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Close-Minded

You've probably been wondering where on earth I have been lately! Well, I've recently started a new position in a new Internet company (various aspects of the Internet has been my day job since I left college), which has kept me incredibly busy. Because of this, I've not been involved a great amount in the magic world over the past five or six months and that's likely to be the case for a little while longer too.

However, I thought I'd piece together some thoughts for you guys to let you know that I'm still alive. This time, we're going to take a different view from normal and concentrate on, not what you do when you perform, but what you do before you perform.

As you know, your opening effect should be used for you and your audience to find a comfortable balance of attitude and style. For this reason, I believe that a magic performance should always begin with a physical warm-up of the body, voice and mind. This way, you walk on stage with the same power and attitude that you mean to sustain. Otherwise, it is incredibly difficult to find a comfortable balance as you slip more and more into your regular performing style.

More importantly than actually warming up is to treat your body correctly before your performance. I have a set of five rules that I follow in the few hours before a performance:

· Do not overeat. The food that you consume will occupy too much room and rob you of much-needed air capacity.

· Do not drink any cold beverages as it will tighten up your vocal cords. If you want to drink, stick to tepid water without ice.

· Do not sleep. When you sleep your voice and body also rest and you will find it incredibly difficult to warm them back up in time.

· Do not exhaust yourself before the performance or during any pre-performance warm-up as you do not want to peak before you get on stage. Performing your magic is your real workout, not warming up.

· Allow yourself plenty of time to get to the venue. It is extremely tiring to suddenly change the stress caused by busy traffic to your energetic performance character.

When you arrive at the venue, it is important that you do some kind of physical warm-up. Do not walk straight out of your car and onto the stage, as it is incredibly important that you partake in some gentle exercise. Since I am a lively, but not massively energetic performer, I find that a brisk walk around the venue is enough order to get my heart pumping at the required pace.

I then focus the warm-up on my hands and often start by repeating the simple action of clenching my hands into a fist for a few seconds and then opening them up as wide as I can for a further few seconds. I continue by stretching my fingers into as many possible formations as I can find and only then do I pick up a deck of cards and practice a number of multiple packet cuts. The reason I use such cuts is because they are able to stretch and clench my hands more than any other moves. As my performance gets closer, I tone down the cuts and warm-up by practicing moves that I actually use as part of my act.

Throughout my physical warm-up, I also take an equal amount of time to warm-up my voice. Whilst driving to the venue, I often place a small object between my teeth, such as a cork from a wine bottle or cap from a pen and speak very slowly and clearly, over emphasizing every sound and syllable. I normally read license plates, road signs or repeat what I hear from news broadcasts. After a minute or two of using this technique, you will notice that your jawbone, cheeks and tongue will start to ache a little so do not overdo this. This technique is especially helpful for getting into the feeling of speaking slowly and clearly for your audience.

A few moments before I go on stage, I use a similar technique to vocal artists and quickly repeat the words, "Pit-pat-pit-pat-pit-pat," By putting great emphasis on the p's and t's. I then gradually speed up but still continue to emphasize those letters.

If time allows, I like to take a specific sentence from my act and repeat it as many times as possible in as many different emotions as possible. Example emotions are annoyance, intimidation, joyful and playful. I tend to choose a different line from my loosely scripted act for each warm-up as this tends to allow me to think on my feet much more than using the same line.

The warm up is complete and I am ready to bounce onto the stage. The entire sequence takes less than five minutes but will always greatly enhance my performance. I suggest you try it a few times before you go on stage and I promise that you will notice the difference in how quickly you and your audience will bond.

Anyway guys, I'm going to crawl off back into the hibernation of my day job. Before I go though, I must mention that A² Productions has recently been given a face-lift. Come and visit us at http://www.asquaredproductions.com - Also feel free to contact me whenever you like. You can reach me at andi@andigladwin.co.uk.

Andi Gladwin