Choosing the Right Closer

I’d been rehearsing this effect for weeks. There was a little memory work involved, so I was nervous as I began the effect.

The two teens blindfolded me with duct tape. Then I began the task at hand: Solve four Rubik’s Cubes in under a minute.

I frantically mixed the cubes as fast as I could, knowing the clock (and the audience’s attention) would wane if I took too long.

Finally, I stopped. I triumphantly ripped the makeshift duct tape off my face.

I stared down at the four cubes.

Not a single one was solved.

Hesitantly, I asked my volunteer, “What number did you choose?”

“43,” she said.

As I delivered my closing lines, I stacked two of the cubes on top of the other two, pushing all four closer together until they were touching.

I carefully spun the cubes around, revealing, in blue and white squares, the number 43.

The crowd was stunned.

My new closing effect for this show was a rousing success.

Your closer is the lasting impression you’ll leave your audience with.

When introducing new material to a show, there is nothing more nerve-racking than trying a new closer.

Openers are nerve-wracking too, but it’s not as bad as trying a new closer.

Mess up your opener, or try one the audience doesn’t like, and you have the rest of your show to, as Lee Earle once said, “Repair the damage.”

But closers? That’s the last thing your audience will see of you.

So your closer has to rock.

A great closer isn’t just amazing.

It’s amazing for the market you’re performing for.

Believe me, I know – I’ve tried closers for middle school shows that I’d previously used for elementary schools.

I tried closing one of my middle school shows with my Losander Floating Table.

Beautiful effect, one of my favorites in all of magic. It always draws gasps from elementary school kids.

But for middle schoolers? Crickets.

Here’s the thing, though. I’m willing to bet some of you reading this have successfully closed shows for teens with that effect.

And therein lies the rub.

What works for one magician won’t necessarily work for another.

Who you are as a performer plays a big role in how any effect, especially your closers, is received.

So how do you pick the perfect closer? Here are a few ideas.

1. First, consider your market.

For a kids’ show, you aren’t going to close your show with a bullet catch.

Conversely, you aren’t going to close your adult mentalism show with a Squared Circle.

Who your audience is will play a huge role in choosing your closer.

2. What is the size of your audience?

If you perform small parlor shows for 20 or so people, you’re not going to haul out a Zig Zag. It’s just too big.

(With my luck, someone will write back saying they saw someone close a small show with an illusion like that. But these are generalizations, okay?)

Conversely, you’re not going to close your show for 1000 people with a Matrix-style coin effect projected on a big screen.

Yes, I know some magicians use video support to perform closeup effects for a large audience.

Personally, I feel it’s silly. There is so much great stuff to perform for stage.

Why disconnect yourself from your audience with a video-based trick?

But even if you were to perform such an effect for your big show, you’d be crazy to close with it.

Simply because performing for the camera while your audience watches a screen breaks that connection between viewers and performer.

3. What is your show about?

Are you performing a child’s birthday show? One of the best ways to end such a show is with a great trick involving the birthday child.

They could help make the bunny appear. Or you could float them in the air via Chair Suspension. Something that puts the child front and center.

Are you performing a school assembly? If you’re theming your show, your closer should be something that perfectly sums up your show.

And it doesn’t always need to be a big spectacular trick, either.

Years ago, an agency began nudging me toward relaunching my ecology/recycling show.

I’d always had a tough time coming up with a good closer for that show.

A fellow performer suggested using his closer – Healed & Sealed.

Yup, he was using a trick with a soda can for 300-400 kids in his audience.

I thought he was crazy…until I tried it.

It was perfect – not only is it an amazing effect, but it perfectly wrapped up everything I talked about in the show.

Your closer does not have to be a huge, expensive trick.

It just has to fit the show…and one other thing.

4. Does it fit you as a performer?

Years ago, I bought The Mindreading Goose, created by Steve Spill.

Steve’s a great performer and creator. And I still believe the Goose is a great routine.

But for the two years or so I performed it, the routine usually fell flat.

When you get right down to it, the routine is a little on the crass side, with the peeing goose and all.

My character is goofy, dorky, and odd. But my character is definitely not crass.

So The Mindreading Goose didn’t fit me.

5. Do your audiences like it?

This is the hardest.

If your audience doesn’t like the effect, nothing you do will make it work.

Audiences are giving us their time. It’s their only irreplaceable commodity.

In exchange, they have the right to reject whatever we put in front of them.

At times, it’s harsh. It may seem unfair.

But that’s the business.

Even if you follow my other points throughout this newsletter, you may hit upon a closer that, for you and your audiences, just plain doesn’t fly.

You can keep tweaking it of course.

Sometimes you can make it work. Other times, you gotta listen to what your audiences are saying.

True professionals always strive to put their best foot forward in a way that represents their show and respects their audiences.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a $1000-$2000 effect. If the audiences you perform for don’t like it, your best bet is to try something else.

That’s what the pros do.

Have a great week!

--Cris

 
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