Creating a New Routine: Danger (Part 2)

Here is part 2 of the process creating a new routine for my College and University Stand up comedy magic show.

Putting it together

When you think about board games and Trivial Pursuit you don't think about danger but if the 90's taught me anything, it was to TAKE IT TO THE EXTREME! 

I know Harold and Kumar was released in 2004 but this scene is all 90's all the time. I mean check out the arm band tattoo.

And just because it is the best name for a character ever, "I know, Extreme Sports Punk #1."

So how do you make a board game more extreme? Add some consequences. When someone gets a question wrong you've got to bring the pain, or the possibility of pain. But as we saw in last weeks videos, hurting your audience members is highly frowned upon.

The Surrogate

I think I'm a pretty likable guy and I think that audience members don't want me to fail. So, I think if I put myself in harm's way they are going to do the best they can to save me? Or will they? 

The Rules

Four players are picked from the audience and each gets to choose an '90's icon playing piece. They can be a Grunge Rocker, a Cappuccino, a Dot Com Stock Certificate, or a Digital PDA.

A very sharp aluminum spike is hidden under a foam cup and mixed with three other empty foam cups. The cups are then numbered.  Unknown to the players each playing piece is labeled on the underside with a number.

Each player is asked a '90's Trivial Pursuit question. If they get it wrong, their cup is smashed. 

Will the right person get their question right? Will Edd go unharmed? 

About the Author:

Edd Fairman is a stand up comedy magician that performs for college and university events. You can find out more about him by visiting http://www.wizardofsorts.com

 

When you are this cold...

It's hard to be funny when it's below zero. It's hard to be funny when you all you really want to do is hide under the covers until summer. Every year it happens. Every year around now I just don't feel the funny. But guess what? The audience doesn't care. So what is a comedy magician to do? LIE! Yup. LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE.

When I feel crappy and I'm just not feeling the funny, I lie to myself. I tell myself that I am feeling very funny. I say to myself that I am in a great mood. Self delusion is a powerful tool when used for good of course. When your job is to create an illusion its best to start with yourself. I also tell myself I'm six foot tall, still have a 30 inch waist, and have been to India. I'm not sure why its India but it sounds interesting. It's important to be interesting. If you find that your own life isn't interesting I recommend making stuff up. It's fun. It's creative and it will keep away Alzheimer's.

When one goes to lie to oneself about something, it is very important to be careful. Little lies: good. Big lies: not so good. Exaggerations about something that really did happen: very good. Lying about something that can be proven false: very bad. This past weekend I performed for a man named Glen Miller. So saying that I performed for Glen Miller isn't a lie. Saying it was the world famous musician is a lie. It's a very bad lie because it is very easy to prove that A)the musician Glen Miller is dead. B) he died before I was born. And C) no one would care even if it was the real Glen Miller because no one cares about jazz anymore.

So, stick to unprovable, unimportant lies. Oh and only lie to yourself. Not other people. That would be dishonest. It is only acceptable to lie to other people if you are a magician (and it vanished), politician (I did not have relations with that woman.), doctor (You've got a least six months to live), parent (Santa is watching), neighbor (Your lawn looks great), boy friend (No those jeans do not make you look fat) or anyone not wanting to get in trouble (I was just saying). Otherwise lying should be avoided at all costs. It sullies one's reputation and makes them look bad among people no one really cares about.

I am sure that most self help guru's would call it the "power of positive thinking" but they are just lying to you and themselves.


About the Author: Edd Fairman is a comedy corporate and college magician residing in Chicago who never lies (except just now) and is available for your next event.

Ooo No, not the Italian Silk

Saturday night I was performing for an adult birthday party. It was a great crowd of very successful 30somethings enjoying good food, a few drinks, and my show. If you have seen my show you know that one of my signature effects involves "accidentally" skewering an audience member's jacket with a big 8 inch pair of scissors. You can see a clip of it here: Comedy Magic.

In August in Chicago most people don't wear suit coats. But Saturday night I had a great one. I brought the Gentleman up and already he was a bit suspicious because he had seen the rest of the show. As I helped he off with his coat I knew I was in for a fun ride. It was the softest, nicest, sports coat I had ever seen. So on with the magic. When the scissors penetrate the coat I ask the volunteer if he knows any magic words. He says, "I'm thinking of a word!" Big laughs.

I love it when my volunteers write the jokes for me.

Reviews, Gorillas, Irish, and Car pools

My comedy magic show at the Gorilla Tango theatre is charging ahead with some awesome audiences. I've had three reviews published and they couldn't disagree more! I know all three reviewers were at the same show because I saw them there. Let's just say the one review was so bad I am not even going to link to it here. The second one was a good review (check out the Wicker Park Pipeline) and the third was such a glowing review I'm a bit embarrassed. Ok, I'm not that embarrassed. Check out the review at Making Chicago Home.
As of this writing I have two more performances, August 26 and September 2 at 8:00 PM. So, if you want to get out and have some laughs pop over to the Gorilla Tango site and pick up some tickets. I have a distinct feeling that September 2 is going to be sold out because all of my procrastinating friends will be buying tickets that night.
Today I am heading off to the Eastern Time Zone. That's right I'm going one hour into the future. I will be performing my strolling comedy magic at the Notre Dame Opening Mass Picnic. I did this event last year and it is tons of fun. The folks at ND are great hosts.
Until next time friends, Na mas dei.

Rehearsal

I've been rehearsing for my upcoming show at Gorilla Tango Theatre (http://www.gorillatango.com). I forgot how tough it really is. My hands are cramped and my shoulders are sore. I guess magic is tougher then I realized.

I am working really hard on this show because it is the first show that all of my friends, family, clients, peers, etc, etc. can come see. Usually when I meet someone new and they find out I am a magician they always ask where they can see me perform. My answer usually is, "Get invited to one of the events where I am working" because almost everything I do is private events. So, it is going to be really nice for everyone to be able to see my work.

I purposefully decided to do this show completely on my own. So, that way there was no one to blame for the success or failure of the show. I quickly realized that is not a good idea. So, I hired on a Publicist. Good move.

Know what you are good at. Me, I'm a comic magician. I am not a publicist. Hiring someone else to do things you are not good at is such a relief. Try it sometime!

Putting your dreams out there.

I believe its called the attraction theory or something like that. If you say what you want you will attract it. I don't believe in it. Or at least I didn't.

I've always had a hard time saying out loud what I really want in my life and career. I know what some of you are thinking, "You? You say what ever is on your mind." But putting your dreams and goals out there, that's scary. What if I don't make it. I want to be a successful college and corporate magician in Chicago. So, what now?

I have to plan. I've read that, "those who fail to plan, plan to fail." Someone might look at my comedy magic show and think, "he's crazy, he doesn't plan anything." Maybe that's the real illusion. Next up, what am I planning?