The idea of using restaurants as theaters for close-up magic has been around a long time. A small number of astute magicians developed the field and made good livings from it. Understandably, they kept their secrets of success to themselves. It wasn’t until 1981 that this silence was broken in a meaningful way. Kirk Charles, a full-time professional magician, published Tips on Table-Hopping, an honest and generous booklet that detailed the ins and outs of doing magic in restaurants for pay. It became an underground best-seller, and was awarded the highest praise by such men as Eugene Burger, Daryl, Phil Goldstein, Lloyd E. Jones, Jeff Busby, Rick Johnsson and Billy McComb.
Since that time, Kirk Charles has continued to make a substantial part of his living doing restaurant mapic where he discovered new angles on the art of selling it and gained major innsights into restaurant performance. The result was a full-sized book, expanded to more than twice the original size, and rich with valuable information for anyone approaching or in the field of restaurant magic.
The following topics are fully covered:
* Selecting the proper material * Restrictions and advantages of working in restaurants * Selling yourself, both to the restaurant and to others while you are there • Advice on contracts, photos, business cards and press releases * Proper fees and pay arrangements * Auditioning * The dos and don’ts of hustling tips * Relations with the restaurant staff * Approaching the table • Leaving the table • Working for large groups, children, drunks, singles and repeat customers * Gaining free publicity for yourself and the restaurant * The proper way to conclude an engagement. . . and much, much more
A bibliography of valuable reference sources is included; and The Test — a list of 25 harrowing experiences that every restaurant magician will at some time face and have to cope with successfully. These range from the comic to the unnerving, and occasionally to the shocking.
THE MANUAL OF RESTAURANT MAGIC by Kirk Charles is the compilation of over 13 years of successful professional experience in the field of restaurant performance. It is a substantial book of over 100 pages, photo illustrated, printed on acid-free paper and perfect-bound for many years of reference — quality inside and out. The most complete work ever offered on the subject of performing close-up magic in restaurants for profit.
