MagicGizmo

As the Chairman of the John McNicholas Magician’s Roundtable, (JMMRT) THE oldest running lecture group in the USA, I have had the pleasure to meet and schedule some of the greatest magic lecturers in the world.

In speaking with them prior to and after the lectures, I have come to draw many conclusions that should be voiced for both those who will hire the lecturer and to the lecturers themselves.

First off, let me say that lecturers are NOT paid the fees that ANY lecturer in the non-magic world receives. Lets face it, there is NO club in the world that could afford to hold a lecture if they did. Instead, they come in to share the work because of their love of the art. They get paid a few hundred (usually much less than they would get for a normal gig) to cover expenses, plus maybe a room for the night. They go from town to town, city to city, hotel to hotel. They will have BOR sales of the items in the lecture and lecture notes to help make ends meet. THIS is what really pays for the lecture.

I have heard many times from fellow magicians comments like “I didn’t know it was going to be a dealer demo.” And sometimes the comment IS warranted. Other times I have had lecturers come to give a lecture and NOT have ANY product! Then I hear complaints that they have to hunt down the items needed. With the demise of many brick and mortar shops, this can be a little hard for some.

So with these things in mind, here are some of my observations and recommendations to both the clubs and the lecturers. Let us deal with the clubs first.

When booking a lecture, the club representative should always provide addresses of hotels, lecture venue and any other pertinent address. They should also provide phone numbers for all of these, as well as two contacts and if available, cell phone numbers. There should be requests from the booker as to all items and needs of the lecturer and every effort to provide these should be made. Sound systems, microphones, sales tables, work tables etc. If travel is one item of this list due to the lecturer coming in by plane or train, then a vehicle and driver should be provided IF agreed upon when booking.

The lecturer should be invited to “get together” either before or after the lecture with the members for a bite to eat and some fun and fellowship. Sometimes there is no time for this due to schedules and travel, but the invitation should always be made. Remember, the lecturer is YOUR GUEST and should be treated as such.

(Anyone who has been able to attend one of these pre or post lecture get together events knows that many a gem is mined out that those who only attended the lecture miss out on. As such, you should always try to attend)

Members should come to as many lectures as is possible to support the clubs and the lecturers, even if the lecture is about a type of magic that you do not do. I have people who say things like, I don’t do children’s magic, or I don’t do coins. I am here to tell you that it doesn’t matter. There has not been one lecture that I have been to that I was not able to take something away to help me better my knowledge or performance. It is not just about that “Next trick”. But this is a topic for another discussion.

If the club and members enjoyed the lecture, by all means, they should spread the word to others so that it may bring the lecturer some additional lecture requests. Again, this helps to bring the lectures in at a lower cost. If a lecturer can do three lectures in the same area (BUT NOT TOO CLOSE! More on that later) it saves them money and many will pass that onto the clubs with a lower rate, especially if the clubs make the arrangements for the lecturer.

Now before you say that I am too pro lecturer in my comments, let’s move on to the lecturer, and what is or should be expected from them.

Once the lecturer has checked into their room, contact should be made with the club contact. If possible, a cell phone number should be given to the contact when the booking takes place. As a booker, there is nothing more nerve wracking that to not hear from the lecturer and people are showing up at the door, but there is no sign of the lecturer.

Dealer lectures should be advertised as such. When we as magician’s hear of a lecture by Harry Allen or Bob Little, we know that besides presentation on things like other lecturers, they will also lean heavy towards dealer demo, because lets face it, that’s what they are, dealers. But we don’t expect it from a non dealer lecturer.

Many lecturers are known for developing certain items in magic, and even if they are not going to cover that item in their lecture, magician’s still look for it. Rule of thumb should be ANY item spoken about in the lecture, should be made available to the members. There generally should not be any reason to not have something on the table. If, because it is the last or one of the last lectures on the tour an item is sold out, the lecturer should make arrangements to get it to those who want it. Make it convenient

We had at one time, a well known lecturer who spent better than three quarters of the lecture showing some beautiful effects using a flipper coin, BUT DID NOT HAVE ONE TO SELL! Let me tell you, I heard about that one for a LONG time.

The point is lecture items, NOT dealer demo. If you are going on a tour, make arrangements to ship out packages ahead to different groups. This way you don’t have to carry large amounts with you, but you replenish your supply every three or four lectures.

I know many lecturers who stop at the local Staples or Kinkos to get more lecture notes made up along the way.

Work up lecture price deals. Especially in this economy, magicians are always looking for a deal, and appreciate the convenience of picking something up at a lecture.

It should also be said that if you perform something that you include in your lecture, be prepared to show the workings, don’t just say “It’s in the notes.” This is another complaint I hear on occasion, and I have also noticed that when this is said, there seems to be less notes sold…..Odd? Again this is not the norm. Most lecturers show the work.

Earlier in this article, I used the words ”Not too close!” What exactly did I mean by this? If club “A” is having FAMOUS MAGICIAN on Monday night, and club “B” wanted to schedule him for Tuesday night, and the two clubs are ONLY TEN MILES APART, BOTH lectures will suffer from lower attendance numbers. This is not always the fault of either the lecturer or the club, but efforts should be made between the local groups to not conflict with lecturers or dates.

A few years ago we had a lecturer schedule with our group, only to later schedule for two days earlier with one of our sister groups. Now I do not blame the other group for this one, I BLAME THE LECTURER, because he not only knew that we were local to each other, but he was a member of both groups and knew what would happen. Low turn outs for both groups where both groups took a hit, but he made his fees from both of us. He has not lectured for us again. This type of lecturer is NOT the norm, but is the oddity.

Most of those who go out to lecture are the most giving performers who believe it is their turn to give back to the wonderful art form that has meant so much, and given so much to them. They are not just out for the money, but want to help the art grow. We, are the lucky recipients of that knowledge.

I know that there are many other ideas and subjects that can be discussed related to this subject, and I welcome your thoughts.