Overcoming Performance fear for new magicians

It is perfectly normal to be nervous about performing in front of an audience. But remember your brain only does what it is told to do. If you "think" that you're nervous or if you tell yourself you might make a technical mistake, forget your patter, or if you allow your conscience mind to worry that the audience might not appreciate your magic, guess what is going to happen?

You will be even more nervous, you will forget your patter and start to stammer and then you will make a clumsy mistake with that one really important move! So banish those thoughts right now! Don't let your "inner voice" convince you that you are going to have a bad time!

As you approach the last five minutes before you perform, repeat your this over and over in your mind so that it becomes your dominating thought:

I am well prepared for this show!
The audience are going to smile and love my show, the magic will be just amazing for them!
I am going to enjoy this too, the applause will be fantastic!

Say it slowly at first, then build to an energetic chant in your head. You can do it! Focusing on the positive, will help you drown out any doubts or concerns as you approach the audience.

This really does work and has helped me overcome stage freight many times! However, make sure that you ARE well prepared and that your magic is well rehearsed and the best magic that you could possibly perform for this group.

Magic can be such a drag!

Some magicians have particularly scary pictures on their websites. You wouldn't even want them in the same street as your children let alone entertaining them in your house. I was just considering the absolute lack of half decent looking female magicians (I think the UK has three - email me for the list!) when I came across a very frightening picture of a female magician.

Well I thought I had until I read the whole article!

"Though illusion is a mainstay in drag performance, there are few who have so mastered its principles that they leave their audiences boggled by their visual hoodwinks. A drag magician, on the other hand – the hand that you thought was holding the card -, can go bust sizes beyond her cohorts when it comes to veils of illusion......" read the rest of this story

Max Maven in the UK

I notice on this weeks MagicWeek (excellent site by Duncan Trillo for the UK magic community) that Max Maven will be lecturing at this years South Tyneside magic convention. I travelled over to Ireland to listen Max lecture a few years ago and it was well worth the trip. If you can possibly make it then don't hesitate to get there!

The convention is running for 3 days March 16th - 18th 2007.