Developing a magic routine for a large hall or stage is not easy. The reason is that most magic tricks, especially for beginning magicians, are designed for small intimate gatherings because the tricks themselves are small and can't be seen from far away. This makes doing a routine for a large hall or stage a little more tricky. But it can be done. Here are some tips in putting together a good half hour routine for a large hall or stage.
You can actually start this routine off the same way you would for a small gathering with the hanky turned into a cane trick. The only difference is, when you bring the hanky out on stage it is going to have to be a lot bigger and much more colorful than the one you would use for a small gathering. This way, everyone can easily see it, even those in the back of the room or theater. After you produce the cane, take your magicians top hat off and place it on a table that is already set up. Show everyone in the audience that the hat is empty. You have to make sure that you move the hat around from left to right, slowly, so that everybody can see it is empty. Then, place it on the table, wave the cane over it and begin pulling things out of it. You must make sure that each item you pull out of the hat is large enough for everybody to see. When doing this, don't stand at the side of the hat. Stand in back of the hat and slightly to one side so that everybody can see the items coming out and your body isn't blocking the background. If you do this it may be difficult for people to see the items, especially if you are wearing a black tuxedo.
The remainder of the tricks need to all be large. This is where you're going to have to bite the bullet and spend some money. Card tricks are not going to cut it in a gathering like this. You're going to have to spring for things like the vanishing box, where you place your assistant in the box and make her disappear and then bring her back. Yes, you are going to need an assistant for almost all these tricks. Make sure she is dressed nicely so that the guys in the audience will enjoy looking at her. This will add to the overall enjoyment of your performance.
If you're having problems finding large magic tricks, there are a number of places on the Internet where you can get these. Some of the more common ones that are great for stage are the Jumbo Rabbit or Production Die Box, The Super Sword Through The Neck (sells for about $800), The Fairy Tale Rabbit House (a very elaborate and beautiful trick), The Houdini Shackle Escape (a real bargain at $30) and The Needle Through Arm Illusion.
As with the small gathering, you want to keep your tricks flowing and make sure that everything is set up on stage ahead of time. It's okay to have to wheel something center stage from the back or the sides but you don't want to be dragging things onto the stage from off stage. Your audience will start to get restless. Speed is very important. You don't want them thinking about the last trick, but always concentrating on the next one.
Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Magic
