Walk about magic to delight and impress time after time

Close Up Walk About Magician Andy Field

Here's a question I get asked surprisingly often regarding walk around magic.

"How many tricks should I learn before I start performing?

My answer usually disappoints people. The number doesn't really matter.

I've seen magicians perform fifty tricks badly.

I've also watched performers entertain a room for two hours using half a dozen routines.

The difference wasn't the tricks. It was the act.

That might sound obvious, but it's amazing how many magicians spend years collecting magic instead of building a performance.

Every week there's another download.

Another gimmick.

Another impossible looking card trick promising to "destroy audiences."

Before long you've got enough props to open your own magic shop, but no idea how they fit together.

A walk around act isn't a random collection of tricks.

It's a conversation. It's theatre without a stage.

Most importantly, it's about making people feel like they're part of something special.

That's what audiences remember.

Stop Collecting Tricks and Start Building an Experience

When I first started performing, I was exactly like everyone else.

If a new trick appeared in a magic catalogue, I wanted it.

If another magician recommended something, I bought it.

My drawers were full of packet tricks I'd performed twice.

Some were brilliant.

Others...

Let's just say there's a reason they've stayed in the drawer for the last fifteen years.

Eventually I realised something.

Nobody at a wedding has ever asked,

"Was that the latest release from Blackpool?"

They don't care.

Guests aren't interested in whether the trick won Trick of the Year.

They care about whether you made them laugh.

Whether you amazed them.

Whether you gave them a story they'll still be talking about on the drive home.

That changes everything.

Your Personality Before Your Walk Around Magic

One mistake I see beginner magicians make is trying to perform like somebody else.

Someone copies the mysterious magician.

Someone else copies the loud comedy performer.

Another tries to sound exactly like their favourite YouTube magician.

The problem?

The audience can spot it.

People aren't meeting your hero.

They're meeting you.

I've always believed your personality should lead the performance.

The magic simply supports it.

If you're naturally funny, be funny.

If you're calm and relaxed, don't suddenly become theatrical.

If you're slightly sarcastic, let that come through.

Trying to be someone else is exhausting.

Being yourself is much easier.

Besides, nobody can copy you better than you.

Choose Tricks That Fit Walk Around Magic

This sounds obvious, yet it's ignored surprisingly often.

A trick might be amazing.

That doesn't automatically make it suitable for walk around magic.

Ask yourself a few simple questions.

Can I perform it surrounded?

Does it reset quickly?

Can people understand what's happening within a few seconds?

Will it work in a noisy wedding reception?

Can I carry it comfortably all day?

If the answer to several of those questions is no...

Leave it at home.

Walk around magic isn't performed under perfect conditions.

You'll be working in crowded rooms.

Someone will spill a drink.

Someone else will interrupt halfway through.

Another guest will arrive halfway into the routine and ask,

"What did I miss?"

Your material needs to survive real life.

Think Like a Guest, Not a Magician

A magician with a deck of cards during a close up performance

Magicians often judge tricks differently from audiences.

We admire clever methods.

We appreciate difficult sleight of hand.

Guests don't.

They only see one thing.

Entertainment.

I've watched magicians perform a technically perfect sleight.

Nobody reacted.

Thirty seconds later they bent someone's borrowed £20 note and restored it.

The room exploded.

Guess which trick the guests talked about afterwards?

Exactly.

Don't choose tricks because they're difficult.

Choose them because people love them.

There's a huge difference.

Every Routine Needs a Beginning, Middle and End

One of the biggest improvements you can make is giving every routine structure.

Think of it like telling a joke.

You don't simply blurt out the punchline.

You build towards it.

Magic works exactly the same way.

First you create curiosity.

Then you build suspense.

Finally you deliver the impossible moment.

Without that structure, tricks can feel flat.

Even brilliant magic loses impact if the audience doesn't know where the journey is heading.

Make the Spectator the Hero

Here's one of the biggest secrets I've learned after years of performing weddings and corporate events.

The audience doesn't want to watch you being clever.

They want to feel amazing themselves.

Whenever possible, let the magic happen in their hands.

Use borrowed objects.

Allow them to make decisions.

Give them the impossible moment.

If a signed card appears in my pocket, that's interesting.

If it appears inside the spectator's own wallet...

Now we're talking.

The more personal the magic feels, the stronger the memory becomes.

Laughter Is Your Secret Weapon

People often ask whether comedy makes the magic weaker.

I'd argue exactly the opposite.

Humour relaxes people.

Once they're laughing, they stop trying to solve every tiny detail.

Instead, they're enjoying themselves.

That's exactly where impossible moments become even stronger.

Besides, life's too short to take yourself too seriously.

I've spent years deliberately telling dreadful dad jokes.

People groan.

They roll their eyes.

Occasionally someone threatens to confiscate my deck of cards.

Perfect.

They're engaged.

One of my favourites is:

"I used to be addicted to the hokey cokey...

...but I turned myself around."

If that made you groan, congratulations.

You're exactly the audience I was hoping for.

Build Around Moments, Not Tricks

This might be the most important advice in the entire article.

People don't remember tricks.

They remember moments.

They remember laughing so hard they nearly dropped their drink.

They remember the impossible prediction that happened in their own hands.

They remember the magician who treated them like an old friend rather than the next customer in a queue.

That's what you're trying to build.

Not a collection of clever methods.

A collection of unforgettable moments.

And that's where a professional walk around magic act really begins.

HIRE ANDY FIELD IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS

MAGICIAN BRISTOL  MAGICIAN GLOUCESTER  MAGICIAN OXFORD MAGICIAN SWINDON

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