Conclusion ........................................................................................259 CHAPTER 14: THE PROFESSIONAL STAND-UP ..........................................261 Introduction ......................................................................................261 Number One Priority ..........................................................................261 Breaking In The Act ............................................................................262 Venues ..........................................................................................263 Money ..........................................................................................265 A Caveat ..........................................................................................267 Promotional Material ..........................................................................268 Business Cards ................................................................................268 Website ..........................................................................................268 Brochure ........................................................................................269 Testimonials ....................................................................................269 Photographs....................................................................................269 Film Footage ..................................................................................270 Newspaper Coverage......................................................................270 Summary ........................................................................................270
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Agents ..............................................................................................270 Keep Plugging ................................................................................271 Seeing You ....................................................................................272 Managers ..........................................................................................272 Fees ..................................................................................................274 Commission ....................................................................................274 Reducing Fees ................................................................................275 Contracts ........................................................................................275 Stand-Up Venues And Audiences ..........................................................276 Corporate Functions ........................................................................276 Cruise Ships....................................................................................277 Comedy Clubs ................................................................................278 Holiday Venues ..............................................................................279 Private Functions..............................................................................279 Conclusion ........................................................................................280 FINAL THOUGHTS..................................................................................281
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FOREWORD by Noel Britten Those who perform stand-up on a regular basis will know there are some fellow performers who seem to jinx you. My particular nemesis is a comedian called Kevin McCarthy; and Ian Keable always claims that I’m his personal ‘bête noire’. Certainly, whenever Ian and I worked together he seemed to have, “one of those nights”. On these occasions I was either compering or preceding him on the bill – Ian’s postshow analysis of the evening was that our styles were slightly similar and that I, by establishing myself first, was effectively sabotaging his performance.The fact that he was a magician, and I was a comedian with not a trick in sight, was continually overlooked. In 2005, at The Magic Circle Centenary, Ian appeared to have devised a plan to exact his revenge. He was co-organising a show devoted to great magicians of the past – his own area of expertise – and he booked me in to represent ‘Fred Culpitt’ and to perform a couple of routines I had never done before. This time he would be compering, and we would see, as he put it, how I liked having to follow him. It’s not for me to comment on the respective merits of our performances but suffice to say that Ian’s anticipated gloating was somewhat muted. I know there are many magicians who are self-delusional but I thought, given our history, Ian was taking it to a new level when he asked me to write the foreword to his book on how to be a stand-up. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings so I agreed to at least read it, and then later come up with an excuse why I couldn’t complete the task. Whenever we met Ian would pester me as to how I was getting along. Hints such as,“I’m very busy at the moment”; “I’m not sure if I’m the right person to do this”; and,“I’m struggling to find the right angle to approach it from,” were all studiously ignored by Ian. And then disaster struck: we both found ourselves booked on the same cruise ship. I was going to be trapped with Ian for three days with him going on and on about this foreword. It was after only one day of nagging that I cracked. “Look Ian,” I said, “I’ll be honest with you. I think the advice in your book is excellent, it’s a good, solid read and anybody aspiring to be a stand-up magician will gain a huge amount from it. If the exact same words had been written by any of the brilliant stand-ups on either side of the Atlantic who have contributed to its contents, I would have no hesitation in giving a glowing foreword. But the problem is that I’ve never actually seen you successfully apply your own theories.” “Fair enough,” said Ian (he can be reasonable), “I'll make a deal with you. Come and see my show tomorrow night. If, after you have watched me, you don’t think I can put into practice what I preach, then I won’t mention it again.” I didn’t hesitate: “You’ve got a deal.” Finally I had found a way to gracefully get out of writing the foreword. Or so I thought.
