Thursday, June 16 of 2011
For the next five days, I (Fritz “with a Z” Alkemade) will be a guest magician at Illusions. Within the following entries I’ll share my experience with you working as a magician at a magic bar.
Tell me Fritz, why would you work at a magic bar? I’m so glad you asked! In Amsterdam, that’s where my house is, there are almost no places where people come in to see magic. At Illusions they WANT to see magic! It is the best scenario for any magician. Now there are couple of reasons to do bar magic. Because of the many shows you perform a night (and thus the different people that sit down and see your show) you can hone your social, improvisation and people skills. You can break in new material or you could polish your act. For me, it is meeting new people, getting even more fluent in English, and the unlikely things that happen during the show. No matter what your reason might be, you will always learn and become a better performer doing bar magc.
As I was talking with manager Matt in front of the bar, a girl came in. “My friend has never been here and we would like to see magic.” So I put on different clothes, got behind the bar, and dazzled her friends. Yes, I popped that girl’s magic cherry. No worries, she enjoyed just as much as I did.
As card magic is my specialty I try to mix my show up with other objects such as coins, markers, paper, earplugs, and balloons. The more you do more bar magic, the more you come to the conclusion it’s not about the magic but about the experience you create with your audience through astonishment.
Well Fritz do you have an interesting story to share? Yes, I have. After my third set, this guy came to me and asked me if he was able to do magic as well. I said “Sure!” and asked him to name any card. He said the Seven of Clubs. I asked him to cut to Seven of Clubs. Boom! He cut to Seven of Clubs! A miracle! He couldn’t believe it (neither could I), asked me what I wanted to drink, and told his mates about the wonder that just occurred. Now he has a great experience to share with his friends.
Well Fritz do you have an interesting story to share? Yes, I have. After my third set, this guy came to me and asked me if he was able to do magic as well. I said “Sure!” and asked him to name any card. He said the Seven of Clubs. I asked him to cut to Seven of Clubs. Boom! He cut to Seven of Clubs! A miracle! He couldn’t believe it (neither could I), asked me what I wanted to drink, and told his mates about the wonder that just occurred. Now he has a great experience to share with his friends.
Here’s another miracle that happened. I do a three minute routine with a single coin, or as the magi liked to call it “a coin flurry.” Close to end of the routine, the coin magically appears under somebody’s watch. I did this to a girl. She looked at her watch, pushed it forward and turned her wrist over. Somehow the coin kept stuck to her skin. As I asked her again to look at her watch, in her mind the coin just appeared on her wrist. She gasped and shouted “Oh my Fritz”. After she tipped me, she dropped her phone number in the tipping hat. I think she enjoyed that trick and might be wondering what other things I can do without touching her.
Even though people come to drink and see magic, do not underestimate it. It is really hard work and very different from table hopping. Every performance I have to give 110%, get my energy high and make sure that the audience is entertained for almost half an hour. For me the reward, besides the tips and drinks are being able to meet new friends and making sure that’ll come back again.
Fritz with a Z is a professional magician, residing in the capital of The Netherlands, Amsterdam. He has performed all over the world for lay audiences as well magicians. His specialty is close up magic and you can find him on www.fritzmagic.nl
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