How to Become a Successful Street Magician

A few years ago the term 'street magic' meant a magician who performed on the street much like a traditional 'busker' or side-show performer. The kind of magic he performed could be anything from 'gimmicked', prop-based illusions common in stage magic to scams and hustles such as the infamous 'three card monte' or 'close up' card and coin effects performed at a small, portable table. All this can still be seen today in any part of the world, but the term 'Street Magic' has now come to mean something else, something quite specific; a street magician is no longer an itinerant 'busker' but an edgy, stylish urban wizard with a strong claim on ultimate cool.

So what exactly is this new form of Street Magic and how can you become a modern Street Magician?

Interestingly, most of the tricks and stunts performed by the most well-known Street Magicians such as David Blaine and Criss Angel are not fundamentally new, it is more a question of how and where they are presented that makes the difference. The style of presentation in street magic relies very much on a sense of spontaneous, impromptu magic, often using everyday objects frequently borrowed from a close, participating audience. It is this that gives it the edgy, contemporary feel. The closeness and normality of the situations in which the magic occurs also serve to lend the effects much greater power and impact than a traditional stage show where the audience are expecting magic and know that there is trickery involved.

To become a successful Street Magician demands the same skills as a traditional 'close up' magician with the addition of an extra element of bravado and daring. It is one of the most enticing areas in modern magic performance and one of the most difficult for many to learn to do well. However, if you are keen there is no reason why you should not be able to learn and master street magic, becoming a successful street magician, in a relatively short space of time. This is what you will need to do:

1. Learn the fundamental principles of magical performance (including the psychology of magic and the art of misdirection)

2. Learn and practice the basic 'sleights' and moves that are used in most close up magic effects.

3. Build a repertoire of tried and tested tricks.

4. Be gutsy and get out there and try it out.

5. Be prepared to persevere and learn from your mistakes.

The best way for most people to begin learning street magic today is via online resources. Books are available but in my opinion are more useful for the established and experienced practitioner as they can either be too simplistic and general to be of use, or too jargon filled and esoteric to be understood. Also, good magic books are quite expensive. Many excellent online resources are completely free and have the added bonus of the multimedia element; with photographic visual guides, downloadable video tutorials (whilst rarely free, much cheaper than a magic store video and no need to wait for the mail!) and of course, eBooks. So steps 1 and 2 can easily be covered at no or very little cost if you find the right magic teaching website.

So what about step 3? A good teaching website (as opposed to one of the many 'magic tricks revealed/exposed' type sites that are not really much use as they only reveal the mechanics of the effects and not how to perform them) will also offer a good selection of magic trick tutorials you can use to build your repertoire. One of the great advantages of Street Magic, especially when starting out, is that you don't have to have a large repertoire of tricks as you will be performing only short routines of maybe 5 to 7 minutes duration (perhaps just three good tricks) for many different small groups. So you can perform the same 'mini show' over and over without any difficulty. As you perfect this routine you can add further tricks and routines as you wish. Three pocket-money cheap tutorial downloads of tricks that have impressed you (the demonstrations should be free to view) will be an excellent way to quickly learn all the material you need to get started.

Steps 4 and 5 are not things you can learn online or anywhere else - they are things you just have to decide to do and then get out there and do them. Because all the rest is true for any form of magic performance and it's this final factor of daring and gutsy confidence that makes the difference in Street Magic. However, if you followed steps 1, 2 & 3 then there's no reason why you shouldn't feel confident enough to give it a go. Don't expect it all to go well immediately. You're bound to make mistakes. The professional approach is to accept that and regard them positively as a learning opportunity.

But don't worry about the last steps yet. First things first. Now you have to find a good, reputable website where you can begin to learn the best magic skills possible to start you on the path to becoming the successful Street Magician that you are going to be. There are actually only a few good teaching sites. Look for one that offers everything you should need in one place, with free resources and run by a professional magician - who you should also be able to contact directly for information and advice. At some point, as you progress, you may want to sign up for a paid course which would provide you with a more structured learning experience but at first I would advise you not to part with your hard earned cash until you are quite sure that it will be worth your while.

So now you know how to become a Successful Street Magician. Get find the resources you need following this advice and get started!

Austin is a performing magician, entertainer, theatre practitioner and writer of many years standing, always keen to share his experience and encourage the novice. His website, The Magic Tricks Homepage is a great free resource for magic tutorials, articles, visual guides, eBooks and more.

Austin specialises in coin tricks and manipulation. Having worked in 'the real world' all his life, he is gaining a reputation on the web. Austin has a passion for magic tricks and has always been keen to teach and support beginners.

His website is proving an excellent medium for reaching out to aspiring magicians across the globe and offer them the best teaching not only in learning magic tricks but, importantly, learning how to perform them well. If you want to learn magic tricks well, go there now: The Magic Tricks Homepage.

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