December 2020

Newsletter

End of Year
As 2020 draws to a close we start gathering paperwork that we will need for our taxes. We
also start to clean out the year’s files and set up new files for 2021. Do not forget to purge
old, unneeded files from your computer. If you are in doubt if they will be needed, save them
on external media such as DVD, CD, or an external flash drive.

At one point during this process we should sit down and make some notes for next year. This
year was one of the hardest for magicians. The year started out fine but the pandemic had a
major impact on everyone. At this point we are not sure how much longer it will last. That
places more emphasis on our thoughts for 2021.

One of the most important things a magician can have is a marketing plan. We cannot afford
to launch the next year just waiting for the phone to ring. Magicians have to get out there
and create work. What will make this a challenge is the presentation. The normal approach
of “hire my magic show for your event’ probably will not work.

You need to create the need or enhancement in their eyes. Remind them the importance of
entertaining their audience. If needed point out the efforts of holding them at the event.
Suggest giving them a reason to allow your magic to enhance their event. The work is still go-
ing to be there. They may need to make some pandemic adjustments, but the need will still
exist.

Another area you will need to consider is your price. If they are forced to reduced occupancy
they will have fewer funds to hire you with. Working at a reduced price is not a sign of weak-
ness. It is a sign of professional respect. You are willing to share the efforts to rebuild their
event’s success.

The effort has to begin with a marketing plan. You cannot just assume that mailing a
brochure will get you a performance contract. It is time to put together a marketing plan.
Think of it as an initial plan to launch a new business. Do not leave any source out of consid-
eration. The only sources I would rule out, to begin with, are those that cost money.

SOCIAL MEDIA: This is the hottest source for getting your message out. At one time a suc-
cessful plan required a website. Today, thanks to social media, the term website has taken a
back seat to social media pages. The harsh truth is that most people use sources such as Fa-
cebook daily. They socialize through them. A website has become a source for information.
It offers no interaction such as that of social media.

PREVIOUS CUSTOMERS: Create a fresh new brochure. List some of your major magic. Mail
or deliver them to previous customers. Especially if you have worked for community organiza-
tions or businesses. Remind them you are available and have a new performance to offer
them.

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS: It may sound harsh, but you can pass the pandemic safety re-
sponsibilities onto the hosting organization. All you need is a stage area social distanced from
the audience. A fund-raiser, where you split the ticket proceeds, may be attractive to them.
Now is the time to reach out, so they have time to get it on their annual calendar.

FRIENDS: A major source of marketing is through your friends. When they pass your name
out it comes with an assumed recommendation. It would not be a bad idea to get a brochure
out to your friends and ask them for help referring you to potential customers.

As you notice, these suggestions only involve the costs associated with a brochure and your
time. Be honest with yourself. If you could spend $75 on brochures and a few days getting
your name out you would recover the expense in one performance. Time is something that is
hard to place values on. It is even harder to place a value on the total time spent. But one
show should pay for the expenses associated with your new brochure.

Your marketing plan should not be expensive. As the pandemic begins to lift, everyone will be
pounding the media to advertise. The most successful will be those efforts that involve a per-
sonal touch. These efforts should help promote your magic.

Time to get active. Look over your previous contracts and pick those you feel you should con-
tact. Your contact may result in another performance. Or, it might spark that individual to
pass your information onto another entity. Do not walk into 2021 with the idea that waiting
for the phone to ring will generate income. If you want the harvest of performance, you have
to plant the seeds early.
Market to Market
Sponsors

Businesses all share one common need. That is to get their name out to potential customers.
The term used for these activities is marketing. Marketing takes on many postures. Adver-
tisements in newspaper and other community publications is one possibility. Outdoor adver-
tising (billboards), and sponsorships are another.

When they consider sponsorships they usually turn to sports. It is very common for them to
advertise with the local schools. They also participate in major events such as shared adver-
tising with hockey teams, car shows, contests and sponsoring other productions. Many never
consider sponsoring a magician. Still sponsoring a magicians show can be one of the best in-
vestments they can make.

Most advertising is visual and message. The customer’s attention must be captured, and they
have a short period of time to read the message. When they sponsor events their business is
named a few times but that is the extent of it. Good hosting entities try to go out of their way
to mention the sponsors. But the result is the same. A short message and thank you.

