TIPS for the Teacher Magician

TIP 1. Practice in front of a mirror and also teach your students to practice in front of a mirror. This allows you to see what the audience will see when you actually perform the trick.  Hint: Watch your angles. The mirror will show you ONLY the audience’s view of those who directly face you.  Think about the audience members who are on the sides.

TIP 2. Never perform a trick before you are very comfortable with the routine. Practice. Practice. Practice.

TIP 3.  Never allow your children to perform in front of their peers until they are ready.

TIP 4. Even if you perform the trick regularly, do a quick rehearsal prior to performing.

TIP 5. Rehearse a funny line to say when you make a mistake.  Here are my favorites:

·        “I am only pretending to be a magician.”

·        “The magic store said there was 100% money back guarantee if the trick didn’t work.”

·        “Hmm… The magic store didn’t say I had to practice before performing.”

·        “Well…. the magic book did say I needed to practice the trick before performing.”

·        “I don’t understand. It worked when I did it at home.”

TIP 6. Don’t teach ALL of the tricks to the children. Reserve some for ONLY you. The master magician must keep some secrets.

TIP 7. Teach the children to NEVER reveal the secret behind the trick.  When asked, “How did you do that?” have the child respond, “With great skill and I hope you enjoyed it.” Have the child role play this scenario several times so they know exactly how to respond.

TIP 8. Always avoid repeating a trick to the same audience. Many magic tricks work because of the element of surprise. If the audience knows what will happen next, they will more likely be able to figure out the trick.  A few tricks are designed to be repeated, but most have the maximum magical effect ONLY the first time they are performed. 

TIP 9. While you want to be a funny magician, avoid embarrassing an audience member. The audience should be your friend. Be kind to them. Teach your children to laugh WITH the volunteer and not laugh AT the volunteer. It should be done in good fun. Set the tone to be polite and respectful.  At the end of the trick, sincerely thank each volunteer. 

TIP 10. Enhance your ESP skills. E=Energy in the performance. S=Smile during the performance. P= Personality should be appealing. Energy. Smile. Personality.

Common Magic Terms

Gimmick:  A specially designed prop that is unknown to the audience that allows the magician to produce the magical effect.  Be sure to keep the gimmick hidden at all times.

Impromptu magic: Magic that does not require advance preparation. You should always have magic you can perform at a moment’s notice. You will be surprised how quickly word travels. On the spot, your principal may ask you to perform a trick for the faculty meeting. Money and rubber bands are easy to carry and can be used to perform tricks anytime, anywhere.

Magician’s force: This is when the volunteer appears to make free choice, but the magician already knows ahead of time the volunteer’s “free choice.” Be sure to practice the exact wording so that YOU guide your volunteer’s choice.

Misdirection: This is a deliberate distraction initiated by the magician to get the audience to look away and not notice secret maneuvers.  This can be done with pointing your finger or other body gestures to guide the audience to look where YOU want them to look instead of looking where they might see the secret move.  Also, YOU look where you want the audience to look. The audience will usually follow your guidance and look where you are looking. You can also do this with what you say. Usually a one liner joke will give you enough time to make a secret move. Give eye contact as you talk so they will look at your eyes instead of your hands.

Palm: Concealing an item in the palm of your hand, yet making it appear to be an empty hand. There are many small items that can be held in the hand unnoticed, but be sure to watch your angles. Practice in front of a mirror to see the audience’s view.

Patter: The storyline magicians use that goes along with trick. Be creative and make the patter fit your own style.  Humor is always good. It is not enough to ONLY perform the trick well. You should also entertain with what you say.

Self-working magic: Tricks that have special gimmicks that usually requires very little skill to perform.  For children it is important to start off with easy self-working tricks before using sleights.

Sleight-of-hand (sleights): Usually a quick secret move of the fingers that misdirects the audience so you can produce an amazing effect.  Always practice the maneuver WITHOUT the sleight first so you will know how it should normally appear and then use the sleight-of-hand to try and produce the same appearance.