dgmagic - UK magic blog by magician Dan Gifford

The Christmas Party season is almost over for me. Just a couple more this weekend and then that’s it, I can have a rest.

Not that I don’t like the work, it’s just that after a while one raucous company Christmas do is much like another. There have been a few interesting moments this year though.

There was the lady who swore blind that the card I’d made appear between her hands was hers even though I’d mucked it up and found the wrong one (it does happen, rarely, of course). I found the right one folded up in my wallet - my standard ‘oh bugger I need to rescue the situation quickly with something good before they realize I actually have made a mistake’ effect - which impressed everyone except the lady who’s card it was. Even though it was the one she’d signed at the start. I think the drink had been flowing.

One of the things I love about close-up magic is the unscripted interaction with the audience. It can lead to some sublime moments. I perform the Kaps money effect quite a lot (a wad of paper turning into a wad of money), and I was just introducing myself at a table with the paper in hand when a gentleman said ‘If you were a real magician you’d turn them into money!’.

‘Oh. Well, I suppose you are right there sir.’

Boom!

Now that was an easy table.

Welcome to 2007!

After a very busy Christmas period and a bit of a rest at the beginning of January, I’m back on the blog again.

December was pretty hectic, even though I didn’t perform magic at any restaurants this year. I managed to fill up my calendar with private parties, which is better for many reasons; more variety, more money and less evenings out (though being so busy still puts a bit of a strain on family life).

So, what are my plans for 2007?

I’m going to work out a new close-up magic competition routine, I have some great ideas that would be spectacular if I can pull them off. I’ll perform it at Leicester Magic Circle and then maybe some other smaller magic clubs leading up to the International Brotherhood of Magicians convention and competition. I might also enter my cabaret act into the Leicester Magic Circle competition.

I want to promote my magic lecture a bit more. It’s not a big earner, but it is a great way to meet other magicians and get a bit of exposure.

I need to update my main website www.dangifford.com. The problem is, it’s doing quite well in the search engines, so I need to be careful not to change it too much. More info and tweaks to what is already there.

I also have some other websites on the go - more on those later.

And of course I need to continue to build up my client base and get more gigs.

Plenty to keep me occupied this year!

The Christmas Party season is now upon us.

You tend to get a slightly rowdy audience at work Christmas parties. Maybe it’s something to do with releasing all the pent up frustrations of the nine to five routine and the formal work environment.

You need a thick skin when you’re performing close-up magic and interacting so closely with the audience. So far I’ve had a couple of people trying to pickpocket me (they’d had a few and it wasn’t particularly subtle) and quite a few just too sloshed to care (’I don’t like magishms, hic’).

The way I deal with it is to try and remember the great reactions, visualize them afterwards instead of dwelling on the few bad ones. Thankfully, really bad behaviour is rare and usually it’s just a bit of banter and people trying to challenge you - par for the course if you’re a magician.

And a high blood alcohol level in your audience isn’t all bad, you can get away with magic you’d never normally try.

Anyway, Christmas is a busy time for most magicians and I’m performing magic almost every night through December. So this will probably be my last post for a couple of weeks - I’ll be out performing magic for pissed people!