Booking the right entertainment for your event
The Mystery Guest
What is it and why did I create it?
Choosing the right entertainment for your event has never been more confusing.
In the past you had two options:
1. Sift through the yellow pages
2. Ring an event planner.
Your options may have been limited but it was easier to choose an act from a smaller group of entertainers.
Now we live in a different world. Finding entertainment couldn't be easier, a quick search on google or any of the social media platforms will produce a plethora of results.
The problem now is not finding someone who is free for your event but choosing from the hundreds of entertainers competing for your business. Then another problem arises from having so many choices, how do you know if they are any good?
From Live Bands, DJ’s, Singers, Comedians & Magicians to Dancers, Jugglers, Caricaturist & Look-a-likes, who do you choose? How do you know they are any good? It has become more and more difficult to distinguish the quality and experienced acts from a sea of mediocrity.
So what type of entertainment should you choose?
This is where you would expect me to shout, Magician! Book a Magician!
But in all honesty, it doesn't matter.
I believe you should book your entertainment based on your event and how you want your guests to feel. Choose the right style of performer for your event. It’s not necessarily what they do, it’s how they make your guests feel.
I describe entertainment as a journey to a destination and how you get there defines the performer as an artist.
It doesn't matter whether they sing, dance, act or do anything else as an artist, the journey the performer takes you on is what defines the entertainment.
I have chosen the arts of close up magic, mind reading and hypnotism to be my chosen vehicles to entertainment.
As a young magician I learned some of the secrets of magic, I learned sleight of hand techniques and various psychological ruses to fool my audience. “I’m a magician” I thought to myself.
WRONG!
I quickly learnt that the art of being a quality entertainer, yet alone a great magician, doesn't rely on being able to find a selected card in a shuffled deck. Nor did it make any difference if I could bend coins in other people's hands.
What matters to me as a performer isn’t the “tricks”, they are merely a vehicle to make a connection with people and create long lasting memories which they will go away and talk about.
This, in my opinion, is what separates mediocre magicians from the great ones.
But why book a Magician?
A magician can be a great way to entertain your guests at almost any occasion. They can mix and mingle with the crowd to perform close up magic or put on a cabaret magic show for a larger crowd.
They can be wonderful ice breakers giving people who don’t know each other a common talking point to share.
But be careful! Different magicians have different performance styles, similar to how different bands have their own performance styles. If you have a sophisticated launch party where you need entertainment for important high net worth delegates, employing “willy the wizard” who turns up with with sparkly suit, top hat and cape might not be ideal.
My Style:
As a performer I fuse multiple skill sets into one performance, creating an experience none of your guests will have seen before.
I combine close up magic with psychological mind reading techniques and hypnosis.
I perform regularly at private parties, weddings and corporate events. I try to have an engaging but laid back style, escaping the egotistical magician stereotype.
I often hear:
“Hypnosis? Hmmm, I’m not sure about hypnosis”
The hypnosis I perform is close up and conversational. I make a point of respecting my spectators and I never make anyone embarrass themselves. If you would like to see people dancing like chickens, eating onions or taking their clothes off you might want to look elsewhere.
The Mystery Guest - What is it and why did I create it?
Solving a common problem.
When I am booked by a client I would sometimes hear about the slight mixed reaction they got from the people they were told “we have a magician coming”. The response was mostly;
“Wow! That’s going to be amazing” But very occasionally it was “Meh, that’s a bit naff”.
Both comments can be absolutely true.
Whilst close up magic can be utterly baffling and amazing, sadly the reputation of magicians and the quality of the majority of magicians seen by the general public over the years isn’t great.
This doesn’t mean that they can’t enjoy magic, they simply have a preconceived idea of what magic is and don’t like it. I posed myself the question, “how can I change peoples perception of magic”. I knew if I could get in front of them to perform I can entertain them, even if they think they don’t like magic.
The Mystery Guest was born. The concept is simple.
Don’t tell anyone. Keep me a secret!
Don’t tell anyone that you have booked entertainment, a magician, a mind reader or hypnotist.
The advantages were three fold.
- People are nicely surprised when they see there’s entertainment and there are no preconceived ideas to deal with.
- I get to know people on a personal level before doing any magic. Then when they see something happen spontaneously the level of amazing is multiplied exponentially.
- You don’t have to worry about the stigma sometimes associated with telling people you have a magician.
To find out what I can offer for your event fill out my enquiry form below.
Good luck with all your event planning,
Stephen