When they host a magician, the magician plugs the sponsor many times during the show. He
also provides short narrative commercials as he mentions them. At the end of the show the
magician can pass out their keychains, and other marketing materials. Sponsoring a magician
is interactive. The magician is free to provide a lot more information than they get with other
sponsorships.

An added benefit is that their sponsorship can be counted as advertising. They need to speak
with their accounting people. But in most situations, their investment is handled as an adver-
tising expense. But it is up to the magician to make the contact and point out those benefits.

Create a brochure on your performance and list a few of the activities you include to plug
their business. Meet with them and do some pocket magic mentioning some of their ser-
vices. Take the time to ask about “hand-outs” they may have. Volunteer to use one of their
staff as your assistant, if needed.

Share the advantages of sponsoring your performance and mention the types of audiences
you will get their message out to. Be prepared to pick up some of their marketing literature
to work with if they sign on as one of your sponsors.
 Creativity
• Natural creativity
• Creative myth
• The creative process
• Polishing the final routine
• Documentation
• Continue exercising
• Wrapping it up
•
1st edition 2020, PDF 21 pages.
word count: 6485 which is equivalent to 25 standard
pages of text

Brian’s newest book identifies the creative process. A good primer to enhance your creative
skills. He keeps all his ideas in binders and works with them almost daily. Not all ideas be-
come routines for his performance. Many spark other ideas.

The book includes the creative process used to develop his “Magical Egg Tray” routine. The
process is covered and a copy of his backup is provided. The book is a $10 PDF download
available through www.lybrary.com.

If you search for Brian T Lees as an author the site will list all his books that are available. He
also has coaching/teaching services available. He lectures on his material and welcomes your
questions/comments. (magicwithbrian@yahoo.com)

You can also download this newsletter from the site. And, if you would like past issues you
can email a request to the same email listed above. A DVD of all PDF newsletters for 2017,
2018, and 2019 is available. A DVD will be published for all 2020 issues, in January. That will
be available by email order as well.

Prices for the DVD are $10.00, which includes postage. For more information, to place an or-
der or if you have questions send them to the magicwithbrian email listed above. If you or
your organization has an interest in a lecture, send that request to bsmagic2018@gmail.com.
Intentionally Revealed Trick
Magicians never break the faith. However, I found one instance where breaking the faith and
revealing a trick can be entertaining. The trick I am referring to is Professor’s Nightmare. If
you are not familiar you can search the Internet for it. Basically there are three ropes. One
short, one medium and the other long. The ropes can be passed out for examination.

In the magicians hand the ropes are manipulated, and they appear to be the same length.
This can be done extremely close and a well polished magician will not get caught. The magi-
cian can use some storyline and manipulate the ropes again and show them three different
lengths. Again they can be examined without problems.

I like to tell my close-up friends that I have three ropes that are all the same length. I show
them and they point out they are not. I hold up the short one and say this one is the big one.
Then I hold up the medium-sized rope and say this one is bigger. I then hold up the long one
and tell them this is the biggest.

I tell they to watch as I put the tops of the ropes together in my hand. I then tell them I will
take the bottom and bring it to the top. I am bringing the bottom of the first rope up and lin-
ing it up next to the others in my hand. I repeat the words and movement as I bring the other
two ends up to the top.

I snap my fingers and stretch the ropes to the same length. I show them and allow them to
react. Then I tell them I will share how I did it. I tell them I brought the bottom up to the top
like this. Then I brought the second bottom to the top and finally the third one up to the top.
That gave me the three ropes. (I do not stretch them. I pull them out of my hand one at a
time showing the ropes the same length.)

I tell them this is a trick they can try to do at home. And

when they learn it, they need to show all their friends. The
fact is I do not show the manipulation. I only show the
movement. This has always worked well for me. I make
sure not to hand them the ropes to try it themselves.

I did have a father tell me one time he tried it and it didn’t

work. I let him tell the surrounding people what I was going
to do. It worked fantastic. He said all my normal narration.
I manipulated them to the same length and back again.