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FIRST THINGS FIRST “What good is sitting alone in your room...come to the cabaret.” Fred Ebb What Is Stand-Up? Billy McComb in The Professional Touch gives a pretty succinct definition, which is as good as summary as any: “A show where you are working on a flat floor, walking on pretty much the same level as the audience. They are sitting at tables and they are drinking. They are not sitting in seats facing the stage, prepared to be amused.” Clearly stand-up can be performed in a theatrical setting with a traditional stage and tiered seating. But you have to be prepared for your act to work in the least favourable conditions and consider anything else as a bonus. I’m sure many readers have performed close-up magic and are therefore familiar with the principal differences between close-up and stand-up: in particular the reduced number of spectators, the more intimate performing conditions and the smaller scale tricks. It’s worth emphasising two other key differences. The Magic Effect A never to be forgotten magical occurrence took place some years ago when I was doing David Williamson’s Torn and Restored Transposition whilst working close-up in a restaurant. At the climax, the ‘torn’ pieces of a chosen card appear to merge together in the spectator’s hands. On its completion the woman who had experienced the magical restoration had genuine tears in her eyes. She said: “You can't believe how happy you’ve made me.” Nobody, but nobody, has expressed anything even approaching such heartfelt words at the finish of one of my stand-up tricks; and I doubt if they ever will. The impact of a piece of magic on an audience is always going to be greater in a close-up setting than in stand-up. Part of the reason is that people believe magic done under their noses is much more difficult than magic done at a distance. Once they are a little removed from the performer, they automatically assume they are too far away to detect the solution. Their intrinsic interest level, which is extremely high when something is happening right in front of their eyes, diminishes exponentially the further they are from where the trick is taking place. Another aspect of the reduced impact of magic for the stand-up is that close-up magic is a far more personal and intimate experience. You could produce an identical effect in stand-up (e.g. a torn card is restored in the hand of the assistant): but then it becomes an encounter for many people rather than for an individual. He or she instinctively knows this and will react accordingly.
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Dead Time Take a situation common to both the close-up and the stand-up magician: the selection of a playing card. Those watching a close-up performer appreciate how the card is offered to be taken; something as simple as a neat pressure fan produces an admiring response. Once it is removed, all the participants are keen they are not excluded from checking its suit and value, whilst simultaneously making sure the magician can’t get a glimpse. When the card is returned the spectators wonder how much choice is permitted as to where it is replaced: can it go anywhere in the deck or is it restricted to the top? Afterwards they want to know if the magician is going to allow someone to shuffle the deck so the card is lost to their satisfaction. Put simply, this whole selection procedure has intrinsic appeal. In the majority of stand-up tricks the removal and retrieving of a card has little interest to anyone. Most of the audience are too distant to detect if anything untoward is going on, so why should it have any relevance to them? Even if the card is shown to them, they might well be too far away to see it properly. Furthermore, there is the probability that initially nobody is close enough to reach forward and take a card. The magician has to walk into the audience to have one chosen; as a result he may well go ‘off-mike’, so he can’t be heard; and also into an area where he can’t be seen by some people. Rather than being a time of inherent curiosity, the selection procedure is now potential dead time. An overdose of dead time is probably the commonest trait displayed by an inexperienced stand-up. As Rich Marotta says, in his excellent Stand-up Comedy & Magic video: “You can’t have any dead time in the act; you have to keep it moving, keep talking, tell a joke, do something.” Those who don’t realise this will find that what kept an audience’s attention gripped when they are performing close-up becomes tedious in stand-up. The Author Like many I first became interested in magic through close-up. I diligently read books on card tricks and became a little obsessed in becoming a sleight of hand expert. Sadly my aspirations exceeded my talents but I gradually began to better my magical skills and started doing the occasional paid close-up show. At this period, in the 1980s, I was living and working in London, where the comedy clubs were beginning to flourish. Having by this stage done a few stand-up spots at private parties, I did my first ‘open spot’ at a comedy club in South London. An ‘open spot’ is where you perform for free for five minutes hoping to get a paid twenty minute booking. I did enough to secure the booking and came back a few weeks later. The show went well. In retrospect this was probably just beginner’s luck; or maybe the novelty
