What I’m about to tell you is wrong. Absolutely wrong. It goes against every thing you’ve learned about performing. It makes absolutely no sense. It’s the worst advice anyone could ever give you. That having been said, allow me to continue.
Eliminate all audience volunteers from your routines.
I told you it was bad advice. Bringing volunteers on stage from the audience and doing magic for them is one of the cornerstones of magical tradition. From a booking standpoint, advertising your show as an interactive experience is one of the strongest things you can do. In fact, it’s hard to name a good routine on the market today that does NOT require a volunteer.
Despite all this, I’ve recently begun to question the idea of using volunteers. I am currently considering eliminating as many volunteers from my show as possible, and I am convinced that my act will be stronger for it. I should admit upfront that this is not an idea I have put into practice. The day that I wrote this paragraph I did a show in which I used seven volunteers. This essay is pure conjecture so please treat it as such.
Before I start leading you astray, let’s examine some of the reasons for using a spectator in your act. First, it’s expected. What would a magic show be without bringing someone on stage? Second, you can’t do a number of effects without a spectator. How can you find a card if nobody picks it? Third, interacting with audience members create a moment of spontaneity and play. Fourth, building from number three, volunteers create openings for situational comedy (often at the volunteer’s expense, unfortunately). Fifth, an audience will often identify with one of their own on stage and cheer them on. This adds emotional involvement to your performance. Sixth – and I think this is the most powerful – a volunteer on stage can act as a witness to a magical effect. If you can get a wide-eyed look of astonishment from your volunteer, your audience will remember it. These moments can be truly magical.
So why am I thinking of getting rid of my volunteers? Let me discuss a number of drawbacks to using volunteers that are rarely mentioned in the literature but should be addressed when writing your show.
Using volunteers adds a lot of dead time to your show. It takes time to choose your volunteer. With kids, this is usually not a problem, but if you’re working with adults it can be very tough coaxing someone on stage. Physically moving your volunteer onto the stage wastes even more time. Having to repeat this process several times in your show can kill the momentum of your act.
Having dull volunteers on stage can kill your routine. Not every volunteer is a star. If you’re an occasional performer, you will often find yourself performing for small groups. If you have several routines that require volunteers, you can quickly find yourself running out of people to use in your show. You may also find yourself working for audiences where you can’t use volunteers – seniors, disabled groups, and prisons come to mind. I used to be in a vaudeville themed dinner show that catered to seniors’ bus tours. I always ended up having to pick the bus drivers for my volunteers. It’s far better to be able to have your pick from amongst the best possible volunteers than to be forced into picking mediocre ones.
Volunteers are often wasted or underused in magic routines. For example, I’ve seen cut and restored rope routines where the magician brings up two spectators merely to hold the ends of the rope being cut. I’ve seen card routines where after the spectator picks a card, there is nothing left for them to do. In many cases, the volunteer plays such a small role that it is hardly worth the time it takes to bring them onstage. Rather than adding to the magical or comedic effect of the routine, audience members are simply providing the same service that professional assistants used to provide.
I’ve also seen far too many performers who seem to forget the rest of the audience as soon as they get their volunteer on stage. The audience essentially watches the spectator watching the magician perform a trick. Not great theater.
Too much of a good thing can be boring. There are only so many good volunteer lines and bits of business. You’ll get a laugh when you bring the first kid up and ask him if he’s married. But what do you say to the third, fourth and fifth kid you bring up? Cutting back the number of volunteers means you can use only the best lines in your arsenal and concentrate them for full impact.
Finding strong material that doesn’t require spectators is difficult. How many routines can you think of that are worth performing and do not require someone at some point? I think the process of seeking out those rare effects that are strong enough on their own without volunteers will make your show stronger and more powerful. Plus, you will be left with a show completely different from all the other performers in your area.
Now I don’t honestly suggest that you eliminate ALL volunteers from your show. My own goal is to keep two very strong routines that use volunteers. I’ll then be able to concentrate all of my best volunteer gags together to make the humor as strong as possible. These routines will then stand out in contrast from the rest of my show.
Remember, there’s a difference between being interactive and using volunteers on stage. A good example is the way most performers use the magic colouring book. The magician usually shows the blank pages, asks the audience to imagine the drawings, and then shows the pages with the drawings. Next the magician asks the audience to grab colours from their clothing and “throw” the colours at the book. The pages are then shown to be coloured in. The entire audience has been involved in the magic, and not one volunteer has been brought on stage. This is a lot stronger than any volunteer-based routine.
So by all means, make your show interactive – talk with your audience, look at them individually, mention them, gesture to them, respond to their reactions, pace yourself to their pace, be in the moment. Look for creative ways to involve as many people in your show as possible. Just don’t do it one person at a time.
And when you do bring someone on stage with you, make it special. Make it a rare highlight of the show, and treat it as such. When I invite a volunteer to be a part of my show, I want it to be a feature moment. I want to milk it for all it’s worth and make it truly memorable. Now, I ask you, is that so wrong?
