How to Do Comedy Magic
Comedy magic is not nearly as easy as most people think. In fact, the most basic mistake performers make is assuming that they can throw a few jokes into the patter (the lines used during a magic performance) and become comedy magicians. The only trick to doing comedy magic is the bitter truth about being funny.
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Instructions
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Rely on pre-written patter from magic tricks only if you want to die on stage. "Sure-fire comedy patter" is magic dealer talk for "we wrote a quick lame routine to include with the directions." The only joke is a performer that actually uses those lame lines.
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Focus on the comedy. Instead of planning the performance around effects, it must be written around the humor.
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Study comedy. Learn from comedians. Do not fall into the trap of imitating other comedians, but learn from the past masters. Old radio performances of vaudeville comedians are a great place to start. These were performers that perfected their craft on the road doing multiple shows every day.
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Attempt comedy without magic. A performer that cannot make an audience laugh without magic probably is not going to do much better with magic. Be brutally honest in evaluating this; audiences will be.
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Do not force a favorite piece of magic or incredible effect into the routine when it does not add to the comedic value. This is a complete mistake. Comedy magic is about comedy first.
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Hire a comedy writer if it is within the show budget. Just as magicians buy magic tricks from magic dealers, there is no shame in purchasing jokes from a comedy dealer.
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