The Real Tricks of the Trade (Hint: They’re Not on Stage)

Tips from a pro never ends up quite as sexy as it sounds. It reeks of excitement and glamour (I mean, that’s why we all want to be professional magicians, right?), but in reality, it’s the boring stuff that makes a pro, not the excitement.

It’s not about buying the latest and greatest prop. The next greatest thing will not make your career. It’s about learning methods for packing your props so that you have everything you need at your gig. This could be like Billy McComb packing everything in ziplock bags for each effect and writing a checklist upon it, or like me packing everything in mug storage containers (Thanks Carissa Hendrix) and having excessive checklist templets on my Apple Reminders app. Packing is so exciting.

It’s not about partying every night after the show like a rock star and hanging out with your fans. It’s about being comfortable with being alone, as most of the time after a show, you are either taking yourself out to dinner or spending the evening alone in your hotel room, going over the show you just did to make it better, or figuring out what challenges will come tomorrow.

For some, you’re not alone and you’re performing with a partner and a significant other day in and day out. It’s about learning how communicate and work with them (an ongoing process that never ends) because no matter what goes wrong, you are not allowed to kill them.

It’s not about the fabulous Siegfried and Roy house that you are going to buy with all your appearance fees. It’s about setting a percentage of every paycheck aside (I do 20%), because you never know when you will have to survive 2001, 2008, 2020, or even just a dry spell. Not every year is going to be a good year, and the pros that make it are the ones who have planned to ride out the storm.

Real advice from pros is about the details, it’s about the mundane. It’s about selling the illusion of the fabulous professional magician, while making sure your silks are ironed and you have a back up show that packs in your hand luggage. All of these little things that must get done, that allow you that joy to be onstage showing off your art to the world.