Mario Morris Street Performer
The Middle of the Show! The middle of my show is what begins to tie my show together. Over the years I have played with many ideas – some have worked better than others. The one thing that works best overall is when it compliments my opener and finale. The middle of the show is a vital part of the show because if the transition is not thought through – this can create reasons for people to leave either at the beginning of phase or at the end. For example, if the opening of your middle effect does not make a smooth transition from the opener confusion can be the result. Your audience will not understand what is going on and where you want to take them. At this stage, you are still building a relationship with your audience and the last thing you want is distrust or creating discomfort. If you do, you may find audience members walking. Overlapping your material One way to help make a smooth transition from the beginning of your show to the middle is what I call Overlapping. Overlapping is a lot easier to achieve than you first thought. In short, it is the process of setting up the next effect whilst performing a current effect. For example, during your opener or your crowd build, your next effect may be an ambitious card routine. So you simply hand a pack of cards to an audience member and instruct them to put them in their pocket until you ask for them. Another example for a Jugglers maybe to hand out clubs to different audience members to hold on to them until you give them further, simpler instructions. Perhaps your next effect is going to be the Miser’s Dream – the same thing applies but you can get an audience member or perhaps a child to stand in your show holding the bucket. These are just examples. The point here is to build expectation and anticipation about the next effect. The same principle and in many ways is more vital for your finale. Either way, think through the transition of your shows – even your indoor show. A lot of Magicians don’t and get away with it. This to my mind is negative. You don’t want to be just getting away with anything -particularly your show. You want a successful transition that makes sense to your audience and they will enjoy your show and love you for it.