Virtual Magic Shows: A Message For My Colleagues
The following essay was published May, 2020 in Vanish Magazine - read by over 100,000 magicians.
Virtual magic shows are not for every magician. There’s a learning curve for the technology, there’s a need to purchase the right equipment, and then there are the artistic and intellectual battles we must go through to create an original virtual magic show that is personal to you and meaningful to your audience.
That’s just the start-up cost, and that’s not even thinking about how you will market and sell online magic shows to your clients.
If you do magic as a hobby, it’s an opportunity to learn new material and test it out on friends and family over FaceTime. If you’re a professional, it’s a fork in the road: embrace a new world or wait for the return of what used to be.
That’s a tough choice. I get it. Online magic shows are not for everyone. And they don’t need to be. If virtual magic shows are not for you, don’t worry, you’ll be back on stage soon enough. And if it’s interesting to you, I’ll share with you a surprising element of virtual magic shows that I did not expect: the opportunity to get visual feedback from each member of your audience.
I can imagine how amazing this offer would have been to any of us five or ten years ago:
Ok, Magician: We’re going to put a camera on the face of EVERY audience member while they watch your show. We’ll record their reactions to every trick. Afterward you’ll get to watch it and see their reactions to every word you say and every move you make. You’ll see when they’re interested and when they’re bored. You’ll see when they are surprised, amused or astonished. You’ll be able to fine tune each moment of each trick to create optimum engagement. And then you’ll do another show, we’ll record the face of every person again, and you can review the footage and make your show better.
How much? $10, $50, $100 per person to study their reactions? Sold!
Wow, I would have jumped on that in a moment. And now, we have it at our fingertips, for free. We get to see the true reactions of each and every audience member. We don’t have our false memories of how great we were because we were focused on the few excited people applauding in the front row. In an online magic show, we get to see everybody: good, bad, smiling, happy, engaged, distracted, fascinated or bored.
Published in the May 2020 issue of VANISH Magazine.
In a virtual magic show, I get to have a better view of each individual audience member. And if I record my shows, I can go back to review and improve my whole show.
There’s no use comparing virtual shows to live magic shows. We know what’s missing. But what’s surprising is what’s still there: an opportunity to connect with people, an opportunity to engage, ask questions, get answers. Just like in a real life magic show, we can break the fourth wall by moving from a magic “performance” to a magic “interaction.”
As the current pandemic has been tough on people medically, financially and psychologically, we must remember to be kind to one another. We must be aware that there are people who have it worse than others. Because each of us is in a different situation in life, there is no right choice except the one you make for yourself.
Doing virtual magic shows has created a positive light in my life and the lives of my audiences.
I’ve been challenged to create new material and adapt my magic to a new medium. Thinking about magic brings me joy as it always has.
And my audiences have been grateful for the positive opportunity to laugh and be amazed. Bringing them joy brings me joy as well. It’s a win-win for all of us.
If this arena of virtual magic shows is interesting to you, I wish you luck in this new frontier.
Virtual Magic Shows are an amazing way to engage your community of clients and employees.
Contact Kostya today to delight your group.
