Nowadays, most magicians perform at weddings, private parties and corporate events with close up magic – that is magic performed to small groups at a time. No stage, no special lights, no mic. And it’s great. It can really help break the ice for guests that don’t know each other and create a genuine buzz before the alcohol has kicked in.

The downside is, that as having magicians becomes more popular then more ‘magicians’ jump on the bandwagon. All you need is a couple of tricks, a quick website and put an ad on Google Adwords or a few internet directories and you’re away. Anyone can get at least a few bookings.

So how can you separate the wheat from the chaff? Here are a few things to look out for -

1) Price. If the magician is charging a very low fee then chances are he is new. Ignore the fact that he claims to have lots of corporate clients. If he is charging a good fee then chances are that he has self worth and belief in what he is doing.

2) Video. Make sure you can see a video of what the magician is like. This is vital. Lots of magicians put together videos that are heavily edited so you can just see a few card moves – this is because unfortunately, many magicians are socially inept and are bad at actually engaging and entertaining. Sure, there tricks might be fine, but it’s a bit like having comedian like Peter Kay or someone you know saying the same jokes. It’s all in the delivery.

3) Recommendations. Have a look for some recommendations or Google the persons name. If a magician has been performing for a while then inevitable his/her name should be all over the place. I would be very wary of any magician who’s name only comes up for his website.

4)Pictures. Have a look to see if the magician has a few picture of him performing. It’s all very well to say they can entertain – a picture is worth a thousand words. Also, make sure the magician is actually in some of the photos – some unscrupulous magicians just pinch photos off other sites.

5) Response. Look at the professionalism and speed of the response. If a magician isn’t used to getting lots of enquires about his/her services then they are usually slow and bad about sending out a detailed and professional response.

Even the above can not guarantee you will choose the right person. Out of them all I would say the video is the most important. If you can get an idea of the performers personality (and tricks) then this is your best bet.

Usually a magician is seen mixing and mingling amongst groups. However, an excellent way to use your magician to the best advantage for everyone is setting up a separate room and inviting small groups in at a time. This way everyone gets to see the show in it’s best possible form – no interruptions at the wrong time (ie a waiter coming over at the vital moment), full focus and it just feels a bit more special to go and see a show rather than a show coming to you.

Alan Hudson – Professional Close Up Magician in London

If you are around, haven’t booked anything else for those evenings and have a spare fiver, here is the link

http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/london-is-funny-presents?day=16-08-2010

There are loads of magic shows and even a special talk from Paul Wilson (The Real Hustle). Magicians are performing their shows daily
so there’s lots of choice, and like at the Edinburgh Festival, you can even see several shows in a day.

I’m in the grand Gala show on 11th July so this should be a lot of fun.

Most people ask for a magician wandering around showing tricks to small groups because that is what they have seen at another party/wedding/corporate event etc. Most people want what they know. However, if more magicians start doing the Secret Room idea, this is what people will start asking for. Which will make life better for us all.

I’m sure most of you realise the benefits of the Secret Room already, but if not here are just a few

* It gives you more credibility – people feel they have just seen a top show by a top magician, rather than just been shown some tricks by a bloke!
* People see the magic without interruptions from other guests, waiters etc and so therefore get a much better experience
* You can perform better magic as you control the environment (ie where people are sat etc) – you’re not restricted to the typical close up tricks
* Everyone at the party gets to see you (very difficult to make sure when doing walkaround) and for the right amount of time

At these parties more people ask for my business card than any other event I’ve ever done in my life. And I know why!

Most magicians don’t have prices on their websites for a few reasons – 1) They want people to make contact first so they can ‘sell’ their wares to them over email or telephone and 2) It’s almost impossible to put a price list up because almost every single event is different.

For instance, a Saturday evening is likely to have a higher cost than a Monday afternoon. The magician in question may already have one job nearby that day and doubling up is always good. A peak date in December will be higher than one in January. Or maybe the magician will charge more or less depending on the location and whether or not he actually wants to come along or not. I live in London and of course it’s always better for me to perform locally (it’s great just jumping on a tube to go to a job) – but quite often someone who has seen me before might want me to go to a wedding in Oxford for instance. I’d be stupid to turn that down or out price myself – performing usually leads to other people booking me for other events.

So, what is the cost of a close up magician? Well, most good professional magicians tend charge from around £350 – £650 for close up magic, more for cabaret (there are a couple that charge a lot more than this – for instance TV magicians, but they are the exception). You can get cheaper magicians, but usually they are either semi professionals (some of whom are good I have to say) or children’s entertainers who know a few tricks. Someone once said to me that you can always tell a kids entertainer when they are doing adult shows – it just shows in their mannerisms, and often in their attire! I also believe this to be true.

Here’s a tip, if you want the cheapest possible price then book the day before. If a magician isn’t doing anything the following evening then he may come along for a hugely reduced price (I do this myself on the odd occasion). Of course, the only problem is that most of the better ones will be booked already and you are left with a bit of a gamble.

Close up Magician London

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Here are a couple of screen shots –

Let me know if you’re coming

Magician London

I didn’t win. But the standard was so high with straight stand ups, character acts and music acts (I was the only magician) that I imagine that the judges had a tough choice placing the top 3 or 4 acts (apart from the winner, Abandoman – quite a clear winner in most peoples opinion).

