December 31, 2018
Get your New Year off to a flying start by listening to the following topics:
- The launch of the new Mark Leveridge Magic website is getting closer and I give an update about what it will be like
- I reflect on the latest Magic Clips get together and compare it to the traditional magic convention
- why do some spectators think it is OK to rummage through the magician's clothing if they want to find out how a trick is done?
- the sophistication of some modern dealers is amazing when compared to 30 years ago
- if a spectator can come up with even a simplistic and inaccurate explanation for your magic, it diminishes the impact of it in their eyes
- the true story of the lady spectator who found a way to get maximum value for money
November 30, 2018
The final Podcast of 2018 has the following topics:
- How do you define the difference between a close up competition and a stand up magic competition?
- changes in the average attention span of spectators can have an effect on the type of magic we need to present
- it seems that some people are suffering from magic fatigue
- I really enjoy spending some time with Paul Gordon putting the magic world to rights
- is the Christmas rush still a rush?
- I consider the John Bannon assertion that maybe the stereotypical close up worker may need to change what he does in order to remain bookable
October 31, 2018
Dark nights are brightened by the November Podcast contents which feature the following topics:
- The CCC rebrands as the OCCC but the meeting provides the same great stimulus as always
- online booking agencies make for lazy enquiries and encourage potentially unfair price comparisons
- does it matter that explanations of many of our tricks are openly available on YouTube?
- magicians sometimes get too hung up on moves and procedure and can easily forget what is far more important
- online video instructions provide both the best and the worst type of trick explanation
- do you feel a bit uncomfortable performing for people who know you very well, such as family and friends? I look at why this might be
September 30, 2018
An OctoberFest of magic opinion and comment featuring the following topics:
- I reflect that it's not easy as a self employed business person to clear the desks before going on holiday
- Wittus Witt asks whether close up magic really has any place at modern large conventions
- creativity is all about making choices, but this can present you with a dilemma
- Shin Lim brings a theatrical importance to his visual close up miracles in America's Got Talent
- how much do you value magical advice?
- cancellation clauses in performance contracts can cause more problems than they solve
August 31, 2018
The September Podcast will entertain you and get you thinking with the following topics:
- I get the opportunity to experience Noel Britten's Bizarre Bath Comedy Walk, and it's awesome!
- what are the best and worst parts of being a magician?
- the show format that helped me to gain invaluable performing experience in the early days of my magic career
- I discuss whether social media ever really delivers in terms of creating actual bookings or whether we are simply deluding ourselves
- the importance of how we respond to show enquiries is illustrated when my wife and I try to book some entertainment for our own party
July 31, 2018
The summery August Podcast contains the following topics:
- Why on earth do so many of us get involved in magic in the first place? I suggest a whole load of reasons why we might get involved in the art
- Duncan Trillo launches an interesting new initiative in which he invites fans of his MagicWeek website to become a MagicWeek Backer
- the football World Cup is over, but maybe there are some lessons to be learned about how not to jump on a bandwagon when it comes to publicity
- I finally release the 4th volume of my popular card magic series of E-Books
- there are many things to cope with as a table hopping magician, and none of them are anything to do with the magic itself
- download instructions are now all pervasive, a situation that has almost sneaked up on us all
June 30, 2018
A varied selection of topics this month looks like this:
- Richy Roy suggests that most of us are charging far too little for our shows and I discuss whether he is right or not
- I prove that no matter how long you have been in the magic business, there can still be things which happen to you which have never happened before
- "Strolling magic is not an art, it's a service" says Paul Brook - but is he correct?
- news of a new MLM release that is a terrific, practical version of a classic plot
- the mobile phone has changed the way spectators want to experience our magic
- why do lay people still fall back on cliched explanations for the magic that we do?
May 31, 2018
The early summer 2018 podcast has the following topics:
- I reflect on my recent US lecture tour which included some dodgy weather and a traffic violation!
- talking of lectures, I consider what magicians expect to get from a lecture that they attend
- magical fame and fortune may not always be all it is cracked up to be
- the Mark Leveridge Magic website is being re-designed and I give you some early teaser information about what it might be like when it launches later in the year
- I reflect on why it can be difficult sometimes to entertain the people who have actually booked you
- why offering advice to an inexperienced magician may not be the best thing to do
- why does magic seem to attract such high levels of incompetence!?
April 30, 2018
Podcast Gold
Here are six of my favourite Podcast articles which I have collected together from Podcasts released over the last year. I hope you enjoy hearing them again, or if you missed them, for the first time!
- Fee negotiation - do you allow your rates to be a subject of discussion with a potential booker?
- I offer a theory about when you should hand write a prediction and when it is OK to have it pre-printed
- I explain why I think going back to tables more than once is not a good idea
- comedy is as much about consistently selecting appropriate lines to suit our performing personality as it is about the lines themselves
- your credibility as a magician is important for potential bookers, so here's a way to ensure you get some
- card to wallet - is it better to go down the palm-and-load route, or are the no-palm versions just as valid?
March 31, 2018
The April edition of Mark Leveridge's magical musings covers the following:
- Richard Kaufman has a 'pop' at Magicseen
- your magic competitors may actually be your allies
- hyphens and underscores make difficult to decipher email addresses even worse
- GDPR is on its way, but will it matter to us magicians?
- a spectator accurately observes and gives a fascinating insight into the processes that we strolling magicians go through when we entertain at tables
- if you appear to be an expert at what you do, you are more likely to get the show enquiry/booking