He told me he did that step by step at home. I told him he

probably was not saying the secret magic word.
 Personal Library
Magicians keep their own personal library. When you watch a DVD or attend an online train-
ing session, you may notice books or a file cabinet in the background. Those materials are the
magician’s library. There are no rules on a personal library. We all keep what we feel we want
to hang on to.

It is common to find magazines, DVDs, newspaper clippings, trick instructions, lecture notes,
and other materials in a magician’s library. Some magicians take the time to index and classi-
fy their materials. Others just stack them in a cabinet, or on a shelf in a tote. The library is
only as good as the ability of finding the information you are searching for. Some can turn di-
rectly to it. Others have to sift through things to find it.

Another area of their library may be kept on their computer. I have an external hard drive
that I keep items I download. I also have some files, by classification, of websites I use for re-
search. I am an author with books published for download as well as maintaining a column in
MUM magazine. I have a series of files of my articles.

I keep another series of files on marketing materials. My brochures, business cards, a listing
of endorsements and other promotional materials are on file. Each year I write a marketing
plan with goals that I print and keep. At the end of the year I evaluate how well I did. I score
myself and make notes on changes I need to make for the next year.

Of course, I have a file of email, names and phone numbers I refer to. These contacts are
friends, past clients, support sources I call for help, and members of groups I belong to. I also
consider these contacts part of my personal library.

A magician’s personal library consists of a wide variety of

storage sources. My personal library consists of binders
retained on a series of shelves. I have two file cabinets
filled with file folders and documents. Turning to my me-
dia I have DVDs, and CDs storied in disk boxes. You will al-
so see a few tapes that were recorded during my earlier
performances. I also have backup and other materials sto-
ried on my external hard drive.

I index them all with a spreadsheet. The sheet lists the material, and the area(s) the infor-
mation is retained in. As I move things into my library I take the time to index them. I do not
let the pile of materials waiting to be stored mount up.
Chain Letter / Email
Here is a simple routine you can add to your show. It usually brings on a laugh, or at least a
chuckle. You need a mail tube, short length of chain, another large priority mail envelope and
a piece of poster board with a large letter “E” on it.

If you have someone from the venue who will interrupt you
to hand you the tube that is great. They can interrupt your
performance saying the post office just dropped this off for
you If not, you can pick up the tube and announce to the
audience that you were embarrassed one day when the
post office delivered it to you during a show.

I mention that I am surprised the post office would find me and deliver. I mention that I
thought it had to be important. I take the top off and slowly pour the chain out for the audi-
ence to see. I look a them, and say someone sent me a chain letter. I let the audience laugh
as I put the chain back in the tube and set the tube down.

I tell them I didn’t respond until I got home later that day. Picking
up the large express envelope I open it and slowly remove the
poster board. I tell them that I sent him an Email. I show the
poster board with the “E” to the audience and allow them to re-
act.

I slide the poster board back into the envelope and the routine is
set for the next time I use. It.

I always have this close by. If I am running short on time with my material, I can stretch my
show out a little with this simple routine. If I feel I need to try to spark the audience with a
laugh I pick it up and perform it. There have been times when someone in the audience
called out asking if I got a chain letter. When that happened I launched the routine adjusting
the storyline to show the tube as needed.

Once I reversed it telling the audience I sent a friend of mine an Email. I mentioned that he
responded with a chain letter. But that did not seem to play as well as opening with the chain
letter. I have a friend that works for the post office. She volunteered to stop by one day as I
was working a community fundraiser.

She left her route and made what looked like an official post office delivery to me. That was
fun. She brought it in and interrupted my performance. Holding up a small pad she told me I
had to sign for it. The paper was blank but the audience didn’t know that. It was a very good
Pandemic Impact
I found this on the Internet. It was originally posted by Dan Fleshman. For those who might
be wondering what it is like in the entertainment industry. I know everyone’s industry is
affected, but here are some not so fun facts regarding the live entertainment industry:

Legendary New York Metropolitan Opera has just announced its closure until
September 2021. Their musicians, choirs, stage techs, etc, along with the rest of the
industry have been without pay since last April.

Broadway is closed until mid-2021

6 West End venues THINK they can open right now.

Cirque du Soleil went bankrupt and cut over 3500 jobs.

Feld Entertainment (family tours - Disney on Ice, Monster Jam, circus, etc) has
permanently fired 90% of their workforce.