Previous finalists include Russell Brand, Catherine Tate, Harry Hill, Tim Vine, Eddie Izzard, Simon Amstell and Daniel Kitson – and non of them won either! Losing is the new winning.

This is the only major competition I’ve entered in recent times (I was once the Long Riston Tennis Boys Champion in 1988) but I enjoyed the whole experience and might do another in the future. Watch this space.

Just for posterity – here is a full list of competitors ABANDOMAN / ALAN HUDSON / ALYSSIA KYRIA (ARIADNE THE GREEK WAG) / ANDREW RYAN / DAVE GIBSON / FRISKY & MANNISH / GIACINTO PALMIERI / INEL TOMLINSON / JO SELBY (TATIANA) / LUKE BENSON / LUKE GRAVES / NATHANIEL METCALF / RICHARD RYCROFT / SIR HAROLD HACKNEY (THE ALTERNATIVE MAYOR OF LONDON) / VAL LEE

From left to right – Alex Crow, Urban Magik, Marc Spelmann, Noel Qualtier, Sav, Ben ‘Cardstar’ Earl and me.

“Hi Alan, everyone including myself and Rob thought you was fabulous. Am still checking my ring now to make sure it is mine ha ha. We didn’t mention to anyone that you were coming so it was a nice touch to the night. I would like to take this opportunity to say a big big thank you for being so entertaining and professional on the night…am so pleased we asked you to join us on this special occasion. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend you in the future and will do so. Many thanks” Jackie, 50th Birthday Party, Portrait House, Hoylake, Liverpool

and

“Was a fantastic event and everyone was raving about you – you certainly made a great finish to our evening (especially getting Tom to have a bag on his head!) Im collating photos as we speak and I will of course forward these to you! I will be producing a news letter to go out to our attendees early next week and I will ensure that your details are included. Thanks again for a wonderful show” Paula Cooper, Airsys – Warwick Conference Centre

I’m very passionate about doing original material that is unique to me – so thought I’d post this link to expose these ‘coincidences’ http://www.twinsmagicians.com/

However, I’ve just come back from a great event from Variety Club of Great Britain. To coincide with 9/11 (today) a load of celebs and other entertainers went to the BGC in London and supported a whole host of charities from the Trade floor. Lots of shouting, energy and sweating – and that was just me.

Jonathan Ross, Alex Ferguson, Donal Macintyre, Anneka Rice, Carol Vorderman, Kate Adie, Natalie Cassidy, some people from The Apprentice and a whole host of other people I didn’t know were there. It was great fun – and on  Friday morning so it didn’t interfere with anything else. They raised around £90,000 last year and hope to do better this year.

I’ll try and get some pics up soon.

I would like to thank you for your performance on Saturday night; it was one of the highlights of the whole day and certainly gave everyone something to talk about.

However it did take some people 20 minutes to finish inspecting the tables to find out what happened to that bottle!!

So once again a big thank from myself and Alison for adding a very special and memorable 2 hours to our day.

Many thanks

Marc and Alison Hatfield

However, I have just filmed an Internet only advert for a large company – so as soon as that comes available, you’ll be the first to know.

The 2nd one was in Bedford for Marc and Allison – again, really good fun performing at the tables, between courses of the Wedding Breakfast (my personal favourite time to perform).

If only all jobs could be like this

July looks like a busy month – I’m in Chester, Gloucester and Birmingham this week and then back up north next week with Skipton, Ilkley and Castleford. I’ll try to remember to report back on interesting happenings at the events.

I would like to thank you for your performance on Saturday night; it was one of the highlights of the whole day and certainly gave everyone something to talk about.

However it did take some people 20 minutes to finish inspecting the tables to find out what happened to that bottle!!

So once again a big thank from myself and Alison for adding a very special and memorable 2 hours to our day.

Many thanks

Marc and Alison Hatfield

“Hi Alan, I have received a few comments for your performance which I thought I would pass on.

‘I think it’s fair to say that Alan was absolutely amazing, particularly
when he passed an empty bottle through our table. I do my own version of
making a pint of lager disappear…’ Ben Leach

‘Karen, I would agree that Alan was excellent. Particularly the card
tricks. If his website advises how to saw your colleagues in half I would
use it’. James Leck

‘ The magician was fantastic, I really liked the idea of him coming to the
tables and his patter with his clients was very comical, very good. I wish I
had a forthcoming event that I could book him for’  Jo Bennett

From my point of view Alan, any body who has mentioned the party has
commented on the magician as been excellent, amazing and how fantastic. We
had a great night and having something ‘different’ definitely added to it.

Kind regards, Karen Pooler, HFC Bank, Birmingham (added December 2008)

As, dear reader, I’m sure you’ve already seen on the front page of my site in the new News section, I’ll be appearing at the Buzz Comedy Club on 23rd October.

But the real reason for this post is to draw your attention to this

Live Naked idiots – all friends of mine and will be appearing on 24th + 26th October, Haworth Arms.

It made me laugh anyway….