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for the audience of seeing a magician in amongst a succession of comedians. Nevertheless it gave me a taste for comedy clubs and I threw myself into them with gusto. At that period it was comparatively simple to get work providing you had a half-decent act – so I had plenty of opportunities to practise my performing abilities and increase my material. In 1990, at the age of 34, I turned full-time. Apart from comedy clubs I was doing the occasional private party and Rotary-type function. In this same year I was offered a summer season in Jersey in the Channel Islands. I spent six months, working twice a night for seven days a week, in a mini-show with a comedian, a singer and a couple of backing musicians. It was a great learning experience but I felt my style was more suited to comedy clubs than this type of mainstream audience. I therefore continued to concentrate on comedy clubs, doing this for several years until I thought my act had the potential for corporate work. I managed to persuade an agent to come and see me and obtained my first booking from that source. Bizarrely I was paid in kind rather than cash: two first-class air fare tickets to Singapore and five nights in a hotel. In 1998 I gave up comedy clubs, primarily because I felt I was getting a little old for them (in mindset rather than necessarily in actual age.) To begin with I had insufficient corporate work to keep me completely solvent. I therefore did one or two cruises and have ventured into areas such as social clubs and holiday hotels. I continue to plough these other arenas from time to time in an attempt to supplement what now represents the vast majority of my income – the corporate market. And the reasons I still love stand-up today as much as when I first started? Here are just a few: ■ ■ ■ ■
The realisation it is indisputably you the audience like and applaud and not just your tricks. The recognition that through the laughs you are generating, you are as much an entertainer as a magician. The sense of achievement in holding, and retaining, the absorbed attention of a large number of people on your own. The satisfaction that all the time you’ve spent working on your persona, developing your routines and coming up with your lines and bits of business has finally paid off.
Some Definitions In using the term ‘stand-up’, I am going to take a leaf out of the comedians’ book and refer exclusively to talking – or patter – acts. I’m well aware there are some extremely successful magicians who perform silently to music: with manipulation, illusions, comedy pantomime or indeed a combination of all three. Some things I
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write may have relevance for those who perform without speaking. I hope they do – but, if so, it’s fortuitous not intentional. In writing this book I have had to make other decisions. The one I perhaps regret most is out of laziness I have decided to refer to magicians at all times as ‘he’, rather than varying the pronoun and using the occasional ‘she’. I apologise to any women magicians, but, at present, the reality is that male stand-ups do far outnumber female. And, as my sister-in-law pointed out, this will doubtless continue to be the case with the type of chauvinistic attitude displayed by magicians like myself in books like these! I will always refer to the area where the stand-up is performing as the ‘stage’. Often this ‘stage’ will just be a hotel floor or someone’s front living room or a corner of a bar. Sometimes it might be a platform and, occasionally, a true theatre stage. Finally when I use the word ‘assistant’ I mean somebody from the audience who is assisting the magician, but who is not in any way a stooge, plant or confederate. I am not referring to a ‘professional assistant’. As I am wholly writing about solo acts, I trust there will be no confusion. I have opted against the phrase ‘volunteers’ as in practice spectators helping magicians are very rarely true volunteers, they are more like conscripts. The Way Forward Only you can possibly know why you want to become a stand-up act but, whatever your reasons, you do need to put your love of magic into perspective. The phrase ‘I’m an entertainer, not a magician’ is one that particularly irks me, as I feel some performers use it as an excuse for getting away with poor magic. But when it comes to stand-up it’s true that amusement does have equal billing with amazement. If your great desire is to blow away fellow magicians with your magical creativity and skills, then stand-up is probably the wrong arena to attempt it. Stand-up is definitely for the real world and rarely fits comfortably into the artificial environment of the magic convention. What I can promise you is that if you never want to be jaded by your magic, then stand-up is for you. I have heard several close-up magicians inform me that they are sometimes uninspired by their work: there are just insufficient challenges to keep them motivated. To a certain extent, for someone who is good at it, close-up in most working situations is relatively undemanding. With stand-up it never becomes too easy. From trying to find better tricks, to getting more laughs, to increasing the length and quality of your act, to developing your character, to dealing with hecklers, to playing to bigger audiences, to keeping your act fresh and up to date, you will be kept constantly busy. I wanted to end this chapter on a really upbeat note so as to send you forward into the remainder of this book with energy and enthusiasm. I thought about telling you
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of the moment when I first had people standing up at the back of the room because they were so keen to see what was happening on stage; or when somebody told me that they had tears pouring down their face because they were laughing so much; or the occasion I was happy to interrupt my holiday and drive 600 miles just so I could try out a new trick. But maybe I should leave you to find your own memories. Welcome to the world of stand-up.
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