Live Nation and other concert promoters have laid off a majority of their employees.

Talent agencies who plan & book concerts, appearances, festivals, etc have laid off over
half their employees.

Cruise ship artists are unemployed and amusement park productions have no idea
when they will be rehired.

There are no concerts, festivals, or tours scheduled until 2021 and if they don't perform
next year they are likely to go bankrupt & may never happen again. No Jazz Festival, no
Coachella, no Bonnaroo, no EDC, no Glastonbury, no tours, no ballet, no opera.... it's all
gone.

It is predicted that 90% of independent music rooms could close if all this continues.

Artistic and musical organizations of all kinds - choirs, theaters, orchestras, dance
companies, festivals, music rooms, not to mention all technical and independent
suppliers - all are trying to find alternatives to continue working.
 Over 12,000,000 people work in entertainment production, we are not insignificant and
this industry can't reopen until mass gatherings are allowed. This doesn't include the
additional dismissal of techs and openers, maintenance staff for barrooms and staff,
safety and thousands of vendors.

This is personal to us, our whole livelihood depends on social solidarity, and we will not ac-
cept being labeled as “non-essentials'. Music & Arts are necessary for a happy and balanced
society. Everyone's career and industry is indefinitely pending.

If that does not catch your attention about how bad it has become, nothing will. I have full
confidence that entertainment will return. One can find different forms of entertainment
deeply seeded in our history. But there is no unit of measure, no schedule or idea when it will
become to come back. And, when it does it will be a small ripple that will slowly grow. When
that starts there is no way to determine how fast that growth will be.

The harsh truth is that we may all be in this situation for a very long time. Alternatives are
working online, mentoring/teaching online and other “social distanced” activities. Some ma-
gicians are turning to writing. Books on magic routines, how to market a magician and other
topics are being published.

The entertainment industry may not fully recover in our lifetime. Magicians who still believe
that this is a temporary passing thing need to open their eyes. 2020 will go down in history as
the explosion that killed many businesses and entertainers. The reality of performing 25
shows per month is gone.

Today, a magician is lucky if he/she can muster enough online magic work to maintain a
steady cash flow. If the magician is able to do that, the amount of that cash flow will not be
anywhere close to what he/she experience in the past. We have all been forced to make ma-
jor adjustments and changes in the way we work with our magic.

My best advice is to continue reaching for ways to entertain. Do not be afraid to try a differ-
ent approach. The need for entertainment will never be as strong as it will be in the coming
months. As magicians, we have to find a way to reach our audience. This is a time when they
will not come to you. We have to take our magic to them.

I know the impact is depressing. I realize, as do many, that the loss of income is devastating.
But we have to move forward. You may have to take up a second job. But you should never
give up. The need for entertainment is as strong as the need to pay the bills. The difference is
one is financial and the other emotional. And, when it comes to the final balance, a happy
audience is the most important.
 Brian T. Lees
Author, Publisher

Abraca-Poof is published monthly and is available as a PDF download. Articles are written by
Brian T. Lees. The primary purpose of this newsletter is to provide helpful supportive infor-
mation. If it prompts new ideas, and helps raise the level of your performance it was worth
the time taken to draft, write, and publish.

Brian has a series of books available on the skills associated with performing in front of an au-
dience. His business, Back Stage Magic, focuses on meeting the magician where he/she is and
provides ideas, support, and suggestions to take the magician’s performance to the next level.
Beyond his lectures, Brian has also worked as a coach, and consultant.

He has a series of lectures available on his books and performing experience. Your comments
are welcome and can be emailed to: bsmagic2018@gmail.com. This newsletter is a free
download available through www.lybrary.com and off his website: mybackstagemagic.com.
Brian also publishes a monthly newsletter, Grease Paint, for the Quad City Clown Troupe. That
newsletter is available through: www.qcclowns.com.

Subscriber addresses for his newsletters are considered as company assets. They are not
shared or made available beyond the publisher’s office.

Brian has a column in MUM Magazine (Society of American Magicians). Look for valuable tips
and information each month in his “Taking the stage” column. He also has articles published
in other trade journals.

Always remember:

The entire world is a stage. The only difference is the size of the audience.