So, I'm not extremely new as I've been purchasing from Theory11 for a long time now. I'm just new to the forums. I e been poking around for a while but I haven't really posted much. A quick intro:
My name is Dale (obviously) and I'm from Delaware, USA. I'm only 25 and fairly new to magic. I have been doing card flourishes for a long time, since I was about 12, as I've always enjoyed a good game of poker. I tend to be the designated dealer because people like watching me flourish the shuffles and dealing.
I've been dabbling in just about every form of magic for the past two years or so, but I'm starting to settle into just card and coin magic. While I'm not a fan of gimmicks, I do own my fair share. I have more decks than I can count, and I'm in the process of building a display for them. Can't wait for my Artisans.
Onto the other reason I created this post: my first performance. I've been practicing on strangers in the mall and on the streets for the past 5 or 6 months. I wouldn't say I'm great, but I'm getting better. As Eric Jones told me, "Don't strive for perfection... Strive for believability." So that's what I'm trying to do.
I work for the railroad and I am on the train for several hours per day for my commute. This morning my train had some issues and we were stranded for about 2 hours. After the first hour many people started getting antsy and very impatient, so I figured I might as well try to get things settled a bit. I pulled out a deck if cards and shoved a few quarters in my pocket and started going up and down the aisle just entertaining a few people at a time. I had a blast, got some fantastic practice with a crowd and got some applause at the end! I was super excited. Lucky for me, since the people were separated into groups with the seats, I was able to repeat various tricks, since I don't have an hour worth if material yet.
I certainly don't feel like I'm ready for a party yet, but it definitely boosted my confidence. Sorry for the long, convoluted post, but I was just really excited and wanted to share this.
My name is Dale (obviously) and I'm from Delaware, USA. I'm only 25 and fairly new to magic. I have been doing card flourishes for a long time, since I was about 12, as I've always enjoyed a good game of poker. I tend to be the designated dealer because people like watching me flourish the shuffles and dealing.
I've been dabbling in just about every form of magic for the past two years or so, but I'm starting to settle into just card and coin magic. While I'm not a fan of gimmicks, I do own my fair share. I have more decks than I can count, and I'm in the process of building a display for them. Can't wait for my Artisans.
Onto the other reason I created this post: my first performance. I've been practicing on strangers in the mall and on the streets for the past 5 or 6 months. I wouldn't say I'm great, but I'm getting better. As Eric Jones told me, "Don't strive for perfection... Strive for believability." So that's what I'm trying to do.
I work for the railroad and I am on the train for several hours per day for my commute. This morning my train had some issues and we were stranded for about 2 hours. After the first hour many people started getting antsy and very impatient, so I figured I might as well try to get things settled a bit. I pulled out a deck if cards and shoved a few quarters in my pocket and started going up and down the aisle just entertaining a few people at a time. I had a blast, got some fantastic practice with a crowd and got some applause at the end! I was super excited. Lucky for me, since the people were separated into groups with the seats, I was able to repeat various tricks, since I don't have an hour worth if material yet.
I certainly don't feel like I'm ready for a party yet, but it definitely boosted my confidence. Sorry for the long, convoluted post, but I was just really excited and wanted to share this.
I don't think anytime in the near future would I be performing like that, but as long as you have your stuff perfected, then that sounds like an awesome way to really get down your performance techniques and patter with real people. I hope that when I have some routines down, that I can be as brave as you and just approach random people who aren't expecting to see magic. I remember watching the David Blaine specials on TV, and he'd just ask them all creepily "Hey...can I show you something?" and then give them his 'Blaine Stare' at them, and people would just run away, like "I don't even want to know what that guy wanted to show me!" lol Keep up it up, and you'll build up your confidence really quick! I too wish I could get to that point where I can approach people randomly, and not really have my nerves hold me back. You're braver than most Dale, and I hope to hear from you in the future about other performances that you've done. Once again, welcome to theory11